A Rising Star
Alumnus’ film to be shown at Fort Worth festival

Story by Yvette Herrera

TCU alumnus Scott Haro never imagined he would be going to the Fort Worth Film Festival less than a year after graduation. Haro’s film, “Reason Being,” has been accepted to the festival and will be screened this weekend.

The first screening will be 6 p.m. Friday at the Caravan of Dreams and will be shown again 5 p.m. Saturday at the Ridglea Theatre.

The $9,000 film, shot during finals week, took three 12 to 14-hour days to film. At the same time Haro was juggling the last of the requirements he needed to graduate with a bachelor of science degree in radio-TV-film.

Over 20 people helped in production, including some TCU alumni.

Special to the Skiff

“Making a film does not rely solely on one person,” Haro said. “It’s a collaborative art.”

The 12-minute short film portrays a relationship between two best friends, Drew and Jason. Haro played the part of Drew, a straight-edge college student that doesn’t appear to have fun in college because he is caught up with success. Drew’s best friend, Jason, on the other hand, takes life less serious. In the end, Jason has more fun than Drew, but pays the ultimate price — death.

Not only did Haro play Drew in the movie, but he also directed and wrote the film. The idea for the characters are based on Haro’s friends from high school and another friend he met at TCU.

“My favorite part of it all was directing,” Haro said. “It’s definitely something I want to do in the future.”

Haro described the three days of production as a juggling act.

“I had to frame a shot, but at the same time stay in character,” he said. “I did what I had to do to get the most out of a scene.”

Haro said his main objective with this short film was to make people realize how short life can be. Years spent at college ultimately pass by in a flash, and we should enjoy it to its fullest, he said.

Professors from the radio-TV-film department taught Haro that the film industry is not an easy career, he said. Haro has since graduated and has auditioned for many roles, some of which led to a part. Haro said he has been in some commercials, two movies that were filmed in Dallas and a music video.

“(It) requires a lot of work,” Haro said. “There are times when I’ve been rejected, but I have to keep going to auditions and get my name out.”

Richard Allen, associate professor of radio-TV-film, worked with Haro in both screenwriting and acting classes. Allen described Haro’s work as creative and talented.

“He’s motivated by passion,” Allen said. “That is to say, he has to be passionate about an idea before he can create it into a movie.”

Allen said few undergraduate students have the motivation to get into film festivals, but he’s not surprised that Haro did.

Although last year’s premiere of “Reason Being” at TCU was not entirely approved by the radio-TV-film department, students and friends of Haro filled the room.

There is only one room that can be used for screening, and the department did not want to set the precedent that any student could show their films, Allen said.

“We have to be cautious about film screenings at TCU,” Allen said. “There is expensive equipment in these rooms, and students might not know how to use it.”

Haro said it is unfortunate that the department does not utilize the equipment to its fullest and that only a select few are allowed to use the equipment. He encourages students to persistently ask professors how to use the equipment and get their hands on it.

Michael Price, director of the festival, said he is excited about seeing Haro’s film as well as many others.
Price said getting a short film into a festival is like giving away business cards.

“It’s a chance for a person’s film to be seen, appraised and considered for further exhibition,” he said. “A lot of very interesting ideas are developed in short films.”

The film festival started in 1998 and has grown since then. Last year about 5,000 people attended the festival, and this year they’re expecting more, Price said.

Filmmakers do not receive prizes for their films because the festival is noncompetitive. Price said Fort Worth is not ready for a competitive film festival yet.

“Our main point is to give the local community a festival they can call their own,” he said.

Over 70 films will be screened in this year’s festival including: features, short films, documentaries, narrative fiction, cartoons and Claymation. Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster or at the door of the showing. A schedule of the events for this year can be found on the film festival’s Web site (www.fortworthfilmfest.com).

Haro said he still remembers the feeling he had after an audience of over 100 stood up and applauded “Reason Being” at TCU’s screening. “It was exhilarating,” he said.

He said it is that feeling of exhilaration that keeps him going.

Yvette Herrera
yvebex@yahoo.com

Radiohead, the mad alchemists of rock, have returned with a new album that will bulldoze newcomers and disorient even the most hardened fan. To put it bluntly, there has never been a mainstream rock album as blatantly daring as “Kid A.” “Kid A” is a freakish hybrid of terror, beauty, loneliness and euphoria. “The National Anthem,” driven by Colin Greenwood’s grinding bass line, distorts singer Thom Yorke’s vocals into a tinny, otherworldly garble, morphing into an acid jazz freak-out that sounds like a lost Afghan Whigs experiment. The title track plays like a nursery rhyme for children with attention problems, and “Morning Bell” lays down an off-kilter Soundgarden-like drum beat, while Jonny Greenwood coaxes seagull screams out of his guitar.

Scared yet? “Kid A” can be torturous, but Radiohead manages to inject the album with flashes of the cathartic brand of rock that has won them such a devoted following. “How to Disappear Completely,” an instant Radiohead classic, is one of their most beautiful ballads. “Optimistic” is the most straightforward song on the album, and proves that Radiohead has not yet junked its noisy guitars.

But it’s not going to be pretty when the “Kid A” critical backlash hits. Mapping the band’s stunning progression from the pop-grunge “Pablo Honey” to the anthem-like “The Bends” to the towering “OK Computer,” you can’t help but think that, after “Kid A,” Radiohead may be running out of magic tricks.
This band is walking a tightrope made of razor blades. I suspect that even those that love this album will end up loving it out of sheer disbelief and not because they identify with it. Then again, truly great music doesn’t beg for you to love it. Great music dares you to.

— Jack Buillone

By Patrick Harris
skiff staff

One would think intense performances occur sparsely over a two-month tour, but a band played — no, jammed — for over two hours Tuesday night at Dallas’ Smirnoff Music Centre to a sold-out crowd. For the Seattle quintet, Pearl Jam, however, every night equals, if not excels the previous night’s performance.
Lacking fancy pyrotechnics and lasers, Pearl Jam’s stage performance kept a crowd of 17,000 entertained with a helping of radio hits, a dousing of fan favorites, a touch of B-sides and a dash of The Who covers.

Opening their set with 1996’s melancholy “No Code” opening track, “Sometimes,” the band quickly moved into a string of hard rockers with vocalist Eddie Vedder on guitar playing “Breakerfall,” “Grievance” and “Corduroy.”

Supporting Vedder’s baritone on the ballad “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town” or “Given to Fly,” the crowd actively participated during the show. If the band performed relatively an obscure track, such as B-side “U,” they would cause heads to bob or arms to flail in approval.

Perhaps, if there’s any sign of near perfection, it lies in the band’s ability to improvise or jam at a moment’s notice. Particularly noteworthy were lead guitarist Mike McCready’s numerous solos throughout the evening, especially during “Even Flow.” It was so intense, Vedder and Stone Gossard stood on one side of the stage matching the crowd’s applause.

Those who came expecting a performance from the early ’90s, with Vedder climbing the towering speakers or stage diving, left disappointed.

Pearl Jam closed both of their encore sets with The Who songs: “Leaving Here” in the first encore and “Baba O’Riley” at the close.

Opening for Pearl Jam, the British alternative rock band Supergrass, performed a short 40-minute set to an unresponsive crowd. Despite the band’s lack of on-stage movement, they delivered a solid set filled with guitars and sonic keyboards, which included their radio hit, “Pumping Up Your Stereo.”

At an undecided date, Pearl Jam will release 48 two-disc sets as official bootlegs of all 48 North American shows, with Dallas being unique.

Patrick Harris
p.j.harris@student.tcu.edu

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