>>March
      2, 2001

      
Everyone gets '15 Minutes'

      
How far will the desperate go
      to get their 15 minutes of fame? How much will America watch?
      Writer and director John Herzfeld has placed these questions
      on the screen in his recent film "15 Minutes." 

      


      University of Idaho students can watch a free showing of "15
      Minutes" at 6 p.m. March 7, two days before the movie is
      released in theatres around the country. The film is rated R
      and will be show at the Borah Theater in the Student Union Building.

      


      In "15 Minutes," Herzfeld explores contemporary America's
      fascination with celebrities that lack a sense of responsibility
      mixed with the "if it bleeds, it leads" attitude of
      the media, who fill the A-section and first segment of the evening
      news with the day's ugliest crimes. 

      


      Herzfeld presents his film to an American audience that supports
      Robert Downey Jr., Mike Tyson and Temptation Island on TV. 

      


      He asks viewers to think about how tabloids, TV and the importance
      of fame in American culture creates new criminals. 

      


      "Once the American Dream meant you came to America and,
      through persistence and hard work, you succeeded," Herzfeld
      explained in a press release. 

      


      "But now this is a culture where no one is responsible for
      what they do and some people want recognition for nothing."

      


      Robert DeNiro plays Eddie, a homicide detective who knows how
      to manipulate the media to get a political edge and fame. His
      television news reporter girlfriend Nicolette is played by Melina
      Kanakaredes (Dr. Sydney Hansen on NBC's "Providence").
      

      


      Eddie is teamed with a media-despising arson investigator played
      by Ed Burns ("Saving Private Ryan") to track two Eastern
      European murderers tearing up New York. In addition to the trio,
      Kelsey Grammar plays a news anchor and journalist who sets no
      boundaries in attempts to gets cover the story first. 

      


      Kanakaredes, interested in the proposed personal relationship
      between a cop and a reporter, interviewed many female reporters.
      She said the dilemma presented by Eddie and Nicolette was how
      much they are willing to risk, for a story or a case - for each
      other.

      


      Avoiding fake accents, filmmakers collaborated with a European
      casting director for a reading in London. The reading produced
      Karel Roden, a theater and film actor from Czechoslovakia and
      Oleg Taktarov, an actor and martial artist who recently immigrated
      to the United States. 

      


      Roden, plays a cold psychopath who leads Taktarov into the murderous
      frenzy, and with help from the media and American culture, into
      instant stardom. 

      


      "15 Minutes" is a combination of romance, murder, mystery
      and award-winning actors that will be viewed differently from
      any other film. 

      


      The film's significance is not in solving the case and finding
      the truth, but in observing who controls the solving process
      and the truth. 

      


      The free UI advance screening is sponsored locally by the Idaho
      Commons and Union Programs. 

      


      Passes are available at the SUB and Idaho Commons Information
      Desks. Passes and ID will be required at the door. Seating is
      not guaranteed. For more information, call 885-2237.
 

      
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