Tag Archives: Isaac Mathewson

Favorite Film Friday: Stand by Me

By: Isaac Mathewson
Starring: Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O’Connell
Rob Reiner, the man behind mainstream classics such as This is Spinal Tap, When Harry Met Sally, and A Few Good Men, is one of the most fascinating directors in Hollywood today. Many of his movies have balanced comedy and drama to tell a sometimes funny, other times sad story. One of the movies to achieve this best was a coming-of-age film based off of Stephen King’s novella The Body.
 
Stand by Me tells the story of four twelve/thirteen year old boys; quiet Gordie Lachance(Wheaton), tough kid Chris Chambers(Phoenix), anger prone Teddy Duchamp(Feldman), and funnyman Vern Tessio(O’Connell), who one late summer’s day in the fictional town of Castle Rock, Oregon, decide to go find the body of the missing boy Ray Brower, after Vern overhears his brother Billy, talking about it. Along the way, they dodge trains, swim in a leech infested pond, and stand up to knife –wielding bullies, led by Ace Merrill, played by Kiefer Sutherland. All the while, they debate how they are going to escape their boring lives and what the future holds in store for them.
 
Contrary to the title of the book, the whole film is an adventure film, but it is also a character study. It shows the boys who they are and where they came from, through the eyes of the Gordie as an adult, played by Richard Dreyfuss. Gordie is shy and sensitive but at the same time he is very intelligent and is a talented writer. Chris is very mature for his age, but comes from a bad family and that gives others the idea that he turned out bad also. Teddy has been abused by his father, but he still idolizes him and gets angry if someone insults him, such as the scene in the junkyard. Vern is a funny kid, but he is also cowardly, but at the same time he braves danger even when things seem grim. Some of these traits were from people Stephen King knew as a child.
 
The film is gorgeous to look at. It has beautiful cinematography, showing us the Oregon countryside, and capturing the mood for the film. It also has a good soundtrack composed of classic songs from the 1950’s.
 
What makes the film stand out, however, are the performances. All of the actors are very real and show great wisdom and talent beyond their years, partially because their teacher was Rob Reiner himself, who is an accomplished actor.
 
The best of the four, and the most tragic, is River Phoenix. He showed great depth and emotion in his performance and he seemed the most believable out of the four. The famous scene when he tells Gordie around the campfire about how he stole milk money is incredibly powerful and he often seems like a father figure to the others over the course of the film. This film made him a star and the end unintentionally foreshadows his ultimate fate.
 
Although it is a film with kids, this is not intended for younger viewers. It is rated R for language and thematic elements. However, people who are at least in junior high can take it, and the movie is appropriate besides that. Even so, this film is incredibly powerful and many, including myself, consider it to be one of the greatest coming-of-age films of all time. I have seen it many times, and I hope to see it many times more.          

The Scarlet Pimpernel replaces Annie

By: Isaac Mathewson
For many high school girls who were excited to be in Annie this March, it will come as a disappointment to hear that FC theatre has instead decided on another show.
FC theatre director Robbie Steiner has explained the reasons why he has decided to replace the classic Annie with the lesser known musical The Scarlet Pimpernel.
“Despite the success of Les Mis, we are not going national with the show as we originally hoped,” he said. “We need a bigger money making show in order to do this.”
This decision was made just after Thanksgiving. Even though many actors and techs were looking forward to Annie, Steiner is still very excited about the upcoming show. “I’m excited for the opportunities that this will give to actors and techs this year,” he said.
The Scarlett Pimpernel tells the story of Englishman Percy Blakeney who is appalled by the atrocities of the guillotine during the French Revolution. He and his friends form “The League of the Scarlett Pimpernel” in the hopes of saving more lives. To cover up his intentions, he says that he is going to France to take advantage of the latest fashion, and he tells no one at home who he really is, not even his own wife.
The play is a musical dark comedy drama. Despite its setting and dark themes, this is a hilarious comedy that depicts the characters getting into outrageous situations. It also has music from celebrated Broadway composer Frank Wildhorn.
While he is still in the process of designing, Steiner says that the set may include what will appear to be an ancient theater from that time period. “It’s not going to be as technically challenging as Les Mis, but it will still be very technically challenging nonetheless,” he said.
Auditions for the show will take place on Wednesday, Jan.8 @ 3:45PM for high school and 7th and 8th grade boys. Auditions for girls will take place at 3:00 PM the next day. Callbacks will take place the following Tuesday at 3:00PM.
The Scarlet Pimpernel is set to take place March 7, 8, 14, and 15 at 7:30PM, and March 9 and 16 at 2:00PM.

Madrigal dinner continues theatre tradition

By Isaac Mathewson

 Even though FC Theatre will not have another play until March with Annie, there is still more to expect from it.

Saturday Dec.7, FC theatre director Robbie Steiner hosted the Madrigal Dinner, a special event that goes back a long time. “This is mostly a fun event that brings FC theatre together for the holidays,” he said.

The dinner took place in the FC auditorium on the stage where there was a four course dinner, music, skits and a set that was recycled from Les Mis. This year it was a castle that was designed by senior Kota Earnhardt and FC graduate Evan Wise. The set was just barely finished by the time of the dinner.

The dinner was originally scheduled to take place 7:00 p.m. on Friday Dec.6 and Saturday Dec.7. However, the unexpected snow day  caused it to be postponed to 2:00 the next day, marking the first time that a show had to be postponed since Seussical two years ago.

There were three skits that were being played during the dinner. They were all of the same play called Marriage of the Married Maidens. Most of the older actors performed in these skits, while many of the younger actors worked as servers.

Everything seemed to go well for Mr.Steiner despite the stress. “This is a fun event that has been around for years and it usually goes pretty well,” he said.

 Madrigal took place on Dec. 7 at 2:00 and 7:00 p.m.

Student provides news for upcoming movies this holiday season

by Isaac Mathewson
As the year comes close to its end, many have been wondering what to expect from the world of cinema this holiday season.
As it is Oscar season, many have been making early predictions for this year’s Academy Awards and its Golden Globes. Before going that far, however, it is best to first start with what is being released.
1. American HustleWith last year’s release of Silver Linings Playbook, it was only necessary that David O. Russell reunites the same cast from both it and The Fighter, in a film about a con man who is forced to work with an FBI agent. With Russell’s direction and first rate cast that includes Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, and Jennifer Lawrence, this is sure to garner many Oscar nominations.
2. Saving Mr. Banks: It’s hard to say whether or not Tom Hanks will receive an Oscar nomination for his portrayal as a captain held hostage by Somali pirates in Captain Phillips, or as the man behind the mouse himself Walt Disney. Even if the answer is the former, it would not be surprising if Emma Thompson receives a nomination for her role as P.L. Travers, the author of Mary Poppins, who is not pleased with the changes made to her story.
3. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug: No doubt this film will bring in huge amounts of cash at the box office and will please fans of the Middle Earth series. More to the point, however, is that this film, which is part two of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy, is bigger than its predecessor and will feature Oscar worthy effects and it will introduce us to new characters, and even reintroduce us to a few old. Hello Legolas.
4. The Wolf of Wall Street: After stepping out of his realm with the family film Hugo, Martin Scorsese returns to the big screen alongside his frequent collaborator Leonardo Dicaprio in the film that tells the true story(with a dark comedic twist to it) of the rise and fall of stockbroker Jordan Belfort. With a cast that includes Jonah Hill, Matthew McConaughey, and Rob Reiner, and a plot eerily similar to classic Scorsese films, this is sure to be one of Scorsese’s most entertaining films.
5. Lone Survivor: If the trailer’s calculations are correct, Peter Berg will redeem himself from the disastrous Battleship, with the story of one of the most significant operations during the War in Afghanistan. With a cast including Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Eric Bana, and Emile Hirsch, this film may not earn the accolades of the previously listed films, but will hopefully give us an accurate depiction of the war and give emotional depth to the story.
While not as exciting as last year, these films will hopefully live up to the expectations of every film buff and bring about a decent competition for this year’s Academy Awards and Golden Globes.

New book release prompts columnist remember actor River Phoenix

By Isaac Mathewson
On Oct. 31, 1993 , Hollywood actor River Phoenix died of a massive drug overdose in Los Angeles. Since then, there have been many memoirs as well as songs and websites dedicated to his short but promising life. To me, he was a fantastic actor and a major role model in my life due to his achievements and his beliefs.
Now 20 years later, with the upcoming book Last Night at the Viper Room by journalist Gavin Edwards who witnessed his death, I have decided to tell the story of his life and explain why he was such an inspiration to me as well as many others.
River Jude Phoenix was born on Aug. 23, 1970 in Madras , Oregon. He was the oldest of five children, and his siblings’ names were brother Joaquin, who is also an acclaimed actor, and sisters Rain, Liberty , and Summer. During his early years, his family belonged to a cult called the ‘Children of God’ and they were missionaries in Venezuela. When he was eight, his family moved to the United States because they were encouraged by their cult to engage their children in sexual activity. His family were vegans and in his later years, he would become an animal rights activism. He was also an accomplished guitarist, as he and his siblings used to perform on the streets for money.
At his suggestion, the family took up professional acting to meet their needs. After acting in a number of T.V. shows and movies, he had his first major film role in the 1985 family film Explorers. However, it wasn’t until the 1986 film, Stand by Me, when his career really started to kick off. He starred in several minor hits such as The Mosquito Coast, and he received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for Running on Empty. He also played young Indiana Jones in the first 15 minutes of The Last Crusade, and in 1991, he gave his best performance in the independent hit My Own Private Idaho.
Despite his acclaim, Phoenix was unhappy. He did not like being the center of attention all the time and believed that the media should be focused more on serious issues. He also was an animal rights activist, as I said before, and he believed that the food industry should limit the amount of meat they produced.  He even bought 800 acres of rainforest in Costa Rica to be saved from deforestation.
Phoenix also had a major dark side to him. Ever since he was on the set of My Own Private Idaho, he had been struggling with a major drug problem as he had taken many to better his performance. He fought it for two years, and thanks to his reputation of healthy living, he appeared clean and normal. Even so, they still took a major hold over him.
On Oct. 30, 1993 , he had returned home from shooting the film Dark Blood, which to this day is unfinished. He went with Joaquin, Rain, and his girlfriend Samantha Mathis to Johnny Depp’s club ‘The Viper Room.’ He had planned on playing his guitar with Depp and his friends the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but he was told that there were too many people, much to his disappointment. While in the bathroom, he ran into his friend who gave him a ‘speedball,’ which is a mixture of heroine and cocaine. Half an hour after taking it, he felt sick and asked his friends to take him home. However, once outside, he collapsed on the sidewalk and began to have seizures. Although paramedics tried to resuscitate him, little could be done for the young actor. He was pronounced dead in the early hours of Halloween, 1993. He was 23.
What River Phoenix left behind was a great legacy. Apart from his films, he had also showed us a darker side to a fame few at that time knew about. He also became a symbol of what can happen to even the finest of artists.
Although he died three years before I was born, he continues to be an inspiration to me. Now that it has been 20 years since that tragic night, I think we should all take the time to recognize his talents as well as his story.