By ANGELA DRAKE
BYU's Varsity Theater features Hollywood's latest hits -- without the bad parts.
The movies in the Varsity are diverse in ratings and genres, but all the movies are edited, not just R-rated films, said Jerry Bishop, director of the Ernest L. Wilkinson Student Center.
BYU's theater provides an 'alternative to movies where students may be exposed to profanity or nudity,' Bishop said.
The Varsity Theater, located on the second floor of the ELWC, shows a different movie each week, from Friday to Thursday at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. There are also late night movies on Friday at midnight, which show popular films such as 'The Princess Bride' and 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail.' All Varsity movies cost $1.50.
'The Saint,' starring Val Kilmer, is playing Aug. 29 to Sept. 4. The ticket office opens at 4 p.m. during the summer and will open at noon for fall semester.
Students feel there are advantages to having a theater on campus.
'I go because it's close, cheap and you can see movies you otherwise couldn't see because of the rating,' said Dave Softley, a junior from Airdrie, Alberta, majoring in broadcast communications.
A committee of five to six members appointed by the vice president of Student Life edits the movies. The committee, consisting of faculty members and staff or administrative staff decides what should be edited, and the projectionist makes the changes, Bishop said.
Jennifer DeLoura, a junior from Santee, Calif., majoring in humanities feels the content dictates whether or not the editing will work for the movie.
Although the expletives are bleeped over, you still know what everyone's saying, DeLoura said.
There is no policy on how many R-rated movies will be shown. Movies are chosen for diversity, such as for entertainment as well as thought-provoking material, Bishop said.
The Varsity Theater has its own website at http://varsity.cs.byu.edu. The site allows students to request movies, to see what movies have been requested by other students and to make comments. As of July 31, students had requested 20 movies. 'Air Force One' received 61 student requests, while 'Men in Black' received two student requests. This service allows the theater's management to cater to the students.
'We hope students take advantage of (the theater) and are willing to give us feedback,' Bishop said.
A recording of the movies playing and the show times is available at 378-3311.