UU to show ‘The Men Who Stare at Goats’
George Clooney is a Jedi warrior.
Or, at least he claims he is in his upcoming movie, ‘The Men Who Stare at Goats.’ Students will be able to decide for themselves when University Union presents an advanced screening of the star-studded film tonight. Clooney appears onscreen with renowned actors such as Jeff Bridges, Ewan McGregor, and Academy Award winner Kevin Spacey for the film.
‘It’s got a great cast,’ said Darren Goldberg, president of UU. ‘I’m looking forward to it, and so are my friends.’
The Grant Heslov-directed film follows journalist Bob Wilton (McGregor) as he investigates a strange military group of paranormal soldiers known as the First Earth Battalion. The unorthodox military group is represented by former ‘First Earth’ soldier and self-proclaimed psychic Lyn Cassady (Clooney). Together, Lyn and Wilton travel through the Middle East in search of the Battalion.
Clooney continues his string of recent comedic movies (‘Leatherheads,’ ‘Burn After Reading’) with ‘The Men Who Stare at Goats,’ starring as yet another unusual character that contradicts his usually serious resume (‘Michael Clayton,’ ‘Syriana’).
UU will be teaming with the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity to showcase the film before its national release date Friday. UU would not have been able to acquire the film without a special connection with the film’s production.
Gabriel Lister, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, is also the son of the film’s producer, Paul Lister. UU Director of Cinemas Briana Cacuci said that Lister approached UU after attending the advance screening of ‘The Informant!’ this September. Lister provided UU with the film, as well as other promotional items such as movie posters, Cacuci said.
‘His presence has been very helpful with the film,’ Cacuci said.
‘The Men Who Stare at Goats’ will be the third advance screening this semester, preceded by ‘The Informant!’ in September and ‘The Fourth Kind’ in October. Cacuci said that attendance for these events have been in high demand, primarily since these high-profile movies are screened at the university for no charge before the majority of the nation has a chance to see them.
‘A lot of times it will be the movie companies like Warner Bros. and Universal who will contact us and send their movie,’ Cacuci said.
While Cacuci said she was excited to see upcoming the Clooney film, she has to wait to view it with the rest of the university due to high security. Since the movie has yet to be released to a general audience, the film will be heavily guarded during its stay on campus, and Cacuci said she would only hold on to it for a brief amount of time before handing it off to the projectionist.
Given the talented cast and high-profile nature of the film, UU expects a very high turnout and positive feedback around campus.
‘It’s a movie that really attracts the student body,’ Goldberg said. ‘I think, based on the trailer, it has what college kids like.’
Published on November 3, 2009 at 12:00 pm
