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‘Simple’ actor wears
; many faces in career
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PAXTON
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J ;,W3WTA — If Bill Paxton quit act-
ingMpday, ‘A Simple Plan" would be
m« perfect finale
t)nt Throughout hi* nearly 20-year
’ career Paxton has put on many facei.
He wax a brute In "Weird Science," a
u wimp In "Aliena," a sleaze In "True
Lies ' He regularly stars In Indepen
dents like “Traveller" and "One False
Move," but gives
equal time to
Hollywood produc
tions like "Titanic"
and “Twister "
"A Simple Plan"
*> wraps all of those
branches into one
■» single path It Is
from a major stu-
I die (Paramount),
but has strong
Indie ties, ranging
from actor Billy
Bob Thornton to
director Sam Raimi
L (“The Evil Dead")
And Its serene, snowbound and ulti
mately murderous setting can't help
but cause flashbacks of "Fargo "
Moviegoers will get a perfect exam
ple of Paxton’s dual personalities this
month, as he appears In both the
small “Plan" and Disney's blg-budget
“Mighty Joe Young “
“There's a lot of strategy to a
Hollywood career," Paxton said
“You're trying to parlay each thing to
get you to the next tier And each
time you go up a level, the competi
tion becomes even more fierce But
I've tried to kind of maintain a bal
ance You get a good commercial film
out there so that you can go and do a
movie that may be more of a sleeper."
“Plan," based on Scott Smith's
bestseller, tells the story of two broth
ers (Paxton and Thornton) who stum
ble upon a plane wreck — containing
$4 million In cash The plan Is to hide
the money until the plane Is discov
ered, and if It Isn't mentioned, they
will quietly divide It But It becomes
anything but simple as the slightest
dangers lead to wild overreactions.
“What I remember from the first
time I read the st ory Is just how
damning It Is to the reader," Paxton
said. "You can really relate to the guy.
He kind of represents all of the values
I think most of us hold pretty dear.
And you Just see this guy take this
descention mto hell and finally you
keep hoping upon hope as you read or
as you watch the movie, that It's
gonna come around for this guy."
Without giving away the ending, “A
Simple Plan" doesn’t wrap up neatly,
which Paxton said drew him to it.
“I think people are ready for these
kind of stories They stick with you,"
he said “It makes the viewer ask
themselves. What would I do?' I
hope It has the effect on people that
when they come out, although It’s got
a bleak outlook overall, they'll think, ‘I
wish I could wish the lottery, but
these people thought they had It all,
look what happened to them.' We're
so quick to fly the idea that money Is
the cure-all thing If you have money,
you're a better father, you're a better
husband We know that s buU* ,,, .“
What Paxton doesn’t share with his
character, though, is greed — at least
when it comes to ego. He doesn't play
up his part In “Titanic." calling his
contribution "small." But he admits
Its success was eye-opening.
“It will probably be 50 years before
that record Is topped," he said. "It's
like ‘Clone With the Wind ' It Just hit a
certain nerve." And though “Titanic”
didn’t leave room for a sequel, one of
Paxton's films Is headed that way:
"Twister 2” Is now In preproduction.
"I’m down hard with that," he said
“I'd like to trade some of my salary to
have more creative Input, though.”
While he admits "Twister 2" proba
bly won’t stretch him as an actor,
that's one road he wants to travel
"I need to shake It up a little bit,"
he said. "People are starting to think
of me as the affable, all-American guy.
I'd like to play more urbanites ... I
grew up In suburban Port Worth In
the '60s. It wasn't like being In Texas.
I didn’t wear a cowboy hat and all
that stuff. I was listening to Jimi
Hendrix and driving a Honda motor
cycle." That Just seems like another
two-way street for Paxton From stu
dios to Independents, from Texas to
London, from playing country boys to
playing city men.
The plan, however complicated,
sounds simple enough.
A SIMPLE PLAN
Starring: Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton
The lowdown: (R) Two brothers learn the far-
reaching pitfalls of greed.
Starts today in Atlanta, January in Athens.
Local children star in ‘Oliver!’
Tis the season for holiday plays.
“Oliver!," an adaptation of Charles
Dickens' novel “Oliver Twist," will be per
formed tonight and through the weekend
at the Morton Theatre
“Oliver!" will be presented by the
Northeast Georgia Performing Arts
Center and Is directed by by Ralph
Stephens Stephens recently directed
“Little Women" In Athens and teaches
drama classes In the area. The musical
production will star over 30 youngsters
from the Athens area.
Stephens said he sees this as a great
experience for youngsters wanting to get
Involved In theatre.
"We Just want to teach the kids the
atre. Our primary aim Is educational," he
said.
“Oliver!,” set In Industrial England,
tells the story of young Oliver Twist, who
wanders the streets as an orphan and
ends up working long hours in various
Jobs. He eventually finds a home among
other vagrant children and finds a new
best friend, Dodger Later in the story,
Oliver becomes a pickpocket for the
greedy Fagin.
Eleven-year-old Allison Sanders will
star in the lead role.
Sanders has portrayed another
famous orphan in her role as Little
Orphan Annie In NGPAC's production of
"Annie" earlier this year. Sanders under
study Sarah Ketchle will perform as
Oliver In matinee shows Saturday and
Sunday.
The stars of the show come from
schools all over the area, and many have
never acted on stage before. Stephens
said he did not have to turn down one
child that auditioned, and many of the
children's families have become Involved
In the technical aspects of the produc
tion.
Julia Anne Carson has also been
instrumental In setting up large-scale
productions for children In the area. She
has taught drama to area children and
has built a loyal following in Oconee
County. Stephens said.
"These kids have worked hard and
(the play) has gone smooth. There are a
number of talented kids around town,"
Stephens said.
— Craig Phillips
OLIVER!
When & where: 8 tonight and Saturday.
2 p m Sunday a! the Morton Theatre
Tickets: $10 for adults, $7 for students
CD REVIEWS
If any band is completely
devoted to Its fans In music
today, It would have to be
Metallic a.
Besides the
band's constant
touring, in which
every show is
played like its
last, it has also
released Its third
album in four
years with the
two-disc “Garage
Inc.”
Disc one offers
up some "new"
material, with
covers recorded Within the
last year. Metallica pays
homage to a wide variety of
bands that Influenced them
throughout the years.
From a guitar-driven rendi
tion of Black Sabbath's
"Sabbra Cadabra” to a
screaming James Hetfield on
the Misfits' “Die, Die My
Darling,” Metallica delivers on
just about every one of the 11
songs on the first disc.
Bob Seger’s edgy road
anthem “Turn the Page" is
also given a darker feel.
The most enigmatic offer
ing from the new covers Is
Lynyrd Skynyrd's “Tuesday's
Gone.”
The song Is as off-key as
can be expected from a spon
taneous live radio perfor
mance, but Metallica Is able to
pull it off with a little help
from John Popper on harmon
ica and guitarist Jerry
Cantrell.
The second disc is purely
for old-school
Metallica fans
from the “Kill
‘Em All" and
“Ride the
Lightning”
days.
Re-releasing
Its 1987 EP
“Garage Days”
along with
assorted B-
sides and addi-
ITUMd.Buc. tlona , covers
Metallica gives
those fans who believe they
have sold out since the
“Black” album proof that it
still remember its “garage
band” roots.
— Mark Mathis
METALLICA
New Release: Garage Inc.
The lowdown: Metallica produces
another winner that works as both a
tribute album and a fresh release.
Grade: A
“Map
Just when I thought indie-
rock was dead — as in gone,
buried, been reduced to leg
endary status — along comes
a band to remind us all of the
good old days when college
rock had nothing at all to do
with Southern rock.
Crumbox, a quartet of Los
Angeles post-punk rockers,
has done the
Impossible: It
put out an indie
release that lis
tens like a run-
through of some
of those great
bands time
seems to forget
— the Pixies,
Jawbreaker, et
al.
The pathetic
slacker image
that defined
Generation X is all over
of the Sky" In full force.
Singer Scott Bradford owes
a lot to his Chapel Hill, N.C.,
roots, and thankfully so.
Bradford's pleading lyrics play
perfect harmony to the
washed-out backup vocals.
Power chords and riffs
abound on greats like
"Negative Type” and
“Novocaine,” The group can
even bust out nice, simplistic
“ballads”: “Crush the Star”
and "Still My Sun" are
exquisitely laid-back and not
overly melodramatic.
When it comes to display
ing your influences with pride,
I don't think I’ve heard any
band wear them on its sleeve.
“Fourth of July" sounds like it
could’ve come directly from a
Pixies album.
Most of the other material
RLE I Thi Rip « Huu*
is a pleasing hybrid, however,
so the band spares itself some
originality points.
Other tracks definitely
worth checking
out are the slng-
along “The
Sign” and the
driving
“Purolator.”
The sound Is
Infectious: lis
tening to “Map
of the Sky” Is
like taking a trip
back to high
school, when
alternative rock
was all about
songs that hung just on the
fringes of pop, and it was that
hanging on the outskirts that
gave it flair.
In an industry so clogged
with garbage bands, Crumbox
may not fare well, but at least
this album shows it’s trying.
Every now and again, it's
good to be reminded of the
quality we left behind when
alt-rock gave way to whlny
pretty-boys and hard-core
industrial.
— Jonathan Reed
CRUMBOX \
New Release: Map of the Sky
The lowdown: A brilliant attempt to
recapture the glory of
prog-rock's glory days.
Grade:A
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A NTH
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ARTS
2000
ASTR
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BIOL
1103
BIOL
1104
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1107
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1108
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2010
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3200
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BTNY
1220
CBIO
2210
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ECON
2106
ECON
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ECON
4030
ECON
4040
EFND
2030
ENGL
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ENGL
2400
ENTO
2010
FDNS
2100
FI IV A
3000
FIN A
4000
GEOG
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