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The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star
The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

… And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead: Worlds Apart

By Derek Wright | February 3, 2005

... And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead tries very hard to be edgy. Unfortunately, the group sounds less like a band expanding its horizons and more often like 20-somethings kicking and screaming, "Pay attention to our attitude!" The group’s fourth...

“Aliens of the Deep”

By Marcus Leshock | February 3, 2005

It's great to be Jim Cameron. His new film, "Aliens of the Deep," is less about any aliens of any deep, and more about himself and how much his marine biologist pals love their jobs. "Aliens" tries to celebrate these scientists and the strange creatures...

The ultimate fantasy baseball team

By Greg Feltes | February 2, 2005

Law student Nate Himert is just one of many major league baseball fans counting down the 14 days until pitchers and catchers report to spring training. Himert, a Chicago White Sox fan, said he has certain criteria for a player to crack his top ten all-time...

Taste-testing process improves residence halls

By Mark Pietrowski | February 1, 2005

For most people, having good taste is a plus. For Rebecca Smith, having good taste is a necessity. Smith, assistant director of Residential Dining, runs NIU’s test kitchen, which tests foods for eventual placement on residential dining hall menus. Smith...

Making friends the online way

By Greg Feltes | January 31, 2005

On Thursday, the front page of this very newspaper trumpeted the arrival of thefacebook.com, the free online directory that connects students through social networks at colleges nationwide. However, the article failed to touch on the seedy underbelly...

Nite owls find a home at Wal-Mart

By Rachel Gorr | January 28, 2005

It’s 3:30 a.m., and I hate Greg Feltes. My not-so-illustrious editor sent me out to see why people head to America’s favorite retail store at all sorts of odd hours. That’s why I found myself standing before the glow of DeKalb’s fabulous 24-hour...

Play the game, you loser

By Greg Feltes | January 27, 2005

My best friend is a hopeless romantic. I don’t mean hopeless in the good 1980s John Cusack way - I mean hopeless in the Peyton Manning visiting Foxboro way. It’s not that he looks like Paul Giamatti or has the intelligence of Jessica Simpson. He doesn’t....

Behind the scenes

By Jessie Coello | January 27, 2005

Audiences will get a taste of behind-the-scenes theater production this spring.

The Department of Communication will shoot a documentary on the theater’s production of the play "The Grapes of Wrath."

Filming will take place through the premiere on April 7.

Communication assistant professor Laura Vazquez will lead a class of 18 people in filming the production.

In late December, Vazquez was preparing to teach a class on documentary-styled studio production. When the marketing department didn’t offer its popular "The Apprentice"-style class this semester, Vazquez was without a subject to film.

"I had a class of media students signed up and wanted a class for them," Vazquez said. "I thought, ‘Should we do a reality show?’"

As Vazquez searched for a subject to film, sources led her to the "Grapes of Wrath" production.

"I was hesitant at the beginning and looking forward to ‘The Apprentice,’" graduate student Brian Eckdale said. "But I think I’m more excited about this production."

Eckdale is one of four student directors. Each director is a graduate student. Half the class will film the technical side of the production, such as costume design, lighting and set design. The other half will concentrate on the actors and directors.

There are differences in filming between "The Apprentice" and "The Grapes of Wrath." While "The Apprentice" was shot in six weeks with a tight schedule for the crew, "The Grapes of Wrath" will have most of the semester to film.

"We will film for three or four months and get to watch the situations really evolve," Eckdale said.

Also, "The Apprentice" had a strict format while "Wrath" is searching for its story.

"As things come along, we’ll be doing character sketches," said Nick Laporta, a senior media studies major. "We’ll go through what we have and make it interesting."

"People in the theater department have more exuberant personalities," Eckdale said. "Those personalities might be more dynamic."

Vazquez said the purpose of filming is to do a reality television show but in a documentary style.

"I’d like to call it a ‘docu-drama’ but that’s the wrong terminology - that implies a re-enactment," Vazquez said. "It’s more savvy reality programming."

A Web site will feature segments of the film and biographies of some key players in the performance. The story of the whole production will be presented in installments for anyone online to access. Vazquez said she hopes to have the site up soon.

Information on "The Grapes of Wrath" is available at www.niu.edu/theater.

The Game: The Documentary

By Lady C | January 27, 2005

G-Unit's member, The Game, sets out to distinguish his solo talents on "The Documentary." Straight out of Compton, his style has a hard gangsta' edge and confronts issues such as death that are relevant to many. The radio has already begun its routine...

“Are We There Yet?”

By Jessie Coello | January 27, 2005

It’s hard to believe family movies are still being made, and it’s even harder to believe they can be entertaining too. Take the "family road trip" movie. The "road trip" gives way to a host of gags and giggles as adventures are on the open road as...

Placebo: Once More With Feeling (Singles 1996-2004)

By Lindsey Rosati | January 27, 2005

Brit-pop band, Placebo, hits the shelves with a new singles collection, "Once More With Feeling, Singles 1996-2004." The album has already been on the UK Top Ten Album Chart, as high as NO. 8, since its first release. Placebo is re-releasing the singles...

“The Phantom of the Opera”

By Richard Pulfer | January 27, 2005

oel Schumacher is probably among the worst-regarded movie directors alive today. Purveyor of such cheese as "Batman and Robin" and "The Lost Boys," it’s tough to imagine Schumacher at the top of any list to direct a big-screen version of Andrew Lloyd...

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