John Taraborelli
Question 1 (6 pts.)
Doug Liman (Brown ’88) directed the critically and commercially successful 2002 spy movie The Bourne Identity, along with the iconic ‘90s indie comedy Swingers and the splashy 2005 Brad Pitt/Angela Jolie vehicle Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
Todd Haynes (Brown ’85) directed the 1998 glam rock drama Velvet Goldmine, which was loosely inspired by David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust. He had his greatest success with 2002’s Far From Heaven, a 1950s-set family drama that received four Oscar nominations, including Best Actress for Julianne Moore and Best Original Screenplay for Haynes. (It lost in all four categories.)
Davis Guggenheim (Brown ’86) has found great success both as a producer and director. He has directed three of 100 highest-grossing documentaries of all time:
An Inconvenient Truth (2006), about former Vice President Al Gore’s campaign to educate people about climate change;
It Might Get Loud (2009), a history and exploration of the electric guitar, particularly as seen through the careers of Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page, U2’s The Edge and the White Stripes’ Jack White; and
Waiting for “Superman” (2010), a documentary on charter schools and the public education system.
Martha Coolidge (RISD ’68) first broke out in 1983 with
Valley Girl, a romantic comedy starring Nicholas Cage. Val Kilmer starred in her 1985 tech satire
Real Genius.
Gus Van Sant (RISD ’75) is a critical darling, nominated for two Best Director Oscars for
Good Will Hunting (1998) and
Milk (2009). He’s spent a restless career dabbling in quirky indie dramas (
My Own Private Idaho, 1991), dark comedy (
To Die For, 1995), ill-advised remakes (
Psycho, 1998), controversial dramas (2003’s
Elephant, inspired by the Columbine school shootings) and puzzling character studies (2005’s
Last Days, a fictionalized account of Kurt Cobain’s final days and subsequent suicide).
Charles Stone III (RISD ’88) directed 2003’s college band flick
Drumline, starring Nick Cannon, but his best known and perhaps most enduring contribution to pop culture is Budweiser’s famed
“Whassup?” ad campaign, which he created.
Question 2 (1 pt.)
Forbes has never cited us as one of
America's Dirtiest Cities (yet). According to the magazine, however, we were only slightly less
miserable than Charlotte, NC (We’re more miserable than Baltimore? Have the editors of
Forbes ever watched
The Wire?); we managed to
drink harder Chicago (#5); we were almost as
stressful as Cleveland (#4); and we were more
overpriced than West Palm Beach (#6), but not nearly as much as that glittering oasis of excess McAllen, Texas (#4).
Question 3 (4 pts.)
A/4: Empire Revue delivers music, comedy, dance and more on the first Sunday of every month at
AS220.
B/3: Improv Jones sets optimistic, but still realistic, expectations of “really good improv” every Thursday and Saturday night at 95 Empire.
C/1: The plucky, creative youth (and veteran performers) over at
Everett Dance deliver Friday Night Live every week.
D/2: Siblings Dan and TJ Curran (one of this year’s
Most Eligible Bachelors) bring Knock Down Stand Up to the
Spot Underground every month.
Question 4 (5 pts.)
On the third Thursday of every month from March to November you can guide yourself or hop on the Art Bus during
Gallery Night to visit dozens of galleries, shops and museums around the city, including
Chazan Gallery,
Peaceable Kingdom,
Studio Hop, the
RISD Museum and the
John Brown House.
Question 5 (6 pts)
Across
3. The
Providence Children’s Museum’s
Boo Bash features “witch crafts,” a spooky spider web, the chance to play with monsters’ innards and more.
4. Visitors to the Jack-O-Lantern
Spectacular at
Roger Williams Park Zoo can marvel at as many as 5000 artfully carved pumpkins.
6. During the
Werewolf 5K angry villagers chase down the mythical beasts who have stolen their chickens.
Down
1. If you’re ever at a bar that seems to quickly and without warning be taken over by the living dead, you accidentally stumbled upon a stop on the
Zombie Pub Crawl.
2. The
Providence Ghost Tour presents the haunted history of College Hill every year from May through November.
5. Though the
Museum of Natural History has plenty to offer visitors, its
vaults contain thousands more items and are only open to visitors on Halloween.
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