The Toronto Sun

                     July 13, 1997, Sunday,  Final EDITION

SECTION: SHOWCASE,  Pg. S2,  CELEBRITY BITES
HEADLINE: MAKING A PITCH FOR THE BIG TIME
BYLINE: NATASHA STOYNOFF

BODY:

   A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME: What's in a name? If you're an actress
playing a part named 'Lucifer' -- a helluva lot of baggage.

   "At least I didn't have to play the character named 'Handjob,'"
smirks T.O./L.A. actress Kathleen Robertson (Beverly Hills, 90210,
Maniac Mansion), who is one of an eclectic ensemble cast in the
angst-teen flick Nowhere.

   The third in a trilogy by writer/producer/ director Gregg Araki, he
describes this film as "a super-stylized, surrealistic, weird,
hallucinatory trip about lost teenagers."

   Those of you of age should prepare for a few acid flashbacks --
especially during the cameo appearance by '70s sitcom stars Christopher
Knight and Eve Plumb (Peter and Jan on The BRADY BUNCH) as a wacky
Swedish couple.

   "For me, they are part of the surreal texture and pop culture
influence," explains Araki, 35, an avid Brady watcher in his time. "We
have all these people buried in our subconscious. The film is based on
a certain emotional reality." 

   One emotional reality Araki unearths for many of us is a scene where
a group of Valley Girls in Day-Glo outfits waiting at a bus stop
(never!) get blown up. 

   "You gotta see it to beleive it," says the director, excited. "All
that is left of them is their retainers, lying on the ground."