Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Feb. 25, 1993, edition 1 / Page 17
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TV/MOVIES And the winner is... the low-budget, small indies 6Srh annual flcr-jr nAmi V * The 65th annual Oscar nomi nation list seemed to shirk the glitz of high-price-tagged Hollywood glam for low-bud get, independent, “artsy” films. Al though moves like Unforgiven , starring, directed by and produced by aging, leather-faced Clint Eastwood got the nod, smaller films like The Crying Game and Howards End received virtually unprecedented nominations. The small-guy nominations appar ently took people offguard—including those who were involved with the films. “1 never thought it was an Oscar kind of movie,” Neil Jordan, who wrote and directed The Crying Game, told the Associated Press. “It’s not a period drama, there’s not an Edwardian dress in sight. It’s not even about people triumphing over insuperable odds.” John Sayles, who wrote the script for Oscar-nominated independent film Passion Fish, said he was glad to see the Academy was finally recognizing smaller films. “The good thing is that those mov- Racy series will excite night owls Silk Stalkings Rob Estes, Mitzi Kapture Thursday, 12:00 Midnight CBS (WRAL Channel 5) •• He’s a studly fashion plate with a passion for Ameri can heavy metal. She’s a street smart beauty with a stunning smile. As the duo tool around Palm Beach, no one suspects that they are undercover detectives unraveling the previous night’s silk stalking. But what is a silk stalking? As Ser geants Chris Lorenzo and Rita Lance know all too well, it’s a crime of passion that often takes place in the bedroom. And, as you might guess, some of these crimes are a bit bizarre. For instance, in a recent episode that borrowed a bit of its story line from Basic Instinct, a vixen quenched her demented sexual desires by knifing her lovers while in the midst of passion. Yet solving the series of murders was no easy task for Chris and Rita. In fact, the plot became as twisted and intertwined as a fly in a spider web. The obvious rarely happens and the final who-done-it clue always remains hidden until the end. Watching the series is like playing Clue—except that Stalkings replaces the butler in the li brary with the pool man in the Serta. There’s a lot of sexual tension between Chris and Rita. And in the chemistry department, Stalkings is reminiscent of Hunter or Remington Steele. Although series creator Stephan Cannell crafted the intriguing Lorenzo/Lance partner • —Bliss it ••—watch it aud rag ou it •••—asa It as a study break •••• watch it religiously ——-tape it movie news JENNIFER BRETT ies are getting seen at least by the people who are nominating Academy Awards and that there’s no big stigma attached to them,” Sayles told the Associated Press. Ismail Merchant, who produced Howards End, a film starring Emma Thompson, about the intricacies of wealth, love and scandal in an English family, was in India when he learned his picture had been nominated. “It’s a great endorsement of the feel ing that independent producers can do and deliver the goods at half the price the majors do,” he told the AP. “The economics play a great part” One third of the nominations for best picture, best actor and best actress were handed to indie films. In the top eight categories, independent films claimed almost half of the 40 nomina- television ROB BRITTAIN ship, Rob Estes and Mitzi Kapture add the extra pizzazz that makes their series sizzle. Yet Estes and Kapture can’t take all the credit for steaming up CBS’s Thurs day late night scene. Instead, Stalkings’ director of photography and its set de signer deserve congratulatory pats on the back. While previous detective dramas such as Cagney & Lacey and St. Else where prided themselves in gritty visu als, Stalkings dares to be different. The series’ lavish Palm Beach Police Pre cinct is the epitome of comfort and modernity. In fact, Stalkings’ detective bull pin looks more like the inside of an ad agency than a precinct. Gracing the office's double doors are two enormous, picture-perfect palm tree silhouettes. There’s also an ultra cool neon clock just above the entrance and enough halogen lighting throughout the office to melt Plastic Man. Aside from the palm trees and the latest in lighting, Stalkings’ set has mag nificent Crayola-colored walls. Just imagine giving your little brother a box of “Big B’s” and letting him go crazy. That’s what Stalkings’ set designer did. And just like the color-drenched Dick Tracey, Stalkings’ end product is an awe some spectacle. Even when Rita and Chris take to the streets, their cinemagraphic ambi ence follows. Their investigations take them to posh mansions with Carolina blue pools and miniature Gardens of Eden. Fortunately, Estes’s chiseled fea tures and Kapture’s flawless figure allow the twosome to blend into the pictorial masterpiece. Yet perhaps Stalkings’ bright, cheery visuals aren’t just for looks. Perhaps they are symbolic of the series’ overrid ing theme: that things are often not what they seem. Accordingly, the series’ words re flect such a paradox. As Chris looks tions. Last year, only one nomination was given to such an outsider produc tion. In Chapel Hill, where independent, low-budget films have long enjoyed a captive audience, theater proprietors are hopeful that the Oscar attention garnered by such films as The Crying Game and Howards End will boost in terest in big-screen, small-scale films. “Artistic films have always been around,” said Mary Stone, who with her husband, Bruce, owns and manages the Chelsea Theater. “A lot are quite good but go unrecognized.” An indie snatch at the Oscars might change that, she said. “It’s hard to say," Stone said. “We’ve had some (films) that were extremely good —but the audience wasn’t there. Certain ones catch on; others don’t.” Smaller films often don’t receive the publicity or critical acclaim that their multi-million dollar counterparts do, Stone said. “This area is good for inde pendent films,” she said. “As for a trend, we’ll have to wait and see.” onto the corpse of a man who was butchered by the aforementioned vixen, he speculates that the victim “could have gotten it while he was gettin’ it." Hence, we return to Stalkings' predomi nant theme: love can be deadly. In highlighting the inherent para doxes of love, Stalkings also bears an incredible bluntness and realism. For instance, as Chris’s former flame, Mel issa, explains: “Fantasies can be very exciting. Sometimes more so than the real thing ... they’re the ultimate safe sex.” Who knows, maybe Melissa also uncovered the attraction of a sexy, late night drama series. Perhaps Silk Stalkings speaks to repressed libidos and sexual . frustrations. And Perhaps watching Silk Stalkings is yet a form of absolutely safe sex. 1. Qneen,Part2,CßS 24.1 rating, 22.4 million homes 2. 60Mnates,CBS 23.4,21.8 million homes 3. Queen, Part 3,CBS 22.18,21.3 million homes 4. ABC Analysis 20.9,19.5millionhomes 5. Murder, She Wrote, CßS 20.4,19.0mi11i0n homes 6.9) Family of Strangers, CBS 19.8.18.4 million homes 7. (3) Home Improvement, ABC 18.8.17.5 million homes 8. Roseaane,AßC 18.7.17.5 million homes 9. Fresh Prince of Bel Ah', NBC 18.4,17.4 million homes 10. Rescue 911,C8S 17.9,16.7 million homes Listings include the week's tanking, with lull season to-date raiking in parentheses, rating lor the week, aid total homes. An X in parentheses denotes one-tme onty presentation. A rating measures the percentage ot the naion's 90.4 million TV homes. * jSMpt* jt *, fr ■ w * * /jflf t' '* € >• i W *Wr JflF ! v. X " * ff ’*■ ABr*. -x’'- T T hi tf—lW John Sayles and his frog might win an Oscar one womans fluff is another woman’s fire, -omm TTWPWfQ Every Thursday ulfrpiMß Soul Desire 12 wn iIIIHMUfMI Highballs $1.50 506 W. Franklin Street Shots SI.OO ~~ ~ a Rau^Qg^~ Y*boV University Square Chapel Hill 967-8935 DTH • Omnibus • Thursday • February 25, 1993 Page 9
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Feb. 25, 1993, edition 1
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