The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 218

nn mro 1 1 rr vyTi'r 2D THE HERALD WEDNESDAY JUNE 17 1998 Top 100 list hits close to sented actress with four movies And Charlie Chaplin was the most celebrated actor-director on the list with three films much-less incendiary Guess Coming to Dinner?) and David bizarro masterpiece Blue Velvet whose far-reaching influence continues to be felt in movies today (the placid town where The Truman Show is set owes a lot to dark vision of suburban utopia) Other sorely missed no-shows: Saturday Night Fever and Grease two movies whose artistic merits are debatable but whose effects on American pop culture were undeniable The Exorcist Alien and Baby three of the greatest horror films ever made (as usual the horror genre got short shrift) Robert Nashville the acclaimed undisputed masterpiece (he had to settle for the inclusion of MASH Manhattan easily the best movie Woody Allen ever made (Annie Hall got the honor instead) and Touch of Evil the only movie Welles directed that can be mentioned in the same breath as Citizen Kane (it might It had to be Kane it? Orson 1941 drama Citizen Kane topped the list of the American Film 100 greatest movies of all time the latest honor to be bestowed on the revolutionary classic With its fragmented narrative deep-focus photography and theatrical camera movements Kane literally changed the language of Hollywood certainly RENE RODRIGUEZ MOVIE CRITIC movie-making deserving of the top honor even if not the kind of movie most people cherish with the same they have for Casablanca or Gone With the Wind Besides Casablanca and Gone With the Wind were well-repre- LOOKING AT YOU KID: A panel chosen by the American Film Institute voted Casablanca second only to Citizen Kane The 1950s was the most represented decade on the list with 20 films while 1939 considered by many to be the best-ever single year for Hollywood was the most represented year with five films on the list (Gone With the Wind The Wizard of Oz Stagecoach Wuthering Heights and Mr Smith Goes to Washington) Few would argue those choices Others though are more questionable Out of the ballot of 100 selections that I contributed to the poll 62 of my choices made the final cut From the 38 that the two I lament most are Spike Do the Right Thing which is as provocative and intelligent an examination of race relations as anyone has ever put on film (voters went instead with 1 tryr (l 4 worthwhile But how could they have left off Deliverance? Or The Last Picture Show? Or Strangers on a Train? even be better but Kane came first) No the list please everybody How could it? one of the great things about movies: subject to endless debate Generally speaking no denying the list is Fat cat Garfield celebrates 20 years of feline follies Ws everywhere: Garfield runs in more than 2500 newspapers in 87 countries Most popular Garfield strip: The one based on the Neil Sedaka hit song Breaking Up is Hard to Do A depressed Garfield says: am down Down down down down down Down down down Dooby doo down down Comma comma down dooby doo down voice on TV: Provided by Lorenzo Music the TV writer and producer who also was asthmatic as kid do most farm chores anyway So his mother an artist gave him paper and pencils and encouraged him to draw Living in the country gave him the time and space to think Davis says A cattle farm on the Indiana plains held few distractions Later as an art and business major at Ball State University Davis jokes that he distinguished himself by earning one of the two lowest grade point averages in school history He adds that classmate David Letterman a drinking buddy on occasion earned the other Once he was established as a cartoonist he could work anywhere But Davis chose to stay near his childhood home to be close to family and friends His parents live nearby So does his brother Dave whose nickname is Doc Doc Boy in the Garfield strip is named for him Son James 19 is also an artist with sented too In fact the top 10 vote-getters on the AFI list are all worthy choices (with the possible exception of The Graduate which ranked surprisingly high at No 7 Despite some grumblings from naysayers who complained that compiling a list of the best movies ever made is an exercise in futility the list which was voted on by 1500 Film directors producers actors historians and critics turns out to be very representative of national tastes in American movies To wit: Steven Spielberg probably the most beloved Hollywood director of all time had five movies on the list the most of any single Filmmaker (Alfred Hitchcock and Billy Wilder tied for second place with four films apiece) James Stewart and Robert De Niro were the most represented actors in a starring role on the list scoring five films apiece Katharine Hepburn was the most repre- IIFiYOUGOI A birthday party for Garfield will be from 1 to 4 pm Friday at the International Museum of Cartoon Art 201 Plaza Real in Mizner Park Boca Raton The exhibition Garfield: 20 Years and Still Kicking opens Saturday and runs through Aug 30 The party will feature Garfield his creator Jim Davis and a lasagna-shaped birthday cake The party will take place outside the museum Admission: free The exhibition features memorabilia comic strips cartoon art and animated movie drawings Artwork will be organized by themes that reflect favorite passions including and Museum hours: 10 am to 6 pm Tuesday through Saturday: noon to 6 pm Sun- days closed Mondays Admission: adults $6 age 62 and older $5 students with ID $4 kids 6 to 12 $3 5 and under free For more information call 561-391-2200 global Davis avoids topical humor and colloquialisms He sticks to universal topics Eating And sleeping But Garfield spinoffs know no restraint his TV show his CD his clothing line Now that his keepers have signed a deal with largest book publisher appear in books aimed at teaching Chinese kids English Also coming soon: Garfield-themed restaurants in Korea Thailand Malaysia and Indonesia In Latin America Garfield recently signed on with food manufacturer Arisco Back in the United States there are plans by theme-park developer Entercite-ment to build a $120 million 504-acre Garfield theme park near Indianapolis Still to some the ubiquitous cat is more annoying than entertaining Just last week Jennifer Keitt who hosts Black Woman Radio Show heard on Hot 105 (WHQT 1051 FM) was in a West Broward bookstore with her 4-year-old son Caleb He gravitated toward a Garfield book said absolutely not! not buying that says Keitt of Coral Springs just overkill because been around forever and you see him everywhere After awhile had Unexpected glory Not even his creator could envision such Garfield mania in the beginning plan? He just wanted to draw a winner a comic strip that people would actually read faltered with Gnorm Gnat a strip based on a bug Who could relate to that? syndicators asked years before Gary Far Side proved them wrong But marketing antennae were in place even then He studied the comics to see what worked Dogs were popular he noticed Snoopy Belvedere Marmaduke But hey no cats So Davis created a big opinionated stubborn cat and named him after his opinionated grandfather JameS Garfield Davis The flabby tabby debuted in the comics on June 19 1978 appear- Maybe they should have made it the 150 greatest movies of all time provided the distinctive voice for Carlton the doorman on Rhoda Lost in translation: In Jap- anese (one of dozens of Ian- guages the strip is translated into which also include Hindi and Mandarin) signa-' ture line hate translates as is quite early and I wish it Cybercat: Garfield has his 1 own Web site: wwwgarfieldcom 35 operation that Garfield is so well-known gives me a terrific feeling of Davis says makes me think be doing this for a long Indeed like him or loathe him chances are you can expect iGar-field to be around for years' to come Just look at the continued popularity of Peanuts says Lynn Kahle a University of Oregon marketing professor who specializes in consumer behavior-As long as Garfield resonates and face it people have hated Mondays for a long time probably keep his legions of fans-v has had such an impact hard to imagine life without says Mort Walker creator of Beetle Bailey and founder of the International Museum of Cartoon Art amazing the fun the philosophy the spirit we get from that self-indulgent cat If only we could live like Jose Marti Pool 351 SW 4th Street Miami AD Barnes Pool 3701 SW 70th Ave Miami': MilanderPool 4700 Palm Ave Hialeah of Glorglomanla and La Plnata Loca KUDOS FOR KITTIES: Jeannette Archer-Simons above with her cat Sam has liked Garfield from Day 1 right Garfield creator Jim Davis still works near the Indiana cattle farm where he grew up His beloved strip spawned a company located on a 30-acre wooded retreat near Muncie Ind Sometimes Garfield has this attitude King Other times all just take a nap" That's life isn't JEANNETTE ARCHER-SIMONS Garfield fan ing in 41 newspapers His popularity grew And grew This seem to have affected self-deprecating creator who still works near the Indiana cattle farm where he grew up Davis may be less Garfield-obsessed than many of his fans He drive GARFIELD FROM ID trol find a healthy balance from within 'u At the same time we identify with the Garfield who dares to flaunt the oh-so-human frailties that most of us would prefer to keep under wraps He is lazy greedy And way too self-absorbed Garfield is the antihero who defends our right to sleep in pig out and be selfish says creator Jim Davis be in Boca Raton to celebrate big day Yet in our transitory distrustful world come to cherish kinder qualities: so predictable so dependable year the studio would ask the show going to be says Mark Evanier a Los Angeles TV writer who scripted most of the 121 episodes of the syndicated cartoon series Garfield and Friends still seen around the world say going to do what always done: going to nap going to eat lasagna character is so well-defined you know how react You can depend on Garfield to be Which also mean be fearless Out of his maw come words love to lob at impossible bosses and annoying co-workers if only we could get away with it likf hf Hapc let Garfield do the talk-ing for says Davis 52 says things they have the courage to 'Ubiquitous kitty If somehow missed Gar- field you must have been comatose or not paying attention Remember that bit of fur suction-cupped to cars all over America? That was Garfield Drive on 1-95 today and notice the large orange cat on billboards -advertising Tenet South Florida -HealthSystems And check out the National Safety public service ads in newspapers Garfield again Flip on your TV or take in a movie and a reference to you-know-who slips in Candice Bergen as Murphy Brown sitting with her date an astute author who remarks that his book was doing well 1 those darned Garfield books came Or David Letterman peeking at Malle hidden-from-view tattoo and joking Jimmy Smits in The Broken Cord giving a Garfield book to a child And Ann-Mar-gret in Grumpy Old Men telling two suitors staring at her from afar that up against the windows like those Garfield Even the erudite Ted Koppel once made a passing reference to Garfield: case among the one or two people who heard of him Sbur chi 3 $afefcv this jA ALAN FREUND Herald Staff around with a Garfield suctioned to his car window He even own a cat! After growing up with cats on the farm to keep the mouse population in check today he has only a dog Molly a Labrador Likes Mondays Though Davis likes lasagna he hate Mondays In fact he loves to work His Midwestern work ethic has spawned a multi-million-dollar company located on a 30-acre wooded retreat near Muncie Ind On staff: 57 artists and administrators They oversee the massive licensing and merchandising end of the business Another 24 agents act on behalf internationally Sound like a lot to manage? Not to Davis: I do today is easy compared to bailing hay and hauling Truth is the cartoonist who Sant Thakar Singli "In Person" 6666 American Red Cross Greater Miami The Keys HE IS COMING FOR SOULS WHO NEED GOD encourages parents grandparents and kids to attend FREE water safety and rescue demonstrations Learn how to be safe around pools lakes and beaches this summer and what to do in the event that a child is in danger of drowning June 6th 10 am to 2 pm at June 13th noon to 4 pm at June 20th 10 am to 2 pm at Radio and TV personalities Enjoy the Kingdom of God through meditation on the inner light and sound Swimsuit beach and summer wear fashion show presented by TJMaxx Great prizes music refreshments Sponsors: Global appeal (Garfield reaches people And riot just in American culture or only in English In Latin America Garfield wins smiles for his love of food and siestas In Asia an antihero because he defies authority sort of the James Dean of the animal kingdom Davis says In Sweden Garfield is known as Gustaf in Norway Pusur in Finland Karvincn To keep appeal Fort Lauderdale Moran Center 1 153 Andrews Ave at Davie Boulevard Friday June PM Downtown Miami Ashe Auditorium Hyall HoielUniversily of Miami 400 2nd Ave 3rd Floor Saturday June 20 7:00 PM Boca Raton Holiday Inn 1950 Glades Road at 1-95 exit 39 Sunday June 21 3:00 PM wiimn WSUA 1766 AM Parks Recreation Departments City of Hialeah City ot Miami Miami-Dade County Axiss Advertising Design 8aron's Visual Images Party Players DJ For more Information call the American Red Croie at (305) 844-1200 ext: 238 or 248 561 4H2.