Photo By Rebecca Grushkin ^

DELTA KAPPA ALPHA of

AMERICAN UNIVERSITY  

Editors In Chief

Sydney Mineer Zach Ewell

   

Table of Contents Page 2: Letter from the Presidet

Page 3: Tales from the Cinemansion Pages 3-6: NU Events Photo Series

Page 7: Page 8:

Welcome To The NU Colony Cinejournal

Table of Contents

Page 3: Letter from the President

Page 4: Relay for Life Pages 5: Postcard from the Cinemanor

Page 6 & 7: Q&A with DKA Nu Colony Founding Mother Jessie Drago

Page 8: White Carnation Page 9: Oscars Gala

Page 10: Double Indemnity Screening Page 11-13: Box Office Reviews

If there is anything that I have learned in the past two semesters as president of Delta Kappa Alpha Nu Colony, it is

that being part of the film world is not about getting everything right, it’s about having the fewest amount of things go wrong. Whether in a producer’s meeting, on a film set, or editing in post, a film major’s hopes and dreams are bound to be dashed in some way or another at least once throughout the process, usually more. It’s just the way it is. However, this is not exactly a bad thing. In fact, I have come to realize that it is exactly this element of film that has brought me to care so much about Delta Kappa Alpha. What I love most about the fraternity is that it allows you to practice being in the film world before it actually counts. It allows you to make mistakes and completely fail on a small scale so that you don’t make the same mistakes on a larger scale in the real world. It also gives you the confidence to take risks that you might not have had the courage to

do otherwise. As a student, DKA has motivated me to improve my film education and has taught me that the best way to learn about film is often outside the classroom. Because of DKA, I am motivated to constantly seek out experiences that will augment my film education. While I do believe the organization has come a long way since its inception last fall, there are many ways for it to grow on campus. I hope that the fraternity continues to expand and strengthen its bonds with the Faculty and Staff of the School of Communication. Interacting and learning from professors outside of an academic environment can be just as beneficial as taking a class. This bond will flourish with increased faculty and student networking events and master classes. This year, the Nu Colony collaborated with SOC to sponsor the Visions Film Festival. In the future, I hope DKA will have more opportunities to sponsor events with SOC. I hope SOC will continue to reach out to DKA as a volunteer staff to help American’s Film and Media Arts Program achieve its goals. I hope that the traditions our colony has started on campus remain stable and continue to flourish in credibility and popularity. In general, I hope for an increased abundance of cinematic events and speakers, and overall I hope the fraternity encourages students to follow their cinematic passions wherever it leads them.

Letter From The President

 

“Relay was a really great way to get to know some of the other DKA members. It was also a lot of fun and a

On April 11th members of DKA’s American University colony participated in Relay for Life. The event was a fundraiser to help raise funds and awareness for Cancer research. Held from 7 PM till 7 AM, DKA members walked around Bender Arena’s basket ball court to help fight cancer.

“I participated in Relay for Life back home in Illinois so as the Philanthropy Chair of Delta Kappa Alpha I jumped at the chance to get my organization involved in the event at AU,” said Anna Sortino. “My favorite moment of the night had to be when the DJ finally put on Blank Space and my friends and I went crazy around the track.”

New member Emily Bank said.

great cause!”

Relay For Life

By Stephanie Deischl When I arrived in LA I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. People on my shuttle to USC told me to be careful, since it’s not the safest neighborhood. After I had traveled all day and I finally arrived at the CineManor, it was a dream come true. I’ve never seen such an amazing house before, maybe in the movies, but knowing that I would live in it for a weekend made me even more excited.

My friend Cassie –  who has been the president of the Alpha Chapter for some years –  introduced me to whoever was in the house at that moment and made sure that there was a group of people who were going to get dinner with me. Since the Alphas have 100+ members, I was in good hands, and I went to dinner with almost 15 people, including some of their pledges.

About 14 people live in the house, but the rest of the Chapter comes and goes. The night I arrived, someone was molding figures out of play-doh, and then someone came in and started sewing a dress for a shoot. The whole atmosphere in the house is very creative from all the film equipment lying around to the knight’s armor standing in the entrance hall. On my second day, I was invited to be an extra on a film set, which wasn’t a DKA production but a lot of DeKAs were going to

help. We filmed in a fraternity house on Greek row, which was so much fun. I wish American University would allow us to have such amazing houses. I had a great time at USC and can’t wait to go back to see our brothers and sister’s again.   Sydney Mineer interviewed

Postcard From The Cinemanor

Jessie Drogo, the farmer of the Nu Colony, is responsible for bring Delta Kappa Alpha to American University.   How did you hear about DKA? My first introduction to DKA was when my friend Emilie Svensson started a chapter at George Mason University. I was really jealous and wished we had a chapter at AU.    What made you want to start a chapter at American? AU has a great film program, and the SOC in general is awesome. I want SOC to be a strong force at AU, and to have a stronger, more visible sense of community. We have ATV which is one super hero, but we need a whole group of heroes-- SOC Avengers owning everything, and creating an awesome climate for the school. There are so many talented and creative minds at AU, we just need more ways to bring people together.     Film clubs have come and gone throughout AU’s history, but clubs can die out once key leaders graduate. I love the idea of being part of a national organization with a set structure, so we can make sure there will always be responsible and motivated people in charge who will keep the group going. The structure of DKA also ensures that we are always working on something and moving forward.    

Not to mention the connections we are able to make with DKA chapters across the country. I’ve met at least 30 people from different chapters and it’s like instantaneous friendship. We all like the same stuff and everyone is so chill.     What are your hopes for the Nu Colony? I hope that the Nu colony continues to thrive and bring students together! At the end of the day everyone just wants friends right? What better thing could exist for a lonely film nerd who spends their life hiding in their room watching Netflix than joining a club exclusively comprised of film nerds-- film nerds who always want to go to the movies with you, who will sit next to you at

Q&A With DKA Nu Colony Founding Mother Jessie Drogo

an Oscars viewing party and scream at the TV until they are blue in the face. Basically my hope is that this group helps people make friends and motivates people to pursue their passions in cinema.    How  do  you  hope  to  be  involved  with  the  film  industry  in  the  future?   I don’t ever want a desk job. I want to be running around sets and arguing about scripts and eating craft services for the rest of my life. One day I’d like to be a producer for a universally loved and iconic sitcom. But I also see myself hanging around my friends’ movie sets. I just wanna make stuff and then I want people to watch it and tell me it’s great. As long as I’m creating, I will be happy.  

I saw you went to SXSW [and ran into Andy, DKA’s Nation President], how was your experience? SXSW was awesome! For those who don’t know, it’s a huge film and music festival that takes place every March in Austin, TX. I was encouraged to be a volunteer by Andy Dulman, our National President, and he made sure I got set up to work with all the DeKA’s from UT in Austin. I made so many friends, and the UT chapter instantly adopted me as one of their own. I saw a TON of amazing films, and met directors and actors. There were not-yet-so-famous people that I wasn’t afraid to talk to, and there were also huge stars like Will Ferrell and Elijah Wood that walked within a very close distance of me and I froze up completely and played dead like an opossum.  

 

Dekas got down at Napoleon’s Bistro in Adam’s Morgan on March 20th for the traditional DKA White Carnation Formal. The night was #golden.

Social Chair Rebecca Gruskin planned and organized the evening, which was complete with a cash bar and hors d'œuvres.

White Carnation  

   

The Nu Colony held their first Oscars Gala on Oscar Sunday— February 22. Dekas rolled out their best red carpet looks and posed on the step and repeat before the award ceremony began. Guests were able to fill out ballots for their favorite nominees by giving a small donation to SeriousFun.

Oscars Gala  

By Alexandra Francavilla

On March 23rd, Delta Kappa Alpha Nu Colony had their first film screening. Professor Tom Ratekin spoke to the colony about Billy Wilder’s 1944 film, Double Indemnity. He identified Double Indemnity as the quintessential film of the noir genre.

Members of the colony had the chance to view the film and then participate in a discussion that followed with Professor Ratekin. This gave members the chance to look at cinema from an analytical perspective instead of from a purely productive standpoint—adding to the overall cinematic education of the colony.

The film follows the story of

Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray), an insurance salesman, who helps an unhappy wife, Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck), murder her husband and commit insurance

fraud. Professor Ratekin and the members in attendance discussed the complicated nature of the relationship dynamics between Neff and Dietrichson. By looking at plot structure and camera techniques the group considered if the two were actually in love, if it was some sort of “business” transaction, or perhaps if Neff had just always wanted to attempt the insurance fraud “double indemnity.”

DKA Nu would like to thank all the members in attendance, and we look forward to our next screening. We hope that in the future we can open the screenings and discussions up to the wider population of American University.

Double Indemnity Screening  

By David Stout Dan Gilroy’s directorial debut, Nightcrawler, presents thought-provoking issues through gritty, realistic visuals and a great performance by Jake Gyllenhaal. The film follows Lou Bloom, an unemployed self-starter, as he discovers “the underground world of Los Angeles freelance crime journalism.” Gyllenhaal’s character and performance stand above all else when first watching this film. Lou Bloom’s calculated, deadpan approach to life’s issues are used as an extreme to highlight the results oriented direction organizations such as news media strive for. Lou tapes fresh crime scenes, and he’s good at it. Pursuing his goals with no morals or ethics, Lou capably films the content that captures and holds hostage viewer’s attention. From filming a graphic gunshot wound to a fresh crime scene before the police arrive, the visuals he strives for bring a new meaning to “feed the beast”. But Lou didn’t get this way all by himself. Lou stumbles upon freelance journalism by unhappy accident. And it was from an industry professional that Lou adopted the idea “if it bleeds it leads”. While Lou’s character showcases a disgusting extreme that news media understands to avoid, his goals and that of journalism

today are similar: how do we get people to watch our content? Journalism is being dictated by advertising and ratings. Serving a general public with a very short attention span, news media succumbs to using graphic, attention grabbing tactics to boost their ratings. William Randolph Hearst once said “You furnish the pictures. I’ll furnish the war.” Lou does both. Nightcrawler deserves a night out to be watched. Dan Gilroy’s directorial debut provides both a thrilling story and a thought-provoking narrative that can satisfy all tastes.

Box Office Review: Nightcrawler

By Sydney Mineer You know the James Bond films where there’s a beautiful girl and a ridiculous villain on the loose and Bond must save her and the world from that villain? And after a few predictably deathly situations (like being strapped to a table with a laser about to cut him in half) he defeats the villain and then gets the girl?   Well, Kingsmen: The Secret Service is not exactly that kind of spy movie.     It’s a dynamic action-comedy filled with gratuitous violence and self-conscious jokes about the fact that it’s a movie about spies, and it will be the most fun you have at the movies this month.     Kingsmen tells the story of Gary “Eggsy” Unwin (Taron Egerton), a

boy in early adulthood from a lower-class family whose father was killed on a secret mission when Eggsy was a child. Though a smart boy, Eggsy’s teenage years were filled with petty crime. When one of his stunts goes awry and he is threatened with jail time, Eggsy calls the secret Kingsmen hotline and receives a “get out of jail free” card. He is also granted the opportunity to become a member of the Kingsmen, an elite spy organization, by the man who trained his father: Harry Hart (Colin Firth). While Eggsy is competing for the open Kingsmen position, Hart embarks on a mission to uncover a global threat posed by billionaire media-mogul, Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson). The plot soon grows into a full-blown plan of world destruction and Eggsy is called in to help.     Although many studios shy away from making R-rated films these days for fear of losing audience, Kingsmen wholly embraces its rating and gives us violence and action in a way that the James Bond films never could. The film is packed with ridiculous, far-fetched action sequences involving as much blood as a Tarantino film.   Though the plot sometimes wanders, Kingsmen maintains the audience’s attention by owning its ridiculousness and by playing up the spy genre tropes (and then poking fun at them). Valentine is a billionaire media mogul turned eco-terrorist with a lisp and a comical aversion to blood. He’s always accompanied by Gazelle, his partner in crime who

Box Office Review: Kingsmen: The Secret Service

handles all the dirty work — she has metal prosthetic legs with a knife-like component which allow her to cut people in half.     Like most cinematic spies, the agents of the Kingsmen are upper class, well-educated, and well-mannered. Eggsy is an outlier in this respect and is seen as an “experimental” candidate. The film exposes us to the well-dressed stuffiness of British upper-crust culture, and juxtaposes that with the slang-slinging pub culture of Eggsy’s world. There are also several amusing scenarios where American and British cultures clash — in one scene aristocratic British culture (Harry Hart) is forced to embrace American culture (Samuel L. Jackson) at a dinner party.     At two hours and nine minutes, the film runs long, but all the plot absurdity and action makes the time speed by. Kingsmen is worth seeing because it really has it all: references to the Knights of the Round Table, jabs at James Bond, adorable puppies, and a surprise, celebrity appearance – akin to that of Matt Damon in Interstellar (but better). You’ll have fun.