8-27-98

Contacts:
Eric Yarwood, Memorial Union, (515) 294-4373
Steve Sullivan, News Service, (515) 294-3720

ISU SERVICE OFFERS STUDENTS MOVIE PREVIEWS AND OTHER EVENTS

AMES, Iowa -- A new Iowa State University Memorial Union satellite entertainment service is bringing educational events, live concerts, comedy shows and movie sneak previews to campus.

The service, called Network Event Theater, is a national network of satellite-linked, campus theaters. Iowa State is the only Iowa university offering NET.

Among the first NET event will be a sneak peek at "Without Limits," a Tom Cruise-produced film about runner Steve Prefontaine which was produced by actor Tom Cruise, on Sept. 30. The film will be shown at 8 p.m. in the Great Hall of Memorial Union, which will serve as the campus NET site.

As a back-to-school introduction to NET, the Memorial Union is sponsoring a showing of the comedy "The Full Monty" Tuesday, Sept. 1, at 8 p.m.

NET has supplied the Memorial Union with a satellite, projection and sound system to create a real theater experience in the Great Hall.

NET events are free. Students, faculty and staff can get two tickets to NET events by showing their university IDs at the west student office desk in the lower level of Memorial Union. Tickets are available up to two weeks prior to a NET event, which will be announced via the Iowa State Daily, campus flier postings and the university homepage. Seating at events is on a first-come basis. The Great Hall can accommodate approximately 600 people.

NET events usually have a corporate sponsor that gives away free merchandise at the event. Marketing materials for films shown, including posters and soundtracks, also are often given away, said Eric Yarwood, Memorial Union program adviser. No tobacco or alcohol products are promoted at NET events, Yarwood said.

Past NET events have included interactive lectures featuring first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, filmmaker Milos Foreman and Princeton Law Review Seminars. Music and comedy events have featured Dennis Miller, Indigo Girls, Alabama and REM.

Most of the NET movies are shown on campuses several days before they open in theaters. In some cases, a film's cast and director will participate in interactive discussion following the showing. Some viewers will asked to be part of focus groups responding to the movies, said Yarwood. Among the movies NET has recently premiered as "Wild Things," "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and "U-Turn," which was followed by an interactive discussion with director Oliver Stone.

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