Making a scene across the University

Princetonian Beatles fans who enjoy singing along to the group's hit song "Hey Jude" saw an unexpected character in town this weekend: Jude himself.

He's the protagonist of a Beatles-inspired musical movie, "Across the Universe," which was partially filmed at Princeton and features scenes set on the Princeton campus. The film, which opened at a limited number of theaters this weekend, previewed to a packed Garden Theater on Thursday night.

Organized by the USG and the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students (ODUS), the preview showed alongside a free screening of the Western flick "3:10 to Yuma."

"The people in ODUS were really excited about it," USG president Rob Biederman '08 said of the event, adding that the USG was "happy to help out."

Associate Dean of Undergraduate Students Tom Dunne said Thursday night's event was wildly popular, noting that 500 students wanted to attend the showing, though the Garden Theater only seats 400. Students had the opportunity to place their names on a waiting list, he said, and the University is considering a second free showing for those who couldn't get into the first one.

Fay Bi '08 attended the free preview and said she enjoyed the event. "I thought it was great that the USG had this movie shown, especially since it was filmed at Princeton," she said. Recalling when the movie was filming on campus, Bi said it "was really nice to be able to see the outcome of what they were [working on]."

"Across the Universe," whose plot and characters are based on the songs of the Beatles, follows Jude's search for his long-lost father.

Danny Lieber '08 was among a number of Princeton students who were extras in the film. "It was actually a really great experience," Lieber said of his participation in the filming, which took place in the U-Store courtyard. Other scenes without extras were filmed in Holder, Lieber added.

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Based on students' positive response to Thursday's showing, Biederman said the USG will try to organize more previews this year. A possibility for the next early screening is the Denzel Washington thriller "American Gangster," which hits theaters Nov. 2.

Initial reviews of "Across the Universe," which has been compared to "Moulin Rouge," have been mixed. Roger Ebert called the film a "joyous" experience, while Stephen Holden of The New York Times said it "captured [his] heart" despite being imperfect. Ty Burr of the Boston Globe, however, criticized what he called the film's very literal interpretation the Fab Four's lyrics.

Though the University features less prominently in "Across the Universe" than it does in the acclaimed 2001 film "A Beautiful Mind," Dunne said he thinks the scenes in which Princeton is shown make a good impression. "I think that what the average person takes away from it is how beautiful the campus is," he said.

Nam Giang '09, who attended Thursday night's preview, said she enjoyed the opportunity but didn't think Princeton was pivotal to the film. "There's only one Princeton student that you get to know, and he was a dropout and ... not really inclined for school," she said.

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But, she added, she appreciated the sense of recognition she felt when Old Nassau showed up on screen. "I saw 'A Beautiful Mind' before I went to Princeton, so it wasn't the same feeling," Giang said. "Now it was like, 'Oh, it's my campus!' "