What do Tufts, Judi Dench, Carnegie Hall and horses all have in common? The answer: notable Tufts alumna and Renaissance woman Karen S. Davis (J '76).
"The Imaginary Invalid," the last of French playwright Moliere's works, is being performed by Tufts' very own Pen, Paint, and Pretzels (3Ps). Starting Thursday, the show is directed by senior Sarah Ullman and produced by sophomore Lina Stolyar. The talented actors keep the audience engaged throughout with near-constant humor and do not let any part of the Balch Arena Theatre go to waste.
You can buy a plane ticket to Italy for several hundred dollars, or you can take the T. The North End's small streets are lined with bakeries, specialty shops and quaint restaurants similar to those that populate Italian cities. The inviting smell of fresh bread and rich ricotta wafts from shops like Bova's and Maria's, transporting passersby to a cultural oasis where crumbling frescoes replace bright billboards.
Sundance films are always hit or miss. With the exception of a few cult-classics and box-office phenomena like "Little Miss Sunshine" (2006) and "500 Days of Summer" (2009), most of these indie films are rejected by the mainstream masses and doomed to obscurity. Based on the novel by David Foster Wallace, "Brief Interviews with Hideous Men" is another Sundance disappointment marked by its fragmented, pretentious and uninspiring exploration of the male psyche.
The Daily got a chance to interview actor and director John Krasinski over the phone about his new independent film based on David Foster Wallace's novel "Brief Interviews with Hideous Men" (1999). Krasinski touched on what inspired him to write the screenplay, what it was like being behind the camera for the first time and what he hopes audiences will take away from the film. Question: So the film is based on the book by David Foster Wallace. What was the inspiration behind adapting the novel into a screenplay? John Krasinski: I actually did a stage reading of the book in college. And without being overly sentimental, it was actually the moment I decided to be an actor. Getting to be a part of something so emotional and so powerful, it basically was the reason why I've been trying to do it ever since, just so I can give other people the opportunity to feel what I felt that night, which was pretty powerful. It's a very provocative book and it makes people talk. And so that's the number one thing that I hope for this movie: that it just gets people talking. Q: In Wallace's collection of stories, we never actually know who is conducting the interviews. Why did you choose to give the interviewer an identity in the form of Sara Quinn? And what was the significance of making her a woman? JK: I don't know why, but it always rang true from the moment I read the book that she was a woman. When I actually spoke to David Foster Wallace, he basically said that he figured she'd be a woman that was doing her dissertation at some Ivy League school and she's interviewing these guys or something. And then I said, "Hold up, that's exactly the screenplay that we wrote." It was definitely one of the best moments of my career to hear that we were not only on the right path, but seemingly heading right down the way that he wanted to. Q: Unfortunately David Foster Wallace passed away last fall. How did you feel about releasing this film after the death of the author? JK: We had finished the movie before he had passed away. To lose the potential to read more words that he would write is devastating. I mean he is by far one of the greatest writers we've ever had. This movie has and always will be a fraction of the imagination inspired by his work when you read him. This is just a doorway to hopefully get more people to read his work. But again, it's scary when this is the only David Foster Wallace movie out there thus far and it definitely has added pressures. But at the same time, I hope that I just did the book justice. Q: Why did you decide to play the character of Ryan instead of another one of the other hideous men in the movie? Was he the one you'd read in Brown during your stage reading? JK: I actually wasn't supposed to be in the movie at all. I actually was envisioning just writing it and directing it because we had such great actors. And we had somebody fall out unfortunately two weeks before we were supposed to shoot the part. And it's such a big part. So the only thing that I had was that I had read the book 150 times, so because I was a book nerd for this book, the producers thought that I understood the tone and how the movie needed to end, and [could] get all of that dialogue in my head fast enough. So that was it, there were no other reasons. Q: This is your directorial debut and of course you're popularly known as the character of Jim from "The Office". What was it like being behind the camera for the first time? Do you find one job to be more challenging than the other? JK: Directing's real tough. It's also extremely thrilling. I've never been the actor who's always wanted to be a director. In fact, this could be [the only movie I direct], you never know. But I was surrounded by a team of people that not only do I think are the greatest, but they actually are the greatest. The guy who shot the movie for me, [cinematographer] John Bailey is probably one of the top people ever to be in his field. He's such a phenomenal friend, such a phenomenal talent, and he really guided me the whole way. I basically was a glorified cheerleader coming in very excited every day to be there, getting the actors excited and the crew excited. But when it came back to focusing and making big camera choices, he was right there helping me the whole time, and I could never thank him enough for it. Q: What kind of response were you hoping to get from the audience with this film, and do you expect the response to be very different from men than from women, or is it just basically getting a dialogue like you mentioned earlier? JK: I think it's just a dialogue. You know when we did the reading at Brown, it was very polarizing. It's a very provocative thing I think. Some people are really totally blown away and moved by it; other people found it frustrating. Whether or not you like the movie, David Foster Wallace has the ability to write such great stuff that I just hope that you take it in, and I hope that you take in the movie and let it percolate for a while. Then whatever decision you make, the greatest compliment you can give to anyone is that you actually took the time to ingest the movie and the experience and make a decision. Q: The film has quite an impressive cast. What was it like having to direct so many different actors? JK: I was basically a glorified audience member. I got to sit behind a little, tiny TV with earphones and basically get my own free show. These guys were so incredibly talented that I think that it was like an acting clinic. When I was writing the script I actually had most of those people in mind, because at the time I was still waiting tables. And when I was writing, I was going to the theater and going to see indie films, and so all those people [I cast] were the people who were inspiring me while I wrote it. They all immediately signed on and knew exactly what we were trying to do with the movie, that it would be a very different movie than people were used to. In representing themselves as these men, it would only pose to represent different factions of the male psyche and the vulnerabilities and insecurities. No one guy was actually a real person or somebody that we could all adhere to completely, but basically when you add them all up there's definitely a lot of truth to what they're saying.
In the opening scene of "The Fourth Kind," viewers are warned by Milla Jovovich's character, "some of the images you are about to see are extremely disturbing." Unfortunately, they are disturbing for all of the wrong reasons. "The Fourth Kind" is a complete mess of a film: poorly written, poorly acted, poorly shot and, frankly, insulting to the audience.
True to its name, the SpeakEasy Stage Company's production of "Reckless" is just that. Director Scott Edmiston's interpretation is reckless in its spirit, script and style, exemplifying the show's invocation to take risks despite the potential repercussions. The show's morals and life lessons are not purely inspirational. "Reckless" writer Craig Lucas (writer of "Prelude to a Kiss," 1990) created a quirky, tragic and incredibly honest script that culminates in a surprising climax for a Christmas-centered play.
On Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009, virtually every news source I visit on a regular basis had a story that was related to fish or shellfish on the front page — and no, they were not just all food blogs. I am officially dubbing this day Front-Page Fish Features Wednesday. (The alliteration would have been perfect if it were a Friday, but humor me.) There were articles about the beginning of the annual scallop harvest on Long Island in The New York Times and a piece about tainted imported Asian catfish from The Houston Chronicle — a source which I don't actually check regularly, but a friend e-mailed me a link to it.
A deft and distinct musician, one-man act Bibio rightly earned his reputation as a genre-dabbler with his Warp Records debut "Ambivalence Avenue" last June. Each track played like a cut from an eclectic mix tape, colorfully mixing Simon and Garfunkel-esque harmonies, wobbly dubstep bass and vintage funk samples. Four months later, Bibio released his latest album, which seems more content with looking back than pushing forward. Although "The Apple and the Tooth" features four new tracks, the remaining eight are remixes of songs from "Ambivalence Avenue."
Throughout history, political groups have used mass-produced publications to spread their messages. While the written word in these publications is important, oftentimes the caricatures and satirical drawings interspersed throughout the text are among their most influential and memorable features.
When The Strokes kicked off the garage rock revival in New York at the turn of the millennium, it seemed like they were on their way to becoming a permanent part of the 21st century's musical canon. Here we are, only eight years later, and although the boys from the Lower East Side have been working in the studio together again, it seems that all five of members of the band have moved in very different musical directions.
I headed to New York this past weekend to escape a dawning sense of ennui prompted by a few too many late, lonely nights slogging through work in the Tisch Reading Room. When I started to hear bottom-floor stacks teasing and taunting me, I knew I had to get out. The obvious cure, I thought, was a 60-hour trip to the country's cultural epicenter: Manhattan.
Remakes of old television shows are all the rage, but only once in a while do the suits behind these productions get it right. The latest remake to hit television is ABC's "V," based on the 1983 science fiction miniseries of the same name about seemingly friendly aliens who invade the major cities of the United States. The aliens, otherwise known as the Visitors (or Vs), spread a message of hope to the jaded earthlings in an attempt to become the saviors of mankind. Bringing science fiction to primetime, this show, with its exciting drama and subtle political messages, maintains the perfect balance between intelligence and entertainment.
"Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew" floats somewhere between exploitative voyeurism and a chance for sick people to get better. Audiences watch with bated breath as celebrities discuss childhood molestation, rape and crippling sex addiction.
Last Thursday, November 12, Tufts Concert Board brought Brother Ali (Ali Newman) and The Cool Kids (Antoine "Mikey Rocks" Reed and Evan "Chuck Inglish" Ingersoll) to Tufts University for a performance in the cage at Cousens Gym. Before the show, Nick Gang and Mitchell Geller got a chance to talk with the artists together. Though Ali and the Cool Kids come from different places stylistically, and hold seemingly opposing places in the world of hip-hop, they presented a fascinating picture of where hip-hop comes from, where it is today and where it's heading in the future.
Georges Bizet may not have received many congratulations on his new work when the curtain fell on "Carmen's" premiere at the Opéra-Comique in 1875, but the Boston Lyric Opera deserves many for their fresh and exciting take on one of the most-performed operas in history.
Weezer has come a long way from its days on the indie rock scene of the mid-'90s in L.A. As word leaked out about the chic geek from the underground, Weezer evolved to a national alternative rock poster child. Now, with the release of its seventh album, "Raditude" (2009), the band continues to evolve — into exactly what, fans don't know. And it seems entirely possible that front man Rivers Cuomo doesn't know either.
Can hope and love overcome incredulity and the difficulties of reality? The new film "The Horse Boy" tries to answer this question as it documents a family's journey to Mongolia to find a cure for its mentally challenged son, Rowan.
Alert your friends. Send out a mass text reading "LOL" — Laughs of Love, that is. Cheap Sox Improv Troupe and Major:Undecided Sketch Comedy band together this weekend to lead the second annual Laughs of Love (LOL) Comedy Festival in support of Seeds of Peace, a charity which brings teenagers from troubled regions of the world together to teach leadership and mediation skills.
At first glance, rapper Shwayze seems a lot like every other rapper to recently hit the club scene. The first single from his new album, "Let It Beat," is a pulsating, rhythmic wasteland of auto-tune and dirty lyrics. "Get U Home" features lyrics like "Take me in the bathroom/ Take my clothes off/ Make love to me up against a dirty wall" and paper-thin innuendos about the rapper's "handgun." But it's a mistake to judge the artist Shwayze as a whole or the entirety of his work by this single.
