Fort Worth Star-Telegram from Fort Worth, Texas • 67

I wwwstar-trleqramcom Friday January 14 2005 7E FROM IE I CULTURE Garcia Bernal: actor gets a good education on the bowling lanes KRTFOCUS FEATURES On-screen Gael Garcia Bernal was smoking as Che Guevara in The Motorcycle Dianes At the bowling alley he was lukewarm CONTINUED FROM IE And hate him finally because he is genuinely a nice guy- I know I did In fact I was about ready to kneecap Mr Perfect with a bowling pm when I discovered one reason to truly love Gael Garcia Bernal: The man had never bowled a game in his life A lick for luck Lane 41 at Don in Dallas is a long way from Guadalajara Mexico where Bernal grew up the son of stage actors Little Gael (pronounced Guy-EL) played soccer and appeared on a popular Mexican soap opera but his only brush with bowling would come later in life watching The Big Lehowski love that he says in lightly accented English We spend the next few minutes waxing poetic about the Coen masterpiece the performance of Jeff "The Bridges and of course Jesus the hairnet wearing tough-talking bowling virtuoso played by John Turturro Taking a cue from Jesus Bernal hoists a pink 10-pound bowling ball and holds it close to his face his tongue tickling the ball ever so slightly for luck and cheap thrills Then he flings the ball down the lane flashing near-perfect form In his first frame ever he picks up a spare My feelings of hatred resurface But like The Dude I will abide because Bernal is feailess on the lanes much like he is on the big screen He hurls the ball with all that his 100-plus FINAL GAEL: RICK: SCI FI Battlestar Galactica's Apollo (Jamie Bamber) and Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff 70 167 they have a complexity or a Perhaps why in no rush to plunge into the Hollywood system Bernal has gained acclaim and acting awards at both the Venice and Cannes film festivals without even making an English-language film (He is working on his first an American independent film called The King he even plays a character named Elvis) For now though Bernal is embracing his relative obscurity Midway through our game he suggests donating $100 to charity for every pin he knocks down but then jokes: done a studio film yet so maybe have to donate the money for (Obviously he know what journalists make) But Bernal shrink from the prospects of lofty achievements Unlike most actors he allows himself to muse about what an Oscar nomination for Motorcyle Diaries would mean he says eyes widening would be incredible Lovely really there is no way to judge who is the best when it comes to he adds is interpreting reality out of fictitious elements So there really is no democratic way to As I ponder that bit of wisdom Bernal hatches an idea that could change Hollywood and more important my career forever could bowl for he says of the coveted Academy Award would be a more fair way to decide things A true Just the thought of it however ridiculous makes my heart race Bowling for Oscars Beautiful When I suggest Bernal would have to improve on his final score an erratic 70 that mixed near-strikes with a cluster of gutter balls he flashes a little of his famous on-screen intensity that were the case I would approach bowling like I do acting I would study it and I would he says I would Hear that Johnny Depp and Jamie Foxx? Better get yourselves a copy of The Big Lebowski Jonny: sums up this sorry series pounds will allow much the way lie throws himself into his chaiacters In Bad Education Bernal plays a triad of lost souls struggling actor Catholic school student and transvestite that span the emotional spectrum from innocent to evil vulnerable to vengeful As the desperate Zahara a transvestite seeking revenge on a sexually abusive priest Bernal is every inch the strung out femme fatale Almodovar wants him to be an unnerving unflinching performance the kind that may get Bernal mentioned in the same breath as Brando but also generates its share of controversy Bad Education is second film revolving around abuses in the Roman Catholic Church (the other was The Crime of Father Amaro) like to destroy taboos" Beinal says of his film choices actually attract me Taboos are incredibly fragile and vulnerable but once you get past them like smashing glass bottles of water they make a great sound but SCORE tonight original Grim Adama (Edward James Olmos) and slightly less grim President Roslin (Mary McDonnell) lead a ragtag band of humans against evil Cylons who have achieved the ability to look human themselvys The moodiness is a nice touch but the series lacks any emotion-' al pull to ground you in its bioodmg atmosphere Among the preview 1 episodes Sci-Fi sent howevef one shows promise This has to do with cocky pilot Starbuck (now a woman played by Katee Sackhoff with sassy tomboy flau) training a clumsy bunch of rookies we learn through flashbacks that Star-buck carries a lot of guilt and vulnerability beneath her swagger If producers can come up with more back stories like this for their strong and appealing cast this Battlestar might take flight after all Robert Philpot (817) 7872 rplulpot a star telegram com Sci-Fi CONTINUED FROM IE Franky uncomfortable acting allows GQ who plays jumpy sidekick Random (hey I make up the names) to steal all of his scenes Presenting himself much more confidently and much less seriously GQ adds the only necessary comic relief to a series that should be a lot darker than it is One of the executive producers is John Wells whose Third Watch airs opposite Jonny Zero on NBC the characters there often exhibit the sort of desperation Jonny Zero should have but The only desperation it will have is in trying to stay on the schedule Promising sci-fi series Although not as mean-spirited as last Battlestar Galactica miniseries Sci-Fi new BG series still feels awfully cold especially compared with the cheesy warmth of the Battlestar Galactica 8 Channel Rick Press is a former junior champion bowler and the features editor (817) 390 7701 rpressstar-telegram com SPECIAL TO THE STAR TELEGRAMRICHARD RODRIGUEZ Gael Garcia Bernal never bowled before but was game for a game PUBLICATIONS caught up to Hispanic music magazine Banda Mexico where the respected daily El rinanciero once lamented the lack of good music journalism and singled out La Banda Elastica for praise asking: must all the well-done rock journalism come from across the Morales who still writes songs but no longer performs remains excited about discovering new bands such as Mexico quirky electronic' quintet Austin 1 The adventurous spirit fuels his hopes for the future alw ays considered this music as a living he says as if the people themsehes somehow sustain it Over the years the genre has created enough excitement that people who hear it want to be a part of And want to spread the about it a printer in Santa Fe Springs a long way from the 500 copies of Vol 1 No 1 printed in July 1992 on a single sheet of paper folded once to make four pages The inaugural edition contained a calendar of coming events and a critique of a local demo tape rated from one to three nopales (cactuses) instead of stars The magazine like the scene itself has had its ups and downs Critics say the publishers at times stretched themselves too thin with ancillary activities displaying more musical passion than management skills But passion the publishers say that keeps them going Despite the music downturn in recent years the magazine is planning a long-delayed expansion into ing year Venegas almost doubled the box office when 15 showed up Today things have changed for the music and the magazine Los Angeles is an important alt-Latino market with top touring bands stopping here regularly Major US newspapers in both Spanish and English routinely cover the scene And national advertisers are seeking out La Banda Elastica for new ways to reach an important but elusive demographic young hip Hispanics people at least have a point of Morales says know the music exists and that La Banda Elastica covers it For us a great The magazine which claims a bimonthly circulation of 50000 has satellite offices in cyberspace Editor Enrique Blanc works from Guadalajara Correspondents file from Latin America and Spain And finished layouts for the glossy 76-page editions are sent electronically to The rock en espanol magazine La Banda Elastica has humble origins and big expectations ByAGUSTINGURZA LOS AN( ES I IMPS LOS ANGELES The story of Emilio Morales and Maria Madrigal reads like a rock roll romance Morales a Mexican immigrant and graphic designer played in one of Los first rock en espanol bands in the early '90s Madrigal born and reared in California was a photographer and Prince fan who had never heard of such a thing as rock in Spanish Lured by a black-and-white flier and curiosity she went to a show at Las Palmas a nightclub that featured salsa in one room rock in another band was on the bill and it was friendship at first sight even though she started dating his guitarist Morales told her he was starting a fanzine for the nascent Latino rock scene She asked if she could help Thus was launched a lasting relationship and a magazine named La Banda Elastica both now celebrating their 12th anniversarys Started in 1992 as a photocopied newsletter to promote local shows La Banda Elastica has emerged as a leading journal of the genre read and respected in alt-Latino capitals throughout the Spanish-speaking world Many of the best bands in the field aspire to be C5gon the cover of the magazine 3300 Camp Bowie (817)731-1016 1 Trttyyg Auto Restvling Center Inc 100 Commercial Free Music Sports News Local Traffic Weather Car Audio Mobile Video Tinting Alarms a Bathtub les is miraculous been really says Morales 44 the beginning nobody really knew what we were talking about Advertisers had no idea what kind of music it was or what market it appealed to There was no information in the Anglo Even the fans there at first The magazine was already 4 years old in 1996 when it promoted a concert by acclaimed Mexican singer-songwriter Julieta Venegas hat solo show at the Dragonfly on Santa Monica Boulevard ew eight people Morales recalled The follow $94 published quietly from the home get noticed in La Banda Elastica" says Tomas Cookman the Los Angeles-based music executive who has managed top bands such as La Ley and Los Fabulosos Cadillacs a strong stamp of The magazine has made its name internationally through a combination of cutting-edge content and eye-popping graphics It provides a classy package for a genre that has struggled to gain respect and legitimacy in the music industry That the magazine has sumved at all is a success That it survived in Los Ange Need some shoes to DIL? 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