By Peter Hyle and Christian DiMartino
For a new personality profile, reporters went behind the scenes and asked Floyd Central’s music teachers who some of the best and brightest they taught were. Click below to hear about sophomore Madeline Coffey and senior Christian Thomas.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_csMYIlrmE]
By Christian DiMartino
Title: Memento
Genre: Mystery, Drama
Release Date:
Film rating: R
Leads: Guy Pearce, Carrie-Ann Moss, Joe Pantoliano
Director: Christopher Nolan
Writer(s): Christopher and Jonathan Nolan
Christopher Nolan’s first major film, Memento, is one that really shows his roots as a filmmaker. Nolan went on to direct Inception, and both movies display his true talent: thinking. If you’re into that movie, then you cannot resist Memento. Nolan has a talent for invoking deep thought in all his movies, and this one is no exception.
The film centers around Leonard (Guy Pearce), a man with a strange memory disorder: He does not have amnesia, but he cannot make new memories. In order to remember, he is forced to take pictures of certain events and get tattoos of important facts. Leonard is on the hunt for his wife’s killer, but in his case, who is there to trust?
Pearce does his best performance in this film, and that is probably because it is one of the few movies where he is the main character. Typically in supporting roles, Pearce proves that he can carry his own movie. Carrie Ann Moss is fantastic as a Natalie, a waitress that isn’t what she seems, and as is Joe Pantoliano as a supposed “cop” who joins him on the journey.
Memento sounds a little like your typical thriller, but it takes the genre one step further: The entire movie goes backwards. Memento literally starts from the end, and it is all leading up to the beginning. Most thrillers are like puzzles, whereas Memento really is one. Nolan challenges his viewers by letting them piece the mystery together scene by scene.
There have not been many movies quite like this, and the only one that is nearly as clever is Memento. Nolan and his brother Jonathan are practically the owners of a brain factory, and they wrote a movie deemed to challenge. You can take or leave it, but I love it.
Memento was nominated for two Academy-Awards including Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing. It did not win either? Are movies better edited? Are movies more original? When was the last time a movie was told backwards? Memento, that’s when. It should have been nominated for best picture (and won, because this is one of the great films of the past decade).
Unlike Leonard, you will be able to remember this movie. It is one that truly burns in your memory and stays there long after you see it. But not many people have seen it, so that is why it is the one that got away.
By Christian DiMartino
For the first time ever, I have seen all of the Best Picture nominees before the big night (The Oscars airs Sunday, Feb. 24), so I consider myself a bit of an Oscar expert. This year, the competition is tough, and only two of the awards seem to be a sure thing. Here is what I think is going to win, and what should win:
Best Director
Michael Haneke – Amour
Ang Lee – Life of Pi
David O’Russell- Silver Linings Playbook
Steven Spielberg- Lincoln
Benh Zeitlin – Beasts of the Southern Wild
Will Win: Steven Spielberg
Since both Ben Affleck and Kathryn Bigelow are excluded from the ballot, Spielberg is almost a sure thing. It is been 15 years since he won an Oscar for Saving Private Ryan, and 20 years since Schindler’s List. He is overdue. If anyone is going to stop him, it is Ang Lee, but it will most likely go to Spielberg.
Should Win: Steven Spielberg
Again, he is over-due. I choose Spielberg mainly because the academy snubbed him of awards for movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T., and Saving Private Ryan (he won best director, but best picture went to Shakespeare in Love for some reason), so I think it is time. Also, he is my favorite director on the list, and Lincoln is my favorite movie nominated [Read: Best Picture]
Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams- The Master
Sally Field- Lincoln
Anne Hathaway- Les Miserables
Helen Hunt- The Sessions
Jacki Weaver- Silver Linings Playbook
Will Win: Anne Hathaway
Anne Hathaway has been sweeping all of the award shows for her performance as the tragic Fantine. I do not think she has lost a single award.
Should Win: Sally Field
Hathaway is great, but she is only in a small amount of a long, long movie. She does not quite deserve it yet because she has been better, such as in Rachel Getting Married and The Dark Knight Rises. My vote goes to two time winner Field, who does such a wonderful job as Honest Abe’s sad, supportive wife.
Best Supporting Actor
Alan Arkin- Argo
Robert De Niro- Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman- The Master
Tommy Lee Jones- Lincoln
Christoph Waltz- Django Unchained
Will Win: Tommy Lee Jones
Each actor in this category already has an award. Alan Arkin, Christoph Waltz, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman are more recent winners, so it is down to De Niro and Jones. De Niro has not been getting many nominations for this movie, so I think it will be Jones.
Should Win: Philip Seymour Hoffman
By using the “eanie, meanie, minie, moe” system, my vote is for Hoffman. This is a difficult category because each nominee is so good. Hoffman is not getting any love for this movie, and the movie is not getting any love either, and it is outrageous. It is better than any of the movies nominated. The Master is a bizarre movie, but that is part of its hypnosis. This may not have worked without Hoffman’s suave, sophisticated performance.
Best Actress
Jessica Chastain- Zero Dark Thirty
Jennifer Lawrence- Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva- Amour
Quvenzhane Wallis- Beasts of the Southern Wild
Naomi Watts- The Impossible
Will Win: Emmanuelle Riva
Jennifer Lawrence and Jessica Chastain seem to be winning a lot, but Riva is the oldest best actress nominee in Oscar history, it is her first nomination, and her birthday is on the night of the Oscars. I rest my case.
Should Win: Jennifer Lawrence
This is another difficult one, but I have to go with J-Law. She is incredibly sexy in Silver Linings Playbook. She brings so much life to her character, Tiffany. Tiffany is feisty, neurotic, wild, mysterious, bizarre, and I loved watching her. When someone outdoes Robert De Niro, then that proves Oscar worthy.
Best Actor
Bradley Cooper- Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln
Hugh Jackman – Les Miserables
Joaquin Phoenix – The Master
Denzel Washington – Flight
Will Win: Daniel Day-Lewis
There is absolutely no competition. Daniel Day Lewis is winning every award under the sun and he is a lock-in for a third Oscar. If anyone has a chance, it is Joaquin Phoenix. But not even his career-best performance can take down Lewis.
Should Win: Daniel Day- Lewis
A part of me wants to choose Phoenix, but I have to choose Lewis. He is the best actor alive. He always sinks deep into his roles, and he is nothing short of magical in Lincoln. If I did not know any better, I would of thought that he was possessed by the ghost of Lincoln himself. He is freaky good. Every performance of his feels so authentic. His performance here makes you feel as if you are in a room with Lincoln, listening to him tell a story. This award has his name written all over it.
Best Picture
Amour Life of Pi
Argo Lincoln
Beasts of the Southern Wild Silver Linings Playbook
Django Unchained Zero Dark Thirty
Les Miserables
Will Win: Lincoln
Argo seems to be taking home the top prize at a lot of award shows, but Ben Affleck is not nominated for Best Director. Since 2006’s The Departed, every movie that wins Best Picture wins Best Director. They could switch it up a bit, but do not count on it. Argo is out, Lincoln is in. Lincoln has 12 nominations, which is the most this year, and it most likely will not go home empty handed.
Should Win: Lincoln
Lincoln is not my favorite movie of the year, but it is the best of the nominees. It’s a powerful, sharply written biopic that ranks up there Spielberg’s best films and other great biopics. Dryly funny, fascinated, and acted to perfection, this is Spielberg’s best work in some time. The academy loves movies like this, and it could and should win Best Picture.
By Christian DiMartino
The original Godspell was performed on Broadway in the 1970’s, but this adaptation is based off of last year’s Broadway revival. “I saw it last year and really liked their concept for it and the way it was produced,” said theater director Robbie Steiner. “That production has influenced a lot of what we did for this production.”
The musical, starring junior Collin Jackson as Jesus and junior Clay Gulley as Judas, is based on the biblical gospel according to Matthew, but it is set in modern day. The story focuses on the development of the community and the relationship between Jesus and his followers.
However, this version is much different than the 1971 original, “[It is different] because the play is set in the 70’s and we’re putting a more modern twist on the music,” said junior Jade Dailey, who plays one of Jesus’s followers.
With the exception of Jackson and Gulley, every other actor in the play gets to play themselves. “Usually, I have to play characters, but this time I don’t. But it’s fun,” said senior Kathryn Pryor. “I have to show my vulnerable side though.”
The cast and crew have been working on Godspell since last fall. They first had auditions, sang the songs, casted it, and then began rehearsals once a week, both during class and after school. “For the show in general, I had to build up stamina,” Dailey said.
The tech team helped to create the unique new stage, which is an ovular stage with seats that surround it on the current stage. The set includes fog machines, trampolines, and a pool.
It’s nonsense, but it’s good nonsense,” said senior Cherrish Curry, the lighting designer.
The cast admits that there were some challenges along the way. “The biggest challenge was building the stage and choreographing all of the many dances in the show,” said junior Jackson Bishop.
Another challenge is that student actors must take on roles beyond their maturity. Gulley admits that playing the role of Judas was difficult to comprehend. “What’s difficult about him is that he is more than meets the eye. His reasons for his actions; what would it take for someone so loyal and so close to turn his back on Jesus,” said Gulley.
The venue gives the actors a chance to interact. “[I’m looking forward to] the audience’s reactions, because the show involves a lot of the audience’s participation,” junior Ainsley Spencer said.
Despite all of the challenges, the show still creates excitement among the cast. “I’m looking forward to performing in the round,” Dailey said,” It’s a new experience and you have to rely on yourself because you don’t necessarily have someone right next to you.”
“One of the highlights of the show is music; it really is awesome, and I’m looking forward to seeing the audiences react to it,” Bickett said.
The cast and crew admit that the show’s title sounds a little off putting, but they say that it is anything but. “Even if you aren’t religious, you should still come and see the show because it’s something that anyone can enjoy,” Bickett said.
The high-energy show offers something for everyone. “If you want to see a highly dynamic, fun, and spontaneous show with religious stories, then Godspell is the show you want to see,” Dailey said.
Godspell showtimes
Feb. 1, 2, 7, 8, and 9 at 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 2, 9 and 10 at 2:00 p.m.
Ticket Prices:
$12 for adults, $10 for students, and $6 for senior citizens.
By JT Samart, Bailey Hussung, Christian DiMartino, and Bryce Romig