frntlins
Lara Croft
The well proportioned star of the Tomb Raider video game is rapidly gaining serious celebrity status. Not content with having sold 1.8 million copies of the game itself, she is now set to feature in U2’s Pop/Wart world tour. Costing $75 million and billed as ’the most expensive rock ’n’ roll tour ever’, Pop/Wart will take fourteen months to circumnavigate the globe and arrives in Europe in July. Footage of Lara in action will be displayed on what is being touted as the world’s largest video screen, much to the joy of Eidos Interactive, the publishers of Tomb Raider. ’We were delighted when U2 asked if Lara would share the stage with them,’ says Larry Sparks, their worldwide marketing director. ’lt’s a great honour for Lara, and establishes her position as a real cult icon.’ Unfortunately, Lara will not be available for autographs. (John Henderson)
The PopMart tour touches down at Murrayfie/d, Edinburgh on Tue 2 Sept. Tomb Raider is available in Sega Saturn and Sony Playstation formats, price £44.99; or on CD-ROM, price £24.99. Image supplied by Electronics Boutique.
Nicolas Cage & John Malkovich
They’ve both played good guys and bad guys before, but Con Air marks the first time that Nicolas Cage and John Malkovich have gotten down and played dirty as, respectively, straight action hero and villain. Cage, beefing himself up on the way to the new Superman movie, is no longer the reluctant scientist type of The Rock. Malkovich, as dead-eyed criminal mastermind Cyrus ‘The Virus’ Grissom, is more brutal than in Dangerous Liaisons and In The Line Of Fire combined. ’Only John could so brilliantly and chillingly show the character’s intelligence, which lives inside a twisted sociopath,’ says director Simon West. ’On every level, he was ideal for the role.’ Not exactly the type of praise everyone would want.
Con Air goes on general release on Fri 6 Jun. See review, page 24.
2THE UST 30 May-12 Jun 1997
Arab Strap
Falkirk's most downbeat musiCians Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton are about to hit the big time. Their debut single ’The First Big Weekend’, a post-Trainspotting account of clubbing, beer, drugs, insomnia and laSSies, Will be the soundtrack of the new Guinness commerCial, to be launched this fortnight. A continuation of Guinness’s 'not everything in life is black and white' campaign, the ad earned the boys an alleged £20,000, which should help them get over Falkirk's tragic defeat in the Tennents’ Scottish Cup final, and keep them going over the Summer as they write and record their new album.
The new Guinness ad debuts on Sat 37 May. Arab Strap are about to tour with Mogwai. Their first album, The Week Never Starts Round Here is available on Chemika/ Underground.