The Rambler (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 87, No. 4, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 21, 2002 Page: 8 of 8
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8 The Rambler February 21, 2002
Entertainment
The Queen
awakens
Jaclyn Gonzales
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Viewers are bloodthirsty to see the upcom-
ing film Queen of the Damned.
The film is based on Anne Rice's novel.
Queen of the Damned from the Vampire
Chronicles. It is a follow-up to the 1994 box
office hit Interview with the Vampire starring
Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt.
As the title indicates, the film's focus is on
the 4,000-year-old queen of the Vampires,
Akasha (Aaliyah). Though it is not a direct con-
tinuation of the Vampire Lestat, his experiences
from the earlier novel and film are incorporated
in Queen of the Damned.
Lestat (Stuart Townsend) has risen from a
lingering slumber and his long lasting thirst is
quenched with fame. Lestat reinvents himself as
a rock star.
His invigorating voice awakens the slumber-
ing ancient Queen Akasha from her crypt
beneath the Arctic ice. She has long waited for
the time to rise again and seize dominion over
the world. With Lestat at her side, she strives to
maintain hell on earth.
Anne Rice fans will have to adjust to the
major changes and deletions of the novel's story
line as it is transformed to film. Those who have
not read the novels or seen Interview with the
Vampire will still be able to enjoy the film.
None of the actors featured in Interview with
the Vampire reprise their roles in Queen of the
Damned.
The star of the film, the late Aaliyah, trans-
formed herself from musician to an outstanding
actress. She was the only actress to develop an
ancient Egyptian accent for the role.
Aaliyah was killed in a plane crash in the
Bahamas on Aug. 25. At the time, she had
i. J
r. IFiiil
Aaliyah transformed into Queen
Akasha with extravagant costume.
Stuart Townsend and Aaliyah play
vampires at dusk.
already completed her role as Akasha.
Townsend portrays Lestat as the sexy rock
star persona. He carries the role well, consider-
ing he had big shoes to fill (Tom Cruise).
Aaliyah fans and Anne Rice fans will defi-
nitely take a chance in the dark to see this film,
which will be released Friday, Feb. 22. Queen of
the Damned is rated R for violence.
V- Day arrives
Nika Maples
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Joe Allen Brown, Chair of the
theater department, describes him-
self as "outspoken," "involved"
and "blunt." In fact, he finds it
humorous that "Blunt Brown" is a
lingering nickname.
During his 24 years at Texas
Wesleyan, he has created more
than a few stirs because of his will-
ingness to be blunt. The latest may
be The Vagina Monologues, a play
by Eve Ensler.
Performed nationally with
impressive casts boasting Brooke
Shields, Sigourncy Weaver, Teri
Garr and Rue McClanahan, The
Vagina Monologues will show for
one night only, March 4 at 7 p.m.
in The Law Sone Fine Arts
Building. It is a part of the Theater
Department's Dark Night Theatre
season.
"Dark Night Theatre" Brown
explains, "is [a series of] small
venues that didn't take a lot of
money or time to showcase some
special work apart from our regu-
lar season. There is no city-wide
publicity. It is usually campus-
mounted, student-produced the-
ater."
The name "Dark Night
Theatre" refers to an old
Broadway term. Mondays became
known as the "dark night because
troupes did not perform on that
night.
Brown says that there has not
m
Dr. Joe
Brown
leads stu-
dents and
faculty
through
new
endeav-
ors.
been an attempt on the part of uni-
versity administration to squelch
the uninhibited performance.
"It is an evening of adult
entertainment." Brown says.
"Mature Audiences know that they
are not coming to see Bamhie or
bubble-gum-popping 1950s enter-
tainment when they hear the title
The Vagina Monologues."
In the past, the Theater
Department has performed Hot 'n'
Throbbing, Hair and Lone Star
Laundry and Bourbon, all explicit
performances which were tasteful-
ly delivered by Wesleyan students.
"We intend to provide a wide-
range of shows with artistic value
in order to educate students and the
public," Brown says. "We will do
a traditional musical, then turn
right around and do a controversial
drama."
The Vagina Monologues will
be presented as a reader's theater.
Members of the cast will act with
scripts before them. The cast is
comprised of over 25 members
including students and falculty.
John Webber
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
"Roll Out. Roll Out," are the
words that blast from car speak-
ers all around the world. It is
nearly impossible, even months
after the song's debut, to tune into
a hip-hop radio station and not
hear the song.
"Roll Out" is the first single
off of Ludacris' sophomore
album entitled Word of Mouf.
The Atlanta native smashes
the ball clear into another galaxy
on his latest effort, as he shows
the hip-hop industry Luda is no
joke.
There tends to be a lot of
anticipation for a successful
artist's second album, because in
the music industry lives the infa-
mous sophomore jinx.
Ludacris jumps this hurdle
and gives his fans another solid
album with guest artists featur-
ing: Fate Wilson, Mystikal,
Sleepy Brown, Jazze Phae, 4-
IZE, Shawna, Infamous 20,
Twista. Jagged Edge, Jennaine
Dupri and Nate Dogg.
As a side note, Ludacris has
recently launched a road tour to
promote the album. For concert
dates you can log on to Yahoo!
music and check it out.
On the anthem "Roll Out.
Ludacris alerts the public to silly
questions people often ask him.
He states, "Where did you get
that platinum chain with them
diamonds in it. Where did you get
that matching Benz with them
windows tinted. Who them girls
you be with when you riding
through?"
I can't speak for everybody,
but I'm sure a majority of the
men on this earth would love to
be asked those questions.
Come on Ludacris, we can't
have our cake and eat it too.
Word of MOUF
Ludacris shows verstile tal-
ents in his CD Word of
Mouf
Another high point on the
album is the well-known track
"Area Codes," featuring Nate
Dogg. This song has been bump-
ing the radio since last summer.
Luda changes the mood and
takes us on a ride through his
various bedroom endeavors on
the track "Freaky Thangs" fea-
turing the Chi Town rapper
Twista. Ludacris changes his
flow on this song as he
attempts to keep up with the
rapid-fire lyrics of Twista.
As for the content of the
song, let's just say the title
speaks for itself.
Not known for speaking on
serious subjects, Ludacris
decides to enter this arena on
"Cold Outside." He details the
struggles of people living in the
inner cities as he says, "It ain't
no one to trust but me, and 1
gotta make sure that I take care
of my family, and it ain't no
choices cause it's cold outside.
And to my people on the block on
the grind and hustling trying to
sell some rocks, you hear the
voices say it's cold outside."
Low points on the album
include "Go to Sleep" featuring
Three Six Mafia. The song basi-
cally consists of a bunch of vio-
lently written lyrics spoken over
beat, which in my opinion consti-
tutes a copout for putting some
serious thought into song.
Another busted track is
"Keep it on the Hush." This song
starts out as a skit in church, and
then an organ beat makes its way
in. Ludacris proceeds to spit an
entourage of erotic lyrics that
leave nothing to the imagination.
You just don't mix church
and whoopee!
Overall, Word of Mouf is a
tight album. A bit of flossing, a
little romance, and some heavy-
hearted struggles combine to
form this lyrical masterpiece.
Ludacris sets the bar for
other artists with this effort, and
leaves his many fans waiting for
his next album with a gap-
toothed smile.
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Manning, Melanie. The Rambler (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 87, No. 4, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 21, 2002, newspaper, February 21, 2002; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth253269/m1/8/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Wesleyan University.