Tag: Stephen Rust

The Cinema 7 History

Presenter(s): Katherine Wilson—English

Faculty Mentor(s): Peter Alilunas, Stephen Rust

Session 1: Flicks and Pics

Cinema 7 was a unique “art house” movie theater in Eugene, Oregon, 1974–87 . It was part of Oregon’s emerging film culture in the early 70s; showcasing the films of Poetic Cinema Filmmakers Ron Finne, Sharon Genasci and Don Cato, among others; and was partially funded and staffed by Oregon Film’s Pioneer Film Crew member Katherine Wilson, a professional Location Scout and Casting Director . The cinema boasted attendance by such notables as cast and crew from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Animal House, and Stand By Me; as well as local icon Ken Kesey .

Curious about what the venue looked like, U of O Cinema Studies Professor Alilunas discovered in 2020 that one of the students in his class, filmmaker Katherine Wilson, had worked there; and an opportunity arose to learn more about the theater’s special place in history .

Only a single photograph from the Eugene Register Guard Newspaper (of the hidden projector room) and one polaroid image of a corner of the lobby existed, so Katherine made the decision to make a diorama from the blueprints Dr . Alilunas had found at Eugene’s City Planning Department .

The interior design itself was inspired by the great former movie and opera houses of Eugene (the ornate theater seats were reused and recycled from the demolished Heilig Theater in 1973) as it mimicked The Egyptian Theater and The Bagdad Theater in the Art Deco/ Egyptian Revival style popular in the 1920s .

Therefore, it became more important than ever to somehow preserve the theater’s history for students who were studying how and why Art Houses were so important beginning in the early 70s; as these “underground” artistic filmmakers helped create Cinema as we know it today .

Additional photos were later found and printed from negatives by the Cinema’s Interior Designer and Graphic Artist Lynn Peterson, who also designed all the Cinema 7 posters starting 46 years ago . Lynn had donated many of them along with Katherine’s to the Katherine Wilson Special Collection at the Knight Library in 2016 . Video link: https://vimeo .com/401805694/0167ee0cc3

The University of Oregon’s EMU: Cultural Epicenter and Incubator for Oregon’s Film Industry (1967–77)

Presenter(s): Katherine Wilson—English

Faculty Mentor(s): Stephen Rust

Session 1: Flicks and Pics

This research project answers the questions relating to how the University of Oregon’s EMU helped create Oregon’s First Film Crew in the 70’s; how that in turn resulted in National Lampoon’s Animal House being filmed at the UO in 1977; and why significant events were held and filmed specifically in The EMU: A) How Animal House Came to the UO: https://vimeo .com/401518226/f72da257a4
B) The Casting Call: https://vimeo .com/400122172/8de7c92b45
C) The Food Fight: https://vimeo .com/399570228/6eab0a62f7

The EMU was considered one of the Nation’s cultural epicenters because of its programs supporting and housing new social, intellectual, political, artistic, journalistic, filmic and musical paradigms of the 60’s . Because of this, a group of Poetic Cinema filmmakers emerged from this cultural center in 1969 and became Oregon’s first film crew; not only helping create Oregon’s film industry, but stepping in to help save Animal House from being scrapped by a Hollywood studio . These filmmakers all met on July 8th, 1969 on the Free Speech Platform of the EMU while watching a Communist debate the ASUO Student Body President . From there they formed FWAPS to help Kesey edit his 1964 footage, participated in Jack Nicholson’s film Drive He Said (1970), Elliott Gould’s Getting Free (1971), the Grateful Dead’s Sunshine Daydream (1972), as well as supporting Paul Newman’s Sometimes A Great Notion and Michael Douglas’ One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), before becoming key personnel on Animal House in 1977 .

Researching with the Kesey and Le Guin Papers during the 2020 COVID-19 Crisis— Research Posters by Honors College 223 Students

Presenter(s): Lyla Balthazaar—Human Physiology

Co-Presenter(s): Max Braker, Zoey, Cynkin , Jake Heinonen, Rose, McNamee, Carmen Reddick, Garret, Smith , Xitlali Torres, Micah, Woods 

Faculty Mentor(s): Stephen Rust

Session: Prerecorded Poster Presentation

Students in Dr . Stephen Rust’s course “Researching Oregon Writers” examined a digitized mini-archive of materials prepared during the COVID-19 crisis by the Knight Library Special Collections with the goal of better understanding how archival materials can shape and reshape our thinking about an author’s life and literary works . Items include personal correspondence between Ken Kesey and friend Ken Babbs composed while Kesey was writing One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1962), correspondence between Ursula K . Le Guin and literary agent Virginia Kidd while Le Guin was writing The Left Hand of Darkness (1969), and manuscript pages from each novel . Their posters will blend of select images from the digital mini-archive to and written elements of humanities research posters along with virtual audio presentations . We hope these poster presentations will inspire viewers to appreciate the value of archives for preserving literary and cultural history and open new perspectives into Le Guin and Kesey’s life and work . Xitali Torres, Carmen Reddick Bayley Burke, and Micah Woods are interested in how Kesey’s correspondence with Babbs can shed light on the development of particular characters in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Kesey’s relationship with the 1960s counterculture . Rose Kordahal, Elyria Kabasenche, and Jake Heinonen are researching Kesey’s correspondence and journal entries before and after the publication of Cuckoo’s Nest to explore his authorial intentions regarding the civil rights of patients in mental hospitals . Ethan Scott, Zoey Cantor, and Garret Simmer how Kesey’s personal view on conformity and freedom inform how those themes develop in his work and are particularly interested in archival materials that might shed light on his use of laughter as a metaphor for rebellion against social norms. Zoey Whittington, Jacob Smith, and Donovan Muniz hope to learn more about the impact of 1960s Sexual Revolution on Le Guin’s writing and her development of a genderless society in The Left Hand of Darkness . Lyla Balthazaar, Max Braker, and Eleanor Davis are studying Le Guin’s business correspondence with her agent Virginia Kidd to examine how they sought to position her work in the science fiction marketplace . Elliot Terner, Audra McNamee, and David Cynkin are curious to examine Le Guin’s writings about science and philosophy as well as her engagement with literary scholarship to consider how her personal beliefs and interests shaped the direction of her creative writing .