Boxoffice-July.1999

BUSINESS MAGAZINE OF THE 

JULY 1999, $3.95 

• • MANIA! 

Elmo& 

Lead the 

Two New 

Titles for 

Gonzo 

Troupes in 

Henson 

Columbia 

• "THE BUIR WITCH PROJECT' 

• BOOK EXCERPT: "THE GROSS" 

• SETTING SUBWOOFER LEVELS 

• WRAPUP: SHOWCANAQA 1999

(T'

RocnnncKk> 191 

oud of the role we 

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est Refreshment 

listently rated the "coolest" soft drink* by 

adults. 

est Entertainment Tie-Ins 

Uwer of stellar entertainment property promotional 

tnerships, like the Academy Awards'^ and STAR WARS: 

lest Theatre 

llerchandising 

lipelling theatre merchandising from lobby signage 

r 

menu boards to on-screen slides and rolling stock. 

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TRU. Teen Researf h «

FADE IN.,. 

Secondly, we recentl> rec^H^BT letter 

from a faithful Pennsylvania subscriber that 

took us to task on a number of editorial 

matters. One was on the backward and forward 

reach of our studio charts, f Xorc: Sec 

pages 16 ami 17 for our promised redesign of 

said release schedule. J Another was on the 

need for quick and deep availability of data. 

Another cavil regarded our classifieds section. 

Although he did offer a backhanded 

comphment in asserting we compared bountifully 

well to another publication on which 

he'd long ago given up entirely, overall 

rightly or wrongly—we were flamed. 

And the feeling here was. hosanna! 

Thirdly, that's because we at BOXOFFICE 

doivt publish a magazine that aims to be 

what we like; we publish a magazine that 

aims to be what you like. If there's one constant 

surprise in these offices, it's how relatively 

rarely we hear from our readers whose 

Perhaps—recalling the joke 

magazine this is. 

about the seven-year-old who had never spoken 

until one evening at dinner when he said, 

"Soup's cold," and on being asked why he 

had never talked before answered, "Up till 

now, everything's been fine"—it's a sign that 

most of you are happy with the contents of 

these pages. But we want to make sure that 

you know how important your input is to us, 

whether you're letting us know that the soup 

is 

too hot, too cold or just right. 

Firstly, then, send us a letter. A note. A 

sentence. Suggest ways we could better 

arrange our news coverage. Let us know if 

our long-lead review efforts (this issue's 

Cannes and American Film Mcni

screen 

g PECIAL REPORT: EUROPEAN CINEMA/CINEMA EXPO '99 

J3 

I 

j 

A 

f 

; 

|4' 

\ j A 

^ 

Irthis issue, we take our annual look at the state of European exhibition and the continental cinema industry. 

I 

I 

SPECIAL REPORT: European Giants of Exhibition 

directory of 25 leading circuits, including corporate rosters, site counts and locations, and future 

forecasts. PLUS: Key execs answer our Five Questions. Compiled by Melissa Morrison 

SPECIAL REPORT: European Exhibitor Associations 

baker's dozen of cinema groups. Compiled by Francesca Dinglasan 

INDEPENDENT THEATRE SHOWCASE: Holland's Bioscoop Atlantic 

A homegrown Harderwijk triplex grows attendance 20 percent yearly. By Lisa Osborne 

CINEMA EXPO '99: Schedule of Events 

Your hour-by-hour planning guide to the "ShoWest of Europe." Compiled by Kim Williamson 

CINEMA EXPO '99: Exhibitor of the Year Joseph Pelxoto 

A compelling Q&A with UCI's president and CEO. By Francesca Dinglasan 

[ CINEMA EXPO '99: Distributor of the Year Paul Oneile 

DIP'S chairman and CEO discusses his new role and the challenges facing the Paramount/Universal/MGM troika. By Pat Kramer 

CINEMA EXPO '99: International Marketing Awardee Scott Neeson 

The 20th Century Fox International maven on the pre- and post-'Titanic" marketplace. By Pat Kramer 

SPECIAL REPORT: International Exhibition and Distribution 

Overbuilding, fragmentation, red tape, print scarcity and rising costs: What the likes of Kinepolis' Joost Bert, WBITs Millard Ochs, Kodak 

Cinemas Russia's Paul Heth and Loews Cineplex Intl.'s Ted Shugrue had to say at ShoWest's overseas panel. By Christine James 

tk 

HY FEATURES 

SNEAK PREVIEW: Artisan's 

"The Blair Witch Project" 

How scary is a hank of hair? A faux 

documentary delivers real frights in this 

Sundance favorite. By Christine James 

COVER STORY: Columbia's 

Dynamic Duo — "Muppets From 

Space" (July) and "The Adventures 

of Elmo in Grouchland" (October) 

Gonzo discovers his true identity with 

some ETs, and Elmo makes his silverscreen 

starring debut. By Annlee 

Ellingson and Francesca Dinglasan 

SPECIAL FEATURE: "The Gross" 

An excerpt from the Variety editor's 

book-length analysis of the 1998 

summer season. By Peter Bart 

PLUS: An overview of cinema reading. 

Compiled by Francesca Dinglasan 

For our onsite coverage of 

Cinema Expo '99, click on 

www.boxoffice.com 

beginning June 21. 

34 SPECIAL REPORT: Sound 

The latest on setting system 

subwoofer levels, including 

SMPTE's new recommended 

practice. By John F. Allen 

62 SPECIAL REPORT: 

ShowCanada '99 

A merry time in the Maritimes 

also brings good lessons on 

showmanship, promotion, 

reaching the Gen-X audience, 

and speedier concessioning. 

PLUS: A by-the-numbers look 

at the current state of the 

Canadian exhibition industry. 

By Christine James 

:ditor-in-chief 

im Williamson kimw@boxoffice.com 

GING EDITOR 

James christinej@boxoffice.com 

ASSOCIATE EDITOR 

rancesca Dinglasan francescad@boxoffice.com 

«SISTANT EDITOR 

Jmiee Ellingson annleee@boxoffice.com 

•DITORIAL ASSISTANTS 

inda Andrade. Mari Fix 

FEATURE CHARTS EDITOR 

Wade Major (310) 456-2767: fax (310) 456-9750 

CANADIAN CORRESPONDENT 

Shiomo Schwartzberg (416} 928-2179 

WRITERS 

John F. Allen, Peter Bart, 

George Chronis, Tim Cogstiell. 

Kristan Ginther, Mike Kerrigan, 

Pat Kramer. Rick Leddy. 

Lael Loewenstein, Wade Major. 

Melissa Morrison. Lisa Osborne, 

Ed Scheid. L.J. Strom 

PUBLISHER 

Robert L. Dietmeier (773) 338-7007 

NATIONAL ADVERTISING DIRECTOR] 

Robert M. Vale (626) 396-0250 

ADVERTISING CONSULTANT 

Morris Schlozman (816) 942-5877 

WEST COAST/ONLINE AD REP 

Gwen Campbell (310) 792-9011 

BUSINESS MANAGER 

Dan Johnson (773) 338-7007 

CIRCULATION DIRECTOR 

Chuck Tayior (312) 922-9326 

JOXOFFICE (ISSN 0006-8527). Published monthly by RLD Communications, inc.. 203 N. Wabash Ave., Suite 800, Chicago. ._ 

Hibscriptions: U.S. $40 per year; Canada and Mexico $50, airmail $80; overseas subscriptions (all airmail) $80. Periodica! postage paid at| 

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1999 RLD Communications, Inc. Al! rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permissic 

iyjgutSBCKBjiCisaBCi!E!aiapia8mwwE!>»5r: 

July, 1999 5

I 

' 

HOLLYWOOD 

REPORT 

"SHOOTER" An expert sniper 

("The Matrix's" Keanu Reeves) 

retires from the profession after 

accidentally killing an innocent 

bystander; however, v^/hen he's 

convinced to utilize his skills to 

help prevent an assassination, 

he's double-crossed and framed 

for murder. (Paramount) 

"THE CATCHER WAS A SPY" 

Based on the true story of 1 930s 

Brooklyn Dodger Moe Berg, 

who was recruited as a spy by 

the organization that later became 

known as the CIA, this 

thrillerwill star George Clooney 

("Three Kings"). (Warner) 

"ROUSTABOUT" Winona 

Ryder ("Lost Souls") will star for 

director Chris Eyre ("Smoke Signals") 

in this coming-of-age 

story about a young woman's 

eccentric and harrowing experiences 

working behind-thescenes 

for a circus. (New Line) 

"LIFE OF THE PARTY" A group 

of friends travel to France to 

help their alcoholic friend 

("PushingTin's"JohnCusack) in 

this comedy/drama. Steve Zahn 

("Happy, Texas") co-stars; Greg 

Motolla ("The Daytrippers") directs 

from his own script. (Columbia) 

"DANCING IN THE DARt 1 

This remake of Corne 

Woolrich's suspense nov 

"Waltz into Darkness" will st 

Angel inaJolie("PushingTin") 

a 

manipulative and decepti> 

woman who marries a lone 

tycoon. (Warner) 

"CAESAR'S ASHES" In order 

keep his company from havir : 

to pay a costly claim, a Britii 

insurance investigator ("Nottir 

Hill's" Hugh Grant) enlists \\ 

aid of a streetwise sidekick 

track down an urn containir 

Julius Caeser's ashes. (Cast 

Rock) 

KEANU REEVES 

Sets Sights On "Shooter" 

LEELEE SOBIESKI 

Lands "Earth' 

HUGH GRANT 

Hails "Caesar" 

"15 MOMENTS" A Montreal 

restaurant owner ("Crosse 

Pointe Blank's" Dan Aykroyd) 

falls in love with a young model 

(Jessica Pare) but loses her to the 

Canadian ambassador ("The 

Ninth Gate's" Frank Langella) in 

this Denys Arcand ("Love & 

Human Remains") film. (Distribution 

is to be set) 

"BOUNCE" "Shakespeare in 

Love's" Gwyneth Paltrow and 

Ben Affleck will reteam in this 

drama about a womanizer 

(Affleck) who gives up his airplane 

seat to a man anxious to 

get home to his wife. The plane 

crashes, and Affleck's character 

is consumed with guilt. He visits 

the crash victim's widow (Paltrow) 

and falls in love with her, 

but doesn't reveal his role in her 

husband's untimely death. 

(Miramax) 

"I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU 

JOE AND BENNY" This comedy 

about two heterosexual firefighters 

who marry each other for 

insurance benefits will be directed 

by Tom Shadyac ("Patch 

Adams") and may star Nicolas 

Cage ("8mm") and Will Smith 

("Wild Wild West"). (Universal) 

"HERE ON EARTH" Leelee 

Sobieski ("A Soldier's Daughter 

Never Cries") will star in this 

romantic drama about two 

teens who fall in love, only to 

discover that one of them has a 

terminal disease. "The Spitfire 

Grill's" Lee David ZIotoff directs. 

(Fox 2000) 

UNTITLED WOODY ALLEN 

PROJECT Woody Allen ("Celebrity") 

assembles another eccentric 

cast— including Hugh 

Grant ("Netting Hill"), Jon 

Lovitz ("Happiness"), Tracy Ullman 

("Bullets Over Broadway") 

and Michael Rapaport ("Deep 

Blue Sea")—for his latest film, 

whose plot is, as usual, being 

kept secret. (Distribution to be 

set) 

"QUILLS" Geoffrey Rush 

("Shakespeare in Love") will 

portray the Marquis de Sade in 

this film about the infamously 

debauched 18th-century 

author's last days. Kate Winslet 

("Hideous Kinky") and Joaquin 

Phoenix ("8mm") will co-star. 

(Fox Searchlight) 

"SAVING GRACE" A widow 

("Little Voice's" Brenda 

Blethyn) who's shaken by her 

husband's death and is in danger 

of losing her fortune is convinced 

by her mansion's 

caretaker ("The Big Tease's" 

Craig Ferguson) to turn her 

greenhouse into a pot farm in 

order to maintain her wealth. 

(Distribution is to be set) 

"MOULIN ROUGE" Based on 

the myth of Orpheus and his 

journey to the Underworld, this 

musical set in 1899 will star 

Ewan McGregor ("The Phantom 

Menace") and Nicole Kidman 

("Eyes Wide Shut") and will be 

directed by Baz Luhrmann 

("Romeo + Juliet"). (Fox) 

"ROMEO MUST DIE" "Lethal 

Weapon 4's" Jet Li will play a 

modern-day Romeo who falls 

for an African-American Juliette, 

played by hip-hop musician 

Aaliyah. Their families 

—both involved in organized 

crime—object to the affair. Russell 

Wong ("New Jack City"), 

Delroy Lindo ("Ransom") and 

Isaiah Washington ("True 

Crime") co-star. "Lethal 

Weapon 4's" cinematographer 

Andrzej Bartkowiak makes his 

directorial debut. (Warner) 

"SKIPPED PARTS" This coming-of-age 

drama set in the '60s 

is about a 1 4-year-old boy ("Apt 

Pupil's" Brad Renfro) who 

moves to a small town with his 

irresponsible mother ("eXistenZ's" 

Jennifer Jason Leigh) to escape 

her domineering father. Tamara 

Davis ("Billy Madison") will direct. 

(Trimark) 

"BOESMAN AND LENA 

Danny Glover ("Lethal Weapc 

4") and Angela Bassett ("Ho 

Stella 

Got Her Groove Back 

will star in this adaptation ( 

Athol Fugard's anti-aparthei 

play. (Distribution is to be set) : 

"PARANOIA" In this psyche 

logical thriller, a fashion mod* 

wants to get away from it all an 

takes a weekend off in the cour 

try with her new boyfriend. Bi 

his pals show up and turn th 

romantic getaway into a nigh 

mare. Jessica Alba ("Never Bee 

Kissed"), Jeanne Tripplehor 

("Mickey Blue-Eyes"), lain Gle 

("Silent Scream"), Ewen Brerr 

ner ("Trainspotting") and Kevi 

Whately ("The English Patient' 

star for director John Duiga 

("Molly"). (Distribution is to b 

set) 

"WHERE THE HEART IS" . 

pregnant teenager ("The Phar 

torn Menace's" Natalie Pon 

man) is abandoned en route t 

California by her boyfriend. Le 

at a Wal-Mart without an 

money, she is forced to mak 

the drugstore her home. (Fox) 

ET CETERA: Billy Crudu| 

("Without Limits") will take th. 

role exited by Brad Pitt in thi 

untitled DreamWorks corned' 

by writer/director Cameroi 

Crowe ("Jerry Maguire"). Thi 

film, set in the '70s, is about thi 

world of rock music as seei 

through the eyes of a journalist 

Crudup will star as the leader o 

a rock band and Kate Hudsor 

("Desert Blue") will play < 

groupie. Frances McDormand 

Jason Lee, Bijou Phillips, Ann. 

Paquin and Fairuza Balk wil 

co-star. .."Dick's" Will Ferrel 

will play a car salesman desper 

ate to meet his quota ir 

Paramount's "August Blow 

out".. .Heath Ledger ("10 Thing! 

I Hate About You") will pla^ 

Mel Gibson's character's son ir 

Columbia's American Revolu 

tionary War film "The Patriot.' 

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AUGUST 

TRAILERS 

Summer's over faster than a speeding 

bullet 

Historically, August has been a slow summer month, lacking 

in the blockbusters that characterize the Memorial Day and 

independence Day weekends. Last year was no different, despite 

high expectations. Paramount's Nicolas Cage vehicle "Snake 

Eyes" disappointed during the first weekend, followed by Warner 

Bros.' "The Avengers," perhaps the biggest bomb of the season, 

garnering a measly $23.5 million domestic. The month's only 

relative successes were "Halloween H20" at $75 million worldwide 

and Drew Barrymore's "Ever After" at $86.1 million worldwide, 

which marked the beginning of the teen demo's reign at 

the boxoffice. 

August 1999 comes to the rescue, however, with a slate of 

smaller films that probably won't smash your boxoffice but will 

keep your lobby buzzing nonetheless. The month opens with 

Universal's "Mystery Men" as well as Fox's "Fight Club" and 

Artisan's "Ninth Gate." Warner's "Iron Giant" should entertain 

the kiddies, while the teens check out Columbia's "Dick." 

Week two keeps the balance, offering Buena Vista's Antonio 

Banderas starrer "The 13th Warrior" and a romantic comedy 

from Warner Bros, called "Mickey Blue Eyes" starring a post- 

"Notting Hill" Hugh Grant. MGM does double duty this weekend, 

pushing "The Thomas Crown Affair" back from June as well 

as releasing "Mr. Accident." Miramax's "In Too Deep" and New 

Line's "Detroit Rock City" also bow. 

The third and fourth weekends keep it light, releasing 

Columbia's Martin Lawrence vehicle "Blue Streak" and 

Miramax's hotly anticipated (and recently renamed) "Teaching 

Mrs. Tingle," followed by New Line's "The Astronaut's Wife" 

starring Johnny Depp and Charlize Theron. Other pics to watch 

for this month include "Hoofbeats," the "Universal Soldier" 

sequel and the Dennis Rodman vehicle "Simon Sez" from 

Columbia, Universal's "Dudley Do-Right," Fox's "Brokedown 

Palace" and MGM's "Molly." 

Dick 

See our June 1 999 issue Trailers. 

(Columbia, 8/4) 

at Lughnasa") stars in this 

English-language drama from 

Hungary based on a true story in 

Russian writer Fyodor 

Dostoyevsky's life. Forced to 

complete a novel in 27 days at 

the demand of his publisher, his 

relationship with his stenograph- 

AUGUST 4 

The Gambler 

Michael 

er begins to 

NY, 8/1 3 LA) 

Exploltlps: 

Unfortunately, 

will work against it. 

AUGUST 6 

(Fox, 8/6) 

That's the Way I Like It 

Writer-director-producer 

Cannes for a 

hoping to 

The Mystery Men 

Ben Stiller 

Claire Forlani 

("Shakespeare in 

Kinnear ("As Good As It 

— Annlee Ellingson 

Gambon ("Dancing 

intertwine with the 

story he writes. Jodhi May ("The 

Last of the Mohicans"), Polly 

Walker ("Emma"), Dominic 

West ("A Midsummer Night's 

Dream") and Luise Rainer ("The 

Good Earth") co-star. Karoly 

Makk directs a script by 

Katharine Ogden, Charles 

Cohen and Nick Dear 

("Persuasion"); Cohen and Marc 

Viessing produce. (Legacy, 8/4 

With a plot similar 

to this year's Oscar winner 

"Shakespeare in Love, " this period 

pic will be of interest to 

fans/students of the author's 

work. Get their attention by 

alerting local school literature 

departments that you're screening 

the film and orchestrating a 

tie-in with a nearby bookstore. 

"The Gambler's" 

limited release and the weekend's 

heavy art-house schedule 

Fight Club 

See our June 1 999 issue Trailers 

Glen 

Goei makes his debut with this 

disco movie set in 1970s 

Singapore. Adrian Pang stars as an 

adolescent who enters a dance 

competition to earn some extra 

cash, a move that changes the 

course of his life. (Miramax, 8/6) 

Exploitips: Miramax snapped 

up this pic— previously titled 

"Forever Fever"— last year at 

mid-six figure sum, 

emulate the success it 

saw with the Australian "Strictly 

Ballroom." Subsequently, the distributor 

inked a first-look, threepicture 

deal with Goei. 

("There's Something 

About Mary"), Hank Azaria 

("Godzilla"), William H. Macy 

("Pleasantville"), Paul Reubens 

("Pee-Wee's Big Adventure"), 

("Meet Joe Black"), 

Janeane Garofalo ("200 

Cigarettes"), Geoffrey Rush 

Love") and Greg 

Gets") are 

among the stars in this ensemble 

comedy about seven lame superhero 

wannabes who are called 

upon to save the city when 

Captain Amazing is kidnapped. 

Kinka Usher makes his feature 

film directorial debut; Neil 

Cuthbert ("Hocus Pocus") and 

Brent Forrester ("The Stupids") 

base their script on the Dark 

Horse comic by Bob Burden; 

"Event Horizon's" Lawrence 

Gordon and Lloyd Levin produce 

with "Barb Wire's" Mike 

Richardson. (Universal, 8/6) 

Exploitips: Boasting a cast 

with a little something for everyone, 

this superhero spoof shouki 

be enormously popular among 

teens and 20-something men 

familiar with the comic (or 

comics in general, 

for that matter) 

but has significant crossover 

potential due to the familiar 

names. Have your customers 

join in the fun by showing up as 

their favorite superhero for discounts 

on tickets or concessions. 

Iron Giant 

Jennifer Aniston ("Office 

Space") and Harry Connick Jr. 

("Hope Floats") lend their voices 

to this animated feature about a 

giant robot who falls to Earth in 

1958, frightening the residents of 

a small town in Maine. It 

befriends a young boy, however, 

and wins its humanity by saving 

the townspeople from their own 

fears and prejudices. Brad Bird 

(TV's "The Simpsons") writes and 

directs; Tim McCanlies and Andy 

Brent Forrester also script from 

the novel by England's Poet 

Laureate Ted Hughes; Allison 

Abbate and Des McAnuff produce. 

(Warner Bros., 8/6) 

Exploitips: "iron Giant" is 

Bird's highly anticipated featurefilm 

debut after working on TV's 

"King of the Hill," "The 

Simpsons," "The Critic" and 

"Family Dog." Unfortunately, he 

didn't pick the best studio at 

which to make his segue. Warner 

Bros.' animation efforts so far, 

aside from "Space Jam," have 

been dismal disappointments. Its 

last release, "The King and I," 

made just $10.7 million. 

The Ninth Gate 

Writer- director- producer 

Roman Polanski ("Chinatown," 

"Rosemary's Baby") has tapped 

Johnny Depp ("The Astronaut's 

Wife") to star in this thriller as a 

rare book expert assigned to 

track down the two remaining 

copies of a demonic text. Lena 

Olin ("Mystery Men") and Frank 

Langella (Adrian Lyne's "Lolita") 

co-star. John Brownjohn 

(Polanski's "Bitter Moon") and 

Enrique Urbizu also script from 

the novel "The Club Dumas" by 

Arturo P^rez-Reverte; Spain's 

Itiaki Nuiiez and France's Alain 

Vannier also produce. (Artisan, 

8/6) 

Exploitips: Polanski's first film 

in nearly half a decade and his 

most ambitious since 1988's 

8 BOXOFHCE

APPEARING! 

*** 

m 

^ 

ci Been The Choice Of ivie fioef's kh\i lake Sufe if Concession Features Ihe Doubie Selling Poif Oltee 

fL 

toftofesentati 

Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc. 

7401 S. Cicero Avenue • Chicago, IL 60629 

www.tootsie.com

j 

"Frantic," "The Ninth Gate" was Artisan's first 

production under new management and was 

announced even before it changed its name 

from Live Entertainment. At $30 million, the 

thriller is also the company's largest production 

investment in its 1 0-year history. Depp 

fans are going to get their fill this month, with 

New Line's "The Astronaut's Wife" opening 

just three weeks from now. 

West Beirut 

After working as a camera operator for 

Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs" and 

"Pulp Fiction," writer-director Ziad Doueiri 

has come out with a film of his own, a coming-of-ager 

set in 1970s Beirut, when the city 

was torn apart by war. For three young boys, 

the political schism between Christians and 

Muslims means greater freedom, but they cannot 

ignore the conflict forever. Rami Doueiri, 

Mohamad Chamas and Rola Al Amin star. 

Rachid Bouchareb and Jean Brehat produce. 

(Cowboy,_8/6 NY/LA) 

Exploitips: Cowboy acquired "West Beirut" 

at the American Film Market this spring. The 

pic won the Fipresci critics award at the 1998 

Toronto International Film Festival and was 

the official Lebanese submission for the best 

foreign film Academy Award. 

Plunkett & Macleane 

See our March 1999 

(Gramercy, 8/6) 

issue 

Trailers. 

Perfect Blue 

"Akira" director Katsuhiro Otomo lends his 

name to this Japanese anime about a wannabe 

actress who blows off her pop girl group for a 

small part in a TV series. Soon she finds herself 

acting in rape scenes and modeling nude to 

support herself while a doppelganger makes 

her wonder what her life could have been. 

Satoshi Kon directs a screenplay by Sadayuki 

Murai; Hiroaki Inoue ("Wings of 

Honneamise") and Masao Maruyama produce. 

(Palm, 8/6 NY) 

Exploitips: Although Otomo's only a special 

adviser on this pic, the association will spark 

interest even among non-anime aficionados. 

Also, Miramax's "Princess Mononoke" has the 

advantage of a) being in English, b) coming 

out first and c) having the marketing campaign 

that won "Shakespeare in Love" an Oscar 

behind it. Still, "Perfect Blue" probably will 

only benefit from the heightened awareness of 

anime brought about by "Princess." 

Taxman 

See our March 

(Phaedra, 8/6) 

AUGUST 11 

1999 issue Trailers. 

The Thomas Crown Affair 

See our May 1999 issue Trailers. (MGM, 

8/11) 

in Too Beep 

Omar Epps follows up the "Mod Squad" 

debacle with this thriller about an undercover 

cop intent on bringing down a gangster called 

"God" who's tapped into 80 percent of the 

city's crime. It'll take six months to get close to 

him. The question becomes, once he's in that 

deep, will he be able to come up for air? LL 

Cool J 

("Halloween H20"), Nia Long ("Soul 

Food"), Pam Grier ("Jackie Brown") and 

Stanley Tucci ("The Imposters") co-star. 

Michael Rymer directs a script by Paul Aaron 

and Michael Henry Brown ("Dead 

Presidents"), who also both produce. 

(Miramax, 8/1 1 

Exploitips: Guaranteed to be popular 

among urban audiences, "In Too Deep" could 

see some crossover due to its similarities to 

"Donnie Brasco" and other undercover-in-themob 

movies. It might see some holdover competition 

from last month's "The Wood," also 

starring Epps. 

AUGUST 13 

The 13th Warrior 

Antonio Banderas ("The Mask of Zorro") 

leads a mostly European cast in this historical 

thriller set in 922 A.D., playing an important 

emissary who falls in with a band of Viking 

warriors as they battle a cannibalistic creature. 

"Die Hard's" John McTiernan directs a script 

by William Wisher ("Terminator 2: Judgment 

Day") and Warren Lewis, who based it on the 

Michael Crichton novel "Eaters of the Dead"; 

McTiernan, Crichton and Ned Dowd ("The 

Three Musketeers") produce. (Buena Vista, 

8/13) 

Exploitips: Shooting wrapped on "The 

Thirteenth Warrior" in November 1997, but 

Disney's been taking its time releasing it. 

Rumor has it that Banderas hurt his back during 

filming, and the filmmakers had to go back 

and shoot some pickup shots they lost due to 

the injury. One of the last pics put into production 

by the now-defunct Cinergi, 

Touchstone agreed to oversee its production 

and distribution. 

iVIr. 

Accident 

Over a decade after "Young Einstein," 

writer-director-star Yahoo Serious returns in 

this comedy as an accident-prone guy who 

discovers his employer's plan to market nicotine-laced 

eggs. He teams up with his boss' 

UFO-obsessed girlfriend to foil the scheme, 

and, of course, they fall in love. Helen 

Dallimore co-stars. David Roach ("Young 

Einstein") lends a hand on the script; Warwick 

Ross (Serious' "Reckless Kelly") produces. 

(MGM, 8/1 3) 

Exploitips: MGM needs a hit, but this isn't 

going to be it. "Young Einstein" only grossed 

$11.5 million when it was released in 1988, 

and last weekend's "The Mystery Men" makes 

for a formidable opponent. This is the flick 

with which MGM chose to bow its specialty 

arm G2 Films. Hmm. 

Betroit Rocic City 

See our March 1999 issue Trailers. (New 

Line, 8/13) 

iVIicicey Biue Eyes 

Hugh Grant follows up his pairing with Julia 

Roberts in "Notting Hill" with another romantic 

comedy. This time he's a New York art 

dealer who, though madly in love, can't marry ' 

the girl of his dreams without thwarting her 

family: the Mob. Soon he's unwittingly laundering 

money, witnessing murder and masquerading 

as the notorious mobster Mickey 

Blue Eyes. James Caan ("This Is My Father") 

and Jeanne Tripplehorn ("'Til There Was You") 

co-star. Kelly Makin ("Kids in the Hall: Brain! 

Candy") directs a script by Marc Lawrence.; 

("Forces of Nature"), Adam Scheinman ("Little 

| 

Big League") and Robert Kuhn; Elizabeth! 

Hurley ("Extreme Measures") and Charles! 

Mulvehill ("Red Corner") produce. (Warnerl 

Bros., 8/1 3) 

Exploitips: A good three months after the 

release of "Notting Hill, " the two Grant starrers 

shouldn't collide in the marketplace, and 

"Mickey Blue Eyes" has the romantic comedy 

market cornered this month. There have been 

rumors of trouble on the set, however: 

Reportedly, Grant clashed with director Makin 

and shot extra scenes with Carl Gottlieb on the 

set as a stand-in director, with Grant pretty 

much calling the shots. The blue-eyed actor 

also recut Makin's final cut, adding the new 

scenes and making other changes. The good 

news is that the result has been getting good 

test audience scores. 

iVIinusiVlan 

See our May 1999 issue Trailers. (Artisan, 

8/1 3 NY/LA) 

Aiice et iVIartin 

Juliet Binoche ("The English Patient") stars 

in this French-language drama as a Parisian 

whose lover has a mysterious past. He goes 

particularly mad when she reveals to him that 

she's pregnant. Alexis Loret and Carmen 

Maura co-star. Andre Techine directs as well 

as scripts with "Les Voleurs'" Gilles Taurand; 

Alain Sarde (also Techine's "Les Voleurs") produces. 

(October, 8/1 3 NY, 8/20 exp) 

Exploitips: As with last month's "The Lovers 

of the Bridge," Oscar-winner Binoche will be 

the attraction here for American audiences. 

Bandits 

See our February 1999 issue Trailers. 

(Stratosphere, 8/1 3 NY) 

AUGUST 20 

Blue Streal( 

After sharing the limelight in a string of films 

(most recently "Life" with Eddie Murphy), 

Martin Lawrence carries this comedy on his 

own as a jewel thief who, about to be caught 

and thrown in jail for three years, hides the 

loot at a construction site. When he's released, 

he impersonates a cop to find the diamonds, 

now buried somewhere within an L.A. policel 

precinct, while impressing his colleagues with! 

his crime-fighting prowess. Les Mayfield 

("Flubber") directs a script by Stephen! 

Carpenter; Daniel Melnick ("LA. Story"), Nealj 

H. Mortiz ("Cruel Intentions") and Toby Jaffe 

produce. (Columbia, 8/20) 

jj 

Exploitips: Though critics mostly panned it,\\ 

"Life" opened at number one, indicating that 

star power still rules at the boxoffice, at least 

on opening weekend. (That it quickly fell to 

number two— behind "The Matrix," which 

had already been out for several weeks— likewise 

indicates that substance also counts.) 

Lawrence rarely headlines a film on his ov/i\, 

I 

10 BoxoFncE

^^JT:'*-^ 

®Jhe Foundation for Success

so it'll help to remind patrons that he was also 

in boxoffice success stories "Nothing to Lose, 

"Bad Boys" and "Boomerang." 

Teaching Mrs. Tingle 

"Scream"-writer and "Dawson's Creek" creator 

Kevin Williamson makes his hotly anticipated 

directing debut in this wicked comedy 

starring WB darling Katie Holmes ("Go") as a 

high school valedictorian who will stop at 

nothing to get her scholarship to Harvard. The 

detested Mrs. Tingle is the only thing standing 

in her way. Helen Mirren ("The Madness of 

King George") co-stars. Williamson scripts and 

directs; Cathy Konrad (the "Scream" franchise) 

produces. (Miramax, 8/20) 

Exploitips: The boom in teen movies is really 

all due to Williamson, who not only reinvigorated 

the horror film but introduced the 

often emulated pop culture-savvy teens who 

are "Dawson's Creek." In addition to the fans 

of the genre and the target audience, some 

movie fans will come out just to see him take 

the next step. If your community's small 

enough, sponsor a dunking booth outside 

where students can drown their (least) favorite 

teachers in a fundraiser for charity. 

Love Stinks 

French Stewart (TV's "3rd Rock from the 

Sun") leads other small-screen stars including 

Jason Bateman ("The Hogan Family") and 

Tiffani-Amber Thiessen ("Beverly Hills, 

90210") as well as supermodel Tyra Banks in 

this "unromantic comedy" directed by "Full 

House's" Jeff Franklin. Craig Baumgarten 

("Universal Soldier: The Return") produces. 

(Legacy,_8/20 ltd) 

Exploitips: Last week's "Mickey Blue Eyes" 

and next week's "The Very Thought of You" 

could give this little indie a run for its money. 

Play up its classic TV connections by sponsoring 

television trivia contests based on the cast. 

For example, which popular sitcom did Banks 

star in from 1993 to 1994? Hint: It made Will 

Smith a big star. 

The Muse 

See our May 1999 issue Trailers. (October, 

8/20) 

Portraits Chlnois 

See our April 1999 issue Trailers. (Phaedra, 

8/20 NY/LA) 

AUGUST 25 

The Very Thought of You 

See our April 1999 issue Trailers. (Miramax, 

8/25 NY/LA) 

AUGUST 27 

The Astronaut's Wife 

His second thriller this month, this time of 

the sci-fi variety, Johnny Depp ("The Ninth 

Gate") co-stars here with Charlize Theron 

("Mighty Joe Young"). He plays an astronaut 

who retires after experiencing a mysterious 

scare in outer space; she's his expectant wife 

who wonders if the changes in her husband 

are all in her mind. Screenwriter Rand Ravich 

("Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh") makes his 

directorial debut; Andrew Lazar ("10 Things I 

Hate About You") produces. (New Line, 8/27) 

Exploitips: Theron played a similar role in 

the underrated "Devil's Advocate," in which 

her character suspected that her husband was 

working for Satan. There, she held her own 

against co-stars Keanu Reeves and Al Pacino. 

Her larger role here promises an even more 

engaging performance. Certainly, "The 

Astronaut's Wife" is the biggest release this 

weekend and will only suffer, perhaps, at the 

hands of last week's "Mrs. Tingle. " However, 

as noted above, "Wife" may still be competing 

with "The Ninth Gate," also a Depp starrer, 

which opened three weeks ago. 

The Lost Son 

See our April 1999 issue Trailers. (Artisan, 

8/27 NY/LA, 9/1 exp) 

Mad About Mambo 

in her first leading role in a feature film 

since the debut of TV's popular "Felicity," Keri 

Russell stars as an upper-class Irish student 

determined to prove herself as an accomplished 

Latin dancer. A romantic comedy, the 

pic pairs her with a working-class teen who 

dreams of playing professional soccer and sets 

out to polish his athletic prowess on the dance 

floor. You fill in the blanks. William Ash and 

Theo Fraser Steele co-star. John Forte writes 

and directs his debut; David Kelley (no, not 

"Ally McBeal's") produces. (Gramercy, 8/27) 

Exploitips: Kind of a "Strictly Ballroom"- 

meets-"Cutting Edge"-meets-"Circle of 

Friends," this film will benefit enormously 

from Russell's presence. Vaulted to stardom 

before "Felicity" even premiered, she's just 

one of many WB darlings who've gone on to 

make hits for the big screen (think James Van 

Der Beek's "Varsity Blues" and Katie Holmes 

in this month's "Teaching Mrs. Tingle"). 

Men Cry Bullets 

"Star Trek: Voyager's" Jeri Ryan stars in this 

tragicomedy about a novelist whose penchant 

for rough sex snares her a wannabe female 

impersonator. Ryan's the Southern cousin who 

comes between the couple. Steven Nelson ("3 

Little Ninjas and the Lost Treasure") and 

Honey Lauren co-star. Tamara Hernandez 

writes and directs as well as produces with 

Jessica Rains and Harry Ralston. (Phaedra, 

8/27) 

Exploitips: On a weekend packed with 

indies, your audience for this sex romp will 

be, oddly enough, Trekkies. Ryan's a hit on 

"Voyager" as a Borg drone trying to re-assimilate 

to life as an individual. Her skin-tight uniform 

leaves little to the imagination, and she's 

been the object of affection for a couple of 

crewmembers onboard the Federation starship 

as well as, I suspect, a few fans. 

The Acid House 

Based on three short stories by 

"Trainspotting" novelist Irvine Welsh, this surreal 

comedy details a day-in-the-life of three 

Scottish lads. One is fired, dumped, kicked out 

of his parents' house, arrested and beaten by 

the police and turned into a fly by God, whom 

he meets in a bar. Another is too soft to do 

anything when his wife moves in with the 

bully upstairs. Finally, lightning strikes an 

addict on an acid trip, switching his body with 

that of a newborn baby. Ewen Bremner (who 

played Spud in "Trainspotting") stars. Paul 

McGuigan makes his directorial debut; Welsh 

scripts; David Muir and Alex Usborne produce. 

(Zeitgeist, 8/27) 

Exploitips: Obviously, the allure here is the 

"Trainspotting" connection, especially with 

Bremner on board. Plugging the cult hit into 

the second half of a double feature could be a 

clever way to introduce fans to this new 

release. 

Late August, Early September 

A French-language drama from "Irma Vep" 

writer-director Olivier Assayas, this pic follows 

two men as they launch new relationships' 

with women after their respective long-term 

relationships fall apart. Mathieu Amalric (this 

month's "Alice et Martin"), Virginie Ledoyen 

("Jeanne and the Perfect Guy") and Francois 

Cluzet ("French Kiss") star. Georges Benayouns 

("Nenette et Boni"), Philippe Carcassonne) 

("Dry Cleaning") and Franôise Guglielmi produce. 

(Zeitgeist, 8/27) 

Exploitips: boxoffice gave this 4 1/2 stars, 

saying, 

"Olivier Assayas does it again, following 

up his delightful 'Irma Vep' with a muchl 

more serious but equally adept film— one that 

should confirm him at the forefront of French 

filmmakers. 

AUGUST UNDATED 

Hoofbeats 

Straight from the horse's mouth, this dramatic 

adventure details the life of a young foal 

named Lucky as he's abandoned in a mining 

town in 1914 Africa and wanders into the 

neighboring desert. Russian director Sergei 

Bodrov ("Prisoner of the Mountains") helms; 

Jean-Jacques Annaud, who directed "Seven 

Years in Tibet," scripts and produces. 

(Columbia, August or September undated) 

Exploitips: Promising stunning visuals (and 

beating DreamWorks' like-minded animated 

"Spirit" to the punch), "Hoofbeats" is for fans 

of "The Horse Whisperer, " only this time they 

can bring the kids. Depending on where it falls 

this month, it'll run up against Warner's "Iron 

Giant" or Universal's "Dudley Do-Right. 

Universal Soldier: The Return ^ 

in this action-adventure sequel, Jean- 

Claude Van Damme reprises his role as Luc 

Deveraux, now working as a technical expert 

on the government's project to resurrect the 

LIniversal Soldier training program. When the 

supercomputer controlling the Soldiers goes 

haywire, only he can battle the elite team of 

warriors. Michael Jai White ("Spawn") costars. 

Also look for WCW champion Bill 

Goldberg in his feature film debut. Mic 

Rodgers directs his first feature film; William 

Malone ("The House on Haunted Hill") and 

John Fasano ("Another 48 Hrs.") script; Craig 

Baumgarten ("Jade"), Allen Shapiro 

("Universal Soldier") and Van Damme produce. 


Exploitips: The original "Universal Soldier" 

accumulated about $100 million worldwide, 

but Van Damme's popularity has dropped off 

in recent years with "Legionnaire" going 

straight to video and "Knock Off" barely grossing 

just half its $35 million budget worldwide. 

Oddly enough, your marquee name here 

might be Goldberg, who's even graced the 

cover of "Entertainment Weekly" in recent 

months due to the extraordinary popularity of 

professional wrestling. 

Simon Sez 

Short-lived Laker Dennis Rodman left his 

basketball shoes at home (on purpose, this 

time) to star in this action comedy as an 

Interpol agent who rescues the kidnapped 

daughter of an old associate with the help of 

two monks who also happen to be computer 

geniuses. Kevin Elders, who wrote and executive 

produced "Iron Eagle," makes his directorial 

debut. Moshe Diamant (Rodman's 

"Double Team") and Ringo Lam produce. 


Exploitips: Rodman moved to L.A. ostensibly 

to further his career in entertainment, and 

now he has the time on his hands to follow 

12 Boxoffice

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through, 

having been dumped by the Lakers 

after showing up late for practices and refusing 

to reenter a couple of games. His feature film 

debut (where he didn't play himself) was 

"Double Team" with jean-Claude Van 

Damme, which only raked in $11.3 million 

domestic. 

Brokedown Palace 

Along the lines of last summer's "Return to 

Paradise," this drama pairs Claire Danes with 

British sweetie Kate Beckinsale ("The Last 

Days of Disco") as a couple of recent high 

school grads who get arrested for drug trafficking 

while vacationing in Thailand. Bill 

Pullman ("Lake Placid") co-stars as their attorney. 

Jonathan Kaplan ("Bad Girls") directs; 

David Arata makes his scripting debut; Adam 

Fields ("Ravenous") produces. (Fox, August 

undated) 

Exploitips: Although Danes is hot at the 

moment, even she was unable to pull MGM's 

"The Mod Squad" above a measly $12.9 million, 

and Beckinsale's stateside recognition 

isn't quite what it's destined to be, at least not 

yet. Polygram tried this same concept with 

"Return to Paradise," only from a male point 

of view, and raked in just $8.3 million. Maybe 

Fox will have better luck by appealing to a 

female demo. 

Dudley Do-Right 

Brendan Fraser ("The Mummy") headlines 

another Universal release in this live-action 

comedy based on the 1969 animated television 

series produced by Jay Ward. A dedicated 

but hapless young Mountie, Dudley Do-Right 

(Fraser) discovers a scheme to swindle all the 

Semi-Happy Valley citizens out of their land. 

Sarah Jessica Parker (HBO's "Sex in the City") 

and Alfred Molina (Broadway's "Art") co-star. 

Hugh Wilson ("Blast from the Past") scripts 

and directs; "Dr. Dolittle's" John Davis and 

Joseph Singer produce with J. Todd Harris. 

(Universal, August undated) 

Exploitips: Eraser's appeared in a number of 

films in the past year or so— the Oscar-winning 

"Gods and Monsters," "Blast from the 

Past" and the record-breaking "The 

Mummy"— in a number of different kinds of 

roles, ranging from dramatic to comic to 

action. "Dudley" has the advantage of falling 

into the thesp's most successful genre, as evidenced 

by a little family film from Disney 

called "George of the jungle." Depending 

where it falls, "Dudley" will only see competition 

from Warner Bros. ' animated "Iron Giant" 

(a genre in which the studio's not particularly 

successful) and Columbia's "Hoofbeats." 

Illumlnata 

See our January 1999 issue Trailers. 

(Artisan, August undated) 

Untitled Irish Comedy 

Uberto Pasolini, the producer of "The Full 

Monty," presents this romantic comedy about 

a village of Irish men who, frustrated with the 

lack of eligible and interested women in their 

community, scheme to attract American 

women to their annual dance. Romance 

comes from an unexpected source, however 

right under their noses. Niamh Cusack, Sean 

McGinley ("The General") and Ian Hart 

("Monument Ave.") star. Aileen Ritchie directs 

a script by William Ivory. (Fox Searchlight, 

August undated ltd) 

Exploitips: This pic was one of Pasolini's 

first projects under the multi-year production 

deal he signed with Fox Searchlight last spring. 

Under his guidance, it has the potential charm 

to achieve the same success that "The Full 

Monty" did. 

White Boys 

Writer-director Marc Levin follows up his 

award-winning feature "Slam" with this dramatic 

comedy about a working-class white 

boy from Iowa who dreams of writing milliondollar 

rap hits while living on the mean streets 

of Chicago. Danny Hoch ("The Thin Red 

Line") writes and stars. Richard Stratton and 

Garth Belcon also script; "Slam's" Stratton and 

Henri Kessler produce with Ezra Swerdiow 

"CopLand." (Fox Searchlight, August undated) 

Exploitips: Fox Searchlight president 

Lindsay Law paired Levin with this script after 

seeing "Slam," which won the Grand jury 

Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and the 

Camera d'Or at the 1998 Cannes Film 

Festival. The pic was a disappointment at the 

boxoffice for distributor Trimark, however. 

Sex: The Annabel Chong Story 

Starring the porn star who broke the record 

for the world's largest gang bang (251 men in 

10 hours) in 1995, this documentary attempts 

to reconcile the fact that a USC gender-studies 

theorist could slit her wrists when her record is 

broken. Gough Lewis directs. (Greycat, August 

or September undated) 

Exploitips: Despite causing quite a stir at 

Sundance (Ms. Chong's photograph graced 

many a festival roundup), this little pic had a 

hard time finding distribution. Curiosity will 

take care of most of the marketing, but keep in 

mind what that did to the cat 

All the Little Animals 

Christian Bale ("The Velvet Goldmine") and 

John Hurt ("Love and Death on Long Island") 

make an unlikely pair in this British 

drama/thriller as a mentally slow young man 

and an old stranger who bury roadkill and 

generally appreciate the animal kingdom. 

Jeremy Thomas produces and directs a script 

by Eski Thomas based on the novel by Walker 

Hamilton. (Lions Gate, August undated) 

Exploitips: Lion's Gate has seen a string of 

critical successes as of late, including blurt's 

"Love and Death on Long Island" and culminating 

with Oscar winners "Gods and 

Monsters" and "Affliction." This pedigree 

combined with these stars should make this an 

art-house powerhouse. Potential party poopers, 

depending on when it comes out, could 

be "The Ninth Gate" or "The Acid hlouse." 

The Powder Keg 

Veteran Yugoslavian director Goran 

Paskaljevic ("Someone Else's America") directs 

this black comedy set in Belgrade on the eve 

of the Dayton Peace Accord in 1995. In a 24- 

hour period, friends and strangers interact in a 

series of events that begins with road rage and 

ends in murder. "Someone Else's America's" 

Sergei Trifunovic stars with "Underground's" 

Miki Manojiovic, Mirjana Jokovic and Lazar 

Ristovski. Based on a play by Dejan Dukovski, 

this pic is produced by Antoine de Clermont- 

Tonnerre ("Cinema Paradiso"). (Paramount 

Classics, August undated) 

Exploitips: The first foreign-language acquisition 

for Paramount's specialty arm, "The 

Powder Keg" has been overshadowed by Emir 

Kusturica's higher profile "Black Cat, White 

Cat" because of Paskaljevic's public criticism 

of the country's political elite. This pic managed 

to walk away with the Yugoslavian entry 

for the foreign-language Academy Award, 

however. 

Better than Chocolate 

In this romantic comedy, Maggie (Karyn 

Dwyer) meets the woman of her dreams just 

before her divorcing mother and brother move 

in with her. The four end up living together, 

but the lesbian lovers still feel the need to keep 

their relationship a secret. Christina Cox (TV's 

"Gene Roddenberry's Earth: Final Conflict") 

and Wendy Crewson ("Air Force One") costar. 

Anne Wheeler directs a script by Peggy 

Thompson; Sharon McGowen produces. 

(Trimark, August undated) 

Exploitips: Winner of the People's Choice^ 

Award at the 1999 London Gay and Lesbiart 

Film Festival, this pic features a soundtrack 

including songs by Sarah MacLachlan and Ani 

DeFranco. It should be popular among the gay 

demo. 

LATE MOVIE MOVES 

Lake Placid 

Lake Placid is anything but in this 

horror/comedy penned and produced by TV's 

golden-boy-of-the-moment David E. Kelley 

("Ally McBeal," "The Practice"). Bridget Fonda 

stars as a New York paleontologist who travels 

to Maine to investigate a mysterious death 

near the remote lake. Bill Pullman ("Zero 

Effect") co-stars. Steve Miner ("Halloween 

H20") directs; Michael Pressman (TV's 

"Chicago Hope") and Peter Bogart also produce. 

(Fox, 7/1 6) 

Exploitips: Pullman's pulling double duty at 

Fox this summer, also starring in this month's 

"Brokedown Palace," which is most likely 

why this release got pushed up to July. 

Depending on where "Palace" falls, the two 

probably won't collide at the boxoffice. 

Without giving too much away about the plot, 

you might want to set up an alligator-wrestling 

ring in your lobby, the opponent being 35 feet 

long and man-eating. 

The Wood 

A coming-of-ager told through flashbacks, 

"The Wood" stars "Go's" Taye Diggs, "In Too 

Deep's" Omar Epps and "Event Horizon's" 

Richard T. Jones as pals who get together to 

reminisce about growing up in '80s 

Inglewood, Calif., on the day one of them is 

headed down the aisle. Rick Famuyiwa 

("Blacktop Lingo") writes and directs; 

"Election's" Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa and 

David Gale produce. (Paramount, 7/16) 

Exploitips: An MTV Films production, "The 

Wood" was announced as a vehicle for Jamie 

Foxx. Scheduling conflicts may have arisen, 

however, and Diggs got the part. MTV movies 

are hit or miss, ranging from the unexpectedly 

successful ("Beavis and Butt-head Do 

America," "Varsity Blues") to the disappointedly 

lackluster ("joe's Aparment, " "Dead Man 

On Campus," "200 Cigarettes"). This pic shifted 

its original August release date this spring, 

probably so as to not interfere with Miramax's 

"In Too Deep, " also starring Epps. 

^ 

Rosie 

Belgian Patrice Toye writes and directs this 

Dutch-language debut about a bright 1 3-yearold 

girl who's desperate for attention from her 

mother. When she doesn't get it, however, she 

creates a world of fantasy where her only 

friend is also her Prince Charming come to 

rescue her. Aranka Coppens stars. Antonio 

Lombardo (co-producer on "Antonia's Line") 

produces. (New Yorker, July undated NY/LA, 

August exp) 

Exploitips: Belgium's Foreign Language 

Film entry to this year's Academy Awards, 

"Rosie" should be popular at the art-house 

with the distaff set. 

WM 


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May 1999: 

May 1999: 

May 1999: 

May 1999: 

May 1999: 

Endurance, 5/14, Doc/Dra, G, 83 min, 

SR, SRD, Scope. Haile Gebrselassie, 

Shawanness Gebrselassie, Gebrselassie 

Bekele. Dir: Leslie Woodhead. 

June 1999: 

Instinct, 6/4, Dra, R, 126 min, DTS, 

SDDS, SR, SRD, Scope. Anthony Hopkins, 

Cuba Gooding Jr., Donald Sutherland, 

Maura Tierney Dir: Jon Turteltaub. 

Tarzan, 6/18, Ani, 90 min, DTS, SDDS, 

SR, SRD, Flat. Voices: Tony Goldwyn, 

Minnie Driver, Glenn Close, Alex D. 

Linz, Rosie O'Donnell, Brian Blessed, 

Nigel Hawthorne, Lance Henriksen. 

Dirs: Kevin Lima. Chris Buck. 

July 1999: 

(CURRENT) 

Summer of Sam. 7/3. 

Dra. R, 137 min, 

DTS. SDDs, SR. SRD. Scope. John 

Leguizamo, Adrien Brody. Mira Sorvino, 

Jennifer Esposito, Anthony La Paglia, 

Bebe Neuwirth, Patti LuPone, Ben 

Gazzara, John Savage, Michael 

Badalucco. Dir: Spike Lee. 

Inspector Gadget, 7/23. Fam/Com, 96 

min, DTS, SDDS, SR, SRD, Flat. 

Matthew Broderick. Rupert Everett. 

Joely Fisher, Michelle Trachtenberg, 

Michael G. Hagerty, Cheri Oteri, Dabney 

Coleman. Dir: David Kellogg. 

August 1999: 

The 13th Warrior (formerly Eaters of 

the Dead), 8/13, Adv, R, 103 min, DTS, 

SDDS, SR, SRD, Scope. Antonio 

Banderas. Diane Venora. Omar Sharif. 

Dir; John McTiernan. 

September 1999: 

Mumford (working title), 9/24. Com, 

Dolby SR, Scope. Jane Adams, Ted 

Danson, Hope David, Loren Dean, 

Jason Lee, Mary McDonnell, David 

Paymer, Martin Short, Robert Stack, 

Pruitt Taylor Vince, Alfre Woodard. 

Dir: Lawrence Kasdan. 

October 1999: 

Mystery, Alaska, Dra, Scope. Russell 

Crowe, Hank Azaria, Mary McCormack, 

Lolita Davidovich, Ron Eldard, Colm 

Meaney Burt Reynolds. Dir: Jay Roach. 

COMING: 

The Sixth Sense. Fall, Sus/Thr, Flat. 

Bruce Willis. Toni Collette, Olivia 

Williams, Haley Joel Osment. Dir: M. 

Night Shyamalan. 

Wigand Project, Fall. Al Pacino, Russell 

Crowe, Christopher Plummer, Diane 

Venora, Philip Baker Hall, Debi Mazar, 

Michael Gambon, Lindsay Grouse, Rip 

Torn, Stephen Tobolowsky Gina 

Gershon. Dir: Michael Mann. 

Toy Story 2, Thanksgiving, Ani. Voices: 

Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don RIckles, Jim 

Varney Wallace Shawn, John 

Ratzenberger, Annie Potts, Kelsey 

Grammar, Joan Cusack, Wayne Knight, 

Estelle Harris, Laurie Metcalf, R. Lee 

Ermey Dir: John Lasseter. 

Bicentennial Man, Holiday Rom/Dra. 

Embeth 

Robin Williams. Sam Neill, 

Davldtz, Wendy Crewson, Oliver Piatt. 

Dir: Chris Columbus. 

The Cradle Will Rock, Holiday, Dra. 

Scope. Hank Azaria, Ruben Blades, Joan 

Cusack, John Cusack. Cary Elwes. Philip 

Baker HaU, Cherry Jones. Angus 

Macfadyen, Bill Murray, Vanessa Redgrave. 

Susan Sarandon, John Turturro, Emily 

Watson. Dir: Tim Robbins. 

Breakfast of Champions, Black Com, 

110 min, Flat. Bruce Willis. Albert 

Finney. Nick Nolle. Barbara Hershey. 

Glenne Headley. Lukas Haas. Omar 

Epps. Dir: Alan Rudolph. 

Fantasia 2000. 1/1/2000. Ani. 90 min. 

IMAX. Dirs: Hendel Butoy (Animation), 

Don Hahn (Live Action). 

The Thirteenth Floor, 5/14, SF/Thr, R. 

120 min, DTS, SDDS, SR, SRD, Scope. 

Armin Mueller-Stahl, Craig Bierko, 

Vincent D'Onofrio, Dennis Haysbert, 

Gretchen Mol. Dir: Josef Rusnack. 

June 1999: 

Limbo, 6/4, Dra, 126 min, SDDS, Rat. Mary NO RELEASES SCHEDULED 

Elizabeth Mastrantonb, David Strathaim, 

Vanessa Martinez. Dir: John Sayles. 

Big Daddy (formerly Guy Gets Kid), 

6/25, Com, SDDS, Flat. Adam Sandler, 

Joey Lauren Adams, Rob Schneider, 

Leslie Mann, Jon Stewart, Josh Mostel, 

Cole Sprouse. Dir: Dennis Dugan. 

July 1999: 

(CURRENT) 

Arlington Road, 7/9, Thr, R, 118 min, 

DTS, SDDS, SR, SRD, Scope. Jeff 

Bridges, Tim Robbins, Joan Cusack, 

Hope Davis. Dir: Mark Pellington. 

Muppets From Space, 7/30, Fam/Com, 

SDDS. Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy 

Fozzie the Bear, Gonzo, Rizzo. Ray 

Liotta, David Arquette. Andie 

MacDowell. Dir: Tim Hill. 

August 1999: 

Dick, 8/4, Com. PG-13. 90 min. SDDS, 

SR. Flat. Kirsten Dunst, Michelle 

Williams, Will Ferrell. Dave Foley Ana 

Gasteyer. Dan Hedaya, Harry Shearer. 

Dir: Andrew Fleming. 

Blue Streak, 8/20. Com, SDDS. Martin 

Lawrence. Dir: Les Mayfield. 

Hoofbeats, Dra/Adv, SDDS, Chase 

Moore. Arie Verveen. Dir: Sergei Bodrov. 

Simon Sez (could go Sep), Act/Adv. 

Dennis Rodman, Filip Nicolic. 

Universal Soldier: The Return (could 

go Sep), Acl'Adv. R. SDDS. Jean-Claude 

Van Damme, Heidi Schanz, Michael Jai 

White, Kiani Tom. Dir: Mic Rodgers. 


Jakob the Liar, 9/24, Dra, SDDS, SR. 

Robin Williams, Gregg Bello, Armin 

Mueller-Stahl, Alan Arkin, Bob Balaban, 

Liev Schreiber. Dir: Peter Kassovitz. 

October 1999: 

Elmo in Grouchland. 10/1, Fam/Com, 

G, SDDS, SR. Kevin Clash (as 

Elmo), Vanessa L.Williams, Mandy 

Patinkin.Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch. Dir: 

Gary Halvorson. 

Random Hearts. 10/8, Dra, SDDS. 

Harrison Ford, Kristin Scott-Thomas, 

Charles S. Dutton. Dir: Sydney Pollack. 

Crazy in Alabama, Com/Dra, PG-13, 

SDDS. Melanie Griffith, David Morse, 

Cathy Moriarty Lucas Black, John 

Beasley Meat Loaf ADay Rod Steiger. 

Dir: Antonio Banderas. 

Girl Interrupted. Dra, SDDS. Winona 

Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Brittany Murphy, 

Clea DuVall. Vanessa Redgrave, 

Whoopi Goldberg. Dir: James Mangold. 

I Dreamed of Africa (could go Nov), 

Dra, SDDS. Kim Basinger, Vincent 

Perez, Eva Marie Saint, Robert Loggia, 

Liam Aiken. Dir: Hugh Hudson. 

COMING: 

Joan of Arc, 1 1/5, Dra. SDDS. Milla 

Jovovich, Dustin Hoffman, Faye 

Dunaway John Malkovich, Vincent 

Cassel, Tcheky Karyo. Dir: Luc Besson. 

Stuart Little, 12/10, Com, SDDS. 

Geena Davis, Jonathan Lipnicki, Hugh 

Laurie. Michael J. Fox, Jennifer Tilly. 

Bruno Kirtjy, Gene Wilder, Chazz 

Palminteri. Steve Zahn. Dir: Rob Minkotf, 

Hanging Up. 12/25, Com/Dra, SDDS. 

Meg Ryan, Lisa Kudrow, Diane Keaton. 

Dir: Diane Keaton. 

The End of the Affair, December. Ora. 

Ralph Fiennes, Julianne Moore. 

Stephen Rea. Dir: Neil Jordan. 

28 Days. 1 st Otr 2000. Sandra Bullock. 

Elizabeth Perkins. Dir: Betty Thomas. 

The Love Letter, 5/21, Rom/Com, DTS, 

SDDS, SR. SRD. Kate Capshaw, Tom 

Selleck, Ellen DeGeneres, Tom Everett 

Scott. BIythe Danner, Gloria Stewart. 

Dir: Peter Chan. 

June 1999: 

July 1999: 

(CURRENT) 

The Haunting, 7/23, Ha/Thr, DTS, SDDS. 

Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Lili 

Taylor, Owen Wilson. Dir: Jan De Bont. 

August 1999: 

NO RELEASES SCHEDULED 



October 1999: 


COMING: 

American Beauty, Fall, DTS. Kevin 

Spacey, Annette Bening. Dir: Sam 

Mendes. 

Galaxy Quest, Holiday Tim Allen, Alan 

Rickman, Sigourney Weaver. Dir: Dean 

Parisot. 

After Man, DTS. 

Arkansas, DTS. 

Keeper, DTS. 

The Man Who Came to Dinner. 

Dir: Danny De Vito. 

Mozart and the Whale, DTS. 

Neanderthal, DTS. 

The Newports. DTS. Dir: Steven 

Spielberg. 

The Road to El Dorado (formerly El 

Dorado: City of Gold), March 2000, Ani, 

DTS, SR, SRD. Kevin Kline, Kenneth 

Branagh, Rosie Perez, Armand 

Assante, Edward James Olmos. 

Dirs: Eric "Bibo" Bergeron, Don Paul. 

Chicken Run, 6/23/2000, Ani, DTS. 

Voices: Mel Gibson, Julia Sawahia, 

Miranda Richardson, Ben Whitrow, 

Lynne Ferguson, Imelda Staunton, 

Jane Horrocks, Tony Haygarth, Timothy 

Spall. Dir: Nick Park & Peter Lord. 

Shrek, Holiday 2000, Ani. DTS. Mike 

Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy 

John Lithgow, Linda Hunt. Dir: Andrew 

Adamson, Victoria Jenson. 

Untitled Charles Lindbergh Project. 

2000, DTS. Dir: Steven Spielberg. 

Tea With Mussolini, 5/14, Com/Dra, 

DTS, SDDS. Cher, Judi Dench, Maggie 

Smith, Lily Tomlin. Dir: Franco Zeffirelli. 

June 1999: 


July 1999: 

(CURRENT) 

Stigmata (formerly Toby's Story), 7/9, 

Thr, DTS. Patricia Arquette, Gabriel 

Byrne, Nia Long. Patrick Muldoon. 

Dir: Rupert Wainwright. 

August 1999: 

The Thomas Crown Affair, 8/1 1 , Thr, 

DTS. Pierce Brosnan, Rene Russo, 

Denis Leary. Dir: John McTiernan. 

Mr. Accident, 8/13, Com. DTS. Yahoo 

Serious, Helen Dallimore. Dir: Yahoo 

Serious. 


Molly (aka Rescue Me), 9/3, Dra/Com, 

PG-13, 102 min, DTS, SR. Elisabeth 

Shue, Aaron Eckhart, Jill Hennessy, 

DW Moffett, Elizabeth Mitchell. 

Dir: John Duigan. 

One Man's Hero, 9/3, Dra/Adv, R, DTS. 

Tom Berenger, Daniela Roma. Dir: 

Lance Hool. 

October 1999: 

Flawless, 10/1, Dra/Com, DTS. Robert 

DeNiro, Phillip Hoffman. Dir: Joel 

Schumacher. 

COMING: 

Supernova. 12/17, SF/Thr, DTS, SR. 

James Spader, Robin Tunney, Wilson 

Cruz, Angela Bassett, Lou Diamond 

Phillips, 

Peter Facinelli. Dir: Walter Hill. 

Autumn in New York, 2000. Richard 

Gere. 

Cold Mountain, 2000. Dir: Anthony 

Minghella. 

Mary Jane's Last Dance, 2000, Dra. 

Meredith Monroe. Mia Kirshner, 

Dominique Swain, Oliver Hudson, 

Rachel True, Taye Digs, Scott Bairstow. 

Dir: Zoe ClarkeWilliam. 

Return to Me, 2000, Rom/Dra. David 

Duchovny Minnie Driver. Dir: Bonnie 

Hunt. 

The Castle. 5/7 NY/LA, Dra/C 

min. Flat. Michael Caton, Ann 

; 

Stephen Curry Dir: Rob Sitch 

Iris Blonde, 5/14 NY/LA. 

June 1999: 

An Ideal Husband, 6/18 NY/I \ 

Rom/Com, PG-13, 96 min, SF :^ 

Blanchett, Minnie Driver, Rup( 

Everett, Julianne Moore. Jerei 

Northam. Dir: Oliver Parker. 

My Son the Fanatic, 6/25 NV 

Om Purl, Rachel Griffiths, Ste 

gard. /\kbar Kurtha. Dir: Udayan F , 

July 1999: 

(CURRENT) 

The Lovers on the Bridge (fc = 

The Lovers of Pont Neuf), 7/2 

Rom/Dra, SR. Juliette Binochf 

Dir: Leos Carax. 

My Life So Far, 7/16 NY/LA, I 

1 3, SR. Mary Elizabeth Mastrf 

i 

Malcolm McDowell, Colin Firth j 

Jacob. Dir: Hugh Hudson. 

Outside Providence. 7/30. 10: • 

Shawn Hatosy /Mac Baldwin, Geo V 

Sara Gilbert. Dir: Michael Corrente 

August 1999: 

That's the Way I Like It, 8/6. 

In Too Deep, 8/1 1 , Thr. Omar « 

Cool J, Nia Long. Dir: Michael r 

Teaching Mrs. Tingle (formerl 

Mrs. Tingle). 8/20. Com. SDDJ.^ 

Mirren, Katie Holmes, Jeffrey! 3 

Molly Ringwald. Dir: Kevin Willis 

The Very Thought of You (fort 

Martha Meet Frank, Daniel am 

Laurence), 8/25 NY/LA, Rom/( !. 

SR. Monica Potter, Joseph FiS' s 

Rufus Sewell. Dir: Nick Hamm. 


The Grandfather (Spain), 9/3 

The World Is Not Enough (formerly 

Dra. Dir: Jose Luis Garci. 

Bond 19), 11/19, Act/Adv, DTS. Pierce 

B. Monkey, 9/10 NY/LA, Dra, I 

Brosnan, Judi Dench, Denise Richards, 

min, SR, Flat. Asia Argento, Ja 

Sophie Marceau. Dir: Michael Apted. 

Harris. Rupert Everett, Thandic; 

John Rhys-Myers. Dir: Michael r 

Hard Day's Night (restored rei 

9/17 NY/LA, 91 min. SR.TheEi 

Dir: Richard Lester. 

Guinevere, 9/24, R. Stephen F 

Sarah Polly Gina Gershon, Je£: 

Paul Dooley Dir: Audrey Wells. 

October 1999: 

Happy, Texas, lO'l NY/LA, Co 

min. Jeremy Northam, Steve Z; 

llleana Douglas, William H. Mac' 

Walker. Dir: Mark lllsley 

' 

Fifty Violins, 10'5. Meryl Stree 

i 

Quinn. Gloria Estefan. Dir: Wes 

O (Othello). 10/8. Josh Hartnet 

Stiles. Rain Phoenix. 

Scream If You Know What I Di 

Halloween. 10/15. Dir: Keenan 

Wayans. 

Daddy and Them. 10/22. Laura 

Bob Thornton. Kelly Preston, Ben A 

Diane Ladd. Dir: Billy Bob Thornton. 

The Wisdom of Crocodiles, 1( 

NY/LA. Timothy Spall. 

Princess Mononoke, 10/29. Ani 

SR, SRD. VDices: Minnie Dnver, Cla 

Danes, Billy Crudup. Dir: Hayao Miy 

COMING: 

Elephant Juice. 3rd Otr. Daniel 

dini, Emmanuelle Beart. Dir: Sai 

Holy Smoke. 3rd Otr. Pam Grie 

Harvey Keitel, Kate WInslet. 

The Yards, 3rd Otr . Mark Wahlber 

Cahn, Joaquin Phoenix, Faye Dunav 

Charlize Theron. Dir: James Gray. 

Mansfield Park. 11/5 NY/LA. Er 

Davidtz. Jonny Lee Miller. Aless 

Nivola. Dir: Patricia Rezema. 

Scream 3, 12/10. David Arquett' 

Camptsell. Courtney Cox. Dir: Wes C 

The Cider House Rules. Tobey 

Charlize Ttieron. Michael Caine, Deli 

Undo. Dir: Lasse Hallstrom.

I 

'• 

'i, 

I 

' 

^â 

ramoun 

... Century _ 

Jniversal 

^^rner Bro 

0-854-5811 

323-956-5000 

310-369-1000 

818-777-1000 

818-954-6000 

2-64 

. [SES SCHEDULED Trekkies, 5/21, Doc. DIr: Roger Nygard. 

f lers: The Spy Who 

ie(ie. 6' 11. Com, PG-13, 95 

• ;:^DS. SR. SRD, SRD/EX, 

'.ers. Heather Graham, 

?rt Wagner. Dir: Jay 

Gorgeous (formerly Dairy 

'16, Com, PG-13, 97 min, 

;, SR, SRD.'EX, Flat. KIrstin 

tise Richards, Kirstie Alley 

Dir: Michael Patrick Jann, 

6^9: 

fcSsk City, 8.13, Com, R, 90 

R'iSDDS, SR, SRD, SRDEX, 

|.-f-'/ard Furlong, Natasha 

Is, ,.m Huntington, Lin Shaye, 

|Oello, Gene Simmons, Peter 

HftiFrehley Paul Stanley Dir: 

'Fin. 

Bfiaufs Wife, 8 27. Thr. R, 

nr'TS, SDDS. SR, SRD, 

©^lat, Johnny Depp. Charlize 

R.-:Rand Ravitch, 

mr 1999: 

•'Country, 91 7. RonvCom, 

^"D, Flat. Warren Beatty, 

3oldie Hawn, Andie 

- v-y Shandling, Jenna 

)e999: 

Peier Chelsom. 

Jrs. 10'8, SusThr, 105 min, 

, Scope. Winona Ryder, 

jijin, John Hurt, Elias Koteas. 

r ; Kaminski, 

If.slor, 1112, Rom.Com. 102 

r SDDS. SR, SRDEX, Flat. 

C.jnnell, Renee Zellweger, 

B.ields. Dir: Gary Sinyor. 

c- 1225, Dra, DTS.Tom Cruise. 

son. William H. Macy, 

rdoore. John C, Reilly Melora 

srlelinda Dillon, Philip Baker 

"!) 

Seymour Hoffman. Ricky 

!iul Thomas Anderson. 

ijy (formerly Friday II). 12'25. 

tûbe. 

f its (formerly Jello Shots). 

I 5. DDS, SR. Sean Patrick 

t Brad Rowe, Amanda Peet. 

t.jnnell, Tara Reid. Emily 

If 

I. 

ir: Michael Cristofer. 

t om, Dra. Ben Affleck, 

h îblsi. Nia Long, Vin Diesel. 

t.ounger. 

rt» (aka Celebrity), Act/Thr. 

1. 3urns, Robert De Niro. 

Herzfeld. 

1^ 

5lory (aka The Ortegas), 

' Jimmy Smits. Jon Seda. 

s Avila. 

June 1999: 

The General's Daughter. 6/18, Dra. 

John Travolta. Madeleine Stowe, James 

Woods, James Cromwell, Timothy 

Hutton. Dir: Simon West. 

South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. 

6 30. Cartman, Kenny Kyle. Stan. Chef. 

July 1999: 

(CURRENT) 

The Wood, 7 16. Omar Epps. Richard T. 

Jones. Taye Diggs. Dir: Rick Famuyiwa. 

The Runaway Bride. 7 30. Julia 

Roberts. Richard Gere. Dir: Garry 

Marshall. 

August 1999: 



Double Jeopardy. 9 24. Tommy Lee 

Jones. Ashley Judd. Dir: Bruce 

Beresford. 

October 1999: 


COmUG: 

Bringing Out the Dead, Fall. Nicolas 

Cage. Ving Rhames, Patricia Arquette. 

Dir: Martin Scorsese. 

Sleepy Hollow, 11/19. Johnny Depp. 

Christina Ricci. Casper Van Dien. 

Dir: Tim Burton. 

Mission: Impossible II, 12/17. Tom 

Cruise, Ving Rhames, Dougray Scott, 

Thandie Newton, Steve Zahn, Luther 

Stickell. Dir: John Woo. 

The Talented Mr. Ripley, Christmas. 

Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow. 

Dir: Anthony Minghella. 

Angela's Ashes. 1999. Emily Watson, 

Robert Carlyle. Dir: Alan Parker. 

Superstar, 1999. Molly Shannon, Will 

Ferrell. Elaine Hendhx. Dir: Bruce 

McCulloch. 

Rules of Engagement. 2000. Tommy 

Lee Jones. Dir: William Friedkin. 

May 1999: 

Star Wars Episode 1:The Phantom 

Menace. 5/19, SR 131 min, DTS. 

SDDS, SR, SRD'EX. Scope, Liam 

Neeson, Ewan MacGregor, Natalie 

Portman, Jake Lloyd, Madison Lloyd. 

Dir: George Lucas. 

June 1999: 

July 1999: 

(CURRENT) 

Next to You. 811. SR, SRD. Flat. 

Melissa Joan Hart. Dir: John Schultz. 



Octotter 1999: 

Sunset Strip. Anna Friel, Simon Baker 

Denney Nick Stahl, Rory Cochrane. 

Dir: Adam Collis. 

COMING: 

Light it Up. Fall, Dra. Forest Whitaker. 

Vanessa L. Williams, Usher, Rosarlo 

Dawson. Dir: Craig Bolotin. 

Sin Eater. Fall. 

Anna (formerly Anna and the King). 

Holiday Jodie Foster, Chow Yun-Fat. 

Dir: Andy Tennant. 

The Beach. Holiday SR, SRD. 

Leonardo DiCaprlo, Virginia Ledoyen. 

Guillaume Canel, Tilda Swinton. 

Dir: Danny Boyle. 

Anywhere But Here. 1999, SR. 

SRD, Scope. Susan Sarandon, 

Natalie Portman, Bonnie Bedelia. 

Dir: Wayne Wang. 

Disaster Area. 1999, SR. SRD. Vince 

Vaughn. Dir: Harold Zwarf. 

Ghostriders, 1999. SR, SRD. 

Dir: Jan De Bont. 

Me, Myself and Irene, Summer 2000. 

Com. Dirs:The Farrelly Brothers. 

Minority Report, Summer 2000. Tom 

Cruise. Dir: Steven Spielberg. 

Titan A.E. (formerly Planet Ice), 2000, 

Ani. SR. SRD. Voices: Matt Damon, Bill 

Pullman. Drew Barrymore. Nathan 

Lane. Dirs: Don Bluth & Gary Goldman. 

Cast Away. Tom Hanks, Helen Hunt. 

Dir: Robert Zemeckis. 

Monkeybone. Brendan Eraser. 

Dir: Henry Selick. 

Say It Isn't So (working title). 

Dirs: The Farrelly Brothers. 

Untitled Mike Judge Film, SR. SRD 

Dir: Mike Judge. 

Untitled Sean Connery Project, 

SR, SRD. Sean Connery 

May 1999: 

The Mummy. 5 7. Thr. PG-13, SR, 

SRD. Brendan Eraser. Rachel Weisz. 

John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo. 

Dir: Stephen Sommers. 

Notting Hill. 5 28. Rom, Com. PG-13, 

SR. Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant. 

Dir: Roger Michell. 

Brokedown Palace (formerly Untitled June 1999: 

Jonathan Kaplan Film), 6/4, PG-13, SR, 

SRD. Bill Pullman, Claire Danes, Kate NO RELEASES SCHEDULED 

Beckinsale, Lou Diamond Philips. 

Dir: Jonathan Kaplan. 

July 1999: 

(CURRENT) 

American Pie (formerly East Great 

Falls High). 7 9. Com. R, SDDS, SR. 

Lake Placid. 7/16, R, SR. SRD, Scope. SRD, Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, 

Bill Pullman, Oliver Piatt. Bridget Fonda. Eddie Kaye Thomas. Chris Klein, 

Brendan Gleeson. Dir: Steve Miner. Natasha Lyonne. Tara Reid, Jennifer 

Coolidge, Shannon Elizabeth. Mona 

Fight Club. 7/30. Dra. SR, SRD. Scope. Shvari, Dir: Paul Weitz, 

Brad Pitt. Edward Norton, Helena 

Bonham Carter. Meat Loaf, Eion Bailey Bowfinger. 7,'23, Com, PG-13. DTS. 

Jared Leto. Dir: David Fincher. 

SDDS. SR. SRD. Steve Martin, Eddie 

Murphy Robert Downey Jr., Heather 

August 1999: 

Graham, Christine Baranski, Jamie 

Kennedy. Dir: Frank Oz. 

August 1999: 

Mystery Men. 8/6, AcLCom, DTS, 

SDDS, Hank Azaria, Janeane Garofalo, 

William H. Macy. Lena Olin, Paul 

Reubens. Geoffrey Rush, Claire 

Forlani, Greg Kinnear, Ben Stiller. 

Dir: Kinka Usher. 

Dudley Do-Right, Com. DTS. Brendan 

Eraser. Sarah Jessica Parker, Alfred 

Molina. Dir: Hugh Wilson. 


Isn't She Great, 9 3. Com, DTS, SDDS. 

SR, SRD, Bette Midler, Nathan Lane, 

John Cleese. David Hyde-Pierce. 

Dir: Andrew Bergman. 

For Love of the Game. 9 1 7. Rom/Dra, 

DTS, SDDS, Kevin Costner, Richard T 

Jones, Kelly Preston. Dir: Sam Raimi. 

October 1999: 

The Bone Collector. 10 1. Thr. DTS. 

Denzel Washington. Angelina Jolie, 

Queen Lafifah, Ed O'Neill, Mike 

McGlone. Dir: Phillip Noyce. 

Snow Falling on Cedars. 10/8. 

Rom/Dra, DTS, SDDS, SR. SRD. Ethan 

Hawke. James Cromwell, Max Von 

Sydow. Youki Kudoh. Dir: Scott Hicks. 

The Best Man, 10/22, Rom/Com. 

DTS. SDDS. Taye Diggs, Nia Long. 

Dir: Malcolm D. Lee. 

COMING: 

Ride With the Devil. Fall. DTS, SDDS, 

SR, SRD.Tobey Maguire. Jewel, Skeef 

Ulrich, Jeffrey Wright, Jonathan Rhys 

Meyers. James Caviezel, Dir: Ang Lee. 

Man on the Moon, 11/5, Dra/'Com, 

DTS. Jim Carrey Danny DeVito. 

Courtney Love, Paul Giamatti, Tony 

Clifton. Dir: Milos Forman. 

End of Days. 1 1,'24. Act Adv, DTS. 

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Robin 

Tunney, Gabriel Byrne, Kevin Pollack. 

Dir: Peter Hyams. 

The Story of Us. 12/25. Bruce Willis. 

Michelle Pfeiffer. Paul Reiser. Rita 

Wilson. Rob Reiner, Julie Hagerty. 

Tim Matheson. Dir: Rob Reiner. 

Erin Brackovich. Julia Roberts. 

Family Man. DTS. John Travolta. 

New Jersey Turnpikes. DTS, SDDS. 

Kelsey Grammer. Orlando Jones, 

Robert Conrad. Dir: Bryan Buckley 

Pittsburgh. Com. DTS. SR, SRD. 

Norm MacDonald. Dave Chappelle. 

Elaine Stritch. Sarah Silverman, 

Sherman Hemsley Dirs: Scott 

Alexander & Larry Karaszewski. 

May 1999: 



July 1999: 

(CURRENT) 

The Wild Wild West. 72. Rom/Com/ 

Adv/West, PG. DTS, SDDS. Will Smith, 

Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh. Salma 

Hayek, Musetta Vander, Dir: Barry 

Sonnenfeld, 

Eyes Wide Shut, 7'16, DTS, SDDS. 

SR, SRD, Flat. Tom Cruise. Nicole 

Kidman, Sydney Pollack. Jennifer Jason 

Leigh, Todd Field, Dir: Stanley Kubrick. 

Deep Blue Sea, 7/30, DTS, SDDS, SR, 

SRD, Scope, Samuel L. Jackson, 

Stellan Skarsgard, Thomas Jane. 

Jacqueline MacKenzie. Saffron Burrows. 

Dir: Rennie Harlin. 

August 1999: 

The Iron Giant. 8/6, Ani. DTS. Voices: 

Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick Jr., Eli 

Marienthal. Dir: Brad Bird. 

Mickey Blue eyes. 8/13, Rom/Com. 

PG-13, DTS, SDDS, SR, SRD Flat. 

Hugh Grant, James Caan, Jeanne 

Tripplehorn, James Fox. Dir: Kelly 

Makin. 


Three to Tango. Rom/Com, PG-13. 98 

min. DTS. SDDS, SR. SRD. Flat. Neve 

Campbell. Matthew Perry, Dylan 

McDermott. Dir: Damon Santostefano. 

October 1999: 

Gossip. 10,15. James Marsden. Lena 

Heady Norma Reedus. Kate Hudson. 

Dir: David Guggenheim. 

COMING: 

The Big Tease (Je M'Appelle Crawford 

Fall. Com. R. DTS. SR. Craig Ferguson, 

Sarah Gilbert. 

Veronica Webb. Dir: Kevin Allen. 

Chill Factor. Fall. Dra'Sus. DTS, 

Cuba Gooding Jr,, Skeet Ulrich. 

Peter Firth. David Paymer, Judson 

Leick. Dir: Hugh Johnson. 

The House on Haunted Hill. Fall. DTS 

Geoffrey Rush. Taye Diggs. AN larter, 

Peter Gallagher. Dir: William Malone. 

Liberty Heights. Fall, DTS. Orlando 

Jones. Ben Foster. Adrien Brody, 

Justin Chambers. Rebekah Johnson. 

Dir: Barry Levinson. 

Pet People. Fall, DTS. Hugh Grant. 

Three Kings, Fall, DraSus, DTS. Ice 

Cube, Mark Wahlberg. George Clooney. 

Dir: David O. Russell. 

Till Human Voices Wake Us. Fall 

ltd. 

Dir: Michael Petroni. 

The League (aka On Any Given 

Sunday), Nov, Dra, DTS. Al Pacino, 

Dennis Quaid, Ving Rhames, LL Cool J, 

Sean "Puffy" Combs. Cameron Diaz, 

Lauren Holly James Woods, Ed Burns, 

Tom Sizemore. Dir: Oliver Stone. 

The Green Mile. 1217. Dra. DTS.Tom 

Hanks. Sam Rockwell, fvlichael Clarke 

Duncan, Barry Pepper, David Morse. 

Dir: Frank Darabont. 

Romeo Must Die. 1st Otr 2000, 

Acl'Dra. DTS. Jet Li. 

Perfect Storm. Summer 2000. Dir: 

Wolfgang Petersen. 

Osmosis Jones. Thanksgiving 2000, 

Ani. Voices: Will Smith. 

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. 

DTS, Mike Myers, 

A Dog of Flanders. PG. DTS, SDDS, 

SR, SRD, Flat. Jon Voight, Richard 

Harris, Haley Joel Osment, Jason 

Robards, Jesse James. Dir; Kevin 

Brodie. 

My Dog Skip, DTS. Kevin Bacon, Diane 

Lane.

00 

I 

I 

i 

1 

I 

I 

BOXOFFICE Independent Feature Chart JULY 1999 

SPRING 

Discovery 

301-986-1999 

Wildfire: Feel the Heat. 

Legacy 

323-467-3700 

Tequila Body Shots. Joey Lawrence. 

October 

212-539-4000 

Condo Painting, Doc. George Condo. 

Dir: John McNaughton. 

Rialto 

323-933-2733 

Peeping Tom (reissue), Thr, 101 min. 

CarlBoehm. Dir: Michael Powell. 

JUNE 

Artisan 

310-255-3716 

Buena Vista Social Club, Doc, 105 

min. Ry Cooder, Ruben Gonzales. Dir: 

Wim Wenders. 6/4 NY/LA, 6/1 8 exp 

Attitude 

212-995-9008 

Funny Games. 6/4 

Cowboy 

212-989-8179 

Finding North. Wendy Makkena. 

Dir: Tanya Wexler. 6/4 NY/LA 

Floating Life, Com. Dir: Clara Law. 6/1 

IMAX 

905-403-6500 

Island of the Sharks. 6/25 

Kino 

212-629-6880 

Coming Apart (1969; reissue), Dra, 

110 mm. Kip Torn, Sally Kirkland, 

Viveca Lindrors. Dir: Milton Moses 

Ginsberg. 6/25 

Legacy 

Caligula (20th anni; director's cut). 

Lions Gate 

212-995-9662 

The Red Violin, Dra, 1 30 min. Samuel 

L. Jackson, Greta Scacchi, Jason 

Flemyng, Don McKellar. Dir: 

Francois Girard. 6/1 1 NY/LA 

October 

The Idiots, 1 1 7 min. Louise Massing, 

Anne-Grethe. Dir: Lars Von Trier. 6/4 

Lucie Aubrac, Dra, R. Carole Bouquet, 

Daniel Auteuil, Patrice 

Chereau. Dir: Claude Berri. 

Paramount Classics 

323-956-5000/2 12-373-7000 

The Adventures of Sebastian Cole, 

Dra. Dir: Tod Williams. 6/25 

Phaedra 

323-938-9610 

Nobody (Japan), Act, 100 min. 

Masaya Kato, Jinpachi Nezu. Dir: 

Toshimichi Ohkawa. 6/4 LA 

Strawberry Fields, Dra, 86 min. 

Suzy Nakamura, James Sie, Heather 

Yosnimura. Dir: Rea Tajiri. 6/4 LA 

Just a Little Harmless Sex, 

Rom/Com, R, 98 min. Alison Eastwood, 

Jonathan Silverman, 

Kimberly Williams, Lauren Mutton, 

Rachel Hunter, William Ragsdale, 

Michael Ontkean. Dir: Rick 

Rosenthal. 6/1 1 LA/NY/SF 

Remembering the Cosmos Flower 

(Japan), Dra, 1 min. Oda Akane. 

Dir: Junichi Suzuki. 6/1 1 LA 

Zone 39 (Australia), SF, 93 min. 

Peter Phelps, Carofyn Bock, Bradley 

Byquar. Dir: John Tatouiis. 6/25 

Regent 

310-446-4577 

Free Enterprise, Com, 114 min. 

Robert Meyer Burnett. Dirs: Rafer 

Weigel, Eric McCormack, Audie England, 

William Shatner. 6/4 

Rialto 

The Third Man (reissue), Mys/Thr. 

Joseph Gotten, Orson Welles. Dir: 

Carol Reed. 6/1 

Samuel Goldwyn 

212-594-3334 

The Red Dwarf (Belgium), 1 02 min. 

Anita Ekberg. Dir: Yvan Le Moine. 6/1 

Desert Blue, R, 87 min. Christina 

Ricci, Casey Affleck, Sara Gilbert. 

Dir: Morgan J. Freeman. 6/18 

Seventh Art 

323-845-1455 

The Last Lieutenant, Dra. 6/1 8 

Honey and Ashes, Dra. Dir: Nadia 

Fares. 6/25 

Sony Classics 

212-833-8851 

Run Lola Run (Germany), Sus/Thr, R, 

81 min. Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu, 

Herbert Knaup, Armind Rohde, 

Joachim Kroi, Nlina Petri, Heino 

Ferch. Dir: Tom Tykwer. 6/18 NY/LA 

Strand 

310-395-5002 

The Edge of 1 7, Com, 99 min. Chris Stafford. 

Dir: David Moreton. 6/1 1 LA 

Jeanne and the Perfect Guy 

(France), Mus, 95 min. Virginie 

Ledoyen, Mathieu Demy. Dirs: 

Olivier DuCastel, Jacques Martineau. 

6/25 NY/LA 

Stratosphere 

212-605-1010 

Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl, Dra, 

R, 99 min. Lu Lu, Lopsang. Dir: Joan 

Chen. 6/25 NY/LA 

The Boys (Australia), Dra, R, 86 min. 

Toni Colette, David Wenham. Dir: 

Rowan Woods. NY/LA 

Trimark 

310-314-3040 

Twice Upon a Yesterday, Rom/Fan, 

R, 96 mm. Lena Headey, Douglas 

Henshall, Penelope Cruz. Dir: 

Maria Ripoli. 6/4 

Zeitgeist 

212-274-1989 

The Following, Dra, 70 min. leremy 

Theobald. Dir: Christopher Nolan. 6/4 

2ND QTR 

First Run 

212-243-0600 

Pusher, Dra, 105 min. Kim Bodnia, 

ZItatoBuric. Dir: Nicolas Winding Refn. 

JULY 

Artisan 

The Blair Witch Project, Hor. 7/1 

ltd, 7/30 exp 

Cowboy 

stiff Upper Lips. 7/2 NY/LA 

Fine Line 

212-649-4800 

Trick, 90 min. Christian Campbell, 

John Paul Pitoc, Tori Spelling. Dir: 

Jim Fall. 7/23 NY/L/VSF/Tor, exp 

8/6, 8/20 exp & 9/10 

Fox Lorber 

212-686-6777 

The Emperor's Shadow, Dra, 1 1 7 

min. Dir: Zhou Xiaowen. 7/2 

Kino 

The Milky Way, Dra, 1 04 min. Muhammad 

Bakri. Dir: Ali Nassar. 7/9 

Lions Gate 

The Dinner Game, Com, 82 min. 

Thierry Lhermitte, Jacques Villeret. 

Dir: Francis Veber. 7/9 

October 

Autumn Tale, Dra. Marie Riviere, 

Beatrice Romand. Dir: Eric Rohmer. 

7/9 NY, 7/23 exp 

Phaedra 

Fever Pitch, Rom/Dra, 95 min. 

Colin Firth, Ruth Gemmell. Dir: 

David Evans. 7/9 

Heart of Light (Denmark), Dra, 90 

min. Rasmus Lyberth, Vivi Nielsen. 

Dir: Jacob Grunlvkke. 7/23 

Floating, Dra, 94 min. Norman 

Reedus, Chad Lowe, Will Lyman, 

Sybil Temchen. Dir: William Roth. 

Jul Bos, Aug NY/LA 

Sony Classics 

Twin Falls Idaho, Dra, 105 min. 

Mark Polish, Michael Polish, Michelle 

Hicks, Leslie Ann Warren, 

Patrick Bauchau, Jon Gries, Garret 

Morris, William Katt. Dir: Michael 

Polish. 7/30 NY/LA 

Strand 

The Sticky Fingers of Time. 7/9 

Zeitgeist 

Broken Vessels (joint release with 

Unapix), Dra, R, 90 min. Scott Field, 

Jason London, Roxana ZaI. Dir: 

Scott Ziehl. 7/9 

AUGUST 

Artisan 

The Ninth Gate, Thr. Johnny Depp, 

Lena Olin, Frank Langella. Dir: 

Roman Polanski. 8/6 

The Minus Man, R, 1 1 3 min. Owen 

Wilson. Dir: Hampton Fancher. 

8/1 3 NY/LA 

The Lost Son, 102 min. Daniel Auteuil, 

Nastassia Kinski. Dir: Chris 

Menges. 8/27 NY/LA, 9/10 exp 

lllummata, Rom/Com. John 

Turturro, Susan Sarandon, Christo- 

BherWalken, RufusSewell, Beverly 

I'Angelo, Donald McCann, Georfina 

Gates, Ben Gazzara, Aida 

urturro. Dir: John Turturro. 

Cowboy 

West Beirut. 8/6 

Fox Searchlight 

310-369-4402 

Whiteboys, Dra/Com. Danny Hod 

Dash Mihok. Dir: Marc Levin. » 

Gramercy 

310-385-4400 

Plunkett & Macleane, Act/Ac, id^T, 

1 1 1 min. Robert Carlyle, Liv Tylei 

Jonny Lee Miller, Michael Gambor; 

Alan Gumming. Dir: Jake Scott. 8/ 

Mad About Mambo (formerly Pe 

feet Timing). William Ash, Keri Ru' 

sell. Dir: John Forte. 8/27 

Greycat 

702-737-0670 

Sex: The Annabel Chong Storj 

Doc, 86 min. Annabel Chong. Di 

Gough Lewis. Ltd (could go Sep) 

Legacy 

The Gambler. Dra, 97 min. Michat, 

Gambon, Jodhi May, Polly Walkei 

Dir: Karoly Makk. 8/4 NY, 8/13 L/ 

October 

Alice et Martin. Juliette Binoche 

Alexis Loret, Carmen Maura. Dii, 

Andre Techine. 8/1 3 NY, 8/20 expi 

The Muse, PG-13. Albert Brook;; 

Sharon Stone, Andie MacDoweh 

Jeff Bridges. Dir: Albert Brooks. 8/2i 

Palm 

415-331-0991 

Perfect Blue, Ani/Thr, 75 min. Dir 

Satoshi Kon. 8/6 NY 

, 

Paramount Classics 

The Powder Keg, Dra. 

Phaedra 

Taxman, Thr, 94 min. Jot' 

Pantoliano, Robert Townsend, Eliz 

abeth Berkley. Dir: Avi Nesher. 8/6 

Portrait Chinois (France), Dra, 1 0f 

min. Helena Bonham Carter, Rom 

ane Bohringer, Elsa Zylberstein. Dir 

Martine Dugowsin. 8/20 L/VNY 

Men Cry Bullets, Thr/Com, 10(1 

min. Jery Ryan. Dir: Tamarjl 

Hernandez. 8/27 

i 

Strand 

Head On, Dra, 104 min. AJoj 

Dimitriades, Paul Capsis. Dir: An£| 

Kokkinos. 8/13NY/LA 

Stratosphere 

Bandits, Mus/Adv, R, 1 09 min. Katjij 

Riemann, Jasmin Tabatabi, Nicol-i 

ette Krebitz, Jutta Hoffmann. Diri 

KatjaVonGarnier. 8/13 NY 

Zeitgeist 

Acid House, Com/Dra, 118 min,; 

Ewan Bremner, Jemma Redgrave. 

Dir: Paul McGuigan. 8/27 

Late August, Early September, Dra, 

1 1 min. Mathieu Almaric, Virginie, 

Ledoyen. Dir: Olivier Assayas.8/27j 

SUMMER 

IMAX 

Extreme. 

Siegfried & Roy: The Magic Box. 

Siegfried & Roy. 

Kit Parker 

800-538-5838 

Sisters (reissue), Thr, R, 93 min. Margot 

Kidder, Jennifer Salt, Charles Duming. 

Dir: Brian De Palma. NY/LA/SF 

18 BoxoFncE

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BOXOFFICE Independent Feature Chart JULY 1999 

aJ 

Lions Gate 

|e Little Animals. Christian Bale, 

H urt. Dir: Jeremv Thomas. 

Palm 

SEPTEMBER 

Artisan 

t^ Echoes Thr R. Kevin Bactxi, II- 

Douglas. Dir. David Koepp. 9/1 

Castle Hill 

212-888-0080 

V Wives, Three Secretaries and 

iljpoc, 80 min. Dir: Tessa Blake. 

\Y, 10/1 \C 


Plans, Thr, R. Alessandro 

a, Reese Witherspoon, Josh 

. Dir: Mike Barker. 

indican 

323-650-0832 

!|batra's 2nd Husband, Dra, R, 

CJJn. Radha Mitchell. Din Jon Res. 

New Latin 

800-538-5838 

(elicias Del Poder 

[Spanish), 

120 min. Maria Elena Velasco 

dia Maria), Ernesto Gomez. 

JJJvan Lipkies. I-A/Calif. 

October 

I kr Town, Com. Roseanna 

uette. Ally Sheedy, John Doe. 

Allison Anders, Kurt Voss. 9/1 

Palm 

|l World Cop, Dra. Paul Camp- 

Dir: Chris Browne. 

Phaedra 

^ of Control, Dra, 84 min. Jen- 

Van Dyck, John Cunningham. 

tack Winestine. 9/10 

>t Jane, Dra, 87 min. Samantha 

bis. Dir: Joe Gayton. 9/24 

Samuel Goldwyn 

p idor. \tatt Kessler, Kattileen Rob- 

- Dir Greg Araki. 9/1 NY/LA 

Shadow 

207-872-5111 

on Fire, ConvDra, 1 07 min. 

Baron. Dir: Rocky Collins. 

Zeitgeist 

Dra, 110 min. Aamir Khan, 

iita Das. Dir: Deepa Mehta. 9/3 

3RD QTR 

First Run 

ihed. Com, 81 min. Randy & 

n Sfelar, Mike Blieden, Miriam 

^. Dir: Carrie Ansell. 

I i Queen, Com, 87 min. David 

al, Dan Moran, Candis Cayne. 

Jon Camoy. 

Artisan 

Limey, Dra. Terence Stamp, Luis 

Peter Fonda, /Amelia Heinle, 

Lesley Ann Warren, Barry Newman. 

Dir: Steven Soderbergh. 10/8 

El Norte (reissue). Dir: Gregory 

Nava. 10/15ltd 

Castle Hill 

A Girl Called Rosemarie, Dra. Nina 

Hoss. Dir: Bemd Eichinger. 10/15 NY 

Fine Line 

Female Trouble reissue). Com, R, 

90 min. Divine. Dir: John Waters. 1 (Vl 

Phaedra 

Soft Toilet Seats, Mys/Com, 105 

min. Sammi Davis, David Alex 

Rosen. Dir: Tina Valinsky. 10/15 

Strand 

Beefcake, Dra, 93 min. Daniel Mac- 

Ivor. Dir: Thom Fitzgerald. 10/13 

Show Me Love, Com, 89 min. Alexandra 

Dahlstrom, Rebecca Liljeberg. 

Dir: Lukas Moodyson. 10/15 

FALL 

Artisan 

The Bumblebee Flies Anyway, Dra, 

95 min. Elijah Wood, Rachel Leign Cook, 

Janeane Garoralo. Din Martin Duffy. 

Fine Line 

The Legend of the Pianist on the 

Ocean, Dra. Tim Roth, Pruitt Taylor 

Vince, Clarence Williams III. Dir: 

Giuseppe Tornatore. 


Dreaming of Joseph Lees. Rupert 

Graves, Samantha Morton. Dir: Eric 

Styles, (could go winter) 

Dona Barbara ira 

Legacy 

Socinisi Spanish), Dra. 

Lions Gate 

Last Nidit, Dra, 93 min. Don Mc- 

Kellar, 3andra Oh, Galium Keitfi 

Rennie, Genevieve Bujold, David 

Cronenberg. Din Don McKellar. 

October 

Black Cat, White Cat, Com, R, 127 

min. Bajam Severdzan, Srdan 

Todonovic. Dir: Emir Kusturica. 

The Mammy. StOin Anjelica Huston. 

Untitled Mike Leigh. Dir: Mike Leigh. 

Palm 

Black and White, Dra. Robert Downey 

Jr., Brooke Shields, Ben Stiller, 

Elijah Wood, Jared Leto, Mike Tyson, 

Gaby Hoffrnan. Dir James Toback. 

The Cup. Ltd 

Phaedra 

Metal Skin t Australia), Dra/Thr, 100 

min. Tara Morice, Aden Young. Dir: 

Geoffrey Wright. 

Strand 

Stella Does Tricks, Dra, 99 min. Kelly 

MacDonald. Din Coky Giedroyc. 

mmm 

Artisan 

Felicia'sjourney, Dra. Bob Hoskins. 

Din Atom Egovan. 11/19 

The Silence. 

New Yorker 

212-247-6110 

Phaedra 

Beneath the Surface tSweden), Dra. 

1 03 min. Johanna Sallstrom, Mikael 

Persbrandt. Dir: Daniel Fridell. 1 1/1 

Sony Classics 

American Movie, Doc, 107 min. 

Din Chris Smith. 1 1/5 NY/LA 

Fine Line 

Tumbleweeds, Dra, 100 min. Janet 

McTeer, Kimberiy J. Brown, Gavin 

O'Connor. Din Gavin O'Connor. 

12/22 NY/LAôr. exp 1/14 & 1/28 

Sony Classics 

The Emperor and the Assassin, Dra. 

Gong Li, Li Xuejian, Zhang Fengyi. 

Dir: Chen Kaige. 12/1 7 NY/LA 

All About My Mother (Spain), 

Dra/Com. Cecilia Roth, Eloy Azorin, 

Marisa Paredes, Penelope Cruz, Rosa 

Marie Sarda. Din Pedro Almodovan 

4TH QTR 

Shooting Gallery 

212-243-3042 

Once in the Life. Dir: Laurence 

Fishburne. 

Trimark 

Joe the King, Dra, 1 00 min. Val Kilmer, 

Ethan Hawke, John Leguizamo, 

Noah Fleiss, Karen Young, 

Amy Wright. Din Frank Whaley. 

Romance, Rom/Dra, 95 min. Caroline 

Ducey, Sagamore Stevenin. 

Din Catherine Breillat. 

UNDATED/1999 

Cinema Village 

212-431-5119 

Cartoon Noir, Ani (cornpilation), 85 

min. Dir Various. 1999 

CQN 

213-658-6043 

Fantastic Planet 

First Look 

310-855-1199 

Alegria, Dra, PG. Frank Langella, 

Julie Cox. Din Franco Dragone. 1999 

Marcello Mastroianni—-i Remember, 

Doc, 198 min. Marcello Mastroianni. 

Din Anna Maria Tato. 1 999 

Fox Lorber 

Book of Life. Din Hal Hartley. 

Elles, Rom/Dra, 97 min. Miou- 

Miou, Marisa Berenson. Din Luis 

Galvao Teles. 

Madadayo. Din Akira Kurosawa. 

On the Ropes, Doc. 


Hard Men iU.K.j. Dra, R. Vincent 

Regan. Din J.K. Amalou. 1999 

Quills, Dra. Dir: Philip Kaufman. 

Soft Fruit Din Christina Ajidreef. 1999 

The Teena Brandon Story, Dra. Hilary 

Swank, Peter Sarsgaard, 

Brendon Sexton III, Chloe Sevigny. 

Din Kimberiy Peirce. 1999 

Untitled Irish Comedy. Niamh 

Cusack, Sean McGinley, Ian Hart. 

Din Aileen Ritchie. 

Woman on Top. 

Penelope Cruz. 

Din Fiona Torres. 1999 

Gramercy 

Being John Malkovich. John 

Cusack, John Malkovich, Cameron 

Diaz, Katherine Keener, Orson 

Bean. Din Spike Jonze. 1999 

Dad Savage. Patrick Stewart, Kevin 

McKidd. Din Betsan Morris-Evans. 

i Want You, Rom/Dra, R. Rachel 

Weisz, Alessandro Nivola. Din Michael 

Winterbottom. 1999 

The Match. Max Beesley. Laura Eraser, 

Ian Holm, Richard E. Grant, 

Tom Sizemore. Din Mkrk Davis. 1 999 

Resurrection Man. Stuart Townsend, 

James Nesbitt, Sean McGinley. 

Dir: Marc Evans. 1 999 

Snarl Up. Din Michael Winterbottom. 

Thursday. Thomas Jane, Aaron Eckhart, 

Mickey Rourke, Glenn Plummer. 

Din Skip Woods. 

What Rats Won't Do (U.K.), Rom/ 

Com. Natascha McElhone, James 

Frain, Charles Dance, Parker Posey. 

Din Alaistair Reid. 1999 

IMAX 

American Road, Doc. 

Mission to Mir, Doc. 

Maple Lake Releasing 

204-474-1896 

Angelou on Bums, Doc, 48 min. 

Maya Angelou. Dir: Elly Taylor. 

Northern Arts 

413-268-9301 

Continuing Adventures of Reptile 

Man. Tony Curtis. 

Levitation. 

Talk to Me. 

October 

The Naked Man, Com. Michael 

Rapaport. Arija Bareikis, Rachael 

Leigh Cook. Din J. Todd Anderson. 1999 

Up At the Villa. Kristin Scott- 

Thomas, Sean Penn, Anne Bancroft, 

Derek Jacobi. Dir: Philip Haas. 1999 

Shooting Gallery 

illtown, Dra, R, 97 min. Michael 

Rapaport, Lili Taylor, Tony Danza, 

Isaac Hayes. Din Nick Gomez. 

Zeitgeist 

Brakhage, Doc. Din Jim Shedden. 

2000 

New Latin 

Clasicos de la Epoca De Oro: 1935- 

1957 (touring nim series). Winter 

Jerome, Dra, 91 min. Drew Pillbury, 

Wendie Malk:k. Dirs: Thomas Johnston, 

David Elton, EricTignini. IstQtr 

Phaedra 

On Guard (aka Le Bossu), Adv, 1 20 

min. Daniel Auteuil, Fabrice 

Luchini, Vincent Perez, Marie 

Gillain. Din Philippe de Broca. Jan. 

Sony Classics 

Bossa Nova iL.K. Portugal), Rom. 

Amy Irving, Alexandre Borges, Antonio 

Fagundes, Stephen Tobolowsky. 

Dir:Bruno Barreto. Feb. NY/LA 

The First Day, Dra, 64 min. 

Fernanda Torres, Luis Carlos Vasconcellos, 

Mateus Nachtergaele, 

Nelson Sargento. Dirs: Walter 

Salles, Danieia Thomas. 

Kukujiro (Japan), Dra/Com. Takeshi 

Kitano. Dir: Takeshi Kitano. 

July, 1999 19

Sneak Preview 

Bewitched^ Bothered 

and Bewildered 

Fear Has No Face in 

The Blair Witch Project" 

How 

scary is a hank of hair? When it's 

ritualistically tied in a bundle of sticks 

along with some blood and an unprofessionally 

extracted tooth in a foreboding 

implementation of sorcery, it's infinitely more 

frightening than even the most graphic disembowelings 

of such wildly popular horror thrillers 

as "Scream" and their ilk. 

Having eUcited spine-tingling, palpitating, 

begoosebumped reactions from audiences at 

Sundance and Cannes, the chillingly imaginative 

"Blair Witch Project" is destined to become 

a Halloween classic. A sort of "Real 

World" meets the Necronomicon, "The Blair 

Witch Project" is a largely improvised faux 

documentary in which three filmmakers 

(played by Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard 

and Michael Williams) hike into Maryland's 

Black Hills Forest to investigate the legend of 

the eponymous mystical murderess. They are 

never seen again, but their footage is found 

buried under the foundation of a 100-year-old 

cabin 

a year after their disappearance. This 

film is purportedly that footage. 

'The horror genre is very successful [right 

now, as are] verite TV shows like 'Cops' and 

'America's Stupidest Criminals,'" points out 

the vivacious (and very much alive) 24-yearold 

Donahue, who plays the fihn's strongwilled 

director. "And you have [the element of 

those shows] combined with horror combined 

with people's desire to look at accidents, and 

that's 'The Blair Witch,' basically." 

The fact that the characters share the same 

names as the actors portraying them helps blur 

the line between fact and fiction. "It's a little 

creepy, quite frankly," Donahue admits. 

"[Friends and acquaintances] who see the 

trailer [proclaiming the protagonists' presumed 

demises] are like, 'Nuh-uh!' And they 

call my mom, and my mom's like, 'This is 

awful! I can't believe this! You finally get a 

good thing and you're dead! Why?!' I'm like, 

'It's okay. Mom. It's a small price to pay.'" 

Even sophisticated filmgoers have been 

sucked into the illusion. "We were in Sundance, 

doing question and answer periods after 

each .screening, and still, people would come 

up to us and say, "Oh my god, you're alive!," 

Donahue recalls. "So even when they see you, 

because they're seeing you in such a different 

context, it's still effective. Because it's not even 

about us, really. And that's what 

is cool about this movie. It's not 

really about us and our experience. 

The whole experience of 

the filmmakers in the movie is 

very non-specific, really. What 

makes it so cool and what makes 

it so scary is the fact that it's your 

what scares 

boogeyman, it's 

you, that comes out in it. It's not 

so much about the experience of 

the people in the movie as what 

it does to your head." 

"A lot of people have their 

own Blair Witches in their own 

neighborhoods, and it's really 

easy for them to make the jump 

from ours to what they envision 

it being," agrees Dan Myrick, 

who co-scripts and co-directs with Eduardo 

Sanchez. "We let people draw from their own 

imagination and past experiences with their 

own folklore." 

"It's kind of like why Stephen King novels 

are most of the time better than the films, 

because he can describe something to you but 

what you create in your mind is so much more 

horrifying than anything that anybody can 

come up with in the form of special effects," 

"A lot ofpeopl 

their own Blair Witches in 

their own neighborhoods. 

VJe let people draw from 

their own imagination and 

past experiences with their 

own folklore." 

— Dan Myrick, 

co-writerlco-director 

adds Sanchez. "So the night scenes in our film 

when you can't see anything, your mind just 

kind of steps in and fills in what could be out 

there, and it's all the more frightening." 

Equally frightening is 

the tale of how this 

film actually came together. The actors had to 

find their own way through the woods (with 

the help of Global Positioning System satellite 

technology, admittedly); the filmmakers kept 

scaring the bejeezus out of them in the middle 

by Christine James 

EYES OF THE BEHOLDER: A terrified Heather Donahue turns 

the camera on herself in "The Blair Witch Project. 

of the night in order to generate authen 

reactions of terror; and they had to subsist 

less and less food in a De Niro-caliber exam[ 

of method acting. But most harrowing of i 

at least for Donahue's mother, was the cast! 

call itself. "I saw this ad that said, 'We're goi 

to do a ftilly improvised feature in the woo 

for eight days, '" says Donahue, who admits t 

scenario did give her pause. "But it just got i 

all the more interested in a way. It didn't j 

my mother very interested. My mother w 

like, 'What are you, nuts?!' But I thoug 

'Well, this sounds completely crazy, and i 

got killed doing this, people would be lil 

"Oh, she was so stupid." But, you know, wl 

if...?' And this is just the ultimate payoff" of tl 

'what if,' because the 'what if* turned out to 

very, very positive. It could have been just 

absolute death trap, or it could have turned c 

to be a really, really cool movie. And lucki 

instead of a death trap, it turned out to be 

really, really cool movie." 

Who knows what would have happened h 

she followed through on another audition a 

vertised in the same reputed thespian tra 

publication: "There was this one [audition 

went to that was at some guy's apartme: 

When I saw it was an apartment, I wasn't goi 

to go up, and dien I was like, 'Oh, what the he 

I'm already here,' which is just idiotic. T 

things actors do—but you have to put it in t 

young actor context, which is a very dire c 

cumstance to be in. But I have this thing on r 

20 BOXOFFICE

I 

ume, *Puts fist in mouth," because I can do 

i iAnd maybe for a commercial or something 

i vill come in handy. But when you're in some 

sKly guy 's apartment that's Uned with mirrors 

( the waUs and he asks you to do it, that's when 

vu're like. 'You know what, I can't do it any- 

I 

)re. I had jaw surgery. I have to go now!'" 

While one might suspect that 

lyrick and Sanchez would rival the 

It fetishist for sheer weirdness, 

iMiahue claims the opposite is true, 

bu expect them to be weird guys 

iming up with this crazy, weird idea. 

It they're actually just very normal, 

ice guys! Really! Which is kind of 

.'jrprising to a lot of people. The>' ex- 

Ipt crazy guys who play Dungeons 

;jd Dragons in their basement." 

So how did these two regular Joes 

I me up with the terrifically twisted 

a for 'The Blair Witch Project" .' 

/e stole it fit)m a friend," Myrick 

serts. "This guy told us a really good 

^ and we beat the s~t out ofhim and 

bk it fix)m him." Sanchez elaborates, 

io, we were just hanging out at my 

.iartment, talking about the fact that 

tre hadn't been a real scary movie in 

bng time. And we started talking about what 

iid ofmovies scared us when we were little kids, 

jme that really scared us, besides the convennal 

narrative films like "The Exorcist' and 

men' and "The Shining," were those pseudo 

cumentaries thatcame outofthe ' 70s, like 'The 

arch fcff 

Noah's Aik' and 'The Legend of 

)ggy Creek" and "Chariots of the Gods,' and 

so we went out and rented a bunch of these 

movies. And we realized that what made them 

really scary was the fact that we thought they 

were real, or they tried to make the audience 

beUeve that everything was real. So we tried to 

figure out a way to do that in a narrative fihn. 

And then the Blair Witch was bom." 

CANDID CAMERA: The harrowing "Blair Witch Projecf shoot 

proves to be more than cameraman Joshua Leonard bargained for. 

Of their own paranormal interests, Myrick 

says he was "heavy into Bigfoot and UFOs" 

as a child, while Sanchez vividly recalls a 

nightmare in which Satan was trying to pull 

him into a hole—but when he woke up, he was 

terrified to discover that he could stiU sense a 

malevolent presence. "We're not even close to 

understanding everything that exists on this 

planet," notes Sanchez with some gravity. 

Nevertheless, the duo isn't interested in a 

career of haror films. "We understand that 

we'll probably be pigeonholed as horror directors 

right off the bat, but we'd really like to be 

able to do a comedy [we're working on] next 

to help broaden the public perception of what 

we do," says Myrick. The comedy in question 

forming. 

is called "Heart of Love," which, explains 

Sanchez, is "just the stupidest 

title we could come up with, basically. 

And the title is exactly what the film 

is about. It's just the stupidest film 

you've ever seen in your life. Packed 

like a trash compactor of comedy, really" 

"It's like 'Airplane' meets 'Monty 

PythtMi' meets 'Saturday Night Live,'" 

clarifies Myrick. "And stack that cm top 

of 'Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World,'" Sanchez 

amends. "And then throw it away 

and bum it." 

They also facetiously claim that they 

plan to do another version of "Phantom 

Menace," that they've got a garage band 

with a CD coming out, are going on tour 

and will be performing magic tricks. "So 

look out fOT that," Myrick advises. He 

might be surprised when a line starts 

WM 

"The Blair Witch Project. " Starring 

Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard and Michael 

Williams. Written anddirected by Daniel 

Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez. Produced by 

Gregg Hale and Robin Cowie. An Artisan 

release. Opens 7/16 limited; expands 7/30. 

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B5-2 


July, 1999 21

' 

Cove 

TV Favorites Gonzo and Elmo Turn 

Silver-Screen Movie Stars in July's 

"Muppets From Space" and October's 

The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland 

by Annlee EUingson and Francesca Dinglasan 

PART I 

GONZO THE GREAT 

since Gonzo the Great accidenly 

took flight attached to a cluster 

of helium balloons in 1979's 

le Muppet Movie," he's looked to the 

skies for answers to the questions we've all 

asked about Gonzo: Who is he? What is 

he? Where is he from? All of 

the other Muppets' identities 

are clear: Kermit the Frog, 

Miss Piggy, Fozzie the Bear. 

But Gonzo? Well, Gonzo 

goes by Gonzo the Great, 

which, though grandiose, is 

harder to define. He's a little 

like a turkey, but not a 

lot. He's blue and fuzzy and 

has a long, curved beak. He 

dates a chicken named 

Camilla. That Gonzo is 

actually an alien, in his own 

words, "explains a lot." 

In "Muppets From Space." 

his sixth feature film. 

Gonzo (voiced by puppeteer 

Dave Goelz) takes 

his first leading role, but the |», 

movie is special to him for 

another, very important 

reason. "'Muppets From 

Space' is the story of my life," he says. 

"It is a fabulous thing for me, anyway, 

because it sort of answers that question 

that all of us have had for many, many 

years now, which is 'Who am I?' and 

'Where am I from?' 'What am I?' It 

turned out to be quite an adventure." 

Gonzo has always suspected his genes 

might be extraterrestrial, gazing up at 

the stars and singing "I'm Going Back 

There Someday" two decades ago in 

"The Muppet Movie." But when he and 

22 BOXOmCE 

his buddy Rizzo the Rat discover that his 

long-lost relatives really are aliens, the 

exciting news brings him unexpected 

trouble and an adventure worthy of an 

"X-Files" episode. He goes on Miss Piggy's 

talk show "UFOMania," announcing 

to the world that we're not alone in 

the universe and that he is the living 

proof, and unwittingly becomes the target 

of paranoid government operative 

K. Edgar Singer (Jeffrey Tambor). 

Imprisoned in the Singer compound, 

Gonzo must not only escape but decide 

whether to join the kin he's always wondered 

about or stay on Earth with the 

makeshift family he's adopted as his own. 

Although the existence of extraterrestrial 

life is obvious to Gonzo now, the 

world is still full of Agent Scullys— 

skeptics who just can't buy into it yet. 

"Just go see the movie, okay," he tells 

them. "You'll believe." As for a vast government 

conspiracy to cover up the existence 

of aliens, "Well, I never beliej 

, 

that before, but now it's pretty obvio 

he says. "But I wouldn't be too wor J 

because I don't think they're that C' 

petent. I mean, especially when the ^ 

being played by Jeffrey Tambor.... j 

know, how dangerous is that?" 

What is dangerous, at least in the fii' 

making world, is comparison to i; 

summer's "Star Wars: Episode I— 

Phantom Menace," George Lucas' Ic. 

awaited mega-movie. Go i 

is not too worried, thoui 

"One thing about the 'J i 

Wars' thing—I don't m i 

to disparage them —[l; 

they do it with sped 

effects," he says. 

"It's kc 

of a crutch." "Mupf: 

i 

From Space," on the ot 

hand, is all real. "We j 

photographed the wht 

thing," Gonzo repo; 

"Luckily, we were able, 

sign up some cameos j 

before it happened." 

In addition to the us 

cast of characters, 

Muppets have follov 

tradition by enlisti 

Hollywood types to app 

in their latest mo\ 

including David Arquei 

Kathy Griffin, Hollywo 

Hulk Hogan, Ray Liotta, Ant 

MacDowell and Rob Schneider. For t 

most part, the Muppets got along \\ 

with their co-stars. "Well, we've [work 

with Hollywood stars] for years," Gon 

says. "It's always fun. They're rea 

cool. They're professional and, y 

know, they have lots of acting tricks.'' 

However, certain members of the c; 

had a little trouble sharing the limelig 

"There was a little tension betwe 

[Miss Piggy and MacDowell]," Gon

I 

: dreamed 

' 

• 

that 

. So. 

ii'/eals. 

'There's always tension off-set, 

lit it happened that there was tension 

'('-set, too.... Piggy has a httle problem 

\th beautiful women." 

.Apparently, it's not just beautiful 

\)men that Miss Piggy has a problem 

\jth. "I was black-and-blue before pro- 

(Jction started," Gonzo says. "She was 

i^set [the movie] was about me. But I 

llieve that she's fi.xed that and the ne.xt 

ijvie's going to be about her. I think." 

;AIso joining the classic characters are 

lUr new Muppets making their bigs^-een 

debuts: Pepe the King Prawn, 

li)bo the Bear. Dr. Phil Van Neuter and 

(jifford, who has appeared with the 

jjuppets before but ne\ er in a movie. Still 

ilittle stiff and sore. Gonzo comments. 

'Luckily, none of them were women." 

IWith such an eclectic cast, first-time 

(rector Tim Hill, one of the tlrst filmiftkers 

brought in from outside The 

.jn Henson Co. to helm a Muppet 

ibvie, had his work cut out for him. 

lilt Gonzo is confident that Hill was 

Vf to the challenge. "Tim Hill was a 

j.;at guy." he says. "A sweetie-pie. Very 

j;od. It was his first feature film, so we 

t*3Ught that he did an amazing job. It's 

ibig job to direct a film. 

'"It can go really nutty on you, you 

l-'ow, because of the pressure," Gonzo 

cntinues. "Your socks start going up 

i.d down like window shades. But Tim 

ilike a rock. He just hung in there.... It 

>;is a big stretch for him. to direct a 

I'n, first, and then to have to direct the 

I'uppets on top of it. Oooh! I wouldn't 

>sh that on anybody!" 

'Gonzo's not wishing for much these 

cys, now that he's a bona fide star. 

"It 

:l|:ls good." he says of his first leading 

"I had a special trailer which was 

if.e. 

Ije six inches longer than everybody 

fe's, and there were cold cuts inside. 

i'ld I had a little refrigerator with soft 

links. It's realh great to be in the big 

l:ie.... 

I love the perks." 

;His girlfriend Camilla, on the other 

l:nd, hasn't really noticed the changes 

l'3ught on by stardom—or her intro- 

I 

: 

ction to her beau's new-found family. 

matter. "Well, let's face it." 

I'jnzo says. "Chickens are not the 

1 ghtest creatures around, so I'm not 

t'm sure she understands what's going 

as a result, she's fine with it." 

n,'^ onzo wasn't always a star, 

i -w-though he always believed he 

•*J was destined to be one. His first 

p was that of a traveling plumber, but 

of moving to Bombay. 

;dia, where he'd make his big break 

o the movies, insisting that getting 

jh and famous in Hollywood was just 

Jing it the easy way. 

;His daredevil stunts—balancing a 

,ino on his schnoz (so that's what That 

i; blue beak is for!), dancing barefoot 

a wedge of unpasteurized cheese or 

I'iting Hamlet's soliloquy while being 

shot out o( a cannon—attracted the 

attention of Kermit the Frog and landed 

him a gig on "Tlie Muppet Show." 

Gonzo then went on to co-star with 

his buddy Kermit in "The Muppet 

Movie." "The Great Muppet Caper" 

and "The Muppets Take Manhattan" 

before landing a pi\otal role in "A 

Muppet Christmas Carol." "I was able 

to drop right in and be a convincing 

Charles Dickens.... Perhaps he was an 

alien, too." he muses. 

After that, though. Gonzo was back 

to plaxing himseh' in "Muppet Treasure 

Island." "The other Muppets \\ere playing 

characters in that movie, but they 

realh couldn't find a character that fit 

[me]." Gonzo explains. "You know. 1 

think it has to do with that alien [thing]. 

lt"s \-er\' ditficuli easting. That's why 

generall\ I pla\ m\NeltV' 

Gonzo has made a career out of playing 

himself and a successful one at that. 

But he's not letting it go to his head. 

delaying plans for his next starring role 

for more practical matters. "The next 

thing fm doing is I'm going to be 

putting some Sheetrock in m\ garage." 

he says. Of course, with Gonzo in\ oh ed. 

even simple home improxements could 

pro\'e to be quite an ad\enture. A.E. 

PART 2: 

RED HOT MONSTER 

Sesame 

Street." the much belo\ed 

children's TV prograni watched b> 

milUons of \oungsters around the 

world, celebrates its 30th anni\ersar\ this 

year. Since 1969. the show's character 

mix. comprised of humans and a \ariet\ 

of creatures, not onK has not taught children 

such basics as their ABCs and l-2-3s 

but also has pro\ ided them \\ ith an example 

of communitx di\ersit\. Set in an 

inner-cit\' neighborhood. Sesame Street is 

inhabited b\' human beings from different 

ethnic backgrounds as well as a rainbow - 

colored assortment of muppets. all able to 

live together harmoniously and happily. 

Best exemplif> ing this special di\ersi- 

X\ ha\'e been the loxable little mascots 

that have represented the show throughout 

the past three decades. First there 

was the thoughtful green frog named 

Kermit. Then came a series of blue 

monsters that ha\e included the imaginative 

Grover and the id-dri\en Cookie 

Monster. Now. it's the fier\ red monster 

with the mind of a 3 1/2-year-old known 

as Elmo (voiced by Muppet master 

Kevin Clash) that is helping bring 

Sesame Street into the new millennium. 

Among the features introduced this 

year on TV's "Sesame Street" is a recurring 

segment called "Elmo's World" 

and on the silver-screen side this 

October comes "The Ad\entures of 

Elmo in Grouchland." Elmo took time 

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July, 1999 23

out from his busy schedule to talk with 

BOXOFFICE about his latest escapades. 

Speaking in a type of muppet dialect 

known as "monster language," which is 

distinguished by a furry conversationalist's 

tendency to refer to himself by 

name, Elmo exclaims in his characteristic 

high-pitched voice, "Elmo knows 

that he has a lot of friends everywhere 

'cause Elmo talks to them everyday!" 

His friends, of course, are the countless 

children that eagerly tune in to "Sesame 

Street" on a daily basis. Although he 

doesn't seem to know that he is part of a 

television phenomenon, he is quite happily 

aware that his positive and optimistic 

nature has gained him a group of 

"friends" from the four corners of the 

world. "They say 'hi,'" Elmo says 

about his adoring young fans, 

"and sometimes we send letters 

to each other, too. They say, 

'Elmo come over to their house 

and play and eat cookies and 

meet their pets.' Sometimes 

Elmo gets to go [and it] 

makes Elmo happy, too." 

Elmo's childlike demeanor, 

evident in his 

speech patterns and his 

eagerness to be involved in 

everything that is happening 

around him, is one of the 

qualities that have endeared 

him to infants, adults and all 

ages in-between. This energy 

becomes quite apparent when he 

discusses the upcoming plans. 

"Sesame Street's been there for 

years," he explains excitedly. "A lot 

longer than Elmo! We're supposed 

have a big party, and everybody's bringing 

something!" 

As part of the 30th anniversary celebration, 

"Sesame Street" has been visited 

throughout the season by a number 

of celebrity guests stopping by the 

neighborhood to help Elmo, Oscar, Big 

Bird and the rest of the gang sing songs 

and teach lessons about grammar, pronunciation 

and arithmetic. Recent visitors 

have included First Lady Hillary 

Rodham Clinton, actor Liam Neeson, 

poet Maya Angelou and musical group 

R.E.M. "R.E.M—they're funny!" Elmo 

says, giggling. "Especially the leader 

[Michael Stipe]. He has a fat head and 

he's funny. He put glitter on his face 

[and] Elmo put some on his, too." Other 

Hollywood guests he names as being 

especially fun to visit with include 

"Whoopi [Goldberg] and Rosie 

[O'Donnell]—Elmo's best friend! And 

Mel Gibson and Jamie Lee Curtis." 

Another friend particularly close to 

Elmo is his cherished blue blanket. He 

describes his favorite bed cover as neither 

female nor male ("It's 'it,'" he 

explains) and his relationship with "it" 

as a very special one. "It's always there 

for Elmo when Elmo needs it," he says 

affectionately. "It warms Elmo when 

Elmo's cold, and we play together, too. 

We play tic-tac-toe and we do all the latest 

dances." Although a nice friendship, 

Elmo's attachment to his blanket actually 

backfires on him when he refuses to 

share it with little muppet girl Zoe. His 

selfishness results in a tug-of-war fight 

that sends it, and Elmo, into his 

"Adventures in Grouchland." "Elmo 

had a lot of fun," he says of his trip away 

from Sesame Street in search of his lost 

security blanket. "Elmo got to play with 

all his friends and meet some new ones." 

When 

asked about one of the 

"new ones" who appears in his 

upcoming film, Elmo once 

again demonstrates that he is completely 

unaware of his existence as an "actor" 

being watched by an audience. In 

response to a question about Mandy 

Patinkin, who plays a greedy villain 

"The Adventures of Elmo in 

Grouchland," a baffled Elmo responds, 

"Who's that?" Once the inquiry is 

reworded to include the name of 

Patinkin's movie character, Elmo then is 

able to answer. "Huxley!" he exclaims. 

"Oooh... Huxley. He wasn't scary, he 

was just selfish. He would take everybody's 

toys and he wouldn't play with 

anybody with his toys." Even monsters, 

it seems, need to learn lessons by example. 

And, thanks to the toy-monopolizing 

Huxley, Elmo comes to understand 

the importance of sharing. 

Elmo insists that not all creatures 

encountered on his adventure were selfish. 

"Grizzy was fun!" he says of one of 

his new buddies. "Actually, she helped 

Elmo and, you know, grouches aren't 

supposed to help monsters or anybody. 

in 

[ 

Maybe she kinda liked Elmo." Elmo i 

promises that some familiar faces wilji 

seen in his sojourn in Grouchland. '| 

Bird helps, and Telly, and Oscar e 

helps. And Zoe helps, too!" 

As for Grouchland itself, Elmo vi| 

ly remembers certain details from 

trip to the unfamiliar place. "[^ 

Sesame Street we always try to clean 

keep our streets clean," he explains. 

Grouchland, they do just the oppo; 

They throw trash around and, w 

they go in the car wash, they dirty ti 1 

cars instead of clean them." Howei 

despite his surprise at finding a pi; 

devoted to garbage, don't think for 

moment that Elmo is passing judgni 

on grouches just because they're dif 

ent from his friends at home. EId 

remember, lives on Sesame Strlt 

a neighborhood that celebr; 

diversity. "It's just their 

ture!" he giggles when as 

about why grouches like H' 

ing trash everywhere. "Th 

just the way they like it 

Now that Elmo is bacl;l 

home where sunny d 

sweep the clouds away, : 

seems content with just -: 

simple pleasures of life ii 

one of the world's m 

famous streets. His TV s 

ment "Elmo's World," whn 

gives children a glimpse i a 

his active imagination ci 

encourages them to use il 

own, is a big part of his schedi 

And, although he is looking 1 

ward to Sesame Street's big anniv 

sary party, he says there's really only ( 

thing that he wants for the future. "El 

just hopes that he gets to stay on Ses 

Street, and mommy and daddy st|5 

there and lives on Sesame Street, so 

can always be around his friends." 

legions of "friends" who watch him 

have watched the show for the past 

years hope so, too. F.D. 

"Muppets From Space." Starri 

Gonzo the Great, Rizzo the Rat, Ker\ 

the Frog, Miss Piggy and Jeffrey Taml 

Directed by Tim Hill. Written by Je\ 

Juhl, Joseph Mazzarino and 

> 

Kaufman. Produced by Brian Henson 

Martin G. Baker A Columbia relec 

Family comedy. Opens wide July 14. 

"The Adventures of Elmo in Grouland. 

" Starring Elmo, Oscar the Grou 

Zoe, Telly, Big Bird, Mandy Patinkin c < 

Vanessa Williams. Directed by G( 

' 

Halvorson. Written by Mitchell Kricgn. 

^ 

and Joseph Mazzarino. Produced by A, 

Rockwell and Marjorie Kalins. A Colum.i 

release. Family comedy. Opens 1011 wi 

HEAR ELMO AND GONZO ONLINE/ 

www.boxoffice.com «_ 

24 BOXOFFICE

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Response No. 99

SPECIAL FEATURE: Books on Cinema 

// 

GROSS" ANATOMY 

''Variety'' Editor Peter Bart Examines the Summer of '98 in 

The Gross: The Hits, The Flops— The Summer That Ate Hollywood' 

While 

the surface numbers 

made summer '98 seem more 

bountiful than previous seasons, 

insiders at the studios knew otherwise. 

The good news was that moviegoers 

spent $2.6 billion to see the films of summer, 

which was 16 percent more than in 

1997, the first period of significant 

growth in over five years. And though no 

megahit emerged from the pack, business 

was spread generously among more 

movies from more studios. The range of 

choice offered [to] the moviegoing public 

also showed a marked improvement during 

summer '98, with serious adult 

movies successfully challenging the frenzied 

assault of action fare. 

All that was good news, but balanced 

against it were some troubling realities. 

At a time when nearly all sectors of 

American business were successfully 

keeping costs under control and inflation 

had all but disappeared, the movie industry 

found itself gripped by its own private 

inflationary spiral. Production and marketing 

costs for summer '98 sustained 

double-digit increases, despite concerted 

efforts to control them. Nine movies costing 

over $100 million were released during 

the summer, compared with six a year 

earlier, and a few, like "Godzilla" and 

'Armageddon," had even entered the perilous 

$150 million zone. The summer also 

yielded more than its share of expensive 

mistakes, like "Quest for Camelot" and 

"The Avengers," without huge breakout 

projects to compensate for them. Indeed, 

a few of those movies that seemed substantial 

winners on paper were, in fact, 

profitable principally to their superstar 

talent. "Saving Private Ryan" and 

"Lethal Weapon IV" were prize examples, 

with studios giving away over 35 to 

40 percent of their gross receipts to 

Spielberg, Gibson, and others. 

There were other numbers worries, 

albeit niggling ones. The 16 percent jump 

in boxoffice receipts wasn't quite what it 

seemed. Admission prices had risen by 

about five percent, accounting for some 

of the increase. The boxoffice numbers 

also for the first time included receipts 

from Imax special-format theatres, which 

experienced a 10 percent growth during 

the year. In addition, the calendar smiled 

on summer '98 with the configuration of 

the Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends 

adding a week to summer playing 

time... 

[F]or the entities charged with the 

responsibility of creating, marketing, and 

distributing the product, and hopefully 

showing a return to their stockholders, 

summer '98 had proven a major disappointment. 

Permeating the executive 

suites was the sense that movies were now 

a lousy business, whose structure and 

practices were in desperate need of overhaul. 

If the men sitting atop the corporate 

pyramids had distrusted the business 

going into summer '98, their antipathy 

was only further inflamed by the time 

summer had run its course. 

At 

each individual studio, the 

business of mobilizing new 

strategies took on different 

nuances as a result of the politics of the 

parent company and its relative performance 

during summer '98... 

For Universal, summer '98 was a study 

in utter exasperation...While the muchheralded 

$10.4 billion acquisition of 

Polygram stayed on track despite the dollar 

weakening against the Dutch guilder, 

Edgar [Bronfman] Jr.'s plan to deal away 

Polygram's movie business for as much as 

$1 billion hit the wall. There were no takers. 

By early fall, it was apparent that his 

best option was to split off the Polygram 

film library and peddle it to the highest 

bidder, which turned out to be MGM, 

while retaining some of its production 

units within Universal... 

[T]here was no denying the studio's 

utter failure in creating a summer slate, 

but, again, better times lay ahead. 

Releases for fall and Christmas and 

beyond had looked solid on paper, buttressed 

by a sequel to "Babe" called "Pig 

in the City," "Patch Adams" starring 

Robin Williams as a middle-aged medical 

student, and "Meet Joe Black," the very 

long and very expensive Brad Pitt- 

Anthony Hopkins remake of "Death 

Takes a Holiday" that originally was to 

be the summer centerpiece of 1998... 

[Universal production chief Casey] 

Silver's films were in the can, and several 

of them, such as "Meet Joe Black" and 

the sequel to "Babe," were expensive projects 

indeed, and both had run dangerously 

behind schedule. Once those films 

had run their course, Edgar Jr. and his 

top team, including Ron Meyer, would 

make their determination about 

Universal's future commitment to 

movies. Several key decisions already had 

been handed down. In the futi 

Universal would adhere to Paramou 

policy of passing the hat on most of js 

projects. Before the green light starj 

flashing, some form of cofinanc 3 

would have to be available... At the sa 

time, Universal had no intention of liv 

up to the pledge made by Casey Silvei 

the 1997 Cannes Film Festival that 

company would release as many as 30[) 

35 films a year... 

Universal was scaling back, that mih 

was vividly apparent... By the Than 

giving holidays, [Edgar Jr.'s] worst fe 

were realized. "Meet Joe Black" oper 

to dismal business and, despite prec 

tions that it would soon find its audien 

that following never materialized. Afc 

stressful delays owing to problems wi 

special effects, an eleventh-hour tt 

screening of "Babe" was similarly alar 

ing. For many children, the movie seerr l\ 

too dark, and there was little time ij 

modify the film if the release dates wi H 

to be met. While the "mix" was tori 

down to reduce the shrill music and hai i 

sound effects, the word somehow hb 

gotten out that "Babe" was not as appe < 

ing as such competitive films t 

"Rugrats" and "A Bug's Life." By the e 

of the five-day Thanksgiving weeker,; 

the numbers told a grim story. "Bahl^ 

had grossed $8.5 million compared w 

$46.5 million for "Bug's Life" and $2'i 

million for "Rugrats." As for "Meet Jt 

Black," after 17 days it still had banedged 

past $35.8 million. 

Insiders were not surprised when t 

golden parachutes started opening 

around Universal City. Frank Bioni 

Bronfman's chief at Universal, was 

with a $30 million settlement. And sho 

ly thereafter Casey Silver also was hist 

ry, with a lavish production deal. It woi 

now be up to Ron Meyer, the ex-agent, 

reinvent Universal in [consistency] wi 

the new corporate strategy, the details 

which still remained vague. 

At Sony, the post-summer reasse; 

ment was equally opaque. This was t 

summer that was to establish Jol 

Galley's regime as Sony's new drivii 

force. Once considered too elitist for 

post like this, Calley had chosen to ent 

the fray armed not just with a solid 

commercial — project, but with a fra 

chise "Godzilla." As summer movi 

along, however, he became exasperat« 

by the chorus from the press and W; 

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Street securities analysts that "Godzilla" 

was a flop... 

So how much money did "Godzilla" 

make? By summer's end, its domestic 

gross had plateaued at $135 million. By 

early fall, however, the movie was eliciting 

a warm reception overseas, opening to 

near-record numbers in Spain and even 

surpassing the numbers for "Men in 

Black" in Sweden. While it opened 

strongly in Japan, a curious counterreaction 

occurred, with audiences apparently 

resenting the fact that a Japanese franchise 

had been so boldly Americanized. 

Before long, "Saving Private Ryan" and 

"Deep Impact" had eclipsed it. 

Though Sony executives were being 

evasive, their estimates for overseas business 

approached $250 million, bringing 

the total world gross to roughly $385 million. 

Given the $200 million cost of producing 

and launching the movie in the 

U.S., Sony would clearly elicit a profit 

from its remake, albeit an unspectacular 

one and nowhere the $80 million that 

Disney claimed it had earned on 

"Armageddon." 

Sony's summer did not begin and end 

with "Godzilla," of course. Despite all its 

preproduction tribulations, "The Mask 

of Zorro" also turned out to be a solid 

success for Sony's TriStar unit. It grossed 

$90 million in the U.S. and a like number 

abroad. Given the healthy share designated 

for Spielberg's company, however, 

"Zorro" hardly seemed destined to be a 

major profit center for Sony. 

The plan at Sony was to surround its 

tentpoles with an array of inexpensive 

movies, most of them aimed at that beckoning 

youth audience. But while this plan 

worked for Fox, it didn't for Sony. A succession 

of films like "Can't Hardly Wait" 

and "My Giant" simply didn't perform, 

though "Madeline" was a modest success. 

As a result, the company's vaunted 

claim on market share leadership, which 

Galley ardently hoped to retain, was surrendered 

ignominiously. Disney and Fox 

finished in a virtual tie, claiming 20.9 percent 

and 20.3 percent of the summer 

market, respectively, while Sony languished 

in fifth place with a mere 11.8 

percent, down 48 percent from 1997... 

If Sony presented a rather dour face to 

the community, the atmosphere at 

Warner Bros, was hardly more robust. 

That studio had managed to finish ahead 

of Sony with a 12.3 percent market share, 

but that was still six percent below 1997, 

which also had been a weak year-discouraging 

results for a company that had 

accustomed itself to being either number 

one or two. Though "Lethal Weapon IV" 

was principally responsible for its market 

share position, the project still carried an 

aura of corporate desperation—a movie 

they were compelled to make, not one 

they had wanted to make... 

As the biggest stockholder in Time 

Warner, the mercurial "Mouth of the 

South" [Ted Turner] was known to be 

impatient with the [Bob] Daly-[Terry] 

Semel team. Though mainly identified 

with cable television, Turner, five years 

earlier, had exhibited a sudden interest in 

the movie business. He had paid well over 

half a billion dollars to acquire two sharp 

independents, Castle Rock and New 

Line, and had then established yet another 

company. Turner Pictures, 

ostensibly 

to produce quality films... 

But Turner's film forays had uniformly 

turned sour. Shortly after their acquisition, 

both Casfle Rock and New Line 

went into severe slumps, their once exemplary 

records suddenly tarnished by a 

series of losers. Castle Rock had looked 

as if it couldn't miss, making films like 

"When Harry Met Sally," but now it was 

mired in projects like "Mississippi 

Burning" and "North." New Line's output 

ranged from genre hits like the 

"Nightmare on Elm Street" series to daring 

films like "Seven" and "The Mask." 

Suddenly, under Turner ownership, it was 

making "The Island of Dr. Moreau," 

"Last Man Standing," and "The Long 

Kiss Goodnight." 

After Turner's empire was gobbled up 

by Time Warner, his movie agenda shifted 

once again. Turner Pictures was 

abruptly folded, Castle Rock continued 

to flounder, cofinanced now by Warner 

Bros, and Polygram, while New Line 

managed not only to retain substantial 

autonomy but also to resume its winning 

streak. Despite Turner's obvious disdain 

for the policies of the Daly-Semel regime, 

a tacit hands-off treaty was negotiated by 

Gerald Levin, chairman of Time Warner, 

to keep the corporate peace. And though 

rumors persisted that Turner was bridling 

under this agreement, he nonetheless was 

abiding by it. 

Meanwhile Daly and Semel, pinched 

by new budgetary constraints, were busily 

looking for cofinanciers for their 

movies. Where in the past the studio had 

moved on its own, co-venturing a few 

films each year only with New Regency, 

which had now moved to Fox, a whole 

new array of financing entities suddenly 

were opening offices on the lot. And, as 

at Paramount and Universal, the drill for 

a producer was not only to assemble the 

package but also the funding... 

By the end of the summer '98, both 

men were saying all the right things. They 

continued to talk about modestly budgeted 

movies, pledging never again to start a 

movie until the script was right. The audience 

was changing, they said, and so 

must the studio. 

Many agents and producers doing 

business day to day with the studio, however, 

dismissed this as mere spin. "All 

they really talk about is 'Wild Wild West,' 

which takes them right back into the $100 

million league," said one producer with 

long-term ties to the regime. "The studio's 

thinking will never change. But their 

luck better change..." 

There was no such ambivalence at Fox. 

SUMMERTIMl 

TOMES 

BOXOFFICE's Summer Reading Li 

"Jackie Chan" by Wade Major 

(Friedman/Fairfax Publishers, 

96 pgs., $12.98) 

BOXOFFICE's 

own Wade 

Major has published 

a colorful 

new pictorial 

biography detailing 

the life of 

international 

film star Jackie 

Chan. Major, 

whose special 

interests lie in 

Asian cinema, provides readers 

reverent account of the life of Hon 

Kong's most famous living martial artisi 

The book poses the question "Just whaj 

is it that makes Jackie so special?" aiK 

proceeds to answer this inquiry throug! 

chapters that document the differen 

stages of Chan's life and career. Full 

page color and black-and-white shot 

depicting some of the actor's mos 

famous on-screen moments help to illus 

trate Chan's climb to the top. 

"Jackie Chan," filled with portrait:' 

and action shots, as well as Major': 

expert observations of the actor and hi: 

artistic development, make this book i 

nice inclusion to any Kung Fu movit 

lover's library. 

"A Cut Above: 50 Film Directors 

Talk About Their Craft" by Michael 

Singer (Lone Eagle Publishing Co., 

350 pgs., $19.95) 

In "A Cut Above." Michael Singer 

(author of the annually pubHshed industry 

reference manual "Film Directors: A 

Complete Guide") has assembled a collection 

of his conversations with some of 

Hollywood's best-known film helmers on 

the art of directing. From legendary toetapper 

Gene Kelly, whose motion picture 

credits include "director" along with 

"choreographer" and "star," to conspiracy 

theorist extraordinaire Oliver Stone. 

Singer's interviews provide a window 

into the world of filmmaking through 

the eyes of the men and women whose 

visions drive the bigscreen products 

watched by worldwide audiences. Each 

of the 50 interviews, accompanied by 

mini-profiles and filmographies. is an 

exploration of the techniques and thematic 

flourishes characteristic of the 

individual filmmaker. 

Included among the revelations captured 

by Singer are Oliver Stone describing 

his driving passion behind "JFK": "1 

obviously let a lot of my personal emotions 

get into JFK. Because I 

really fell 

the truth was faked. He'd been killed 

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j 

Having felt like the town's whipping boys 

through much of 1997, the studio's managers 

suddenly were sitting atop the heap. 

They had survived "Titanic." They had 

assembled a highly credible summer slate 

within prudent budget parameters. They 

had even come up with the year's biggest 

sleeper, "There's Something About 

Mary"... 

By summer's end it looked Hke "Dr. 

Dolittle" would do $145 million in the 

U.S., "The X-Files" would come in at $84 

million, and "There's Something About 

Mary" would end up near $175 million in 

the U.S. and $200 million overseas. 

Meanwhile, the studio had done remarkably 

well with its smaller films: Though 

"Bulworth" failed to crack $26 million 

and had little impact overseas, the 

domestic gross on "Hope Floats" totaled 

$60 million, on "Ever After" $70 million, 

and on "How Stella Got Her Groove 

Back" $38 miUion. 

The tendency of Fox executives to brag 

about their superior strategy annoyed 

rivals. Fox's success at the boxoffice had 

nothing to do with combining low-budgeted, 

demographically targeted movies 

with so-called multi-quadrant fare, as 

management kept crowing. Rather, it was 

all about luck—the "movie gods" again, 

they said... 

Clearly, among all the studio managements. 

Fox's stood out in summer '98 as 

the luckiest, most resilient, and most 

agile. Despite the battering they took 

during the days of "Speed 2" and 

"Titanic," the team managed to maintain 

its appearance of unity and equanimity... 

The studio's approval rating was far 

from unanimous, however. Many felt 

Fox's decision to structure itself into four 

distinct divisions had turned out to be 

both confusing and redundant. The divisions 

were Twentieth Century Fox, led by 

Tom Rothman; Fox 2000, run by former 

producer Laura Ziskin; Fox Animation, 

headed by Chris Meledandri; and Fox 

Searchlight, whose president was Lindsay 

Law. The grand design was for each division 

to produce its own disinctive brand 

of film. It had worked, to a degree. Fox 

Searchlight, for example, distributed 

"The Full Monty," but its four other 1998 

releases were disappointments, including 

"Shooting Fish" and "Two Girls and a 

Guy." Fox Animation got off to a dicey 

start with "Anastasia" but was determined 

to continue its battle against 

Disney. The Ziskin-led Fox 2000 

remained relatively inactive in 1998 but 

promised a vigorous slate the following 

year. That left Rothman's wing with the 

out 

bulk of the responsibility for filling 

the slate. And given this responsibility, it 

was Rothman, aided by Sherak, who led 

the inspired charge on the Farrelly brothers. 

And in doing so, they managed to 

more than compensate for the missteps 

and redundancies that had been committed 

at the studio. 

While Fox was standing by its multidivisional 

structure despite the overall 

mood of belt-tightening, Disney was 

headed in quite the opposite direction. 

Joe Roth had never been comfortable 

with the several units arrayed around the 

lot and by the end of summer '98 he had 

shut down the biggest. Touchstone 

Pictures, and terminated its production 

chief, Donald DeLine, consolidating all 

filmmaking activity under David Vogel, 

who reported to Roth. 

Indeed, he was more than ready to 

back off further "Armageddon"-style 

adventures. Though that project had 

never incurred the risks of a "Titanic," it 

nonetheless was a high-wire act. And 

while Roth had argued against cofinancing 

partners on that meagfilm, he was 

now more than ready to find partners for 

his future big films-with the exception of 

animation... 

In retrospect. Roth's summer slate had 

proven to be a hairy but productive ride. 

He had bet the store on "Armageddon" 

and, despite all the static, it had been a 

winning bet. The movie turned out to be 

the only $200 million movie of summer... 

In terms of worldwide gross, 

"Armageddon" had a good chance to 

pass the $500 milHon mark, which only 

six other Hollywood films have achieved. 

None of Roth's other films came close 

to that mark, to be sure. "Mulan" grossed 

$120 million in the U.S. and roughly $200 

million worldwide... "Six Days, Seven 

Nights" ended up grossing $75 million in 

the U.S. and a like number 

overseas... Paradoxically, these numbers 

were matched by Robert Redford's ponderously 

self-important movie, "The 

Horse Whisperer." "The Parent Trap" 

grossed a respectable $70 million in the 

U.S. while "Mafia" ended up at $30 million. 

Roth's bottom line was that he had 

emerged from summer with two solid 

moneymakers in "Armageddon" and 

"Mulan," which would ultimately provide 

grist for Disney's hugely profitable video 

arm, its retail outlets, and other ancillary 

streams. His other two pricey films, "The 

Horse Whisperer" and "Six Days, Seven 

Nights," managed to satisfy Hollywood's 

rule-of-thumb criterion that if a film's 

domestic gross equals its negative cost, it 

will ultimately finish in the black... 

Of all the principal companies, the 

most unsettled by summer '98 was surely 

MGM. Undercapitalized and demoralized, 

MGM had managed to mobilize 

only two movies for summer '98— "Dirty 

Work" and "Disturbing Behavior" 

...Between them, the once-proud studio 

had managed to achieve a pathetic 1.1 

percent market share, lower even than 

Universal's 2.4 percent. Frank Mancuso, 

MGM's cagey chairman, said he had 

been troubled by the summer crush and 

so had delayed playing his "ace," 

"Ronin," a $75 million thriller, until 

fall...Though it picked up some reasonably 

good reviews, the noirish thriller 

duplicitously, and the people of an old 

generation should have known bettei 

legendary director Norman Jewis( 

explaining his approach to life and art: 

like to think I'm still rebellious. I st 

admire rebels.. .I'm a loner, not a joiner 

don't know where that comes from, bu; 

think it's true of most filmmakers"; ar 

even "Titanic" helmer James Camerc 

offering advice to future moviemaker 

"I think the true and proper schooiii 

for a filmmaker is sitting in a movie th 

atre watching film, even if that meai 

you go to see it two or three times." 

Highlighting the directors' methoc 

ologies and personal intent, 'A C\ 

Above" should be appreciated by bot 

fihn students and film buffs eager to gai 

access to the conceptual artistry behin 

some of their favorite films. 

"Screenwriters: America's 

Storytellers in Portrait" by Helena 

Lumme & Mika Manninen 

(Angel City Press, 128 pgs., $30) 

Sometimes a picture says a thousan. 

words and this work is a beautifully illus 

trated example of that adage. The boo;: 

encompasses a series of portraits, com 

plete with filmographies and index list 

ings. 

"Screenwriters" is a lively collection o 

photos that put faces to the names o 

some of Hollywood's most celebratec 

writers. Subjects of the portraiture! 

include William Kelley ("Witness")' 

Callie Khouri ("Thelma and Louise" 

and Paul Schrader ("Affliction"). Alsc 

decorating the book, besides theiil 

images, is the screenwriters' stronges 

attribute: Their words. Julius Epsteir 

quips, "What amuses me is that they paj 

a million dollars for a script, then pui 

another writer on to write it," while 

Khouri notes, "I fell into screenwritin^ 

much like Alice fell down the rabbit hole. 

And now I'm in a world that makes 

about as much sense." 

Although this portrait tome may not 

qualify as true summer "reading," it doe^ 

make a nice addition to any coffee table! 

and just might come in handy for lazy 

perusing on those indoor-only, air-conditioned 

days. 

"The Film Festival Guide: For 

Filmmakers, Film Buffs, and 

Industry Professionals" by Adam 

| 

Langer (Chicago Review Press, 

269 pgs., $16.95) 

The title of Adam Langer's "The Film; 

Festival Guide: For Filmmakers. Film 

Buffs, and Industry Professionals" 

makes no bones about the purpose of the 

book: To serve as a comprehensive manual 

that provides filmmakers and industry 

insiders with valuable information 

concerning event contacts, dates, venues 

and deadlines for entries. Fortunately, his 

work also functions as an insightful 

guide oflering advice to the plain old 

movie bulT who wants to catch a few 

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30 BOXOFFICE

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couldn't nudge past the $40 million mark 

in the U.S. and finished badly in the red... 

In the past, [MGM owner Kirk] 

Kerkorian's behavior always had been to 

wait until things looked blackest, then 

magically extricate himself with a 

Houdini-like maneuver. By early fall, the 

ideal conditions for this sort of caper 

seemed to be at hand. MGM reported it 

had lost $113.9 million for the first nine 

months of 1998. The company was preparing 

to market a $700 million stock offering 

to the public, with the old Armenian 

acknowledging that he would invest another 

$630 million in the company. 

Kerkorian also calmly agreed to pay an 

additional $235 million to Seagram to 

acquire the Polygram film library 

..According to experts in evaluating 

transactions of this sort, Kerkorian had 

made an excellent deal for himself.. 

Thus Kerkorian was diligently building 

up his core asset, which would be a 

key pawn in any future negotiations to 

merge MGM with a more substantial distribution 

organization, a scenario that 

clearly enticed him. To further signal that 

MGM was still a going concern, the company 

announced its intention to release 

12 to 14 movies during 1999 and also to 

continue building its TV operation... 

In sharp contrast to Kerkorian, 

DreamWorks, the fresh-faced newcomer, 

was cheerfully counting its winnings for 

the first time in summer '98. Four years 

after proclaiming themselves the new 

Dream Team, Spielberg, Katzenberg, and 

Geffen had finally made a major dent in 

the marketplace. Two DreamWorks projects, 

"Saving Private Ryan" and "Deep 

Impact," had finished among the top five 

summer films and in early fall "Antz," a 

smartly crafted animation movie, also 

became a genuine hit... 

[0]ne thing emerged loud and clear 

from summer '98: DreamWorks was here 

to stay. Admittedly the profits on its pictures, 

like "Saving Private Ryan" and 

"Deep Impact," would have to be divided 

with cofinanciers and codistributors. And 

there would be a massive payout to their 

auteur partner, Spielberg, a man who, 

despite his goodwill and enthusiasm, also 

had the gift for emerging with extraordinary 

largesse from any transaction... 

The Dream Team could rejoice about 

"Saving Private Ryan," but it was 

Paramount that developed the movie and 

shared in its bountiful revenue streams. 

The same held true for "Deep Impact." 

The shotgun marriage with DreamWorks 

clearly had been good for the studio. 

Aside from these triumphs, however, 

and from the glowing success of "The 

Truman Show," the remainder of 

Paramount's summer program had failed 

to generate excitement. Brian De Palam's 

"Snake Eyes" received poor-to-mixed 

reviews and lost steam at $65 million in 

the U.S. Paramount's vaunted alliances 

with other Viacom divisions such as 

MTV and Nickelodeon yielded little for 

the 

summer, a further reminder of the 

myth of corporate synergy, though 

Nickelodeon's "Rugrats" would emerge 

as a major winter hit. While Lome 

Michaels maintained his viselike grip on 

"Saturday Night Live," despite a steady 

descent into mediocrity, the latest of his 

dumbed-down movie spin-offs, "A Night 

at the Roxbury," came and went with 

haste... "Dead Man on Campus" from 

Viacom's MTV division also failed to 

make a dent... 

Even 

as the studios carved up the 

largesse of summer '98, they 

pondered the legacies. Big bucks 

had been made, but there had been some 

big scares. 

The biggest was the hype scare. Allied 

with its fast-food partners, toy makers, 

and other marketing zealots, Hollywood 

felt prepared to rewrite the textbooks on 

mass marketing. That is, until the customers 

started their revolt. 

The great "Godzilla" rebellion sent 

shock waves through the ranks of the 

hypemeisters. The noise level of the hard 

sell had been turned up too high, and 

suddenly moviegoers seemed to be saying, 

"You'd better deliver the goods or 

we'll turn on you." The weapons of mass 

marketing had produced a countervailing 

force—mass disdain—and the studios as 

well as the filmmakers had to run for 

cover. 

Yet in the end the audiences kept coming 

back for more. Movies were regaining 

their grip on the pop culture. Weekly 

admissions, having plummeted from 78.2 

million in 1946 to 15.8 million in 1971, 

suddenly were sharply on the rise yet 

again. The fact that both "Saving Private 

Ryan" and "There's Something About 

Mary" were runaway hits vividly illustrated 

the range of taste globally. There was 

room both for an 'Armageddon" and for 

a "Truman Show"... 

As Hollywood kept raising the stakes 

of the blockbuster game, risk-taking 

would become all the rarer. And the 

stakes would keep rising: The number of 

$150 million escapades may diminish, the 

special-effects megamovies may be somewhat 

curtailed, but the overall costs of 

producing and marketing movies showed 

no signs of retrenchment. Making 

movies had become a global game of 

chicken, with the new oligarchs of mass 

entertainment rewriting the rules as they 

went along. 

Summer '98 flashed some signals of 

caution, and they were noticed, but the 

beat goes on. A new corporate culture 

was being planted in Hollywood. The 

vanities were firmly in place but there 

were as yet no flickers of a bonfire. HI 

Excerpted from "The Gross: The Hits, 

The Flops— The Summer That Ate 

Hollywood" by Peter Bart, editor of 

" Variety " (St. Martin's Press, 304 pages, 

$24.95) 

"The Worst Movies of All Time 

Or: What Were They Thinking?" by 

Michael Sauter (Citadel Press/Carol 

Publishing Group, 358 pgs., $18.95) 

If light, leisurely and giggle-inducing 

reading is what's needed to get through 

an afternoon sunning on the beach, ther 

look no further. Sauter's updated anc 

revised "The Worst Movies of All Time'' 

is sure to keep anyone's amused attention 

to the point of sunburn. 

Sauter's latest collection of stinker^ 

covers the gamut, ranging from what he 

calls "The Baddest of the Bs" ("Theyi 

were the second feature at Saturday 

matinees. The third attractions on drivein 

triple bills. The movies you could 

later find at 4:00 a.m. on the local TV 

channels") to the "Big-Budgeti 

Bonfires." which lists "Armageddon" as 

the most recent addition. Sauter postu-j 

lates of his latest entry, "So is this the 

future of filmmaking? More big-budget 

thrill rides that play like computer 

games? Or will movies of the next millennium 

actually be computer generated, 

making actors, directors and other 

people obsolete?.. .if that cloudy day 

comes... we'll never have to see another 

movie by Michael Bay." 

Riddled with ironic but sadly accurate 

plot summaries of the worst of the worst 

and featuring such goodies as "The; 

Worst High-Camp Melodrama Starring 

Hollywood Stars Made Up to Look Like 

Asians" (194rs "The Shanghai 

Gesture") and analyses of "Sign of the 

Times" flicks ("Beach-Blanket Bimbos,'" 

"Slasher Movies.") "The Worst Movies 

of All Time" has a little something loi 

everyone. — Francesca Dinglasan WSk 

32 BOXOFFICE

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\ 

SPECIAL REPORT: Sound 

SETTING SUBWOOFER LEVEL 

for only four films, all the bass was delivby 

John F. Allen 

Although 

stereo motion picture 

sound systems have employed 

subwoofers for over two decades, 

a standard method for setting their playback 

levels has only recently been agreed 

to. This may seem surprising unless one 

remembers how standards and recommended 

practices are arrived at in the 

first place. Rather than an individual or 

group sitting around a table and dictating 

a standard or a specific practice that 

all must follow, standards committees 

typically recognize established industry 

practices and agree on how to describe 

them. The first 

use of many such practices 

often originates with various manufacturers. 

But not until it is acknowledged 

that such practices are in general 

use, or misuse as the case may be, are they 

considered by a standards committee. 

The committee that oversees audio 

standards and practices for motion pictures 

is the Committee on Audio 

Recording and Reproduction Technology 

of the Society of Motion Picture 

and Television Engineers (SMPTE). For 

some years now, this group has been 

actively updating the various standards 

and recommended practices while discarding 

those that have become obsolete. 

(It's amazing how hard some of 

these things die.) There is no previous 

industry-wide practice regarding subwoofer 

levels to update, so a new recommended 

practice has been adopted. 

However, because DTS, Dolby and Sony 

have each specified a different method 

for setting subwoofer levels, it wasn't as 

simple as one might think. 

The subwoofer channel was added to 

address the need for bass in movie theatres. 

In the mid-1970s, with the exception 

of the Sennsurround process used 

ered by the main full-range screen 

speakers. The largest screen speaker typically 

in use then was the Altec Lansing 

A-4. Large as it was, the A-4's woofer 

had a falling frequency response. The 

lower the bass frequency, the less the 

speaker's output. To a degree, this is true 

for every woofer ever made. In the case 

of most theatre speakers, the fall-off 

began anywhere from 80 to 200 hertz. 

With a few exceptions, this is pretty 

much the capability of the woofers in 

many of today's screen speakers. In 

addition, rooms as large as movie theatres 

(even small ones) simply must have 

more bass output from the sound system 

in order for the bass to be in balance 

with the middle and higher frequencies. 

This especially true for sound systems 

required to reproduce explosions. 

Originally, Dolby Laboratories specified 

that the subwoofers be set at 89 to 

91 dB in 70mm theatres with pink noise 

playing and measured in the center of 

the theatre. It soon became apparent 

that this approach resulted in widely 

varying subwoofer levels from theatre to 

theatre when playing actual program 

material. This is due to many factors, 

such as room reverberation and size. 

Subwoofer systems in two different theatres 

could measure the same with pink 

noise, but be as much as 6 dB apart when 

a film played. Consequently, the only reliable 

way to set subwoofer levels was by 

ear, along with familiar material. Another 

measurement method was needed. 

Dolby's answer was to use a Real- 

Time-Analyzer (RTA) rather than a 

sound pressure level meter to measure 

the subwoofer level. The idea was that 

the subwoofer frequencies should be set 

to appear 10 dB above those of the center 

channel, as seen on the analyzer. (See 

Figure 2.) Personally, I was skeptical 

about this approach. However, though I 

was unsure of this method, I did begin 

an extensive study to see if indeed the 

subwoofer's frequencies measured 10 dB 

above those of the center channel, when 

the subwoofer levels were correct and 

sounded the same in different theatres. 

Sure enough, they did. Yet the pink 

noise-based subwoofer readings in these 

different theatres varied from 85 to 92 

dB when measured with an SPL meter. 

When DTS and Sony initially 

introduced 

their digital processors, they specified 

that their subwoofer levels should 

be measured and adjusted using an SPL 

meter, just as Dolby had originally done. 

Recently, both Sony and DTS 

agreed with the Real-Time-Anal;< 

approach, as they also found it tc 

more reliable. Consequently, the SMI 

has issued a recommended prac| 

RP200, which is described below. 

First, 

I have a suggestion: U: 

there is a very unlikely au 

problem with the frequency 

sponse of a subwoofer, the subwoi 

channel should not be equalized 

measurement systems used by th 

technicians are simply too unreliabli 

be equalizing a speaker playing 

these lowest frequencies. Subwoofer 

not need to be equalized, even thoug! 

the measurement systems might seem t< 

| 

say that they do. Beyond limiting th 

| 

bandwidth of the subwoofer channel t( 

frequencies below 80 to 100 hertz, I hav 

never found the need to equalize a sub 

woofer in twenty years. 

Each of the DTS, Dolby and Sony cin 

ema processors employ a different mean 

for equalizing subwoofers. The best way 

have found to set the subwoofer equaliza 

tion with the various Dolby units is to ust 

the adjustments to simply minimize th( 

frequencies above 80 to 100 hertz. Th( 

original Sony DFP-2000 processor a; 

well as the DTS DTS-6 and DTS-6E 

players have fixed or selectable subwoofei 

filters that allow only the frequencies 

below around 80 hertz to pass. The newei 

analog-digital processors from these 

companies employ optional subwoofer 

equalizers. In the Sony DFP-3000, for 

instance, one can set the subwoofer filteri 

at 100 hertz (as is done with the DFP-i 

2000) and leave the subwoofer equaliza-; 

tion adjustments flat. 

Rather than relying on a Soundj 

Pressure Level meter, subwoofer levels| 

should be established as follows: 

i 

1 After the screen channels are equal-l 

ized and levels are set, play pink noisej 

through the center channel. Observe the 

RTA display and note the level of the fre-l 

quencies between 100 and 2000 hertz.' 

(See Figure I.) This level becomes an; 

imaginary reference line for setting bothj 

the optical and digital subwoofer levels.) 

Turn off the center-channel pink noise, i 

2. Turn on the pink noise in the sub-1 

woofer channel. Place the processor in; 

the digital format. Adjust the digital] 

subwoofer so that the subwoofer fre-j 

quencies are 10 dB above the (imagi-i 

nary) reference line. (See Figure 2. 

34 BOXOFFICE

Kodak 

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And because nnost nnovies are made on Kodak film, 

Kodak is working together with theatres to raise 

the quality of screen presentations through the 

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To ensure your theatre delivers brighter 

sharoe^, cteaner 'mages, call 

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Response No 35

j 

THEORETICRL "H" CURUE 

Note: For purposes of 

illustration only, I have 

included the "X" curve 

display shown in Figure 1 

in Figures 2 and 3. Because 

the center channel is off 

when setting the subwoofer 

levels, the analyzer 

will obviously show only 

the frequencies of the subwoofer. 

The subwoofer 

frequencies are indicated 

by the blue-yellow bars. 

3. Place the processor in 

the optical format. Now 

adjust the optical subwoofer 

level so that the 

subwoofer frequencies are 

even with the reference 

line established by the center 

channel. See Figure 3. 

4. It should go without 

saying that listening tests 

should be done with familiar 

material, but not trailers. 

It might be necessary to reduce the 

optical subwoofer level if the three main 

screen speakers are providing enough 

bass (or almost enough) on their own. 

Maybe. But not far enough, I think. ] 

practice, I have found this to be err( 

neous, no matter what kind of sound sy 

tern is involved. For one thing, there is ri 

such thing as a "far field" in a good su^ 

round array. The microphone should geij 

erally see a fairly flat near-field respon:? 

when walked around the area bound^j 

by the surround speakers. To place tl 

measurement microphone off cent 

could result in the two surround channe 

playing out of balance even though the 

measurements were equal. If one wan 

the surround channels to play in equ 

balance, they must be measured equall} 

A symmetrical microphone placemei 

is also beneficial for the screen speakei 

258 588 1888 2888 4888 8888 16888 

So I would recommend that techniciai 

Frequencies on octaue centers 

set sound levels with the measuremei 

microphone simply placed in the cent' 

Figure 1 

of the seatir 

area. Try 

DIGITRL SUBWOOFER RESPONSE SUPERIMPOSED OUER THE THEORETICRL "K" CURUE and see if tl 

balance isr 

I i I i li 1; t! tlEr^:: 

63 125 258 

I 

588 1888 

I ! 

2888 4888 8888 16088 

Frequencies on octaue centers 

Figure 2 

better. 

©1999 Jo) 

F. Allen, a 

Rights Reserve 

John F. All 

\ 

is the found 

and president 

High Perforr\ 

once Stereo I 

Newton, Mai 

He is also r. 

inventor of f. 

HPS-4000 cirl 

ma sound 5>j 

tern and in 19< 

was the first 

bring diiîi 

sound to tn 

cinema. 

OPTICRL SUBUJOOFER RESPONSE SUPERIMPOSED OUER THE THEORETICRL "K" CURUE 

For 

future reference, one may 

record the resulting subwoofer's 

SPL meter readings in both formats. 

Only using these recorded levels, 

as referenced to an analyzer, would an 

SPL meter be useful for checking subwoofer 

levels at some future time. 

The RP200 recommended practice 

covers the adjustment of sound levels in 

all the channels of multi-channel motion 

picture sound systems. It specifies that 

the measurement microphone be located 

about two-thirds back from the screen 

and one-third the width of the theatre 

away from a side wall. In other words, 

off center. The argument goes that the 

microphone is in the far field and thus 

258 58B 1888 2888 4888 8888 16888 

Frequencies an octane centers 

Figure 9 

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Response No' ?

SPECIAL REPORT: Cinema Expo 99 

EUROPEAN GIANTS OF 

EXHIBITION 

A Directory of Europe^s 25 Largest Circuits Ranked by Size 

(Based On European Screen Count) 

Compiled by Melissa Morrison 

1. UNITED CINEMAS INTERNATIONAL 

15821 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 545 

Encino, Calif. 91436 

WEB SITE: uci-cinemas.co.uk 

PHONE: 

(818) 

808-1600 

FAX: 

(818) 

461-9639 

EXECU- 

TIVE 

ROS- 

TER: 

Joseph 

Peixoto, 

President 

&CEO 

(Los 

UCI president & CEO Joseph Peixoto. 

Angeles, CA) 

Alan McNair, Chief Financial Officer 

(Manchester, England) 

Justin Ribbons, General Counsel 


Steve Knibbs, Senior VP, Northern Europe 


Jose Batlle, Senior VP, Southern Europe 

(Barcelona, Spain) 

Howard France, Senior VP, New Business 

Development (Los Angeles, CA) 

TOTAL SITES (6/98): 75 

TOTAL SCREENS (6/98): 551 



TOTAL EUROPEAN SITES (6/99): 78 

TOTAL EUROPEAN SCREENS (6/99): 

635 

AVE. SCREENS PER SITE: 8.1 

PROJECTED SITES 12/99: 101 

PROJECTED SCREENS 12/99: 861 

TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 4,500 

THEATRE LOCATIONS: England, 

Ireland, Spain, Germany, Austria, Poland, 

Japan, Portugal, Brazil, Argentina and 

Panama. Coming soon: Italy and China. 

2. UFA-THEATER GMBH & CO.KG 

Graf-Adolf-Str. 96 

40210 Dusseldorf, Germany 

PHONE: (49-21 1)16906-0 

FAX: (49-21 1)16906-33 

WEBSITE: www.ufakino.de 

EXECUTIVE ROSTER: Voiker Riech, 

CEO 

YEAR FOUNDED: 1917 

TOTAL SITES (6/30/98): 1 15 

TOTAL SCREENS (6/30/98): 

450 

TOTAL SITES (6/30/99): 101 

TOTAL SCREENS (6/30/99): 

426 

AVE. SCREENS PER SITE: 

4.2 

PROJECTED SITES 12/99: 

120 

PROJECTED SCREENS 

12/99:450 

THEATRE EMPLOYEES: 

1,850 

CORPORATE EMPLOY- 

EES: 120 

THEATRE LOCATIONS: 

Germany 

3. NATIONAL ASSOCIA- 

TION OF MUNICIPAL 

CINEMAS, NORWAY 

Kongensgt. 23 0153 

Oslo 1, Norway 

Besoksadresse Nedre 

Stottsgt. 8 

PHONE: (47-2) 33 05 30 

FAX: (47-2) 24 28 949 


THEATRE LOCATIONS: Norway 

4. WARNER BROS. INTL. THEATRES 

4000 Warner Blvd. 

Bldg. 160, Suite 250 

Burbank, Calif 91522-1602 

PHONE: (818) 977-6278 

FAX: (818) 977-6040 

Warner Bros. Intl. president Millard Ochs. 

W.inwr Bros. Intl.'s Croydon, UK theatre. 

EXECUTIVE ROSTER: 

Millard L. Ochs, President 

C. Christopher Adelmann, Executive VP 

David Bent, VP, Operational Finance, IS & 

Administration 

Dave Pearson, Sr. VP, Worldwide 

Operations 

Paul Miller, VP, Finance 

James Birch, VP, Business Affairs & Gen. 

Counsel 

Peter Dobson, VP, International Film 

Relations 

Ira Stiegler, VP, Architecture & Planning 

Chris Sanders, Director of Group 

Purchasing 








344 


38 BOXOFFICE

I 

HONE: (33-5) 46 44 01 76 PHONE: (44-181) 98 75 000 

;)TAL EUROPEAN SCREENS (6/99): FAX: (33-5) 46 44 55 85 


I? 

j/E. SCREENS PER SITE: 9 

Georges Raymond, President 

ilOJECTED SITES 12/99: 107 


iOJECTED SCREENS 12/99: 973 

ÊATRE LOCATIONS: Australia, UK, 

pan, Taiwan, Italy, Spain and Portugal 

7. VILLAGE ROADSHOW 

206 Bourke St. 

Melbourne VIC 3000 

larner Village Cinemas 

Australia 

ells Point, 3rd Fl. 

PHONE: (61-3) 96 67 66 66 

Wells St. 

FAX: (61-3) 93 73 15 40 

Dndon WIP, England 


-lONE: (44-171) 465-4090 

Robert Kirby, Chairman 

\X: (44-171) 465-4998 

John Kirby, Deputy Chairman 

pNTACT: Rafael Badillo, Managing Graham Burke, Managing Director 

irector 

Peter Foo, Director of Finance 

P.A. Zeigler, Director of Fiscal, Legal and 

arner Lusomundo Cines de Espana S.A. Strategic Objectives 

inipark 1 - Edificio B-1 Planta 

P. Leggo, Group Company Secretary 

\zalea N 

G. Jalland, Director, Corporate Acquisitions 

rbanizacion el Soto de la Moraleja 

J. Anderson, Managing Director of 

;109 Madrid, Spain 

Exhibition 

-lONE: (34-91) 658-5358 

John A. Crawford, Exec. Chairman and 

^X: (34-91) 658-5356 

Chief Executive of Exhibition 

ONTACT: Tomas Naranjo, Managing YEAR FOUNDED: 1956 

irector 



'arner Lusomundo Sociedade Iberica de 

inemas, LDA 



ua Luciano Cordeiro, 1 13,1 

321 

50 Lisboa, Portugal 


HONE: (351-1) 315-0806 


\X: (351-1) 355-7784 


ONTACT: Manuel Faustino, Managing THEATRE LOCATIONS: Australia, 

irector 

Argentina, Fiji, Germany, Greece, Hong 

Kong, Hungary, India, Italy, Malaysia, New 

'arner Village Italia 

Zealand, Singapore, Thailand and United 

iazza Augusto Imperatore, 3 

Kingdom 

;ala C/2nd piano 

)186 Rome, Italy 

Village Roadshow France 

HONE: (39-6) 68 81 11 

4-6, Rond Point Champs Elysees 

\X: (39-6) 68 80 85 78 

75008 Paris, France 

ONTACT: Antonio Maldonado, 

PHONE: (33-1) 53 93 92 00 

lanaging Director 

FAX: (33-1) 42 89 20 43 

CONTACT: Didier Bedlin, Managing 

GAUMONT CINEMAS 

Director 

3, Av. Charles de Gaulle 

2200 Neuilly-Sur-Seine, France 

8. PATHE CINEMAS 

HONE: (33-1) 46 43 20 00 

5 blvd. Malesherbes 

AX: (33-1) 46 43 24 28 

75008 Paris, France 

XECUTIVE ROSTER: 

PHONE: (33-1) 49 24 40 86 

;an-Louis Renoux, Managing Director FAX: (33-1) 49 24 40 89 

;an-Yves Rabet, Development Director EXECUTIVE ROSTER: 

rerminal Anton, Programming Director Jerome Seydoux, Chairman 

EAR FOUNDED: 1895 

Xavier Rigault, Managing Director, France 

OTAL SITES (6/97): 41 

Lauge Nielsen, Managing Director, 

OTAL SCREENS (6/97): 372 

Netherlands 

OTAL SITES (6/99): 49 




-VE. SCREENS PER SITE: 7.6 

TOTAL SCREENS (12/98: 292 

OTAL SITES (12/99): 50 

AVE. SCREENS PER SITE: 7 


THEATRE EMPLOYEES: 1,850 

HEATRE EMPLOYEES: 1,000 

CORPORATE EMPLOYEES: 48 

ORPORATE EMPLOYEES: 200 THEATRE LOCATIONS: France, 

HEATRE LOCATIONS: France, Belgium Netherlands 

. CIRCUIT GEORGES RAYMOND 

9. VIRGIN CINEMAS 

nmeuble PRO-CINE 

Adelaide House 

.1. de Perigny 

626 Chiswick High Road 

7039 La Rochelle Cedex, France 

London, England W4 5RY 

FAX: (44-181) 74 22 998 

WEB SITE: www.virgin.net 


Simon Burke, Chairman 

Margaret Taylor, Commercial Director 


TOTAL SITES (1998): 33 

TOTAL SCREENS (1998): 275 








THEATRE LOCATIONS: United 

Kingdom, Ireland. Also operates 14 screens 

in Japan. Plans expansion in Japan and into 

the United States. 

10. CINEMAXX GROUP (Flebbe 

Filmtheaterbetriebe GmbH & Co.) 

Mittelweg 176 

20148 Hamburg, Germany 

PHONE: (49-40) 45 06 80 

FAX: (49-40)45 06 82 01 

WEBSITE: www.cinemaxx.com 


Hans-Joachim Flebbe, Michael Pawlowski, 

Presidents 

Ernst-Guenther Surkus, CEO/Treasurer 

Wolf-Dieter Hahne, VP Personnel 

Meinolf Thies, VP Theatre Operations 









THEATRE EMPLOYEES: 1885 


THEATRE LOCATIONS (6/99): Germany, 

Turkey 

THEATRE LOCATIONS (12/1999): 

Germany, Turkey, Austria and Switzerland 

11. SOREDIC 

3E, rue de Paris - BP 135 

35513 Cesson-Sevigne, France 

PHONE: (33-2) 99 83 78 00 

FAX: (33-2) 99 83 29 37 


Philippe Paumelle, President 





THEATRE LOCATIONS: France 

12. NATIONAL AMUSEMENTS 

200 Elm St. 

Dedham, Mass. 02026 

PHONE: (781) 461-1600 

FAX: (781) 326-1306 


Sumner M. Redstone, Chairman & 

President 

Shari E. Redstone, Exec. VP 

Jerome Magner, Sr. VP, Finance 

July, 1999 39

' 

William J. Towey, Sr. VP, Operations 

Edgar A. Knudson, Sr. VP, Advertising and 

publicity 

George Levitt, Sr. VP, Film Booking 

William J. Moscarelli, VP, Real Estate, Latin 

America 

Thaddeus Jankowski, VP and General 

Counsel 

Mark Walukevich, VP, Film International 

John Bilsborough, VP, Operations 

International 

Peter J. Brady, VP, Construction 

Richard Sherman, VP, Finance 

David Sweetser, VP, Real Estate, U.S. 

James Hughes, VP, Concessions 

Stephen Sohles, VP, Management 

Information Systems 

James Murray, VP, Operations 

John Zawalich, Asst. VP, Sales & Marketing 

Patricia Reeser, Asst. VP and Deputy 

General Counsel 

Dana Wilson, Asst. VP, Corporate 

Communications 


TOTAL SITES (WORLDWIDE): 122 

TOTAL SCREENS (WORLDWIDE): 

1,293 

TOTAL SITES (EUROPE): 15 

TOTAL SCREENS (EUROPE): 197 



PROJECTED SCREENS 12/99: 1,475 



THEATRE LOCATIONS: United States, 

Latin America and United Kingdom 

13. YELMO CINEPLEX, S.L. 

C/Princesa31,3; 

28008 Madrid, Spain 

PHONE: (34-91) 758 96 00 

FAX: (34-91) 548 29 40 


Ricardo Evole Martil, President/CEO 

Angel Poveda Gallego, Financial Director 

Enrique Vinas, Programming Director 

Pablo Nogueroles, Marketing and 

Development Director 

Eduardo Bermejo, Construction and Design 

Director 

Rafael Uro, Operations Director 


TOTAL SITES: 28 

TOTAL SCREENS: 190 






THEATRE LOCATIONS: Spain 

14. KINEPOLIS GROUP H.V. 

Eeuwfeestlaan 20 

Brussels, Belgium 1020 

PHONE: (32-2) 474 27 91 

FAX: (32-2) 474 27 96 


Joost Bert, Florent Gijbels, CEOs 

Jan Staelens, CFO 

Luc Van de Casseye, R&D Officer 

Gilbert Deley, Director, Marketing, Sales & 

Operations, Intl. 






AVE. SCREENS PER SITE: 14 



THEATRE LOCATIONS: Belgium, France 

and Spain 

15. AB SVENSK FILMINDUSTRI/SF BIO 

127 83 Stockholm, Svt'eden 

PHONE: (46-8) 680 35 00 

FAX: (46-8) 710 44 60 

E-MAIL: Stefan. klockby@sfse 

WEB SITE: http:www.sfse 


Jan Bernhardsson, President 

Anette Ekstrom, Operating Manager 

Sture Johansson, Programming Director 

Steven Sodergren, Concession Manager 

Per Rustner, Marketing Director 









THEATRE LOCATIONS: Sweden 

16. KIEFT & KIEFT FILMTHEATER 

GMBH 

Muehlenbruecke 8 

23552 Luebeck, Germany 

PHONE: (49-4) 51 70 30 200 

FAX: (49-4) 51 70 30 222 


Marlis Kieft and Heiner Kieft, Managers 









THEATRE LOCATIONS: Germany 

17. AREA CATALANA D'EXHIBICION 

CINEMATOGRAFICA, S.A. 

C/Mallorca221,4rt2a 

08008 Barcelona, Spain 

PHONE: (34-93) 323 64 26 

FAX: (34-93) 323 72 23 



Jaime Tarrazon Badia, President 

Jaume Camprecios Pujol, Vice President 

Francisco Garcia Bascunana, Manager 




18. SANDREW METRONOME AB 

Box 5612 Floragatan 4 

1 14 36 Stockholm, Sweden 

PHONE: (46-8) 762-17-00 

FAX: (46-8) 10-38-50 

WEB SITE: www.sandrew.se 


Klas Olofsson, President/CEO 

Bertil Sandgren, COO 

Kim Vestergaard, CFO/Treasurer 

Bo Christensen, Exec. VP, Sandrew 

Metronome Denmark A/S 

Frida Ohrvik, Exec. VP Sandrew 

Metronome Norway A/S 

Jukka Vilhunen, Exec. VP Sandrew 

Metronome Finland Oy AB 











THEATRE LOCATIONS: Sweden, 

Denmark and Finland 

19. CINE UK LTD. 

1st Floor 

Chapter House 

22 Chapter Street 

London, England SWIP 4NP 

PHONE: (44-171) 932 22 00 

FAX: (44-171) 932 22 22 


Stephen M. Weiner, CEO 

Al Alvarez, VP Operations 

Paul Stefka, VP Design and Construction 

Richard Jones, VP Finance 

Sabine Khan, Marketing 

Andrew Turner, Head of Film Buying 




AVE. SCREENS PER SITE: 1 1.6 



THEATRE LOCATIONS: United 

Kingdom 

20. JOGCHEM'S THEATERS BV 

Postbus 127 

3750 GC Bunschofen 

Netherlands 

PHONE: (31-33) 298-48-84 

FAX: (31-33) 298-49-08 


J. van Dommelen and W van Dommelen. 

Presidents 


TOTAL SITES: 25 

TOTAL SCREENS: 95 


THEATRE EMPLOYEES: 335p 


THEATRE LOCATIONS: Netherlands 

21. LAUREN FILMS 

Balmes, 87 


PHONE: (34-93) 496-38-00 

FAX: (34-93) 323-61-55 

WEBSITE: www.laurenfilm.es 


i 

40 BOXOFTICE

'-IE f, 

i i 

fÔtp 

PiNoi 

'U_ 

^ Nap. 

' M 

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r^ô/w, 

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EV-COl

Antonio 

Llorens 

Olive, CEO 

Antoni 

Badimon 

Vives, 

Executive 

Director 

Maria Jose 

Puertas, 

Theater 

Operations 

Xavier 

Villarroya, 

Equipment 

Buyer 

Lauren Films CEO Antonio Llorens 

Irene Rabal, 

Olive. 

Advertising 

TOTAL SITES (1998): 18 

TOTAL SCREENS (1998): 82 








THEATRE LOCATIONS: Spain 

Gnipo Iininobillario Mar 

Balmes 98 


PHONE: (34-93) 451-6679 

FAX: (34-93) 451-6980 

CONTACT: Joan Herbera 

Los Cines de Zaragoza, S.A. 

Francisco Vitoria, 30 

50003 Zaragoza, Spain 

PHONE: (34-76) 23-20-18 

FAX: (34-76) 32-82-94 

CONTACT: Juana Mendizabal 

Emp. Control Y. Sam. Catalonia 

Rietla, 5 

07003 Palma de Mallorca, Spain 

PHONE: (34-71) 72-60-74 

FAX: (34-71) 71-86-50 

CONTACT: Antonio Roca 

22. FINNKINO OY 

Koivuvaarankuja 2 

01640 Vantaa, Finland 

PHONE: (358-9) 13 11 93 27 

FAX: (358-9) 13-11 93 43 

WEB SITE: www.finnkino.fi 


Timo Manty, President 











THEATRE LOCATIONS: Finland 

23. LES 

IMAGES 

MEGARAMA 

62, Grande Rue 

25000 Besancon, 

France 

PHONE: (33-1) 

45 00 01 22 

FAX: (33-1) 

45 00 01 99 

YEAR 

FOUNDED: 

1964 

EXECUTIVE 

ROSTER: 

Jean-Pierre 

Lemoine, 

Les Images Megarama's genen 

director lean-Pierre Lemoine. 

General Director 




TOTAL SCREENS (6/99) 66 

AVE. SCREENS/SITE: 7.3 



TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 160 

THEATRE LOCATIONS: France 

24. NORDISK FILM BIOGRAFER A/S 

Axeltorv 9 

Copenhagen, Denmark 1609 

PHONE: (45) 33 14 76 06 

FAX: (45) 33 14 76 05 


Morten Anker Nielsen, CEO 

A Les Images Megarama theatre. 

42 BOXOFTICE

I ok 

, 

technology 

; 2. 

; 

l.Over 

. of 

: ik Pallesen. VP and CFO 

[ e Smith. VP. Film and Advertising 

Sen Laesen. Construction and Equipment 

^ AR FOUNDED: 1906 

1 TAL SCREENS (6/99): 59 

1 EATRE EMPLOYEES: 400 

(•RPORATE EMPLOYEES: 20 

liEATRE LOCATIONS: Denmark 

2 VILL-4GE ROADSHOW INTL.* 

7 Wells St. 

Indon. England WIP 3RD 

I ONE: (44-171) 46 54 090 

IX: (44-171) 46 54 941 

1 ECUTIVE ROSTER: 

Jim Crawford, Executive Chairman 

;jCEO 

. m 

Anderson, Managing Director, 

I hibition 

I 

Riches, Regional Director, EiuDpe 

1 ;hard Potter, Director of Finance 

•AR FOUNDED: 1954 

)TAL SITES (6/99): 136 

)TAL SCREENS (6/99): 936 

] EATRE LOCATIONS: Australia. 

:\\ Zealand, Fiji, Singapore, 

\ailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, 

Jia, United Kingdom, Germany, 

•eece. Hungary, Argentina, Italy and Taiwan 

* Unable to rank 

FIVE QUESTIONS: 

3SEPH PEIXOTO, 

CI 

the next two 

jars we will see considerie 

changes in the emphathe 

current cinema 

lerators in Europe. 

xhibitors will take steps to 

.just to market conditions 

jid capitalize on their 

pengths. We will also see 

•w entrance- both from 

aropean cross-border 

mpanies as well as forgn 

entities. Each group 

dl look to diversify their 

ix and exploit cinema 

owth outside their curnt 

markets. The con- 

:mer will also benefit 

eatly as exhibitors, havg 

learned that to attract 

tendance you must offer a 

gher quality of moviegojg 

experience, will improve 

i.e caliber of their cinemas. 

In the long term, we can 

I 

forward to advances 

that will 

ihance the moviegoing 

i^perience and promote 

iicreased visits to 

nemas... Industry wide, the 

chibition sector will experience a consolidaon 

as companies merge and/or are absorbed 

) create larger and stronger cinema opera- 

's. 

In the international marketplace, there is 

p exciting opportunity to leap over the poor 

;id often non-existent infrastructure in new 

•rritories to create exciting cinema expenses 

and bring state of the art cinema tech- 

nology to previously underserved markets. 

UCI is uniquely positioned in many of the 

next markets for growth. By leveraging our 

organization to deliver quality and efficient 

results we can estabUsh ourselves as the premiere 

global cinema company. 

54. 

3. See Cinema Expo Exhibitor of the Year, p. 

4. The industry must work together to over- 

BOXOFFICE'S FIVE QUESTIONS TO 

EUROPEAN EXHIBITORS: 

1. What will Europe's exhibition industry look like in 

2001? In 2010? 

2. What is the greatest opportunity presented to the 

industry as we head into 2000? To your circuit? 

3.\\ hat is the biggest challenge facing exhibition? 

Facing your circuit? 

4. ^^ hat are your best solutions? 

5. Many expect American exhibition to enter a period 

of major merger and consolidation activity. Is such 

merger mania likely in Europe? 

come some of the restrictions imposed and 

recognize that exhibitors play an important 

role in the growth of distribution and 

the growth of distribution networks. 

Together, we can lobby with greater 

nnnKiiiu L^v > i-f-^Lieener in Helsinki, Finland. 

strength than individually. 

5. See Cinema Expo Exhibitor of the Year. p. 

54. 

VOLKER RIECH, UFA 

1. Concentration. Megaplexes. Fewer 

exhibitors. 

2. Dependent on film market; Multiplex, 

IMAX, arthouse. 

3. E>igital projection systems, Maricet goes 

mtemational...Partnership cooperations. 

4. QuaUty — solid financing and analysis of 

locations. 

5. Yes — just in progress. 

HANS-JOACHIM FLEBBE, 

CINEMAXX 

1. [Tjhe exhibition industry will extend running 

multiplex-cinemas. The competition will 

become stronger [until] there [are] 

only a few big cinema operators 

across Europe. 

2. [W]e...have to cope with new 

technologies. 

3. [T]o proceed [with] our 

expansion in the same way as we 

did in the past: Making 

CinemaxX the place people meet. 

4. Changing the best films, 

offering the best service and best 

comfort. Our guests just like our 

atmosphere. 

KLAS OLOFSSON, 

SANDREW 

METRONOME 

1. In 2001, about the same as 

today. Ten years later there will 

probably be some very dominant 

exhibition chains [in] the 

European market, or at least in territories like 

Scandinavia and probably some unique art cinemas 

in big cities and university cities. 

2. The development of very good sound systems 

and quality instruments like THX. 

3. To find 

the balance 

between high 

quality and 

\ ery good ser- 

\ice and to be 

extremely 

cost efficient. 

4. To give 

the instruments 

and 

responsibility 

to "the man 

on the floor" 

who takes 

care of our 

visitors. 

5. Yes, and 

of course also 

mergers 

between 

European 

companies. 

TIMO 

MANTY, 

FININKINO 

OY 

1 . Building 

activity continues 

Mergers 

likely to 

follow. 

2. People's leisure time keeps growing. 

Finnkino's opportunity to develop the potential 

in the Baitic states. 

3. How to take a bigger share of people's 

increas[ed] spending on leisure. 

4. Creating new concepts towards a total 

moviegoing experience. 

5. Mania, no. Consolidation to some 

extent, definitely yes. 

Hi 

July, 1999 43


i 

INTERNATIONAL 

EXHIBITOR ASSOCIATION? 

AUSTRIA 

FACHVERBAND LICHT- 

SPIELTHEATER UND AUDIOVI- 

SIONSVERANSTALTER 

Wiedner Hauptstrasse 63 

Postfach 340 

1045 Wien 

Austria 

PHONE: 43 I 501 05 35 25 

FAX: 43 1 501 05 35 26 

CONTACT: Georg Mayrhofer 

BELGIUM 

FCB 

241 rue Royale 

B-1210 Brussels 

Belgium 

PHONE: 32 2 218 14 55 

FAX: 32 2 217 23 72 

CONTACT: Guy Morlion 

DENMARK 

DANISH CINEMA ASSOCIATION 

Amerikavej 19,1 

1756KBH.V 

Denmark 

PHONE: 45 3323 1332 

FAX: 45 3323 1353 

CONTACT: Mette Schramm 

FINLAND 

FINNISH CINEMA OWNER'S 

ASSOCIATION 

Kaisaniemenkatu 3 B 29 

SF-00100 Helsinki 1 

Finland 

PHONE: 358 9 63 63 05 

FAX: 358 9 17 66 89 

CONTACT: Timo Manty, President 

FRANCE 

FNCF 

1 5, rue de Berri 

75008 Paris 

France 

PHONE: 33 1 53 93 76 76 

FAX: 33 1 45 63 29 76 

CONTACT: Jean Labe 

GERMANY 

HDF 

Kreuzberger Ring 56 

Postfach 2927 

6200 Wiesbaden-Erbenheim 

Germany 

PHONE: 49 611 72 34 27 

FAX: 49 611 72 34 03 

CONTACT: Wolf-Dietrich Von 

Verschuer 

SPECIAL REPORT; 

CINEMA 

EXPO 

1999 

HOLLAND 

NEDERLANDSE VERENIGING 

VAN BIOSCOOPEXPLOITANTEN 

(NVB) 

Jan Luykenstraat 2 

NL 1071 CM Amsterdam 

Holland 

PHONE: 31 33 20 67 99 261 

FAX: 31 33 20 67 50 398 

CONTACTS: Wil H.H. Ruyters, 

President 

Jan Van Dommelen, Delegate for 

European Affairs 

Frank Van Der Putte, Secretary General 

ISRAEL 

CINEMA INDUSTRY ASSOCIA- 

TION IN ISRAEL 

16PinskerSt. 

PO. Box 4560 

Tel Aviv 63421 

Israel 

PHONE: 972 3 6295138 

FAX: 972 3 6291054 

CONTACT: Yoram Globus 

ITALY 

ANEC 

Via di Villa Patrizi 10 

00161 Rome 

Italy 

PHONE: 39 6 85 41 454 

FAX: 39 6 44 23 18 38 

CONTACT: Carlo Bernaschi 

NORWAY 

FILM & KINO 

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF 

MUNICIPAL CINEMAS 

Dronningensgate 16 

RO. Box 446 Sentrum 

0104 Oslo 

Norway 

PHONE: 47 22 47 45 00 

FAX: 47 22 47 46 99 

CONTACT: Lene Loken 

SPAIN 

FEDERACION DE ENTIDADES 

DE EMPRESARIOS DE CINE Dl 

ESPANA 

c/Alberto Aguilera no 10-7o dcha 

28015 Madrid 

Spain 

PHONE: 34 1 448 36 66 

FAX: 34 1 448 82 1 

CONTACT: Jose Del Villar 

SWITZERLAND 

PROCINEMA 

PO. Box 7563 

3001 Bern 

Switzerland 

PHONE: 031 387 37 00 

FAX: 031 387 37 07 

E-MAIL: sekretariat@procinema.cl 

CONTACT: Daniel Luepold, OfTict 

Manager 

UNITED KINGDOM 

THE CINEMA EXHIBITORS 

ASSOCIATION 

22 Golden Square 

London W1R-3PA 

England 

PHONE: 44 171 734 9551 

FAX: 44 171 734 6147 

E-MAIL: cea@cinemauk.ftech.co.u 

CONTACT: John Wilkinson, Chief 

Executive 

44 BOXOFTICE

5 

^"^ s 1 All: 

u.iAJMllMATlON 

i 

ECHNOlOGr 

Aifordablc floor illumination systcni< 

thai will jiot interfere witf: 

_your patrons experience 

[>1.KML1(.HT- \\(\ 

H()f).286.40r 

^w\v.j-)cimlig1it.cor

CINEMA EXPO EXTRA: Indie Showcase 

''BIO^GRAPHY 

Roderick van der Meulen's Passion for the Movie 

Industry Inspired Him to Build His Own Theatre 

by Lisa Osborne 

love it. I can't live without it," says 

Dutch exhibitor Roderick van der 

I Meulen, describing his affinity for 

the movie industry. Having spent 26 years 

in his chosen profession as a cameraman, 

consultant, merchandiser, inventor and 

theatre designer, owner and operator, van 

der Meulen shows no sign of slowing 

down. 

His theatre, Bioscoop Atlantic, a triplex 

set in a shopping strip in Harderwijk 

(a town with a population of about 

40,000 located 86 miles outside 

Amsterdam), boasts attendance rates 

that are growing by 20 

percent per year. 

Although admissions in 

Holland are historically 

low (the second lowest in 

the world after Finland), 

with the average person 

going to the movies only 

once a year, attendance 

at the Bioscoop Atlantic 

is at least three times the 

national average, says 

van der Meulen. 

This intimate theatre 

that accommodates just 

306 people (the auditoriums 

hold 96, 100 and 

110 seats, respectively) 

has incredible pulling 

power—moviegoers regularly 

make the threehour 

round trip from the 

capital to see a film. One 

of the theatre's biggest attractions is its 

smoker-friendly policy. Van der Meulen 

allows smoking at the cinema six nights a 

week. (It is banned on Tuesday evenings 

and during the afternoon for the children's 

matinee.) Being able to smoke at a 

cinema in the Netherlands is relatively 

unusual; van der Meulen estimates that 

there are only 16 auditoriums in Holland 

where it is allowed. 

Customer comfort is high on van der 

Meulen's priority list. He could easily, by 

his own admission, have fit another 50 

seats into each of the auditoriums, but 

not without reducing legroom and 

detracting from the cinema experience. 

To enhance customer convenience, van 

der Meulen also installed a telephone at 

each seat so that patrons can order sandwiches 

and alcoholic beverages from the 

bar and have them delivered during the 

presentation (similar to the system used 

to call room service at a hotel). Whenever 

a telephone is picked up, its location 

lights up on the switchboard, allowing 

servers to pinpoint their customers. Staff 

members are trained to serve beverages 

while kneeling in the aisles so that they do 

HERI/S \\{li SCOOP: The Bioscoop Athuitic in Hnrdenuijl

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potentially double profits," he says. 

At its inception nine years ago, the 

MMC's marketing and communications 

division was given the goal of doubling 

the number of theatre visits in 10 years, 

and it is working, according to van der 

Meulen. He has already exceeded that 

goal with his own theatre. 

The federation's primary goal, however, 

is to create marketing programs that 

promote moviegoing in general—not 

necessarily at specific theatres. For example, 

in an effort to increase moviegoing 

during the soccer season, the federation 

participated in a joint promotion with a 

national bank. During this campaign, the 

bank's customers received a two-for-one 

movie ticket voucher whenever they took 

money out of the automatic teller 

machine. The voucher could be cashed in 

at any moviehouse. 

Although the average movie theatre in 

Holland has two screens, there are some 

with six or seven screens and a megaplex 

with 12. Van der Meulen explains that a 

lot of towns still have a single screen theatre, 

which keeps the average low. But he 

adds that single screen theatres no longer 

work from an economic standpoint, so 

they are either closing or adding two 

extra screens so that they can survive. 

The Bioscoop Atlantic's survival, on 

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the other hand, also stems from the van 

der Meulens' passion and determination. 

"We never had any money and we 

built [the theatre] ourselves with our 

own hands," says van der Meulen. With 

the help of Yvonne, his wife, he scouted 

for movie theatre seats and bought 

them all for about 10 guilders apiece. 

"It was the same with the equipment," 

explains van der Meulen. "We had 

some projector parts, and we put them 

all together and got a whole projector. 

"I'm very proud of [the theatre]. It's 

built with nothing." 

Van der Meulen estimates that the 

entire cinema, with its three screens, 

cost about 250,000 guilders 

(US$100,000) to build. It took five 

years to finish, and although they have 

since added a better sound system, the 

structure is essentially the same as when 

it opened five years ago. 

Van der Meulen's partner, Rene 

Buitenhuis, also takes a hands-on 

approach to the business, but his energies 

are focused on refurbishing movie 

theatre equipment at the company 

workshop. 

Like all good businessmen, van der 

Meulen and Buitenhuis are always 

looking ahead. They are finalizing 

plans to open a second cinema nearby 

that will have seven auditoriums. This 

second location, scheduled to open in, 

July 2001, will ultimately replace thel^ 

Bioscoop Atlantic. 

"The theatre that we are in now is 

too busy. It is sold out too often," says 

van der Meulen. While the Atlantic can 

accommodate attendance during the 

week, customers have to be turned away 

from full shows at the weekend. "When 

they walk away, it takes you 10 years to 

get them back," he laments. 

j 

But van der Meulen is confident that' 

they will return and promises that his 

new cinema will be "the most beautiful, 

cosiest, nicest theatre ever built." He 

has already designed the prototype for 

his new adjustable theatre seats that will 

continue to provide back support even 

when the moviegoer slouches. He plans 

to replace the seats in of one of his 

existing auditoriums with the. 

adjustable prototype to gauge audience! 

reaction. 

I 

"Of course they cost a lot of money, I 

but it is a worthwhile investment," says 

van der Meulen. "The screen, sound 

and seating are the most important 

[aspects of presentation]. But there are^ 

a lot of exhibitors who want to buyj' 

only cheap chairs. It is not an area 3 

where you should cut back. It is better 

to pay twice as much and have a good 

| 

chair than have the audience uncom-| 

fortable." 

With audience comfort and enjoyment 

uppermost in his mind, van der 

Meulen's second theatre will likely be a 

great place to see a movie. 

WM 

48 BOXOFFICE 

Response No. 461

Please ask some 

patrons in your 

lobby how many 

times they had 

to call your 

answering 

machine to get 

your show time 

information. 

Those patrons that 

could not get through 

are probably not in 

your lobby!

-*»^^^:;; 

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CINEMA EXPO INTERNATIONAL '99 

RAI International Exhibition and Congress Centre 

Amsterdam, Tlie Netlierlands • June 21-24, 1999 

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS 

J

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EXHIBITING EXCELLENCE 

United Cinemas International President and CEO Joseph Peixoto 1 

Cinema Expo^s Exhibitor of the Year 

by Francesca Dinglasan 

Peixoto, president and 

Joseph CEO of 

United Cinemas International, a joint 

venture between Paramount Pictures 

and Universal Studios, has been selected 

as 1999's Cinema Expo Exhibitor of the 

Year. Peixoto, who first began his position 

at UCI in April 1997, previously served as 

president of Canada-based Famous 

Players, senior VP of Paramount's 

Theatrical Exhibition Group and senior 

VP of Los Angeles-based Metropolitan 

Theatres. BOXOFFICE asked Peixoto 

about his career, which is being saluted at 

this year's Cinema Expo convention, as 

well as his thoughts on the future of exhibition. 

BOXOFnCE: How did you start in the 

exhibition industry? 

JOSEPH PEIXOTO: My first job in 

exhibition was at the National Theatre in 

Westwood, where I started as a part-time 

usher while attending UCLA. I was introduced 

to the office side of things when I 

interned one summer for Century 

Theatres. Shortly thereafter I received a 

job offer from the L.A. branch of United 

Artists to work as a film booker. 

BOXOFFICE: Prior to joining UCI, you 

worked for cinema circuits in the United States 

and Canada. Please describe some of the differences 

between worliing in the North Americabased 

chains compared to a Europe-based 

chain. 

PEIXOTO: The exhibition industry in 

North America is much more mature than 

that of international exhibition. This leads to 

a different view on how to compete and which 

markets to emphasize. Another fundamental 

difference is the fact that most European theatre 

owners play the same product regardless 

of their proximity to each other. This poses 

many challenges as to the best way to attract 

and keep customers. 

BOXOFFICE: UCI has theatres in the U.K., 

Ireland, Spain, Germany, Austria, Japan and 

Brazil. Please tell us how these markets were 

PEIXOTO: UCI was founded in the U.K., 

and the rest of Europe was part of the natural 

growth process. We have also recognized 

great opportunities in both Asia and South 

America. Our assumptions have been confirmed 

by the excellent results we have 

achieved in Brazil and Japan. 

BOXOFFICE: What are some of the biggest 

challenges you have faced while at UCI? 

PEIXOTO: One of the primary challenges 

facing UCI is to operate on a global scale yet 

remain sensitive to the local needs in each 

market. An organization the size of UCI must 

be able to be large enough to leverage efficiencies 

and yet small enough to react to local 

issues. 

BOXOFFICE: What are the biggest challenges 

faced by the exhibition industry as a 

whole? What arc the most pressing issues currently 

affecting exhibitors? 

PEIXOTO: The challenges for 

exhibitors is not to repeat the mistakes' 

more mature markets. We must be wary n 

to build less than state-of-the-art complo 

or fragment the marketplace to the poi 

that it becomes saturated and business si 

fers. One of the challenges facing UCI is 

grow in markets where irrational buildi 

exists. We must effectively overcome t 

government and regional regulations tl 

vary in each market. These regulations c, 

stifle the marketplace with obstacles inclii 

ing regulations on content and onero' 

building and licensing issues. 

BOXOFFICE: What are your predictio 

regarding the next ten years of exhibitic 

both in Europe and globally? 

PEIXOTO: Much like the direction th 

American exhibition has taken, in the lo 

term we will see consolidation of the intt 

national exhibition industry mirroring th 

of the United States, although curren: 

there are more obstacles in the internatio 

al market so the process will not be as swi 

BOXOFFICE: What does the 21st centu 

have in store for you and UCI? 

PEIXOTO: UCI will continue to gi> 

aggressively in both existing markets a 

the markets we have already identified t 

development such as Italy, Japan and Chir 

As the world becomes a smaller place. I 

• 

plans to be at the forefront of cinema dc\ 

opment and I am very much looking forwa 

to being a part of that process. 

BOXOFFICE: Why did you target the 

specific markets as part of your internatior 

expansion? 

PEIXOTO: Our market selection is bason 

the need to create a new infrastructu 

where it is not fully developed. Other facto 

include whether there is enough publ 

appetite for cinema product to support o 

development. We have currently identifit 

Italy, Brazil, Poland, China and Japan as C 

next frontiers, and as other markets rise 

our criteria, we will consider them as well. 

BOXOFFICE: How do you feel about beii 

named Cinema Expo's "Exhibitor of tl 

Year?" 

PEIXOTO: It 

be recognized with this honor and I 

has been very gratifying 

believe 

is a reflection of all the hard work that ever 

one at UCI has put into bringing this cor 

pany to where it is. I can only represent tl 

company to the best of my ability and I a 

only as good as the people around me. ' 

our success and this award is much more 

a tribute to them than me. 

54 BOXOFTICE

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SPECIAL REPORT: Cinema Expo 1999——i— 

OUT FOR NUMBER 

(ONE)ILE 

Paul Oneihy Chairman and CEO of United International Pictures, 

Receives Cinema Expo^s Distributor of the Year Award 

by Pat Kramer 

Paul 

Oneile, United International 

Pictures' newest chairman and 

CEO, is Cinema Expo's 

"Distributor of the Year." Oneile took 

on his new responsibilities in April after 

serving as president and CEO for the 

international theatrical distribution 

venture, which is owned by Paramount 

Pictures, Universal Studios and Metro- 

Goldwyn-Mayer. 

As chairman and CEO, Oneile says 

that he will be focusing on UIP's strategic 

direction while endeavoring to 

become more aggressive in the acquisition 

of product. "The major emphasis 

is going to be on the relationships with 

the filmmakers themselves: Ensuring 

that the studios and filmmakers are getting 

the information, [such as] marketing 

and boxoffice feedback, and making 

sure that UIP has all its relationships 

intact with the filmmakers, while 

nurturing the studios, themselves. This 

structural change will enable me to 

spend more time with our shareholders, 

together with the producers whom we 

represent." 

Oneile says he's very pleased with his 

new role at UIP, a company that has 

been at the forefront of international 

distribution since its formation. "The 

fact that we, as a company, are so keen 

to expand into new and emerging markets 

is part of the reason I believe [I've 

been selected for this award]," says 

Oneile. "We were the first distributor [to 

enter the] 

Korean [market] and a number 

of Eastern European markets, and 

the first into Turkey. Despite the great 

number of films we distribute each year, 

we try to nurture each individual film 

that we handle, and I think that is a contributing 

factor, as well." 

Amidst the changes within UIP's corporate 

structure, the company is also 

moving its Far East office from 

Singapore to Sydney, which Oneile 

believes will allow operations of the 

Australia/New Zealand territory to run 

more smoothly. "Until now, Australia 

and New Zealand were two territories 

that reported to our head office in 

London. [By establishing a local office 

SPECIAL REPORT: 

CINEMA 

EXPO 

1999 

for the territories], we've given our 

regional people greater responsibility. 

This allows management to respond 

more quickly to any requests and any 

marketing or sales questions arising, 

instead of having to wait until the 

London offices open. Fundamentally, it 

was just aligning the three time zones 

and making the company mor 

responsive to each of our territories." 

This move, however, does not impi 

that UIP will decrease its focus on th 

Far East. Oneile explains, "Each of th 

eastern markets will still have exactl 

the same amount of attention paid t 

it as it has in the past. This [move 

expands, not lessens, the role an 

responsibility of our regional office." 

According to Oneile, "the relocatio 

of the Far East regional office will alle 

viate a little bit of the work [in th 

London office] and give the [employ 

ees], including myself, more time t 

actually spend doing what we need ti 

do. We have been working on thi 

restructuring since last December, [an 

we plan] to become more responsive t 

the demands and the requests of th 

filmmakers and of exhibitors around 

the world. The breaking up of direcj 

responsibility between Andrew Cripp 

[president and COO] and myself is si 

Andrew will have more time to loo| 

after our territorial needs around thi 

world. At the same time, it will allow m| 

to spend more time with the studios an* 

the creative side of the industry." 

As for the challenges that lie ahead i| 

international distribution, Oneile exi 

plains, "The theatrical marketplace : 

the moment is very competitive. It's 

time when the number of cinema screen 

around the world is absolutely explodin 

and the number of markets is growing 

an exponential rate. The challenge, nc 

only for UIP but all distribution compn 

nies, is to ensure that we can continue t 

deliver the amount of service that w 

have in the past, but at the same tim 

make sure that all of the attention is sti 

paid to the individual films. For us, tha 

is going to be the greatest challenge ovej 

the next three years." 

! 

In regards to his "Distributor of th 

Year" award, Oneile says he is "elate 

and delighted" that his efforts and thos 

of the company have been recognizee 

"I'm certainly delighted to be one of th 

honorees along with each of the peopl 

who have preceded me." 

56 BOXOFFICE

The Leader 

Exhibit Freight Logistics 

u\BIT/Oa/ 

A.-! 

International 

Accommodations 

Import Services 

Travel 

Ltis Vegas 

Tel: 702/691-9000 

Fax: 702/691-9045 

Los Angeles 

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New York 

Tel: 718/712-6300 

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San Mateo 

Tel: 650/573-6900 

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Chicago 

Tel: 630/766-9336 

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Toronto 

Tel: 905/812-1124 

Fax: 905/812-0133 

Response No. 116


FOXFIRE 

Scott Neesofiy Twentieth Century Fox^s Executive VP of 

International Marketing, Receives Cinema Expo's International 

Achievement in Marketing Award 

by Pat Kramer 

Scott 

Neeson, Twentieth Century 

Fox's executive vice president of 

international marketing, is the 

recipient of this year's Cinema Expo 

International Achievement Award in 

Marketing. His past accomplishments 

include the international marketing 

campaigns for "Titanic," "Braveheart," 

"The Full Monty" and "There's 

Something About Mary." Neeson has 

also played a key role in establishing Fox 

International's regional marketing 

offices throughout Europe, Latin 

America and Asia. 

Neeson believes that the success of 

Fox's recent slate, most notably James 

Cameron's "Titanic," has contributed to 

his receiving the Cinema Expo award. 

"In every international market, 

["Titanic"] was the number one film, 

breaking all boxofflce records. 

Currently, the international total is just 

over $1.2 billion; worldwide, it's up to 

$1.8 billion." 

Another film that contributed significantly 

to Fox International's winning 

year was the sleeper hit, "The Full 

Monty." Despite its lack of star power, 

the film emerged as a come-from-behind 

winner, which, according to Neeson, was 

due to the unique marketing strategy 

employed by Fox. "We found in all of our 

research that a 30 second TV spot just 

couldn't convey. .the quality of the comedy 

or the emotional pull [of the film]" 

says Neeson. "So we made the decision 

that the best thing we could do was just 

show people the film... It sounds simplistic 

in retrospect, but the one thing we did 

[that worked] was we showed the film to 

everyone we could prior to it opening. In 

every market in the world we had a very 

aggressive screening program. We gave 

away tickets to radio stations, but [what 

we discovered was that] word of mouth 

was what made it a great success: It ran 

forever in a number of markets." 

Neeson, who has been involved with 

marketing campaigns for Fox 

International since the early 90s, names 

the Mel Gibson-starrer "Braveheart" as 

one of the films of which he is most 

proud. The 1995 epic film won five 

Oscars including "Best Picture" and 

"Best Director." When reflecting on 

" Braveheart 's" dramatic success, Neeson 

points to the dedicated efforts of Gibson, 

who as director and star of the film 

helped to enhance Fox's marketing 

approach toward the movie. "Mel 

Gibson worked so hard on the film. He 

traveled to many different countries [t^ 

promote the movie]... and that was on 

of the primary reasons for its succes; 

Also, 'Braveheart' had a number of ver 

unique elements in different markets; w 

did a number of campaigns whic: 

worked very well." 

Neeson explains that an importar 

part of marketing is not only having th 

right product, but also the right grou 

of people with whom to work. "We hav 

a wide diversity of product, fror 

Searchlight's small but high qualit 

films right up to the large budget film: 

like 'Titantic' and now 'The Phantor 

Menace.'" He says that in each cam 

paign, he relies on his staff in Fox 

regional and field offices to provid 

their local expertise regarding the coi 

rect way to position marketing strate 

gies."We have some terrific manage 

ment in those offices," Neeson notes. " 

have a terrific group of people that 

work with [and] I honestly thin 

[they're] the best people in the busines: 

The [Cinema Expo] award shoul 

include the whole division and the filn 

makers as well." 

As for the overall challenges that exij 

in international marketing, Neeson sa> 

that the greatest obstacle that he faces i 

his role as executive VP of internation. 

marketing is knowing how to be equall 

effective in several different culture 

"From Japan to Argentina, in German 

or France, you're [marketing] differer 

products in quite different environment 

Dealing with the cultures, the local env 

ronment and the people in those markei 

is a wonderful challenge." 

On receiving the Internation; 

Achievement in Marketing Aware 

Neeson says he's proud but humbled t 

share in the glory of this award, origina 

ly created for UIP's Hy Smith. Neeso 

notes, "Hy Smith is one of the industry 

most knowledgeable, experienced an 

longest-serving international marketin 

executives around." Neeson is only th 

third executive to receive this award, fo 

lowing Smith and last year's winne 

Universal Pictures International's Nadi 

Bronsen. 

58 BOXOFFICE

Paul 

1QQQ australian 

%i^^^^^ movie convention - 

August 10- 14 Royal Pines Resort - Gold Coast, Australia 

The 

Australian Movie Convention is one of the most important events on tine Australian Film Industry's 

calender. It represents tlie only time of the year when all the decision makers working within the industry 

gather together to discuss the latest trends and developments. 

Each year it attracts record numbers of delegates 

from Australia, New Zealand, Asia, the United States and Europe. 

HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE : 

Quality local & international guest speakers 

Seminars & workshops 

Trade show with up to sixty exhibitors 

Sneak previews of the latest films from major and independent distributors 

Attendance of local & international stars, Directors and Producers 

Ansett Australian Star of the Year Award (previous winners : 

Tara Morice, Jacqui McKenzie, Hugo Weaving) 

Mercurio, Russell Crowe, Bill Hunter, 

The Kodak Marketing Award For An Australian Feature Film 

Social functions and an opportunity to interact with industry colleagues 

Australian Box Office Achievement Awards 

Name : 

Name for badge : 

indicate 

For catering purposes, please 

the days attending : 

Company / Organisation : LI Tuesday 1 0th I 

I Wed 

1 1 th 

Address: D Thursday 1 2th D Friday 1 3th 

City : 

State : Post 

Code : Telephone 

n Saturday 1 4th 

: 

Country : 

Facsimile 

: 

n 

- 

I I Tuesday 

I I Wednesday 

I I Thursday 

I I Friday 

I I Saturday 

I I Trade 

Full Registration - if paid before 1 0th July 1 999 

if paid after 1 0th July 1 999 

Day - Registration 





Fair / Seminars only 

TOTAL PAYABLE 

AUD$ 550 

AUD$ 700 

AUD$ 200 

AUD$ 250 

AUD$ 250 

AUD$ 250 

AUD$ 200 

AUD$ 100 

AUD$ 

Remember to enclose your cheque - registrations received without payment will be returned unprocessed. No phone or fax registrations will be 

accepted. Registrations dose on 23 July 1999 or sooner rf fully subscritied, however ALL registrations are subject to availability. No registrations vd\ 

be accepted at the Convention. Cheques should be in Australian dollars and made payable to : Motion Rcture Exhibitors Assoc of Queensland 

For further details, please contact : Pauline Parker Motion Picture Exhibitors' Association Queensland 

M.P.EAa P.O. Box 1031, Stafford City Queensland 4053, Australia. Tel / Fax : 617 - 3356 5671

j 

CINEMA EXPO EXTRA: Intl. Exhibition/Distribution 

WE ARE THE WORLD 

ShoWest Brings the Globe to Las Vegas 

on International Day by Christine James 

Moderator Tim Warner of Cinemark International. 

a small world after all. ShoWest's International 

Seminars "Intemational 

It's — Exhibition 

Perspective" and "Intemational 

Distribution Perspective"—recapitulated 

many of the issues exhibition and distribution 

must contend with here in the United States. 

The discussions were held on the convention's 

Intemational Day, whose theme indicates the 

increased value exhibition and distribution is 

now placing on the burgeoning overseas marketplace. 

And as exhibitors reach screen saturation 

in their own countries, it has become 

evident that they will reach even ftirther around 

the globe for new opportunities. 

Joost Bert, CEO of Belgium's Kinepolis 

Group; Paul B. Heth, chairman ofGolden Ring 

Entertainment and deputy managing director 

of Kodak Cinemas Russia; Peter Ivany, CEO 

of Australia's Hoyts Cinemas; Millard Ochs, 

president of Wamer Bros. Intemational Theatres; 

Richard Parton, VP ofFilm for Australia's 

Greater Union; Joseph Peixoto, president and 

CEO of United Cinemas Intemational; Alejandro 

Ramirez, COO of Latin America's 

Oiânizacion Ramirez Cinemas; and J. Edward 

'Ted" Shugme, president of Loews 

Cineplex Intemational, comprised an intemational 

exhibitors panel moderated by Cinemaric 

Intemational president Tim Wamer, while 

NATO president Bill Kartozian presided over 

a group of intemational distributors including 

Columbia TriStar Intemational president Duncan 

Qaric; Twentieth Century Fox Intemational 

president Jim Gianopulos; United 

Intemational Pictures president Paul Oneile; 

and Miramax Films chairman of worldwide 

distribution Rick Sands. 

Most of the panelists agreed that one of the 

primary goals of intemational exhibitors 

should be to avoid mistakes made stateside, 

such as "overbuilding and excessively competitive 

building," as Fox Intemational's 

Gianopulos put it. "We can point to examples 

where the exhibitor has hurt the industry and 

hurt himself in the long mn [through] unreasonable 

and irrational building," added UCI's 

Peixoto. A related problem, fragmentation, 

was another common aversion among the industry 

leaders on the dais; Hoyts' Ivany remarked 

that by dividing markets among so 

many chains, U.S. exhibitors have "driven 

margins and returns down to levels that are not 

sustainable in the longer term." Ivany predicted 

increased consolidation industrywide, 

citing his chain's ventures with competitors 

Kinepolis' Joost Bert, Golden Ring and Kodak's 

Paul Heth and Hoyts' Peter Ivany. 

Village Roadshow and Greater Union; he believes 

that circuits will trade territories in order 

to strengthen their positions in their most successful 

markets. Kinepolis' Bert agreed consolidation 

is "an important method of growth," 

along with, of course, building top cinemas 

and finding good teams to mn them. Distribution, 

too, is trending towards compacting their 

offices, though UIP's Oneile noted his company 

is more likely to expand instead of centralize, 

in order to properly address the unique 

aspects of each market, such as cultural, language 

and currency differences. 

One problem that's more pronounced for 

intemational exhibitors is the red tape involved 

in building a theatre. Country to country and 

city to city, there are different regulations that 

i| 

are ever-changing, and a greater level of government 

participation. While Ivany notedtl 

such holdups can be a blessing in disguise, 

they slow tfie process down and allow exec 

tives the time to think things through mc 

carefully, WBIT's Ochs pointed out that su 

policies can become very intmsive, with soi 

local councils going so far as to diet; 

showtimes and how many auditoriums can 

kept open for late shows. 

The spiraling cost of doing business, both 

exhibition and distribution, is another univsal 

concern: Megaplexes are costing millic 

to build and movie budgets are bloating "1 

yond reason," according to NATO's Kartc 

ian. Furthermore, bidding wars amo 

exhibitors for sites result in a "no-win siti 

tion," commented Ivany, as the only benefii 

aries wind up being landlords and developej 

"We collectively hurt ourselves by oi 

negotiating and outpricing each other in doi^ 

a deal," Ochs explained. "[We need to] setj 

that down by recognizing the fact that devr, 

opers are using one against the other to raj 

the price. [We need to say], 'Enough's enouj 

It's time to walk away. '" 

Ramirez's topper suggested another rami' 

cation of the rampantly-growing competitiji 

in the exhibition industry: He believes & 

rates have increased because newcomers to l\ 

business who don't yet know the ins and oi! 

are accepting higher terms, thus raising the t! 

for the other players. 

Loews Cineplex's Shugme, formerly in t" 

distribution end of the business with Columli 

TriStar, commented, "There is something h> 

ocritical about what distributors do. I know 

did it. They don't care if you build across tj 

street from each other; they'll say they do. t 

they don't. Film distributors get several bii 

of the apple [theatrical, video, cable, pay-p* 

view], while exhibitors get one. You must 

^; 

tough about it. You're entitled to somethir 

and I would urge you to demand it." 

Another concem about distribution cm 

from Cinemark's Wamer, who asserted ll 

intemational builds are not receiving enou 

i 

studio support with regard to product supf 

and promotion. "The studios cannot expect 

to build and [then] not support us with prodi 

and marketing," he said, referring to stuc 

pressure on exhibitors to continually expal 

60 BoxoFncE

I 

^ 

i 

jid bring all theatres to state-of-the-art stan- 

lards. Ochs concurred, exclaiming, "Film 

ental [costs] aside, we're talking about getting 

)roduct. Let's open these markets up! We're 

)pening these theatres; shouldn't we all be on 

he same page? Give us the product, and let us 

ô what we're here to do: grow the maricet." 

Columbia TriStar International's Clark 

plaimed distributors "will always support new 

)uilds." while Fox International's Gianopulos 

emaiked. "Since the beginning of the busiless, 

there have always been some places that 

« ,nust wait their turn. It's a matter of economics 

1 iind the development of a particular area 

jvhether it will sustain [the necessary] level of 

business." 

Scarcity of coveted prints is a point that 

nany delegates hope will become moot upon 

Jie arrival of the much-anticipated but still 

developing technology of digital cinema, 

which could mean day-and-date openings for 

every cinema in the world at no extra cost to 

the distributor. This, however, brought up another 

hot-button topic: Who will pay to retrofit 

theatres with the digital cinema hardware, 

which is estimated to cost about $85,000 per 

booth? Though the technology is predicted by 

some to be as close as three to five years away, 

.Miramax's Sands wryly observed that the 

issue of who's going to foot the bill "is a 

'10-year discussion right there." Many exhibitors 

feel that since distributors will be the main 

beneficiaries, saving an estimated billion dollars 

per year on prints, they should foot the bill; 

Gianopulos. on the other hand, analogized that 

when exhibitors spend millions to build or 

upgrade a megaplex, they don't ask distribution 

to invest. "I think they're two businesses, 

and they should be kept separate," he commented. 

That issue aside, most all agree digital 

cinema will revolutionize the industry, facilitating 

and expediting global exhibition. 

Accompanying the excitement of the digital 

revolution is the fear of increased piracy. Already 

a major problem in Asia, piracy seems 

aU the more likely if the films are being trans- 

"We can point to examples 

where the exhibitor has 

hurt the industry and hurt 

himself in the longrtm 

[through] unreasonable 

and irrational building." 

— Joseph Peixoto, 

United Cinemas 

International 

mitted to and fro via satellite or the Internet. 

Said Gianopulos, "One of the biggest advantages 

ofthe digital medium is that you can store 

things in a very effective way. [But there is a 

problem in being able to] transport them in a 

very effective way, such as the Intemet or an 

electronic data file: The notion of the film 

being compressed into a little ball of information 

and going out over the Web or other 

storage means and being easily accessible [potentially 

to pirates as well as exhibitors] is a 

challenge." Encryption codes are in the works, 

but both distributors and exhibitors are understandably 

nervous. 

In the meantime, it's business as usual, and 

circuits are increasingly finding that business 

is overseas. Many companies venturing into 

foreign territories take on local partners; 

Peixoto observed that each segment of a given 

region is very diverse, and working with people 

who understand the customs and regulations 

is vital if one wants to build quickly and 

efficiently, as well as appeal to the population 

in question. Bert added that joint ventures 

work well to conjoin "know-how and expertise," 

while Loews Cineplex's Shugrue Usted 

"sensitivity, political consideration and market 

understanding" as advantages of the partnership 

strategy. 

Trni Warner cited language barriers, homesickness 

and even food poisoning as some of 

the obstacles in expanding into international 

markets, while Golden Ring and Kodak's Heth 

pointed to socioeconomic woes, convoluted 

bureaucracies and a lack of developers and 

distributors as the challenges international exhibitors 

face when trying to develop or resuscitate 

a market. But on the other hand, as Heth 

summed up, "If it was easy, there wouldn't be 

an opportunity." 

With fihns doing an average of 60 percent 

of their business overseas, as estimated by both 

NATO's Kartozian and by Fox chairman and 

CEO Bill Mechanic at his keynote address at 

the International Lunch, that opportunity is 

knocking loud and clear. 

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Response No. 110 Response No. 40 

July, 1999 61

ShowCanada '99 Highlights -------------- 

A MERRY TIME IN THE MARITIMES 

straight From Prince Edward Island, Boxoffice 

Reports on ShowCanada '99 by Chtistine James 

The Fathers of Confederation led conventioneers 

to the ShowCanada Showmanship Awards. 

FOR PROMOTIONAL USE 

ONLY 

Canadian Exhibitors Show 

Their Showmanship 

Passersby may have gaped at the sight of 

500 formally attired exhibitors following 1 9thcentury 

Father of Confederation John Hamilton 

Gray and his entourage around downtown 

Charlottetown, but the real spectacle was to 

follow. 

Hosted by the Motion Picture Theatre Associations 

of Canada, the Canadian Association 

of Film Distributors and Exporters, the 

Canadian Motion Picture Distributors Association, 

Irwin Seating, Ballantyne of Omaha, 

Dolby Laboratories, QSC Audio Producs and 

Globalmic Inc., the 1999 ShowCanada Showmanship 

Awards ceremony was the official 

opening event of the annual ShowCanada 

Convention, held this year in Charlottetown, 

Prince Edward Island. To reach the locale of 

the festivities, conventioneers were led to the 

Prince Edward Hotel's ballroom by a parade 

of horse-drawn carriages and actors dressed as 

regional historical political figures. 

Upon arrival in die ballroom, ShowCanada 

attendees were delighted to discover that the 

emcees for the evening were two national 

celebrities who also happen to be P.E.I. residents: 

actor/comedian Don Harron (father of 

director Mary Harron) and his wife, singer 

Catherine McKinnon. Harron performed in the 

personae of some of his well-known characters, 

including Charlie Farquharson and Valerie 

Rosedale, while McKinnon serenaded 

ShowCanada attendees with a variety of her 

favorite songs. Alternating with ShowCanada 

co-chair Dina Lebo, they called the Showmanship 

winners, chosen from a record-breaking 

1 85 entries, to the stage to receive their honors 

for unique and effective promoticms in six 

categories. 

SHOWMANSHIP 

AWARD 

1st Prize: Maggie Sinclair, Landmark 

Cinemas' Towne Cinema 8, Winnepeg, Manitoba: 

"The Avengers" 

2nd Prize: Tern-Lynn Woodhouse, Famous 

Players' Jackson Square/Fiesta Mall Cinemas, 

Hamilton, Ontario: "Grease" 

3rd Prize: Danielle Bernard, Famous 

Players' Les Galeries de la Capitale, Quebec 

City, Quebec: "Grease" 

BLOCKBUSTER 

AWARD 

1st Prize: Cathie Leonetti, Famous Players' 

SilverCity Windsor, Windsor, Ontario: "Mulan" 

2nd Prize: Jerry Botelho, Famous Players' 

Coliseum Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario: "Rugrats" 

3rd Prize: Esam Mokhtar, Famous Players' 

Palace 6 Cinemas, Motreal, Quebec: 

"Armageddon" 

BESTPROMOTION 

FOR A CANADIAN FILM 

—ENGLISH 

1st Prize: Bryan Balderson, Landmark 

Cinemas' Uptown Cinema Centre, Red Deer, 

Alberta: "Naked Frailties" 

2nd Prize: Pete Harris, Plaza Theatre, Calgary, 

Alberta: "Last Night" 

3rd Prize: Matt de Vuono, Cineplex 

Odeon's Westgate Cinemas, Ottawa, Ontario: 

"The Red Violin" 

BESTPROMOTION 

FOR A CANADIAN FILM 

—FRENCH 

1st Prize: Alain Langlois and Veronic 

Leduc, Cineplex Odeon's Carrefour Laval, 

Laval, Quebec: "Les Boys H" 

2nd Prize: Bernard Boiteux, Famous 

Players' Carrefour Angrignon, Angrignon, 

Quebec: "Quand Je Serai Parti..." 

AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT 

AWARD 

1st Prize: Pamela Singh, Cineplex Odeon's 

Cineplex Ajax 10, Ajax, Ontario 

2nd Prize: Jonathan Muldar, Cineplex 

Odeon's The Grande, North York, Ontario 

3rd Prize: Pamela Singh, Cineplex Odeon's 

Cineplex Ajax 10, Ajax, Ontario 

CONCESSION PROMOTIONAWAR 

1 St Prize: Dean de Abreu, Alliance Atlanti 

Fifth Avenue Cinemas, Vancouver, B.C. 

2nd Prize: Maggie Sinclair, Landma 

Cinemas' Towne Cinema 8, Winnipeg, Manitol 

3rd Prize (tie): Trent Sales, Landma 

Cinemas' Towne Cinema Centre, Abbotsfor 

B.C., and Bobby Ghosh, Famous Players Cc 

iseum Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario 

In addition to the promotions awards, Lioi 

Gates' "Les Boys 11" was honored as the to 

grossing Canadian Film, while Francois G 

M 

rard was named Best Director for his dran 

"The Red VioUn." 

TO MARKET 11 

Conventioneers Brainstorrn 

to Promote Canadian Films 

at ShowCanada's 

Marketing Workshop 21 

This year's "How to Market Canadic' 

Films" workshop, in which ShowCanada co 

ventioneers brainstormed on promotion 

ideas to raise the profiles of domestic tides 

be released this fall, kicked off with a screenii 

The l-looded Fang terrorized 

diners at the Alliance 

Atlantis/Odeon lunch. 

of Odeon's "Jaa 

Two-Two Mee 

the Hooded Fang 

Attendees brol 

into groups after tl 

screening to 

di 

cuss possible pn 

motions, contej 

and tie-ins for tl 

film. 

Subsequent 

discussed were fo! 

other Canadie 

films: 'Tail Ligh 

Fade," directed 1 

Malcolm Ingra 

and distributed by Motion International; "Tl 

Divine Ryans," directed by Stephen Reynol( 

and distributed by Red Sky; 'Taste of Sui 

shine," directed by Istvan Szabo and distril 

uted by AlUance AUantis; and "15 Moments 

directed by Denys Arcand and distributed 1 

Alliance AUantis. ShowCanada co-chair Dii 

Lebo will be syndiesizing the results and put 

lishing the ideas in the Canadian exhibitic 

newsletter Cinescope this summer. 

For full ShowCanada coverage, 

hit www.lwxoffice.comf 

VF shoivcanada99hndex.html 


X-COMMUNICATION 

Sociologist Robert Barnard 

Suggests Ways to Motivate 

Gen X, a.k.a. the 

Nexus Generation 

Unmotivated. Rebellious. Directionless. 

)isillusioned. Cynical. Negative. Apathetic, 

.azy. These are the adjectives participants of 

ociologist Robert Barnard's seminar "Chips 

nd Pop: Decoding the Nexus Generaticm" 

Jited when asked to define the characteristics 

'ssociated with Generation X. 

While Barnard admitted these qualities 

lould be attributed to about 20 percent of that 

egment of the population, he contends that the 

ame could be said for any group of people. As 

: turns out, asserts Barnard, the generation 

»om between the early '60s and late '70s is 

actually more inclined to be cptimistic, adaptble 

and entrepreneurial than its Baby Boomer 

tredecessors. They're skeptical but openninded: 

they're on a search for the truth; and 

or the most part they hate being referred to as 

jen Xers. 

The "Nexus Generation" is the term Barnard 

»ses in place of the stigma-laden "Gen X" label. 

Tiis is a media-sax'vy, independence-oriented 

veneration of pjeople who bridge the industrial 

jxi information eras: raised on computers and 

)op culture (hence the title of the seminar 

oraputer "chips" and "pop" culture), they're 

oolong for challenges îd a sense of accom- 

)lishment in an age when roles and expectaions 

are not as clearly defmed as in the past. 

Vnd the way to motivate Nexus, he tells exhibtors, 

is to give them more responsibility. 

The 20- to 40-year-olds that make up the 

Nêxus generation have more career and lifetyle 

options than any previous generation 

00 many options, which can "shut them 

•iown" due to a lack of a clear path, says 

3amard. 'They're spinning their wheels trying 

o figure out w here to go." he observes. Giving 

hem a sense of structure and importance proides 

a focus for their energies and talents. This 

TOup Usts challenge, variety and opportunity 

br learning as the top desired traits in a job, 

iccording to Barnard; therefore, managers 

Ar ho want to get the most ftt)m their employees 

ind retain them longer will create a job with 

multiple responsibihties and continuous leamng. 

Employees assigned to a single task will 

quickly grow bored and dissatisfied; if they're 

illowed to learn all aspects of theatre operations, 

hey'll gain valuable experience, stay interested 

ind become more confident and productive. In 

Kklition. they'll be a staflFthat can handle anyjob, 

allowing for flexibility in scheduling and the 

ifBcient handling of operations crises. 

Because Nexus is marrying and having chil- 

Iren later than the Boomers (around age 28-30 

nstead of 23). the new family unit "is more 

Jian two kids and a minivan," Barnard notes, 

X)inting to the TV show "Friends" as an eximple 

of the extended family the Nexus Generation 

is likely to be part of. They look for a 

^nse ofcommunity at woric, and they are loyal 

people rather than to companies. That's why 

:reating a sense of ownership is key to keeping 

employees in a business with an estimated 

turnover rate of up to 75 percent per year. This 

"sense of ownership" does not necessarily 

mean profit participation. Barnard uses Blockbuster 

Video as an example; many locales will 

have a section featuring employees' video 

picks. The names of the employees and their 

choices are on display, making them feel like 

an integral part of the wwkplace community. 

Similariy, a list of employees' Oscar picks or 

favorite current movies could be posted, or 

theatre managers could have employees help 

come up with in-theatre promotions and host 

lobby-decorating parties, complete with pizza, 

soda and a private screening as a reward. Barnard 

also suggests holding brainstorming sessions, 

allowing employees to offer their 

observati(»is; as they are on the fixjnt lines, this 

will provide valuable information in addition 

to making the employees feel their (pinions 

are important. Other ideas mentioned by Barnard 

include letting the employees have a say 

in designing or customizing their uniforms and 

having specially themed days suggested and 

organized by the employees. 

The Nexus Generation also wants to contiibute 

to society at large, so offering the opportunity 

to participate in food drives and other 

charity events in association with the theatre 

can raise self-esteem and, as a result, job performance. 

This sense of community must be built in 

the right way, warns Bamarxl If the wraking 

atmosphere is too social, everyone will "slack 

off" because they'll behave as they do when 

hanging out with fiiends. Managers must 

strive to strike a balance between camaraderie 

and professionalism so that employees' community 

spirit is focused on working to make 

their theatre the best 

TURTLE RACING 

Landmark Cinemas' Bryan 

Balderson Suggests 20 Ways 

To Speed Up Concession Lines 

Bryan Balderson, manager of Landmark 

Cinemas' Uptown Cinema Centre, recentiy 

discovered 20 turtles infesting his theatre's 

concession stand. Needless to say, they were 

hurting business. Balderson and his staff had 

to figure out a way to exterminate the turtles, 

and fast 

Now, don't go calling the Board of Health. 

These tmtles were not of the reptilian variety. 

Rather, the Uptown was being plagued by 

Time Turtles, insidious if metaphorical creatures 

responsible for slowing down concessions 

operations in theatres all over the world. 

Balderson polled his stafi"arKl observed their 

transactions to try to discovo- reasons for the 

puzzling {Aenomenon. Together, they found 

20 hindrances, or Tune Turtles, as they dubbed 

them; upon identifying the problems, the 

group brainstormed solutions. These fmdings 

were shared with ShowCanada '99 attendees 

at a lively seminar entided Concession Transaction 

Dynamics. 

[Expanded coverage will be included in a 

future issue o/BOXOFFICE.7 

STATISTICS CANADA 

Howard Lichtman Examines 

the State of the Industry 

By the Numbers 

Canadian boxoffice hit an all-time high of 

C$476 million in 1998, up significantiy finom 

C$405 million in 1997 and C$354 miUion in 

19%, and comprising six percent of Nortfi 

America's $6.9 billion boxoffice total, according 

to Howard Lichtman, president of the Toronto-based 

consulting company the Lighting 

Group. 

Lichtman, formeriy with Cineplex Odeon 

as executive vice president of matlceting and 

communications, gave his armual presentation 

titied "Canadian and U.S. Moviegoing" to a 

full house at ShowCanada '99. 

Canadian ticket prices and the numbCT of 

admissicms also rose markedly, with 9 1 millicm 

patrons paying an average of C$5.23 in 1998, 

ccMitrasted with 79.8 miUi(Mi paying C$5.08 in 

1997 and 71 .6 million paying C$4.94 in 19%. 

Per capita attendance in the United States is 

5.5 limes per person per year, in Canada, it's 

three times per person per year. Albata, British 

Columbia and Prince Edward Island have the 

highest per capita attendance in Canada; Newfoundland 

has the lowest. 

The first quarter of 1999 did not conq)ate 

favorably with 1998, with a total of C$104.5 

million this year contrasted with C$ 1 29.6 million 

last year, but Lichtman attributes this to 

the 'Titanic" phenomenon and advises exhibitors 

to be less concerned with quarterly results 

and focus more on year-end totals, as event 

movies can skew data fixjm quarter to quarter. 

Lichtman points out tiiat if 'The Riantom Menace" 

had opened in the first quarter, last year's 

figure would have been far exceeded. He also 

observes tfiat 1999's first quarto- total is quite 

impressive whoi not compared to the anomaly 

of tfie same timefi-ame ofthe previous year. Both 

figures caused Lichtman to proclaim, "Who 

says you can't do business in January?" 

As for films' profitability, 15 films grossed 

more than $100 million in 1998. Thirty-seven 

films grossed more than $20 million, and 69 

grossed more than $ 1 

million. Howcvct, witii 

a total of 509 films released last year, that 

means 403 films made less than $10 million. 

With the average film costing $52.7 million to 

make in 1998, plus approximately $25.3 mil- 

Uon in print and advertising costs, there are 

many more costiy flops than blockbuster successes. 

While some of these films recoup their 

losses in ancillary markets, a number ofstudios 

are debating whether to cut costs by releasing 

fewer films. Lichtman points out that the current 

glut of films has benefited the exhibitor 

"With mwe films chasing screens, exhibitors 

have negotiating leverage," he explains. "But 

with less films chasing more screens, distributors 

will have the uj^r hand." Lichtman predicts 

anothCT round of mergers and acquisiticxis 

in the exhibition industry. "Rims like 'Star Wars: 

The Phantom Menace' will mask the ills of 

exhibition for a short time. [But] only three or 

four chains will be left standing by the end of 

the next decade," he prognosticates. 

WM 

July, 1999 63

elieve 

EXHIBITION 

BRIEFINGS 

by Franceses 

Dinglasan 

KARTOZIAN TO LEAVE NATO 

William Kartozian, who has served as the 

president of the National Association of 

Theatre Owners for the past 1 1 years, recently 

announced his plans to step down from 

his position with the organization at the end 

of this year. Under his leadership, the movie 

exhibitor trade organization was restructured 

to include a full-time, salaried president 

and office headquarters in Los Angeles. 

Additionally, the merger between NATO's 

annual convention with the ShoWest convention, 

which has served to strengthen 

exhibitor-distributor relations, took place 

during Kartozian's tenure. 

For the present time, no successor has 

been named to fill Kartozian's place; NATO 

Is currently employing Los Angeles-based 

Heidrick and Struggles to conduct a nationwide 

search for potential candidates. 

Kartozian describes his decision to leave 

NATO as "a gut feeling" and a move he 

"believe[s] is right." He also commented 

that he has "no definite plans" regarding his 

professional activities after leaving NATO. 

REINVENTING HOLLYWOOO 

Dallas-based exhibitor Hollywood 

Theatres has announced that its parent company 

has entered into a restructuring agreement 

with Honolulu-based Wallace Theatre 

Corp. Backed by the GTCR investment fund, 

Hollywood Theatre Holdings Inc. plans to 

merge with a subsidiary of Wallace. Once 

the merger has been completed, the newly 

formed entity will become a fully-owned 

subsidiary of Wallace Theatre Corp. In addition, 

Hollywood expects to buy back 

approximately $110 million of its outstanding 

debt securities as a part of its restructuring. 

CINEMARK: UP FOR SALE AND 

MOVING UP IN COLOMBIA 

Dallas-based Cinemark has announced 

that the exhibition circuit will be put 

up for sale. Circuit owners Cypress 

Group, which holds a 44 percent stake; 

company founder and CEO Lee Roy 

Mitchell, who holds 51 percent; and 

company management, which holds the 

remaining 5 percent, are asking a purported 

$1.6 billion for the 2,300-screen 

chain. KKR, the parent company of 

Knoxville, Tenn. -based Regal Cinemas, 

New York City-based Loews Cineplex 

Entertainment and Kansas City-based 

AMC are among the companies rumored 

to be potential bidders. 

One aspect of Cinemark that makes it 

AN ELECTRIC JOLT 

especially attractive to the interested partie; 

is its international division, which currently 

operates over 500 screens throughout Latir 

America. Highlighting this strength is th( 

company's recent announcement that 

i 

plans to build multiplexes in Colombia 

Working in conjunction with Casa Editoria 

El Tiempo, Tempora and Prodiscos 

Cinemark plans to construct several multi 

pie-screen theatres, which will be the first 

of-their-kind within the country. Project; 

presently underway include a 10-screener ir 

the city of Medelin, which is slated to oper 

this November, another 10-screener ir 

Cartegena and a six-screener in Bogota, botlscheduled 

to bow sometime next year. 

FOURTH-QUARTER LOEWS 

New York City-based Loews Cineple> 

Entertainment Corp. has posted financia 

results for the fourth quarter ending las 

February. Revenue for the three-month peri 

od, which accounts for Loews' and Cineple> 

Odeon's post-acquisition combined show 

ings, was reported at $250 million, a 14 per 

cent decrease from the $290.2 million figurt 

recorded during the previous fourth quarter 

The company suffered a net loss of $1 .3 mil 

lion in comparison to last year's positivf 

income of $2 million, despite a decrease ir 

operating costs that fell to $207.7 millior 

from the year ago figure of $240.4 million 

Prior year totals were based on a combina 

tion of Loews Cineplex's figures and th( 

results of Cineplex Odeon on a proformi 

NCN President Bob Martin on Incorporating Digital Cinema Into Theatres 

Amidst all the buzz about the future of digital cinema, one company is experimenting with the possibilities of electronic projection 

today. Bob Martin, president of Kansas City-based National Cinema Network (NCN), spoke to BOXOFFICE about how thej 

future is now for certain types of digital presentation. 

BOXOFFICE: NCN is presently using a digital delivery service, provided by the communications company CyberStar, to deliver 

pre-movie advertising. How can this work considering that most theatres are not yet equipped for digital projection? 

| 

BOB MARTIN: We've been actually receiving the data since last fall. I believe we have six different AMC theatres that we've: 

been transmitting the data to. We haven't been projecting it onto a screen, but we've concluded that the data delivery system is 

reliable. In fact, we've had no glitches or problems whatsoever since we've started the test. 

BOXOFFICE: So NCN has already installed digital projectors in a few theatres? 

MARTIN: We had envisioned initially a mid-level application... It was our assessment when we originally contemplated tl 

[that] it would be a two to three year window before digital presentation would be an industry standard. With that in mind, we 

wanted to go ahead and put the infrastructure in place, [starting with] 80 screens in Kansas City. We will use it for programming 

that doesn't require the quality level of the feature presentation. By doing that, we're able to unravel all the potential "real world" 

problems associated with digital delivery and presentation. Our system is designed so ultimately all you have to do is beef up the 

memory and plug in whatever projector becomes the standard. 

BOXOFFICE: For the present time, are you limited to pre-movie advertising? 

MARTIN: We do advertising in-theatre, but everyone knows that the digital delivery system can deliver any number of types of 

events to the theatre, including live bands, training, business meetings, advertising and feature presentations. We are not limiting 

ourselves to commercials because certainly we can get involved with any number of other types of activities. What we're going to 

do [with] our prototype system is run [it] parallel to the existing systems: We do side programs, we do audio and we do runningstock 

commercials in the theatre environment. We try to position them so that the audience is 

more receptive. If you mess up the 

feature presentation, you've got a problem. If we mess up a commercial, we'll have our existing systems in place so [we] can toggle 

back and forth. It allows us to make mistakes but not deprive the advertisers of their exposure, and obviously the audience is 

unaffected by whether what we're doing is being delivered to them on film or digital. 

BOXOFFICE: The largest criticism of digital cinema has been its staggering costs. Do you find the way NCN is incorporating 

digital into its theatres as being cost effective? 

MARTIN: Our system costs about $5000 [per] screen. We're [going with] a much lower quality projector. What we effectively 

are doing Is entering the marketplace with a much lower price solution with the ability to go in any direction we need to go once 

it becomes more apparent.. .who the technology leader is going to be [and] what it's going to be. 

BOXOFFICE: Do you worry that when the time comes that you need to acquire the required digital technology, the expense 

might catch up with you? 

MARTIN: I that distribution is the one that's going to realize most of the cost savings. I would acknowledge tliat exhibition 

may realize some revenue opportunities. ..but the real dollars right now to fund it has to be in the cost savings 

on the handling of the film. ..I believe distribution will carry most of the weight associated with putting this in place... 

So, I think the solution, at least jforj our purposes, is a mid-level solution. It's not the ultimate answer. It's an incremental 

step towards the ultimate solution. -Francesca Dinglasan 

64 BOXOFFICE 

basis. 

•i

; \ 

' 

SIN COMES UP IN BOSTON 

Robert Rediord s Sundance Cinemas has 

: lounced plans to build an 1 ,800-seat, 1 1 - 

seener in Boston. The arthouse circuit 

, icipates the new, 250,000-square-foot 

to be located directly across the street 

: 

-1 Fenway Park, the historic home of the 

i 

-ton Red Sox. The theatre, which has 

: :n dubbed the Lansdowne Sundance 

(lema after the street it's located on, will 

I ture a restaurant, bar, bookstore, film and 

\'eo library and an auditorium available for 

( îmunity use and the performing arts. 

!: ndance is expected to begin construction 

( the Lansdowne theatre early next year, 

A^h the completion date set for early 2001 

l:RTZ SO GOOD 

Mann's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, 

> )rld-famous for its "Forecourt of the Stars," 

vhich features the hand and footprints of the 

fvn's legends captured in cement, recently 

i'nored one of its own. William F. Hertz, 

-'lo first started with the Mann circuit 53 

vars ago when it was Fox West Coast, was 

'.ected as the 200th personality to leave his 

irk on the famed entryway. Hertz, who 

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Mlliam F. Hertz leaves his mark at Mann s Chinese 

Theatre. 

IS taken part in over 50 footprint cereonies 

and presently serves as a consultant 

id public relations director for the theatre 

lain, remarked, "When I hitchhiked from 

1 army base in Indio [Calif.] in 1943 to try 

1 the prints of my screen idols Clark Gable, 

'rone Power and William Powell, I never in 

od's green world thought this would ever 

ippen to me." 

-PACIFIC-ALLY FOR ADULTS 

While motion picture production houses 

em to be catering almost exclusively to 

enage audiences, Los Angeles-based 

ucific Theatres is targeting more mature 

owds through its ArcLight theatres, 

lodeled after "loge sections" from a bygone 

a. Pacific hopel^s to attract older patrons 

illing to pay a higher admission fee in 

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GENERAL CINEMAS JUST 

PHANATICAL ABOUT PHILLY 

Dedham, Mass. -based General Cint 

which has already constructed two ne 

megaplexes in the Philadelphia market ov 

the last three years, is currently planning 

third one for the northeast section of the ci 

The new 80,000-square-foot, 1 5-screen th 

atre will feature stadium seating, wall-t 

wall screens, a cafe serving Starbucks sp 

cialty products and "love seats" designed 

hold two people. Dubbed the Northe^ 

General Cinema, the theatre will hold a to; 

of 4,000 seats and is scheduled to open tl^ 

fall. 

TMI THEATRES BRINGS HOME 

THE BEACON 

Deland, Fla. -based TMI Theatres h 

announced that it will open a total of . 

screens this year under its Beacon Theal 

banner. The circuit is currently expanding 

Beach Beacon theatre in New Smyrna, F 

from eight screens to 12, as well as openi 

two new 10-screeners in Sumter, SC ai 

Brooksville, Fla. TMI, which presently hoi 

47 screens in Florida and Pennsylvania, al 

intends to open 36 more screens within ti 

two states by 2000. 

i 

EOWAROS FOLLOWS ITS TUSTIN 

Edwards Theatres has opened an orna 

new 10-screen plex in Tustin, Calif. The ! 

million theatre is 48,346-square-feet 

dimension and holds a total of 1,500 sea 

The multiplex's most notable featur 

include a 65-foot high tower located at tl 

main entry, an enormous lobby decorati 

with Hollywood-themed murals, custo 

stone mosaics on the walls, stainless stt 

ceilings and laser beams and neon lights th 

function as lighting sources. 

ON THE MOVE 

Chestnut Hill, Mass. -based Genet 

Cinemas has appointed Alan deLemos, k 

mer eastern VP of film for the circuit, as 

senior VP of film ...Kansas City-bas( 

National Cinema Network has named |< 

Van Dien as its VP of product managemt 

...Burbank, Calif.-based Iwerks Ente 

tainment Inc. has announced the appoir 

ment of Marti Boone as its VP of large form 

theatre sales and development. 

SHOWMINDER CALENDAR 

Remember to save these dates: 

Australian Movie Convention, Au 

10-13, Royal Pines Resort, Gold Coa: 

Australia. Call Oil 617 33 56 56; 

...SliowSouth, Aug. 24 - 25, Callawi 

Gardens and Resort, Pine Mountai 

Georgia. Call (770) 455-8988 ...In 

Society of Specialty Film Exhibitors ar 

Distributors (ISSFED) Conferenc 

Sept. 8 - 9, Radisson Plaza Hot( 

Toronto, Canada. Call (734) 213-52/ 

...Rocky Mountain Theatre Coi 

vention, Sept. 14 - 16, Sun Vaile 

Idaho. Call Dan Klusmann at (406) 58 

1 251 ...NATO of Wisconsin and Upp' 

Michigan/Geneva Convention, Sept. z 

- 30, urand Geneva Resort & Spa, Lai 

Geneva, Wise. Call (414) 271-592 

...ShowEast, Oct. 18 - 21, Trump T 

Mahal, Atlantic City, N.J. Call (21 

246-6460. 

66 BOXOFFICE

, 

Nine 

NATIONAL 

4EWS 

lOT IN VOGEL 

by Annlee Ellingson 

months after ascending to the pres- 

Jency of the Buena Vista Motion Pictures 

Iroup, David Vogel has stepped down, 

eportedly he and Walt Disney Studios 

resident Peter Schneider haven't been getng 

along for months, resulting in the ultilatum 

that Vogel, who'd been with the 

ompany for ten years, cede control of Walt 

)isney Pictures (while remaining the head 

f Touchstone Pictures) or leave the company. 

Of his departure, Vogel said in a statement, 

"The world of entertainment has 

.hanged in so many new and exciting ways 

iver the past few years, and I'm looking fori/ard 

to some interesting new challenges." 

odd Garner and Nina Jacobson will take 

iver his duties as co-presidents. 

{URLAGE BEATS ARTISAN 

Despite a last-minute counter offer from 

Krtisan Entertainment, Roger Burlage and 

;)is posse of backers, including entertainnent 

company Kushner-Locke, will take 

)ver Harvey Entertainment as reported here 

ast month. Artisan reportedly offered the 

Animation company's stock holders a 

neasly $7.25 a share—$5.25 in cash with a 

.2 I.O.U. to be paid later on. After a cursoy 

glance at Harvey's books, however, 

\rtisan backed off from its plans. Harvey, 

yhich owns the rights to animated characters 

Richie Rich, Casper the Friendly Ghost 

ind Wendy the Good Little Witch, found 

he price both too low and too slow: Its 

1 1 ready-extended deadline to make pay- 

:nent on a $2.2 million revolving credit 

facility was fast approaching. Ultimately, 

Harvey fell back on the original offer made 

;)y Burlage and his associates, who infused 

!)17 million into Harvey—$11.5 million in 

::ash supplemented by $5.5 million in 

.(ushner-Locke stock—and immediately 

ook control of the company with Burlage 

rhairing. 

CORPORATE REPORT CARD 

Time Warner Inc. reported a first-quarter 

xofit of $138 million, or 10 cents per 

;ihare, compared to a loss of $62 million, or 

12 cents, the year before. Revenue rose two 

'percent to $6.2 billion, and operating cash 

low soared 47 percent to $1.25 billion. 

These figures are inflated, however, by the 

5225 million gained when the studio 

'agreed to terminate its distribution deal 

With MGM early. Without it. Time Warner 

oroke about even, with cash flow rising 24 

percent and revenue up seven percent. 

Viacom Inc. didn't fare as well, but still 

eported a flat operating income of $277.5 

million for the quarter, up just one percent 

rom the year before. The company's 

Blockbuster subsidiary took most of the 

olame, reporting a 13 percent decline in 

:ash flow despite a 20 percent gain in video 

'evenues. Meanwhile, the company added 

LEAD STORY: YEMENIDJIAN MAKES AN (MGM) GRAND ENTRANCE 

Although MGM chairman Frank Mancuso has made no secret about wanting to retire 

early and has ardently been seeking a successor for awhile, it still came as somewhat of 

a surprise when majority owner Kirk Kerkorian suddenly replaced him with MGM Grand 

president and COO Alex Yemenidjian. Vice chairman Robert Pisano also resigned, and 

Universal Studios president and COO Chris McGurk stepped in as vice chairman. 

Universal scored a lucrative deal with MGM before letting go of McGurk, who had 

about two-and-a-half years left on his contract. Universal Studios now has rights to 

develop theme-park attractions based on MGM franchises such as the Pink Panther and 

Rocky. (James Bond, however, is excluded from the agreement.) In addition, both studios 

will contribute $100 million each to a co-production pool, and MGM will grant 

Universal rights to publish its soundtracks when its contract with BMG expires in 2001 

The executive shuffle occurred just before Kerkorian was preparing to launch yet 

another stock rights offering—$500 million worth of discounted new shares, most of 

which Kerkorian intended to buy. The studio was also meeting with several cable programming 

groups including Cablevision System's Corp., USA Networks Inc. and Liberty 

Media Group, negotiating deals that would either license MGM movies, create new 

channels through a joint venture or perhaps even merge the companies. 

Meanwhile, MGM reported a first-quarter loss of nearly $280 million, most of which 

is due to the one-time $225 million charge MGM paid to terminate its video distribution 

deal with Warner Bros. Excluding this, MGM lost $55.3 million during the quarter compared 

with a $18.6 million loss the year before, chalking up the deficit to boxoffice disappointments 

such as "The Rage: Carrie 2" and "The Mod Squad .^^^^^y.^^ ^^.^ - 

A"-?^-^'%t^ 

another $100 million to the $500 million 

stock buyback it initiated at the end of 

March, a program financed from working 

capital. 

Walt Disney Co., on the other hand, 

continued its 12-month earnings slump 

during the quarter ending March 31, posting 

a net income down 41 percent to $226 

million, or 1 1 cents a share. Operating cash 

flow during the three-month period was 

$939 million, a 14 percent drop from 

$1.09 billion the year before, and operating 

income decreased 14 percent to $729 

million. Drops in home video and merchandising 

are largely to blame. Revenue 

rose five percent to $5.5 billion. 

Likewise, Sony Corp. announced a loss 

of $1 61 .4 million, or 39 cents a share, during 

the January-to-March quarter. The company 

had gained $173 million the year 

before. 

A STUDIO GROWS IN BROOKLYN 

Robert De Niro and Harvey Weinstein, 

whose Tribeca Prods, and Miramax Films 

are already neighbors in New York, are 

fronting a plan to turn Brooklyn's Navy 

Yard, located along the bank of the East 

River, into a $150 million film and television 

studio. The 15-acre, 12-soundstage 

project will be funded by the duo with help 

from Vornado Realty Trust's Steven Roth, 

the city of New York and the Brooklyn 

Navy Yard Development Corp. 

AX FALLS AT PFE 

A final round of layoffs at Polygram 

Filmed Entertainment came as no surprise 

as USA Networks' Barry Diller prepared to 

take over the company. Among the 40-orso 

who were pink slipped were PFE distribution 

president Andy Fogelson, Polygram 

Films distribution president Bill Soady and 

Polygram Films marketing president Peter 

Graves, who all will be paid or settled out 

of their pacts. Other non-contract employees 

(assistants and other lower-level 

employees) were given a 60-day notice. 

PFE CEO Stuart Ells is expected to join USA 

Films— Diller's merger of PFE, Gramercy 

and October Films—as COO. 

OUT OF TOON 

while Disney's "A Bug's Life" has seen 

phenomenal success, grossing over $350 

million worldwide to date, co-producer 

Pixar Animation Studios has yet to reap the 

benefits, reporting a first-quarter profit of 

$900,000, or two cents a share, down 76 

percent from a profit of $3.8 million, or 

nine cents, a year ago. Pixar's revenue also 

fell 32 percent to $3.4 million from $5 million 

last year. Pixar expects to cash in on "A 

Bug's Life" after Disney has recovered its 

marketing and distribution costs. 

LUCASFILM-LESS 

A joint research and development project 

between Sony Electronics and 

Panavision Inc. will develop a filmless, digital 

camera for Lucasfilm Ltd. in time for 

George Lucas to shoot his second "Star 

Wars" prequel. A filmless Sony camera was 

tested with Panavision lenses during the 

making of "Phantom Menace," but the first 

production-ready prototype camcorder will 

be delivered to Lucasfilm this fall. 

INDEPENDENT MEANS 

Gary Woods' Independent Pictures has 

secured a $50 million revolving credit line 

with Chase Manhattan Bank. The company, 

which has a four-pics-a-year distribution 

deal with New Line, will use the funds to 

retain all international rights to its films and 

build its library as well as continue to produce, 

acquire and distribute films in the $1 

million to $15 million range. 

ON THE MOVE 

Columbia Pictures has created a new 

position for domestic distribution chief Jeff 

Blake, promoting him to president of 

worldwide sales and distribution. As such. 

Black will handle all theatrical distribution 

for the company's domestic arm, Sony 

Pictures Releasing, and its foreign operation, 

Columbia TriStar Film Distributors 

International. In a related move, CTFDI 

president Duncan Clark has extended his 

contract for another three years after a long 

negotiation process, despite rumors that he 

was considering leaving the company. 

July, 1999 67

ELMO 

ONLINE! 

(and Gonzo) 

(and lots more to come) 

Since 1994, we've been 

putting most of our celebrity 

interviews on tine World 

Wide Web in print form 

at the exhibition industry's 

original "e" address, 

www.boxoffice.com. 

Now, we're adding audio. 

You can now listen to the 

friendly voices of Elmo, 

contacted "at home" for 

this issue's cover story by 

BOXOFFICE associate editor 

Francesca Dinglasan, and 

Gonzo, speaking with assistant 

editor Annlee Ellingson. 

In coming months, you'll be 

able to listen as BOXOFFICE, 

on your behalf, converses 

with the best and brightest 

in Hollywood. We'll also be 

uploading our interviews with 

exhibition and studio players. 

p 

It's just one more reason 

to "stay tuned" to 

your home on the web, 

www. boxoffice.com 

HOLLYWOOD 

UPDATES 

by Annlee Ellingson 

LEAD STORY: 

KATZ VS. MOUSE 

What promised to be a mundane lesson 

in film accounting has instead turned into a 

trial only Hollywood could stage. 

DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg 

has filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit 

against the Walt Disney Co., where he was 

the head of the filmed entertainment division 

until he quit in 1994, claming his former 

employer has neglected to pay him a 

bonus promised to him in his contract. His 

asking price: $250 million. 

Disney has already conceded that it 

does, indeed, still owe Katzenberg money 

for the 10 years he dedicated to the company. 

The question is, how much? 

Katzenberg claims that his contract guaranteed 

him two percent of all Mouse House 

profits generated from the projects put into 

production or acquired by the company 

while he worked there, including future 

profits and merchandising, spin-offs and 

music rights. Disney, however, contends 

that Katzenberg sacrificed his two-percent 

bonus when he left the company before his 

contract was up in 1996, ostensibly 

because Disney CEO Michael Eisner 

refused to promote his ex-buddy to the 

number two spot when president Frank 

Wells was killed in a helicopter crash in 

1994. 

Retired L.A. Supreme Court Judge Paul 

Breckenridge has presided over the proceedings, 

which swiftly have become a 

battle about Katzenberg's and Eisner's 

stormy relationship. Other dramatic highlights 

include the introduction of the nownotorious 

Bill Clark memo, which indicates 

that Disney habitually underreports revenue 

and overreports expenses. Disney 

lawyers also accuse Katzenberg of exaggerating 

profits on live-action films, indicating 

that the division was $231 million in the 

hole when he left the company, only to 

have Katzenberg attorneys prove that liveaction 

has profited $400 million since 

then. But even before the trial started, the 

media had sued for—and won—the right 

to cover the trial, a privilege strongly 

objected to by Disney, who claim sensitive 

trade secrets would be revealed. (Needless 

Disney's TV network ABC won't be 

to say, 

covering the trial, ostensibly because "It's 

not the kind of story we would cover on a 

daily basis.") 

VIACOM UNSTRUNG 

The final thread in the "Spider-Man" 

rights web was untangled when L.A. 

Superior Court Judge Aurelio Munoz 

declared that Viacom Inc. had no legitimate 

claims on the webslinger. Marvel 

Entertainment Group and Sony Pictures 

Entertainment recently agreed to put a 

long-running dispute to rest and have 

begun making plans to produce films and 

TV series based on the character. MGV 

which also claimed rights to the characte 

settled for a reported $2 million. 

Viacom, however, insisted that it re 

tained TV rights to the franchise based o 

an in-perpetuity deal reached with now 

defunct 21st Century Films in 1989. Marve 

argued that those rights expired when 21; 

Century failed to produce the film. Beside; 

Viacom had deleted the project from a li; 

of films it had agreed to distribute for 21; 

Century, simultaneously postponing a $ 

million payment. The judge agreed, cleai 

ing a path for Sony and Marvel to get stan 

ed on what promises to be a big-budge 

high profile film. Unfortunately, Jame 

Cameron won't be involved: Columbia hal 

hired screenwriter David Koepp ("jurassi' 

Park") to craft a script, partially drawn fror 

a treatment by Mr. "Titanic." 

INK SPOTS 

Former Morgan Creek executive Bil 

Todman Jr. has inked a three-year, first-loo; 

deal with Kopelson Entertainment. Th 

executive producer, whose credits appeal 

in this month's "Wild Wild West" and Fox'! 

upcoming "X-Men" movie, will develo|; 

and produce movies and TV shows foi 

Anne and Arnold Kopelson, who in tur: 

have a first-look deal with Fox. 

Miramax has signed a three-picture deewith 

film composer Christopher Young 

The musician's first two projects are thi 

month's "Teaching Mrs. Tingle" and "In Toi: 

Deep." The third has yet to be determines 

Miramax has also pacted a three-pic dea; 

with Ashton Kutcher, who currently star 

on TV's "That '70s Show" as Michael Kelsc 

Kutcher will be appearing in Miramax'! 

"Down to You" starring Freddie Prinze jr 

Dimension's "Texas Rangers" with jame 

Van Der Beek and Dylan McDermott anc 

"Reindeer Games" headlining Ben Affleck 

ON THE MOVE 

After a year with the company, Mirama 

has promoted Jeremy Kramer to senior v| 

of production. Hired in February 1998 

Kramer ushered the cheap teen hit "She' 

All That" to a $60-million success. Hi 

upcoming projects include this month's "li 

Too Deep" and "Down to You." 

Jon Landau's Blue Horizon Entertain 

ment has tapped former Castle Roci 

Entertainment executive Curtis Burch a 

president of feature production. Burch 

who worked on "The Running Man," "Th< 

Flintstones" and "Bird on a Wire," will b< 

responsible for bringing in domestic anc 

international projects as well as developinj 

and overseeing Blue Horizon's slate. Th( 

Fox-based company promoted Mark Bot 

vinick to director of development. 

lordi Ros, who left his production senio 

vp position at Touchstone when the com' 

pany was consolidated under the Buen; 

Vista Motion Pictures Group, will rur 

Lynda Obst's new Paramount-based pro 

duction company. Obst recently inked ar 

exclusive three-year deal with Paramour) 

and Lakeshore Entertainment, securinj 

funds for both her big-budget, star-driver 

pics and her niche-oriented films, afte 

her previous deal with Fox 2000 expiree 

earlier this year. 

68 BOXOFHCE

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Response No. 78

INTERNATIONAL NEWS BRIEFS 

NORTHERN EXPOSURE 

Canadian News Notes by Shiomo Schwartzberg 

LEAD STORY: TICKET PRICES ON THE RISE 

Movie tickets in Canada have hit the magic number of C$10 (US$6.67). 

but so far the price hike only affects evening shows at new Famous Players 

megaplexes erected in the last two years. The previous top price for films in 

Canada had been C$9.75 (US$6.53) at the new AMC theatres. Cineplex 

Odeon's top price is C$9.50 (US$6.36). (Neither AMC nor Cineplex have any 

immediate plans to raise their top ticket price.) Tuesdays, the bargain day of 

the week, are not subject to the C$10 price, and other Famous houses, such 

as the 62-year-old Eglinton, adhere to the company's two-tiered pricing system, 

with top ticket prices costing C$8.75 (US$5.86). 

Commenting on the increase to $10, Famous Players president John Bailey 

THE PARAMOUNT PREMIERES IN TORONTO 

With appropriate glitz and glamour. Famous Players unveiled 

its newest multiplex, the Paramount Toronto, in the city's downtown 

core. A giant multi-colored cube fronts the complex, sitting 

60 feet above street level and broadcasting trailers and music 

videos on its 1 6-square-foot LED screen. Inside, customers climb 

a five-story escalator, one of the longest ever built in Canada, to 

get to the 13 cinemas, the IMAX 3D cinema and a lounge called 

the Vivid. Other attractions at the Paramount include the Club 

Room, which can be rented for private parties. The cinemas 

together comprise 4,200 seats that are stadium-tiered and handicap 

accessible. The Paramount differs from other Famous houses, 

Bailey told BOXOFFICE, not only in its distinctive look—the three 

Paramounts that Famous will build (Vancouver and Montreal are 

still yet to come) are unique, non-branded houses—but in its 

appeal to differing demographic groups during specific parts of 

the day. 

"We'll have one kind of person in the day time, one kind by six 

p.m. and one kind at 12 midnight. Daytime will be [some] families 

[and] school kids. By four, five [and] six p.m., people are off work, 

and by eight p.m. to midnight you have [people] coming downtown 

to have a good time." Famous Players is also hosting 

Toronto's "Inside OUT" gay and lesbian film festival, and Bailey 

is looking forward "to 20,000 people coming through here," 

adding that the festival's presence in the Paramount makes sense 

in light of "the gay and lesbian community being part of the 

entertainment industry." 

insists Smallwood. "Obviously, [we have] ongoing coi 

tracts for all films acquired, and we will exploit thosi 

titles to the extent that we can." Acquisition of genv 

films, among Red Sky's 25 to 35 expected annu; 

releases, "will probably continue," says Smallwood. 

SCREEN WARS 

The release of "Star Wars: Episode I—TK 

Phantom Menace" has resulted in fierce competitio 

among the top Canadian chains for rights to show th' 

movie. Cineplex Odeon, which has the primary outpi 

deal with the film's distributor, 20th Century Fox, hi 

announced the George Lucas' film will unspool on 14 

screens in 80 theatres across the country. "We ai 

delighted to be part of this historic event in moviegc 

told BOXOFFICE, "Costs are higher. Nothing comes for free." Pointing to the 

success of ''The Mummy" in its opening weekend at Famous' Coliseum 

Scarborough, Bailey defended his company's topping the other chains in 

Canada, saying, "A lot of people want that kind of [entertainment experience]. 

[Famous Players] offers more, [and] people come on a regular basis." ing," said Michael Kennedy, Cineplex's senior vie 

president and film buyer, Canada, in a press release. 

Famous Players has "Star Wars" at 36 of its screens, and AM< 

has itat one of its three venues on four screens. 

TROUBLES GALORE 

Canadian films tend not to court controversy, but two of thei 

have in recent weeks. First the premiere of "Custodian of th 

Hill," a profile of parliamentary speaker Gilbert Parent, was car 

celled by its maker, the National Film Board of Canada, whe 

Parent reportedly threatened legal action over the film. Paren 

who had the right to approve the final cut of the film, reported! 

objected to personal details about him that were in the film, sue 

as his leaving his wife, who had multiple sclerosis. Parent late 

changed his mind and the NFB announced its plans to release th 

film. 

Next up was Cynthia Robert's "Bubbles Galore," a soft-cor 

porn spoof that, upon winning an award at Freakzon 

International (a little-known French cult film festival), wa 

assailed by right-wing politicians as a "depraved" film that shoul 

not have been funded by Canadian funding bodies. That prompt 

ed Heritage Minister Sheila Copps to disavow her government 

connection with the movie, blaming the previous Canadian gov 

ernment for funding the movie and also implying that her ofllc 

would look a little more closely at the films it was going to fun 

in the future. 

Contacted by BOXOFFICE, Greg Klymkiw, Roberts' husban^ 

and producer of "Bubbles Galore," said, "As the film is thre 

years old and it's not porn, as far as I'm concerned there is n 

SMALLWOOD PAINTS THE SKY RED 

Tony Cianciotta, founding president of Vancouver-based distributor 

Red Sky Entertainment, has left the two-year-old company 

for personal reasons. Mike Smallwood, former executive vice 

president of EMI Music Asia, succeeds him. Smallwood's ascension 

coincides with Red Sky's new focus on more mainstream fare. 

"The company was built on a foundation of niche, art-house, foreign-language 

movies. Those movies tend to be fairly small. It's 

difficult [for them] to get critical mass," said Smallwood in an 

interview with BOXOFFICE. 

Among the mainstream fare snagged by Red Sky are 

"Snapshot," which is currently in production from International 

Family Entertainment, and "Home Brew," the sequel to "Strange 

Brew." But Red Sky is not relinquishing all ties to art-house fare. 

issue. I'm delighted with the controversy, which will result i 

greater awareness of the picture and will result in the film bein 

seen more widely by Canadians." "Bubbles Galore" has had lim 

ited art-house runs in Canada and has just been sold to 

Canadian specialty TV channel. 

NORTHERN NUGGETS 

Quebec's upstart Cinema Guzzo unveiled its Mega 

Plex@Spheretech 14 in Saint-Laurent, Quebec... Miramax am 

Alliance Atlantis have extended their output deal unti 

2005... Behaviour Communications Inc. has signed a commitmen 

letter with Chase Manhattan Bank for a major revolving credi 

facility to the tune of C$30 million (US$20 million). It will b 

used to refinance the company's debt and to expand its film pn 

duction and international licensing activities. 

70 BOXOFFICE


EUROVIEWS 

European News Notes by Francesca Dinglasan 

EAD STORY: UIP'S TUSSLE IN BRUSSELS 

BRUSSELS—United International Pictures, a distribution partnership 

mong Universal, Paramount and MGM. has been under investigation by 

le European Commission. Karel Van Miert. the European Unions cometition 

commissioner, first alleged over a year ago that the company has 

een working to suppress competition from Europe-produced films. UIP, 

received exemption by the Commission from standard 

hich originally 

ompetition regulations due to Europe's soft exhibition market, insists 

lat the three partners have supported European product b\- collectively 

ivesting more than S700 million and distributing more than 300 

'ontinental films during the past five years. UIP officially began to defend 

5elf last September, when it brought its case to the Brussels-based 

Commission. As a result of the hearings, it appears likely that the charges 

lade against UIP will be dropped. Although the EC has yet to render a 

inal decision. Van Miert has commented that his antitrust investigation 

gainst the company has led only to a "borderline" case. 

RA LAGS AT BOXOFFICE 

ROME—Last years "Titanic" helped sink this year's firstlarter 

showings in Italy, which recorded a decrease of six million 

qema admissions in comparison to 1998-frame figures, 

ccording to Cinetel, a service that compiles boxoffice data, the 

untn,'"s movie theatres saw an attendance decrease of 9.9 pernt 

in January, 25.2 percent in February and 8.5 p)ercent in 

fârch from the monthly figures recorded last year. The disparity 

utween 1999 and 1998 totals are projected to reach as high as 12 

illion fewer Italian moviegoers for this year's first six months. 

iCKET TAXES GET BOOTED 

ROME—Italy's General Association of Entertainment 

adustries has announced that, effective next year, the country's 

ovemment will introduce a revised tax plan targeting the 

'itertainment industry. Under the new regulations, the 9 per- 

:nt tax levy currently charged for movie theatre tickets, as well 

; for tickets to concerts and live theatre, will be completely cut. 

he Italian government had originally intended to offset the 

I'St tax revenue by doubling the value added tax placed on 

itertainment-related tickets to 20 percent from its present 10 

ercent. However, the government has since reconsidered, and 

le VAT is expected to remain at 10 percent. 

OOT'S BOOTY OF FILMS FINDS A HOME 

RO.ME— Italy's National Cinematheque, which boasts an 

cpansive collection of locally produced film fare, has announced 

lat it will open its own theatre after more than six decades withut 

a permanent site to screen its cinematic treasures. The new 

enue, located at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome, will bow 

lis fall with a retrospective featuring the works of Alberto Sordi, 

ne of Italy's most beloved comedic directors. 

AXONY SEEKS SUBSIDIES 

BERLIN—The Association of German Cinemas has filed an 

motion requesting that the government restore subsidies 

Ificial 

riginally earmarked for cinemas in the German state of Saxony, 

he state funds, which totaled approximately DM 101,000 

US$55,000) in 1998, has been cut from this year's annual budget, 

"he AGC estimates that nearly 40 theatres located throughout 

;veral small towns in Saxony will be forced to go out of business 

ithout the government's financial support. 

KINOWELT-ERS IN PROFIT 

MUNICH—Kinowelt Medien AG, Germany's second 

largest film distributor, reported a profit of DM 2.7 

million (US$1.5 million) for last year, a 125 percent 

increase over year-ago figures of DM 1.2 million 

(US$667,000). The profit exceeds the company's original 

prediction for 1998 earnings of DM 2.4 million (US$1.3 

million). The increased profit has been attributed to a 

series of acquisitions, which include film distributor 

Pandora Filmverleih, and an unexpected lower tax rate 

that allowed an augmented number of fund transfers to 

take place among Kinowelt subsidiaries and the parent 

company. 

FRANCLY, IT'S SLOWER 

PARIS—The Federation Nationale des Cinemas 

Francais rejx)rts that cinema attendance in the country 

fell by 17 percent during the first quarter of this year. About 44 

million Gallic moviegoers hit the turnstiles during the threemonth 

period, compared with 52 million in the first quarter of 

1998. The main culprit, according to the association, is once again 

last year's "Titanic." The James Cameron-helmed pic, along with 

the French production "The Visitors II," sold a combined total of 

24 million tickets during 1998's first quarter. 

HEL OF A THEATRE 

HELSINKI—Cinema circuit Finnkino Oy has opened a 2,697- 

seat 14-screener in the Finnish capital of Helsinki. Features of the 

Finnkino Tennispalatsi multiplex include Scandinavia's widest 

screen (which measures more than 66 feet long), three-way THX 

sound systems and stadium seating. In addition to its cinema 

auditoriums, the building contains two museums, coffee shops, 

retail stores and restaurants. Investors in the plex are hopeful that 

the theatre, which bowed in March, will be able to attract 1 .33 million 

moviegoers during its first year in operation. 

U.K. OKs "I" 

LI\ ERPOOL—Warner Village Cinemas, a joint venture 

between Warner Bros. Intl. and Australia-based Village 

Roadshow, has reached an agreement with Iwerks Entertainment 

to bring the large-format 3-D movie theatre to the U.K. The new 

multiplex, which will be located just outside of Liverpool at 

Cheshire Oaks, Ellesmere Port, marks the first sale of an 

Iwerks/MTS multi-format giant-screen theatre to a large commercial 

exhibitor. The new cinema, which will be able to screen both 

3D and traditional 35mm films, is slated to open this December. 

EURONOTES 

U.K. -based Rand Group, parent of the Odeon chain, said that 

operating profit was on par with expectations but fell short of 

year-ago totals of £21 miUion (US$33.9 million). Exact figures 

were not yet disclosed... Italy's Cinecitta Holding, formerly Ente 

Cinemas, has appointed Francesco Gesualdi as its managing 

director. Cinecitta Holding's restructuring has also involved partial 

privatization...Sony has named Brian Kane, former business 

manager of sound creation for Sony UK, to be general manager 

of Sony Cinema Products Europe... Fridbert Palsson, former managing 

director for Haskolabio, has launched Iceland-based Good 

Times Distribution, which plans to release 20 films annually. 

July, 1999 71

72 BoxomcE 


PACIFIC OVERTURES 

Notes From the Pacific Rim by Francesca Dinglasan 

LEAD STORY: THE HUNT FOR HOYTS 

SYDNEY-According to a report released by merchant bank N.M. 

Rothschild & Sons, Kerry Packer's original bid of AUS$2 (U.S.$1.26) per 

share for the Australia-based Hoyts Cinemas circuit was found to be neither 

"fair nor reasonable." Packer, who is attempting to buy out the Oz movie 

theatre chain through his privately owned company Consolidated Press 

Holdings, had held 17.1 percent worth of the exhibitor's share options at the 

time of the offer. The recently released report estimates Hoyts' true value to 

be between AUSS634 milhon (US$420 million) to AUS$712 million (US$471 

million), an amount at least 16 percent higher than Packer's first offer, which 

valued the chain at approximately AUS$580 million (US$384 million). The 

965-screens stateside, which are currently up for sale, are estimated to be 

worth between AUS$350 million (US$232 milhon) and AUS$375 million 

(USS248 milhon). 

As a result of these findings. Packer has upped his bid by AUS 5 cents (US 

3 cents) to US$1.31 per share, valuing Hoyts at AUS$624 million (US$412 

million). Circuit CEO Peter Ivany, who has been resisting Packer's takeover 

bid and urging other shareholders to do the same, has accepted the latest 

offer for his 11 percent stake. This latest acquisition brings Consolidated 

Press Holdings' total stake in Hoyts to 41.4 percent. 

TRICORNERS DISTRIB MARKET IN VIETNAM 

HANOI-San Marino, Calif -based Tricor Entertainment has 

reached an agreement with London-based United Intl. Pictures 

granting Tricor exclusive film distribution rights to movie theatres 

in Vietnam. Under terms of the pact, as many as 20 feature films 

from Paramount, Universal, DreamWorks and MGM could be 

distributed annually through Tricor and its Taiwanese-owned 

partner, VisionNet Intl., to exhib circuit Cinema 1 in Vietnam. 

The circuit, which is a joint venture between Tricor and 

VisionNet, presently holds 18 single-screeners in five cities 

throughout the country. The cinema chain has also received permission 

from the Vietnamese government to construct and operate 

an additional 1 50 screens in 30 different sites and to show up 

to 100 films per year. Tricor estimates that it will realize yearly revenues 

as high as $1 million per screen through its Vietnam-based 

venture. 

VIRGIN SIGHTING IN JAPAN 

TOKYO-Moving forward with its plans for international 

expansion, U.K.-based exhibitor Virgin Cinemas recently opened 

the first of what will be 20 new multiplexes in Japan. The new 

3,000-seat 14-screener, located in the southwestern city of 

Fukuoka, features such amenities as state-of-the-art sound systems 

and several dining options for cinemagoers. The new plex 

anchors the Mega Mall Torius Hisayama shopping center. 

GLOBAL CHANGES 

SYDNEY-Australia-based indie distributor Globe Film Co. 

recently lost the support of the Queensland-based Rothsey family, 

one of the company's major investors. In an unexpected move, 

the Rothsey family announced that it would instead be taking several 

pics, which were originally to be released through Globe, and 

distribute them through its own company, Pinefilm 

Entertainment. Among the releases affected are Oscar-winner 

"Gods and Monsters," "Live Flesh" and "Lulu on the Bridge." 

Shaun Rothsey, principle head of his family's interest, explained 

that the decision to break from Globe had been based on what he 

perceives as the company's leanings toward high-rii 

films, including foreign language and arthouse faii 

While the split leaves Globe with only its Australia 

products, the distributor also maintains marketij 

contracts, which includes a deal with Polygram Filnw 

Entertainment. In addition. Globe has the distinctic 

of being the sole Australia-based indie to have 

release pact with United Intl. Pictures. 

VALENTI SAYS PLENTY ABOUT SOUTH 

KOREA'S FILM QUOTA 

SEOUL-During his trip throughout Asia, Mo 

Picture Association of America chairman Jack Vi 

met with South Korean president Kim Dae Juii 

discuss the possibility of reducing the number of 

per year Korean films must be played in South Koi 

cinemas. Presently, movie theatres in the country 

required to meet an annual quota of 146 days in w 

they must screen Korean products. In his convc 

tions with Jung, Valenti used arguments simil 

those he espoused to Chinese officials during 

attempt to widen the film market in China for American prod 

Valenti insisted that much needed foreign investment coul( 

used to build modern multiplexes throughout South Korea if 

film quota was brought down to "a reasonable and commerc 

acceptable" number. South Korea is currently the only A 

country experiencing a decline at the boxoffice, as well as the { 

country in the region enforcing a screen quota. 

FOX TROTS IN OZ 

SYDNEY-Development partners News Corp. and Lend Lei*' 

have announced plans to construct a Fox Studios development 

Sydney. The development will include a 1 6-screen multiplex and 

retail district encompassing 50 different retailers. The joint vei 

ture is estimated to cost approximately AUS$300 million (US$2( 

million). 

SPYGLASS SETS ITS SIGHTS ON ASIA 

TOKYO-Film distribution and production company Spygla 

Entertainment has reached separate agreements with Japan-base 

Toho-Towa and the Walt Disney Co. regarding product output 

the Asian market. Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum, co-heads ( 

Spyglass, have negotiated a deal with Toho-Towa that gives tl 

Japanese company local cinema distribution rights to Spyglas 

first five pics. Spyglass' second distribution pact involves Disnc 

its main partner. Disney's Buena Vista Intl., which already hai 

dies Spyglass product output in the U.K., Australia and Lati 

America, has been granted distribution rights to all of Asia, wit 

the exception of Japan. 

PACIFIC RIMSHOTS 

The MPAA has informed government officials in Hong Kor 

that it plans on halting film distribution in the region unless tl 

widespread piracy problem is brought under control... Cat! 

Robinson, who has served as chief executive of the Australia Fil 

Commission for the last nine years, has announced that she will 1 

leaving her post after her contract expires next month. Robinsc 

says she has no specific plans after she exits the AFC.

ifOMING ISSUES... 

AUGUST: 

Special Report: 

( nema Down Under 

|«OFFlCE examines the 

le.ate of the industry in 

yralia and New Zealand. 

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July, 1999 73

. 

HSS3?S^ 

REVIEWS 

July 1999 

DAY AND DATE: 7/2 

•••• 

STIFF UPPER LIPS 

Starring Prunella Scales, Samuel 

West, Georgina Cates, Robert Portal and 

Sean Pertwee. Directed by Gary Sinyor. 

Written by Paul Simpkin & Gary Sinyor. 

Produced by Jeremy Bolt & Gary Sinyor. 

A Cowboy release. Comedy. Notyet rated. 

Running time: 85 min. 

The Zucker 

Brothers meet 

Merchant Ivory 

in 

this 

sprightly, blissfully 

funny satire 

of British 

period films. 

It's 1908, and 

upper class twit 

Edward Ivory 

(Samuel West) 

brings his Cambridge 

chum 

Cedric (Robert 

Portal) to the 

family estate to 

meet his sister 

Emily (Georgina 

Cates). Aunt Agnes (Prunella 

Scales) thinks Cedric would make a fine 

husband for Emily, but complications 

arise when Emily is saved from drowning, 

not by Cedric but by the local peasant 

hunk, George (Sean Pertwee). 

Upon being escorted to Italy, Emily 

demands a sexual awakening, while a 

subsequent trip to India finds Edward 

and Cedric experiencing "strange feelings" 

and Aunt Agnes discovering the 

Kama Sutra. George and Emily, meanwhile, 

struggle with the class system 

that divides them, even as Edward and 

Cedric scheme to put George in his 

place with a little help from the British 

Raj and a pair of incriminating socks. 

After an inspired opening send-up of 

"Chariots of Fire," everyone from E.M. 

Forster to D.H. Lawrence gets it from 

both barrels in this endlessly inventive 

and spirited comedy. 

The filmmakers know their targets intimately, 

so 

their parody is 

as incisive as it 

is hilarious, but 

it's never meanspirited. 

What's 

more, the script 

stands on its 

own as a comment 

on English 

manners in general 

and doesn't 

actually require 

close familiarity 

with the literary 

adaptations it's 

Georgina Coles, Sean Pertwee and Prunella Scales spoofing in 

in Cowboy's "Stiff Upper Lips." 

order to be enjoyed. 

The ensemble cast is top-notch. By 

playing it absolutely straight, they manage 

to wring every possible drop of 

humor from the expert script. West and 

Portal are especially adept—class prejudiced, 

monumentally dim, but impossible 

to dislike because they're such 

desperately earnest chaps. 

Tne pitch-perfect acting is complemented 

by an effervescent musical 

score and production values worthy 

of even the most luscious "straight" 

period film. Such skill, wit, and exuberance 

make this movie an exquisitely 

cheeky charmer not to be missed. 

— L.J. Strom 

••••• OUTSTANDINi 

•*•• VERY GOOD 

**• GOOD 

*• FAIR 

• POOR 

(no stars) BOMB 

CANNES (PART I) 

All About My Mother R- 

Barber of Siberia R-65 

East is East 

The Emperor and the Assassin . 

Felicia's Journey 

The Limey 

R- 

R-6S 

R-6S 

R-6A 

Pola X R-65 

Wonderland R- 

AMERICAN FILM MARKE1 

Asterlx & Obelix Versus Caesar . 

The Bumblebee Flies Anyway . 

Cement 

The Colour of Lies 

The Conman 

Eye of the Beholder 

The Girl of Your Dreams 

Girl 

Grey Owl 

Happy, Texas 

I'll Remember April 

Lady Chatterley 

Les Boys II 

Let There Be Light! 

The Match 

The Minus Man 

Molokai 

Money Kings 

Phantom of the Opera 

Plunkett and Macleane 

Princess Mononoke 

Rogue Trader 

The Storm Riders 

Sugar Town 

Susan's Plan 

REVIEWS 

After Life 

Entrapment 

An Ideal Husband 

Limbo 

Lost & Found 

The Love Letter 

Lovers of the Arctic Circle 

The Mummy 

Pushing Tin 

Star Wars: Episode I 

The Phantom Menace 

The Stendhal Syndrome 

Tea With Mussolini 

Tequila Body Shots 

The Underground Comedy Movie 

William Shakespeare's 

A Midsummer Night's Dream . 

DAY AND DATE: 7/2 

R-7a 

R-67 

R-6S 

R-7e 

R-75 

R-7J 

R-7J 

R-74 

R-7t 

R- 

R-7i 

R-7J 

R-7 

R-75 

R-eg 

R-e 

R-75 

R-6{ 

R-7^ 

R-6( 

R-e 

R-7( 

R-71 

R-67 

R-74 

stiff Upper Lips R-63 

FLASHBACK: 19B3 

The Haunting R-80 

REVIEW DIGEST 

R- 

R-8t 

R-77 

R-77 

R-82 

R-78 

R-82 

R-80 

R-81 

R-79 

R-77 

R-78 

R-80 

R-79 

R-80 

Our monthly release overview ... R-82 

74 (R-63) BoxoFFiCE

CANNES REVIEWS 

i A mith American films conspicuously 

kf 1# under-represented at this years 

V W Cannes film Festival, it was left to 

iropean and Canadian directors to maKe an 

rly impression. At press time,five days into 

c' festival, there were disappointments, 

ndng them films by previous laureates 

ikita Mikhalkov and Steven Soderbergh, as 

'// as afew treasures, specifically new works 

I Atom Egoyan and Pedro Almodovar. With 

any films yet to unspool, it was too early 

handicap the winners, but festivalgoers 

ere holding out ardent hope for films by 

hn Sayles ("Limbo"), Peter Greenaway 

S 1/2 Women"), Tim Robbins ("The Crae 

Will Rock") and David Lynch ("The 

^raight Story"), among others.— Lael 

oewenstein 

/ONDERLAND ^^•^ 

Starring Gina McKee, Shirley Henderson 

id Molly Parker. Directed by Michael 

interbottom. Written by Laurence CoriaL 

roducedby Michele Camarda and Andrew 

aton. A Universal release. Drama. Not yet 

ited. Running time: 107 min. 

A director of strikingly diverse but always 

interesting films, Michael 

/interbottom ("Jude," "Welcome to Sara- 

;vo") does some of his best work in "Wonerland." 

The ironically titled slice-of-life 

Im observes three south London sisters 

ver the course of a long weekend; like last 

ear' s "Happiness" and "Playing by Heart," 

hich had similar narrative structures, it 

ever overtly states the sisters' relationlips 

but allows them to be deduced natuiUy 

as the drama evolves. 

Still, it's wholly different in tone and 

.'chnique from those films: neither black 

omedy like the former or slick Hollywood 

roduct like the latter, "Wonderland" is 

n intimate, affecting family drama with 

homespun feel that often surprises with 

s ability to move the viewer in simple 

.ays. 

The story follows 13 people in all, of 

/hom the central characters are sisters Debie 

(Shirley Henderson), Nadia (Gina 

IcKee) and Molly (Molly Parker). Each of 

le women struggles with aspects of her 

fe: hairstlylist Debbie tries to raise her 

oung son but goes off for an occasional 

hag; lonely Nadia. a waitress, places ads in 

le personals but meets a series of creeps; 

nd Molly is days away from giving birth 

.hen she learns her husband Eddie (John 

•imm) has quit his job. Peripheral charac- 

;rs include Debbie's irresponsible ex-husand 

(Ian Hart) and the girls' parents (Kika 

/larkham and Jack Shepard), who are 

rapped in a loveless marriage. With so 

aany characters to keep track of, it's im- 

'ressive that Winterbottom gives all of 

tiem ample time and each story suffiecient 

veight in a film that never feels too long or 

larratively unwieldy. 

Much of that success is due to 

yinterbottom' s fresh technical approach, 

'he film was shot on Super 16 stock (blown 

ip to 35mm) with mostly handheld cameras 

ising only namral lighting and no extras. 

—Lael Loewenstein 

ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER ••** 

Starring Cecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes 

and Penelope Cruz- Directed and written 

by Pedro Almodovar. Produced by Esther 

Garcia. A Sony Pictures Classics release. 

Comedy/drama. Spanish-language; subtitled. 

Notyet rated. Running time: 101 min. 

Pedro Almodovar is at the top of his game 

with "All About My Mother," a poignant, 

at times comedic examination of women in 

intimate relationships. As good as—if not 

better than—his most popular film, 

"Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown," 

"All About My Mother" revisits 

some of the same themes of female vulnerability 

and solidarity, but in a new and 

profoundly mature way. Cecilia Roth plays 

strong-willed hospital worker Manuela, 

whose 18-year-old son's accidental death 

transforms her life. Reading her son's journals, 

grief-stricken Manuela realizes that he 

longed to hear about the father he never 

knew. Forsaking Madrid for Barcelona, she 

embarks on a search for the man she left 

almost 20 years before. During her quest, 

she encounters an old friend who happens 

to be a drag queen (the sympathetic Antonio 

San Juan), a celebrated actress her son revered 

(veteran star Marisa Paredes), and a 

young nun who's found herself pregnant 

(the beautiful Penelope Cruz). 

Though these characters appear to have 

httle in common, each in her own way gives 

Manuela a renewed sense of purpose that 

will help her recover from her son's death 

and eventually carry on. To the drag queen, 

she becomes a sister; to the actress, an assistant; 

to the nun, a mother figure. 

Using his trademark bright color palette 

and bits of nearly farcical comedy to offset 

the occasionally somber story. Almodovar 

creates an impressively rich, evocative film 

replete with uniformly fine performances. 

— Lael Loewenstein 

THE LIMEY *• 

Starring Terence Stamp, Peter Fonda 

and Lesley Ann Warren. Directed by Steven 

Soderbergh. Written by Lem Dobbs. 

Produced by John Hardy. An Artisan Entertainment 

release. Crime drama. Not yet 

rated. Running time: 90 min. 

Always innovative but not always involving, 

Stephen Soderbergh' s films range 

from the sublime ("sex, lies and videotape," 

"King of the Hill," "Out of Sight") to the 

disappointing ("Kafka"). Regrettably, his 

latest effort, "The Limey," falls into the 

second camp. A routine thriller marred by 

inconsistent performances, a sluggish pace 

and stylistic flourishes that frequently feel 

affected, it's far from his best work. Eventually, 

when critics contextualize this film 

in the director's still evolving body of work, 

it may prompt a reevaluation. For now, 

however, its merits are tough to spot. 

Terence Stamp ('The Adventures of 

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert") plays British 

ex-con Wilson (a "Limey" in his local 

slang) who journeys to Los Angeles to discover 

how and why his daughter Jenny 

died. Though she was ostensibly the victim 

of a car accident, Wilson believes there is 

more to the story, and his search leads him 

to cross paths with an assortment of characters 

including a kindly aging actress (Lesley 

Ann Warren), a reformed crook (Luis Guzman), 

a mysterious, taciturn millionaire 

(Peter Fonda), the rich man's henchman 

(Barry Newman) and a host of drug-dealing 

thugs. All of these characters only complicate 

needlessly what is essentially a simple 

revenge story. While the dialogue and narrative 

are almost minimalistic, the visual 

elements, conversely, are often overstated. 

Stamp is fine in the title role, though he's 

cursed with occasionally ludicrous dialogue. 

Fonda, however, is barely believable 

in a performance that makes his lovely, 

understated work in "Ulee' s Gold" look like 

an aberration. Lael Loewenstein 

THE EMPEROR AND THE 

ASSASSIN •**l/2 

Starring Gong Li, Li Xuejian and 

Zhang Fengyi. Directed by Chen Kaige. 

Written by Wang Peigong and Chen 

Kaige. Produced by Chen Kaige, Shirley 

A Sony Pictures 

Kao and Satoru Iseki. 

Classics release. Drama. Mandarin-language; 

subtitled. Running time: 160 min. 

Based on the true story of China's first 

emperor, "The Emperor and the Assassin" 

is the most elaborate historical epic filmed 

in China. The film's director/co-writer, 

Chen Kaige, won the Palme d'Or at Cannes 

in 1993 for "Farewell My Concubine," 

which also starred this film's lead. Gong Li. 

Chen has said that the Chinese in the period 

of the film faced the same difficult choices 

as people do today: power vs. freedom, war 

vs. peace and love vs. hate. 

In 320 B.C., the King of Qin (Li Xuejian) 

is obsessed with uniting the different kingdoms 

of China. His lover. Lady Zhao (Gong 

Li), believes his vision of a unified China 

will protect the people of the competing 

kingdoms. In aiding the King, Lady Zhao 

devises a fake assassination plot which will 

justify an invasion of the neighboring kingdom, 

and enlists the help of Jing Ke (Zhang 

Fengyi), an assassin who is trying to give 

up his bloody past. But as the King becomes 

increasingly destructive and bloodthirsty in 

his quest for conquest. Lady Zhao finds her 

affections turning Jing Ke. 

The elaborate and meticulous reconstruction 

of the violent historical area gives the 

film a genuine epic sweep. The battle scenes 

are particularly well-staged, and there are 

several tense and gripping scenes as secrets 

are revealed and the King turns even more 

violent. But while the story is always engrossing, 

the screenplay lacks the emotional 

complexity that made "Farewell My 

Concubine ' so memorable. 

More than making up for this is Gong Li, 

who creates another compelling characterization. 

Her delicate features show the conflicting 

emotions and fierce determination 

as her Lady Zhao reluctantly turns against 

the man she has loved since childhood. 

Ying Xuejian brings an authoritative screen 

presence to the role of the King, and the rest 

of the cast is also impressive. Ed Scheid 

July, 1999 (R-64) 75

CANNES REVIEWS 

EAST IS EAST *•** 

Starring Om Puri, Linda Bassett and 

Jordan Routledge. Directed by Damien 

O'Donnell. Written by Ayub Khan-Din. 

Produced by Leslee Udwin. A Miramax 

release. Comedy. Not yet rated. Running 

time: 96 min. 

A bittersweet portrait of a mixed-race 

family set in England in the free-wheeling 

early '70s, "East is East" does justice to a 

difficult subject. George Khan ("My Son 

the Fanatic's" Om Puri), a Pakistani shop 

owner long settled in Britain, insists that his 

grown children follow Pakistani traditions, 

much to their displeasure. Though married 

for 20 years to the Caucasian Ella (Linda 

Bassett), George is something of a hypocrite 

when it comes to his own kin. Ignoring 

his own example, he demands each of his 

children wed a Pakistani in a match to be 

overseen by him alone. The first attempt at 

an arranged marriage ends disastrously: eldest 

son Nazir (Ian Aspinall) jilts his prospective 

bride, is evicted from his parents' 

house and cut off by his father for life. 

As horrifying as that may sound—and 

there are worse punishments ahead—director 

Damien O'Donnell never lets things get 

too dreary, largely because the characterizations 

are so full and the dark scenes 

balanced with plenty of humor. The film 

might not work as a comedy were it not for 

its nuanced performances and thoughtful 

script. What saves George from being an 

unsympathetic character is that despite his 

gruff and intractable manner, he loves his 

wife and kids; he simply can see no other 

way of raising them. Puri fleshes out the 

part with a considerable amount of warmth 

and emotion; he has deep recesses of longing 

both for his homeland and a way of life 

that has all but disappeared. Lael 

Loewenstein 

^^ 

Starring Julia Ormond, Richard Harris 

THE BARBER OF SIBERIA 

and Oleg Menshikov. Directed by Nikita 

Mikhalkov. Written by Rustam 

Ibragimbekov, Nikita Mikhalkov and 

Rospo Pallenberg. Produced by Michel 

Seydoux. No distributor set. Drama. Not 

yet rated. Running time: 180 min. 

Nikita Mikhalkov follows his Oscar-winning 

"Burnt by the Sun" with a sprawling, 

overblown period drama that falls well 

short of his earlier effort and will have a 

hard time finding a stateside distributor. 

Beautiful to look at but disappointing on 

many levels, "The Barber of Siberia,' cofunded 

by Russian, French, Italian and 

Czech companies, is rumored to be one of 

the costliest productions in Russian history. 

Sadly, its gargantuan budget only serves to 

underscore its shortcomings; it's amazing 

that so much can buy so little. 

Julia Ormond plays free-spirited American 

Jane Callahan, a woman who journeys 

to Moscow in 1 895 ostensibly to help her 

father (Richard Harris) finance an experimental 

logging machine dubbed The Barber 

of Siberia. Attractive and charming, 

Jane has agreed to use her feminine wiles to 

enlist the support of powerful government 

76 (R-65) BoxoFncE 

men in funding the machine. But Jane's 

mission is derailed when she inadvertently 

falls in love with a young military cadet 

(Oleg Menshikov), who's consumed by 

jealousy over her attentions to his superior. 

General Radlov (Alexey Petrenko). 

The problems here are numerous: there's 

such a distinct lack of chemistry between 

Ormond and Menshikov that it's hard to 

buy their relationship; there's a jolting tone 

shift midway through that turns the film 

from a farcical comedy into a doomed romance 

on an epic scale; Mikhalkov uses a 

flashback framing device that distances the 

viewer emotionally; and the acting styles 

are wildly inconsistent, ranging from understatement 

(Menshikov) to wild hyperbole 

(Harris). 

Worst of all is its crippling three-hour 

length, which feels almost absurd given the 

film's failure to make an emotional impact. 

Often it seems as if Mikhalkov is trying to 

replicate the scope and scale of epic love 

stories like "Dr. Zhivago" and "Reds"; 

however, "The Barber of Siberia" has nowhere 

near the resonance or emotional pull 

of those classics. Lael Loewenstein 

POLAX ^^ 

Starring Guillaume Depardieu, 

Katerina Golubeva and Catherine 

Deneuve. Directed by Leos Carax. Written 

by Leos Carax, Lauren Sedofsky and 

Jean-Pol Fargeau. Produced by Bruno 

Peresy. No distributor set. Drama. 

French-language; subtitled. Notyet rated. 


"Pola X" is in many ways a quintessentially 

French film. Long, opaque and largely 

inscrutable to American audiences, it's a 

bizarre, psychologically complex film that 

never rises to the promise of director Leos 

Carax' s critically praised (but financially 

disastrous) "Les Amants du Pont Neuf 

(Lovers on the Bridge)." Carax' s first feature 

since that 1992 film, "Pola X," based 

on the story by Herman Melville, tells the 

tale of Pierre (Guillaume Depardieu), a 

wealthy young man living in the country in 

an opulent chateau with his mother (Catherine 

Deneuve), the widow of a diplomat. 

But on the verge of marriage to his longtime 

sweetheart Lucie (Delphine Chuillot), 

Pierre's life is suddenly disrupted by the 

appearance of a ghostly figure: a mournful, 

pale, dark-haired girl (Katerina Golubeva) 

who announces in a mysterious slavic accent 

that she is his sister Isabelle, abandoned 

as a child. Believing—crazily 

enough—her every word, Pierre decides to 

run away with her, promising protection 

from further harm and neglect. That chance 

encounter causes him to renounce his 

mother, his inheritance and his fiancee—in 

short, everything to do with his bourgeois 

lifestyle. What's more, Pierre, a successful 

writer, abandons his commercial novels to 

become a "true" destitute artist in the city. 

Carax has covered some of this territory 

before, particulariy the themes of alienation, 

integrity in artistic suffering and the 

inherent value of simplicity and poverty. 

But he fails to make a convincing case for 

that lifestyle choice. Pierre's descent int( 

poverty, and simultaneously into madness 

as portrayed by Depardieu simply come: 

off as misguided, self-indulgent and fool 

ish. While the young Depardieu has dons 

good work before ("Les Affranchis"), he'; 

a long way from the emotional range o 

depth of his father, Gerard. That he shouk 

so resemble his father only makes the con 

trast more apparent and ultimately mort 

annoying. — Lael Loewenstein 

FELICIA'S JOURNEY ^îtr^ 

Starring Bob Hoskins, Elaine Cassidy 

and Peter McDonald. Written anddirectec 

by Atom Egoyan. Produced by Bruci 

Davey. No distributor set. Drama. Not yd 


Atom Egoyan' s last Cannes entry was the 

stark, stunning "The Sweet Hereafter,' 

based on the Russell Banks novel, whicl 

concerned a town's reaction to a horrible 

school bus accident. A subplot of that filn 

involved the incestuous relationship between 

a father and daughter. Here agair 

Egoyan examines and older man/teenage 

girl dynamic, but the mood, tone and backdrop 

are strikingly different. Aided by i 

uniformly superb cast, Egoyan triumphs ir 

a pared-down film that makes chilling!} 

impressive use of his signature themes, including 

voyeurism, denial and humans desperate 

to connect. 

Bob Hoskins is impeccably cast as 

Hilditch, a seemingly gentle man who runs 

a catering company in Birmingham and 

spends his evenings alone in the kitcher| 

emulating reruns of his mother's cookingj 

show. Felicia (a quietly graceful Elainej 

Cassidy), meanwhile, is an Irish girl whcl 

has come to Birmingham in search of hen 

lover Johnny (Peter McDonald), a cad whd 

left Ireland without so much as a forwarding] 

address. Innately trusting, Felicia believes! 

he's gone to England for work, though herj 

father (Gerald McSorley) insists Johnny' sj 

betrayed his countrymen to join the British 

army. Hilditch and Felicia cross paths, atj 

first by coincidence and later by his ownj 

design. 

What we don't initially know but later 

discover is that Hilditch has a history of 

befriending homeless girls. Hilditch, who 

Hoskins has aptly described as a cross between 

Winnie the Pooh and Jack the Ripper, 

is such a gentle soul that even when his dark 

side begins to emerge, he's still somehow 

likable. Flashbacks of childhood scenes 

with his domineering, self-involved mother 

suggest that she inhibited his development, 

but much is left unexplained. A loner like 

Hilditch, Felicia has also been a victim—ol^ 

a patriarchal society, of her unsympathetic 

father, of her insensitive lover. 

Whether she will become a victim of 

Hilditch, too, is the compelling question 

that drives the story forward. To his credit,; 

Egoyan is never predictable. Even a penultimate 

scene that 

Hollywood would have 

surely played as a deus ex machina sequence 

is handled, like so much else in this 

film, with surprising deftness and originali 

ty . 

Lael Loewenstein

ResDonse No. 14fi 

AFM REVIEWS 

RINCESS MONONOKE ^^^1/2 

Voices by Claire Danes, Minnie Driver, 

illy Crudup, Billy Bob Thornton, Matew 

Lillard, Gillian Anderson and Jada 

iikett. Directed by Hayao Miyazaki. 

ritten by Hayao Miyazaki (English veron 

by Neil Gaiman). Produced by Toshio 

tzuki, Yutaka Narita and Saiichiro Ujiie. 

Miramax release. Anime. Rated PG-13 

r images of violence and gore. Running 

•ne: 132 min. Opens 10/29. 

Miramax's long-awaited Englishibbed 

release of the smash 1997 Japanese 

nime fantasy adventure "Princess 

ônonoke" is essentially a cautionary fable 

fgarding man's relationship with nature. 

he story begins when a young prince 

amed Ashitaka (Billy Crudup) sets out on 

journey to uncover the source of the evil 

\zi transformed a giant boar into a vicious 

mnster—an evil that has infected him and 

ill soon consume him unless he can find 

ut who or what is responsible. 

His journey eventually leads him to Lady 

iboshi (Minnie Driver), leader of Iron 

own, a budding industrial haven designed 

) produce iron for weapons as fast as it can 

fiew up natural resources. Eboshi is a 

Alarming egotist who faces only one obstate—the 

so-called Princess Mononoke, 

therwise known as San (Claire Danes), a 

uman raised by the wolf gods with whom 

she lives. As a cataclysmic battle between HAPPY, TEXAS iîîî^m 

the animal gods of the forest and their 

Starring Jeremy Northam, Steve Zahn, 

human oppressors grows increasingly inevitable, 

Ashitaka finds himself forced to 

William H. Macy, Ally Walker, Illeana 

Douglas and Ron Perlman. Directed by 

make a choice between two determined 

Mark Illsley. Written by Ed Stone, Mark 

women that will forever and irreversibly 

Illsley and Phil Reeves. Produced by Mark 

change the face of the land. 

Illsley, Rick Montgomery and Ed Stone. A 

For modem-day Japan, whose once-lush Miramax release. Comedy. Not yet rated. 

mountains and forests were long ago demolished 

Running time: 104 min. Opens Oct. 1. 

can audiences depends, yet again, on the their hilarious best to play convincingly 

ever-savvy Miramax marketing machine. gay—a challenge which, in Wayne's case, 

— Wade Major proves almost insurmountable. To make 

by the rush to industrialization, Happy is precisely what filmgoers will be 

"Princess Mononoke" is a story that cuts to after basking in the giddy joy of "Happy, 

the heart and soul of a nation. 

Texas," an irresistibly winsome and winning 

comedy from first-timer Mark Illsley. 

Outside of Japan, its emotional immediacy 

is less certain. Even more uncertain 

is how a 132-minute animated feature Wilder' s 1959 classic, "Some Like it Hot," 

Built on the sturdy frame of Billy 

with no songs, some graphic dismemberment 

and decapitations and extensive myth- 

that befall escaped convicts Harry Sawyer 

"Happy, Texas" details the misadventures 

ological references will be received by (Jeremy Northam) and Wayne Wayne 

mainstream American audiences. Even the Wayne Jr. (Steve Zahn) after they steal an 

film's PG-13 rating may not sufficiently RV belonging to a pair of gay beauty pageant 

directors. Before they can make a 

prepare Anime novices for what they will 

see. 

On the other hand, "Princess Mononoke" 

proper getaway, they are hauled in by smalltown 

lawman Sheriff "Chappy" Dent (William 

is an undeniably elegant and visually sophisticated 

H. Macy) of Happy, Texas, where they 

effort, further benefiting from a 

more accessible setting than cyberpunkinfluenced 

are mistaken for the pageant directors and 

expected to fulfill their contractual obliga- 

Anime classics like "Akira." tions. Figuring the charade a good chance 

Whether or not the film's considerable to "lay low" while the heat is on, the wily 

attributes will be enough to lure Ameri- 

Harry and dim-witted redneck Wayne do 

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AFM REVIEWS 

matters worse, it turns out that their wouldbe 

beauty queens aren't women at all, but 

little girls. 

Not that any of this matters to Harry, who 

leaves Wayne to fend for himself with the 

girls and their libidinous teacher (lUeana 

Douglas) while he plays the gay card for all 

it's worth to get close with the beautiful 

owner of the town's cash-filled bank (Ally 

Walker). 

Immaculately written by lUsley, Fred 

Stone and Phil Reeves, "Happy, Texas" is 

arguably the funniest American film in 

years, a modem-day screwball comedy that 

not only borrows from but frequently improves 

upon its hallowed lineage. Zahn's 

madcap interaction with the girls and Douglas 

gets most of the heartier laughs, with 

Macy's latent homosexual attraction to 

Northam running a close second. On the 

whole, though, the film is so consistently 

funny and well-written that citing individual 

laughs does a disservice to the overall 

work of lUsley and his peers. 

From a boxoffice standpoint, the lack of 

major stars among the leads is unlikely to 

be much of a factor—word of mouth and 

the usual Miramax marketing push should 

easily squeeze out formidable returns, helping 

Illsley, Zahn and Northam finally attain 

the A-list status that all three so richly deserve. 

Wade Major 

THE BUMBLEBEE FLIES ANYWAY 

*** 

Starring Elijah Wood, Janeane Garofalo, 

Rachael Leigh Cook and Roger Rees. Directed 

by Martin Duffy. Written by Jennifer 

Sarja, Produced by Steven Haft. An Artisan 

release. Drama. Rated PG-13 for thematic 

elements. Running time: 95 min. Opens Fall 

"The Bumblebee Flies Anyway" explores 

the chemistry and camaraderie between 

a group of youths who meet at a 

medical facility for the terminally ill. Barney 

Snow (Elijah Wood) is the story's central 

figure and the sole patient at the facility 

who is not afflicted with a mortal illness, but 

instead suffers from amnesia. Barney's only 

memories are fragments of an auto accident 

in which he seems to have been involved. 

Friendships with other kids soon follow, 

including an unlikely bond with a cantankerous 

cancer patient named Mazzo (Joseph Perrino), 

a once-handsome, wealthy and athletic 

boy embittered by his misfortune. Mazzo' 

twin sister Cassie (Rachael Leigh Cook) also 

enters the picture, giving Barney not only 

friendship, but a glimmer of romance in the 

face of an uncertain future. 

The care and earnestness of the cast and 

crew give an otherwise ordinary story an 

extraordinary sense of honesty. Wade 

Major 

SUGAR TOWN ^^^1/2 

^1 

Starring Michael Des Barres and joh 

Taylor. Directed and written by Alliso 

Anders & Kurt Voss. Produced by Dank 

Hassid. An October release. Con 

edy/Drama. Rated Rfor strong language 

some drug content and sexuality. Runnin 

time: 93 min. Opens Sept. 17. 

A serio-comic Altman-like tapestry c 

interwoven stories focusing on the travai 

of aging rockers and naive up-and-comei 

in the L.A. music scene, "Sugar Town's 

storylines involve a has-been rock ban 

looking for a comeback (Duran Duran 

John Taylor, musician/author Michael De 

Barres, Spandau Ballet's Martin Kemp, rt 

cord producer/"Grace of My Heart" sonj 

writer Larry Klein), a studio musicia 

struggling to support his family (X's Joh 

Doe) and a ruthlessly ambitious and unscn 

pulous young singer (Jade Gordon) intei 

on clawing her way into a record deal b 

any means necessary. The film industr 

gets some peripheral jabs, too, by way c 

Roseanna Arquette as Taylor's washed-u 

actress wife, and Ally Sheedy as a neuroti 

production designer who unwisely emplo) 

Gordon and pays the price. 

"Sugar Town" is sharp, smart and ir 

sightful stuff, expertly performed by th 

insider cast who maintain an emotional ba 

ance that rings true. Wade Major 

What do Mike and Kurt know? 

Well, lots, we think, given the steady expansion at industry-leading Regal 

Cinemas under Mike Campbell's helm and the turnaround being effected by K| 

Hall at United Artists Theatre Circuit. But one special piece of knowledge tl 

have is this: the value of getting BOXOFFICE into the hands of as many executive 

and managers as possible for the best price via our Circuit Subscription Paclcagi 

For more information on how you can help your circuit advance by making ifc 

best assets—your people—even more knowledgeable about the exhibition 

business, contact BOXOFFICE circulation manager Chuck Taylor at 

(312) 922-9326 or publisher Robert L. Dietmeier at (773) 338-7007. 

A bullc of l(nowledge you can use. At buil( rates you can afford. 

78 (R-67) BoxoFTiCE

' 

AFM REVIEWS 

4E MINUS MAN iririr 

Starring Owen Wilson, Brian Cox and 

ercedes Ruehl. Directed and written by 

impton Fancher. Produced by David L. 

ishell and Fida Attieh. An Artisan reise. 

Psychological thriller. Rated Rfor 

nguage and a scene of drug use. Runng 

time: 113 min. Opens Aug. 13. 

"Blade Runner" screenwriter Hampton 

\ncher makes a solid directing debut with 

~he Minus Man," a compelling if offbeat 

laptation of the 1990 Lew McCreary 

)\ el about an itinerant serial killer. Tradiinal 

"Silence of the Lambs"-type thrills 

id chills, however, are not to be found in 

kncher's hauntingly cerebral approach. 

ae real horror, as Fancher and McCreary 

tggest. is the tranquility and clinical calm 

ith which the killer, a friendly, quiet youth 

limed Vann Siegert (Owen Wilson), dismses 

death. 

Commercially, "The Minus Man" faces 

1 uncertain fate. In keeping with his home- 

)un manner, Siegert kills his victims pasively, 

with poison, forcing audiences to 

'g for a level of indignation that would 

;herwise be extracted from them viscerily. 

While sophisticated audiences will unoubtedly 

embrace the approach, 

idespread appeal among traditional thrillekers 

seems unlikely. Wade Major 

PLUNKEHANDMACLEANE ^^1/2 

Starring Robert Carlyle, 

Jonny Lee 

Miller, Liv Tyler and Alan Gumming. Directed 

by Jake Scott. Written by Robert 

Wade & Neal Purvis and Charles 

McKeown. Produced by Tim Bevan, Eric 

Fellner and Rupert Harvey. A Gramercy 

release. Adventure. Not yet rated. Running 

time: 111 min. Opens August 6. 

Loosely based on the exploits of two 

real-life 18th-century highwaymen, this 

film is basically an attempt to spin a bawdy, 

raucous English version of "Butch Cassidy 

and the Sundance Kid"—an action/comedy 

centering on likable outlaws fighting the 

establishment and somehow managing to 

stay one step ahead of the hangman's 

noose. A rather nasty chance meeting initially 

pairs veteran robber Plunkett (Robert 

Carlyle) with aspiring dandy Macleane 

(Jonny Lee Miller) after police, led by ruthless 

enforcer Chance (Ken Stott), kill 

Plunkett' s previous partner. 

Ensuing adventures are generally entertaining, 

sustained primarily by Miller's and 

Carlyle' s chemistry and comic timing. 

But "Plunkett and Macleane" is also an 

annoyingly flawed film, a bizarre hybrid of 

styles and sensibilities that never really coalesce 

into anything more substantial than 

a curiosity. Wade Major 

MONEY KINGS itr^ 

Starring Peter Falk, Lauren Holly, 

Timothy Hutton and Freddie Prinze Jr. 

Directed by Graham Theakston. Written 

by Paul Happeny. Produced by F. Miguel 

Volenti and Michael Paseornek. A Lions 

Gate release. Drama. Not yet rated. Running 

time: 100 min. 

This cliche-riddled tale centers around 

Vinnie Glynn (Peter Falk), an aging 

bookie who reluctantly accepts a loosecannon 

young punk (Freddie Prinze Jr.) 

as his partner at the behest of his mobster 

bosses. It seems they want the "kid" to help 

straighten out the books, even though the 

"kid" has obvious problems of his own. 

Capiche? 

Predictably, the corporate shakeup does 

little to improve business, instead simply 

upsetting the delicate balance that Vinnie 

has worked out with his longstanding customers. 

In its own small way, "Money Kings" is 

a loosely acceptable drama, such as one 

might hope to find on cable on a rainy night. 

But feature film material it is not. Fortunately, 

the actors either don't know or 

don't care, nobly striving to make the best 

of the stillborn material and alleviating at 

least some of the tedium along the way. 

— Wade Major 


July, 1999 (R-68) 79

I 

AFM REVIEWS 

THE MATCH ***1/2 

Starring Max Beeley, Laura Fraser and 

Richard E. Grant. Directed and written by 

Mick Davis. Produced by Guyman 

Cassady, Steve Golin, Allan Scott. A Gramercy 

Pictures release. Comedy. Running 

time: 95 min. 

Despite almost plagiaristic similarities to 

the recent French-Canadian smash "Les 

Boys," first-time writer/director Mick 

Davis' "The Match" manages to forge a 

delightful identity of its own, distinguishing 

itself with homespun charm, savvy writing 

and the most colorful cast of Anglo-GaeUc 

characters since 'The Full Monty." 

In the remote pastoral village of Inverdoune, 

Scotland, a bizarre century-old 

wager is about to be settled between the 

town's only two pubs: Benny's Bar and its 

upscale rival, Le Bistro. In the madness of 

their ancient feud, the original owners bet 

that if Benny's could win only one of their 

acrimonious annual amateur soccer 

matches over the course of the next hundred 

years, Le Bistro would forfeit ownership. If 

not, Benny's would belong to Le Bistro. 

Amazingly, what once seemed impossible 

now may be entirely probable. After 99 consecutive 

losses and facing what may well be 

their strongest opposition ever, Benny's is 

on the verge of making statistical history. 

As the fateful day draws near, Benny's 

and its loyal patrons find themselves subjected 

to increasingly mean-spirited taunting 

from Le Bistro's insatiably narcissistic 

owner, Gorgeous Gus (Richard E. Grant). 

But all is not entirely lost. What Benny's 

team lacks in skill, it makes up for in passion. 

And in the person of milkman Wullie 

Smith—a young cripple renowned for his 

encyclopedic knowledge of the sport—it 

has a formidable secret weapon. 

Like the best sports films, "The Match" 

is ultimately less about the game and its 

outcome than the personal journeys of those 

involved, particularly Smith. While physical 

handicaps keep him from playing the 

game he loves, so also do emotional handicaps 

keep him from growing close to the 

woman he loves (Laura Fraser), parallel 

challenges that converge as the fateful 

match date grows near. 

That "The Match" so closely mirrors the 

plot of the Quebecois hockey comedy "Les 

Boys" will undoubtedly be a problem for 

viewers fortunate enough to have seen the 

Canadian film. Fortunately, it is not plot but 

character that lies at the heart of "The 

Match," an endearing ensemble of misfits, 

has-beens and could-have-beens whose 

collective spirit promises to make the film 

one of the year's more popular independent 

successes. Wade Major 

CEMENT ***l/2 

Starring Chris Penn, Anthony De Sam 

and Jeffrey Wright. Directed by Adric 

Pasdar. Written by Justin Monjo. Produce 

by D.J. Paul. A Cineville and Ocelot Fih 

production. No distributor set. Thriller. A 

yet rated. Running time: 100 min. 

Chris Penn provides a chilling tour-d 

force as Holt, one of a handful of dirty co 

whose longstanding arrangement with loc 

crime king Truman Rickhart (Hen 

Czemy) and his brothers has proven cor 

fortably prosperous for all—until now. i 

the film begins, something has gone despe 

ately wrong: Inexplicably consumed wi 

rage, Holt has kidnapped Truman' s reckle 

younger brother Sean (Anthony DeSand 

and transported him to a deserted freew 

construction site where he ritualistical 

readies him for final vengeance. As Holt 

partner Nin (Jeffrey Wright) offers ii 

passioned pleas for reason, flashbacks cai 

fully reconstruct the evening's events. 

The flashbacks expose an even more ta 

gled web of betrayal, deception and gree 

Thankfully, such escalating complicatio 

are neither superfluous nor self-conscious 

cute, as has been the case in several rece 

"noir"-inspired thrillers. Gritty realism, rath 

than cinematic narcissism, is the aim 

Justin Monjo' s skiUful script. Wade Maj 

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I 

AFM REVIEWS 

tOGUE TRADER iririîc 

Starring Ewan McGregor, Anna Friel 

nd John Standing. Directed and written 

V James Dearden. Produced by James 

)earden, Paul Raphael and Janette Day. 

I Capitol release. Drama. Not yet rated. 


The fall of England's venerable Barings 

Merchant Bank in 1995 remains one of the 

'reat business fiascoes of all time, a fiscal 

atastrophe that shook the world less for the 

nagnitude of the institution's billion-dollar 

•lunge than the bizarre fact that the whole 

ifair was precipitated by the actions of one 

nan: a futures trader on the floor of the 

ingapore International Money Exchange 

lamed Nick Leeson. 

In "Rogue Trader," written and directed 

>y "Fatal Attraction" scribe James Dearden 

Tom Leeson' s own book, this complex and 

lompelling story springs vividly to life, 

.)owered by a blazing lead performance 

rom Ewan McGregor. 

At first, things are picture-perfect for the 

tarings golden boy—he has a beautiful 

vife ("The Land Girls'" Anna Friel), a 

ligh-paying job and perks galore while livng 

in one of the most exotic playgrounds 

,n the world. In truth, however, Leeson isn't 

qualified for the job, and he knows it. When 

-he honeymoon finally ends and the misf 

takes begin to accrue, Leeson gambles that 

he can win the money back before anyone 

notices the losses, using a bogus account to 

keep the real figures hidden. And for a time, 

the strategy works. But it's a temporary fix 

that only delays the inevitable, for the one 

thing Leeson can't hide indefinitely is the 

fact that he really doesn't know what he's 

doing. 

Paced like a thriller, "Rogue Trader" is 

riveting stuff, a fact-based drama of proportions 

that even the best fiction would be 

hard-pressed to match. Wade Major 

LES BOYS II 

iririr 

Starring Marc Messier and Remy Girard. 

Directed by Louis Saia. Written by 

Rene Brisebois, Francois Camirand and 

Louis Saia. Produced by Richard 

Goudreau. A Lions Gate release. Comedy. 

French-language; subtitled. Notyet rated. 


Les Boys are back in town. ..a new town, 

as it were, trading their native Montreal for 

the pastoral beauty of mountainous Chamonix, 

France, where they have journeyed to 

play in an amateur hockey tournament. 

Like the first film, which went on to become 

the biggest-ever French-Canadian 

hit, "Les Boys 11" is raucous, irreverent and 

often touching—a worthy and successful 

follow-up that should dispel any lingering 

doubts about the long-term viability of the 

franchise. 

Since the first film, however, there has 

been a death in the family—Boy La Bine 

(Robert Lefebvre), whose funeral starts the 

film off on a rather funny note. Thereafter 

the gang is off to France to test their hockey 

skills against the best amateurs in the world 

with faithful coach Stan (Remy Girard), 

ultra-suave Bob (Marc Messier) and rabid 

real estate hound Ti-Guy (Patrick Huard) 

leading the way. But the variances between 

French culture and French-Canadian culture 

soon become readily apparent in 

what's only the first of a never-ending 

stream of complications that threatens to 

derail not only team-play, but friendships. 

For some, though, the trip yields hidden 

positives—romance enters the picture for 

several of the boys, including Stan, while 

their troubles ultimately bring them closer 

together as a group. Even the dreaded Meo 

(Pierre Lebeau), their despised rival from 

the first film, appears to make amends, 

becoming a most unusual and unlikely ally. 

Whether or not "Les Boys 11" is actually 

better than its forebear is a question of 

taste, but also somewhat irrelevant in view 

of how well they compliment each other. 


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July, 1999 (R-70) 81

AFM REVIEWS 

GREY OWL ^^^1/2 

Starring Pierce Brosnan and Annie 

Galipeau. Directed by Richard Attenborough. 

Written by WUUam Nicholson. Produced 

by Jake Eberts and Richard Attenborough. 

An Allied Films production. No 

distributor set. Historical drama. Rated 

PG-13 for some sensuality/nudity. Running 


If there is one figure to whom the conservation 

movement can trace its roots, it is 

Archie Grey Owl, the famed Ojibway Indian 

who emerged from the wilds of his 

native Canada in the 1930s to preach the 

benefits of conservationism to the world. 

Through his books, tours and auditoriumpacking 

lectures and presentations, he 

touched the hearts of millions—only to see 

the message dwindle amid the turmoil of a 

global war. The most remarkable facet of 

Grey Owl's life, however, did not become 

public until after his death—the fact that the 

world's most famous North American Indian 

was actually a native-bom Englishman. 

In "Grey Owl," the "Shadowlands" team 

of director Richard Attenborough and 

writer William Nicholson attempt to decipher 

this most enigmatic of 20th-century 

heroes, approaching their subject through 

the eyes of his one great love, a beautiful 

Native American woman named Ana Hareo 

(Annie Galipeau). Ironically, it is Archie 

who first puts Ana in touch with her own 

heritage and culture, reluctantly accepting 

her into his isolated mountain life before 

finally falling headlong in love with her. In 

return, Ana awakens Archie's environmental 

conscience, persuading him to abandon 

the trapping with which he has long earned 

his living in order to help stem the destruction 

of the North American wilderness. 

An immensely touching and satisfying 

drama, "Grey Owl" basically follows the 

"Shadowlands" template, detailing a great 

man's love affair with both a woman and a 

principle, as well as his subsequent struggle 

to make room for them both. 

Pierce Brosnan, whose initial impersonation 

of a Native American appears, at best, 

to stretch credibility, impressively does finally 

manage to overcome the weight of his 

own persona, transforming a potential career 

embarrassment into a watershed performance. 

Comely newcomer Galipeau 

also has her rough spots, but finally triumphs 

with a winning combination of passion 

and compassion. 

Behind-the-camera veterans lending 

their superb talents include cinematographer 

Roger Pratt and regular Attenborough 

composer George Fenton, both of whom 

help swell the romantic backdrop to appropriately 

epic proportions. Wade Major 

THE STORM RIDERS ^^^1/2 

Starring Sonny Chiba and Ekin Cher 

Directed by Andrew Lau. Written by Ma 

fred Wong. Produced by Manfred Wot 

A Golden Harvest production. No distn 

utor set. Action/Fantasy. Cantonese-la 

guage; subtitled. Not yet rated. Runni 


Representing a milestone in Hong Ko 

cinema at a time when the former colon} 

dwindling cinematic fortunes most ne 

one, "The Storm Riders" borrows libera 

from both Hollywood and Hong Kong ti 

ditions—not unlike Warner Bros.' "V 

trix"—forging a technically dazzling, 

narratively muddled, epic adventure w 

surprisingly strong crossover appeal. 

Based on artist Ma Wing Sing' s hit con 

book series, "The Storm Riders" is esse 

tially the film that "Mortal Kombat" mig 

have been, and probably should have be 

had its creators cared for the genre to whi 

they aspired. Set in a labyrinthine, myth 

logical world, the story centers on the me 

alomaniacal quest of the Lord Conquei 

(Sonny Chiba) to soUdify his clan's don 

nance over the world. Key to realizing 1 

goals are two would-be apprentices nam 

Wind and Cloud, young boys whom he ado] 

after murdering their fathers. Ten years lat 

the repercussions of Conqueror's evil a 

begin to accumulate as Wind (Ekin Cher 

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J Cloud (Aaron Kwok), now adults, vie 

1 

, iitentiously for the affections of 

C nqueror's daughter Charity (Kristy 

^ 

ng), jeopardizing Conqueror's forth- 

. nmg battle with his one remaining rival, 

I 

mighty Sword Saint (Anthony Wong). 

-or fans of mythical Hong Kong classics 

J 

1 "A Chinese Ghost Story" and "The Bride 

\ th White Hair," "The Storm Riders" rep- 

I 

ents a new pinnacle of achievement, boastie 

dazzling computer-generated effects, 

Ipming digital sound and flashy widescreen 

(jiematography to rival even megabudget 

IpUywood efforts. As a result, "The Storm 

I|ders" looks to have strong crossover apijal 

with American audiences. 

While the casting of ' 70s martial arts film 

iend Chiba, along with hometown heart- 

;obs Cheng and Kwok, will have little 

:peal outside Asia, first-rate action direcyn 

and production values promise to more 

an make up the difference. As both direcx 

and cinematographer, Andrew Lau 

list known for the popular "Young and 

angerous" series—deserves the hon's 

jare of credit for the film's convincingly 

laginative look and style. Performances, 

jticularly Chiba' s, are universally strong 

id convincing, with the characterizations 

/ Kwok and Cheng—derided as "stiff by 

me hometown critics—thankfully subjed. 

Wade Major 

I'LL REMEMBER APRIL ^^^1/2 

Starring Noriyuki "'Pat" Morita, Pam 

Dawber and Mark Harmon. Directed by 

Bob ClarL Written by Mark Sanderson. 

Produced by Paul Colichman and Mark R. 

Harris. A Regent Entertainment production. 

No distributor set. Historical Drama. 

Not yet rated Running time: 90 min. 

Loosely based on actual reports of Japanese 

submarines patrolling the Pacific 

coast during WWII, "I'll Remember April" 

details events that transpire when four 

young California boys (Trevor Morgan, 

Yuki Tokuhiro, Haley Joel Osment and 

Richard Taylor Olson) find a stranded Japanese 

sailor (Yuji Okumoto) washed up on 

a beach. Eager to do their part for the war 

effort, the boys initially hold him captive, 

but soon find themselves drawn more to 

him as friends than enemies. Racial friction 

in the town plays a part, too, as one of the 

boys—a Japanese-American named Willy 

Tanaka (Tokuhiro)—faces the prospect of 

being relocated to an internment camp with 

his mother (Diana Tanaka) and grandfather 

(Pat Morita). 

As uplifting as it is challenging, "I'll Remember 

April" accomplishes a rare task for a 

war-themed films, approaching otherwise 

difficult issues and successfully targeting 

them to viewers of all ages. Wade Major 

LADY CHATTERLEY iî^ 

Starring Joely Richardson, Sean Bean 

and James Wilby. Directed by Ken Russell. 

Written by Michael Haggiag and Ken 

Russell. Produced by Michael Haggiag. A 

London Films/Global Arts production. No 

distributor set. Romance. Not yet rated. 


Given Ken Russell's love of blending 

things both perverse and classical 

("Gothic," "Lair of the White Worm"), a 

dip into the smoldering eroticism of D.H. 

Lawrence's "Lady Chatterley's Lover" 

should seem like a rather obvious progression. 

Surprisingly, Russell's take on the 

subject is not nearly as prurient as one 

might expect. By Russell standards, in 

fact, "Lady Chatterley" is downright 

prudish. 

Despite the book's erotic underpinnings—arguably 

tame by today's standards—the 

"Chatterley" storyline remains 

little more than a trashier telling of "Madame 

Bovary" (itself a revisionist updating 

of Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter"), a 

story of repressed female sexuality liberated 

by an illicit affair. 

As scripted by Russell and co-screenwriter/producer 

Michael Haggiag, "Lady 

Chatterley" is straightforward, safe and dismally 

tame. Wade Major 

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ASTERIX & OBELIX VERSUS 

CAESAR ^^^1/2 

Starring Christian Clavier, Gerard 

Depardieu and Roberto Benigni. Directed 

by Claude Zidi. Written by Claude Zidi

I 

AFM REVIEWS 

E PHANTOM OF THE OPERA 

(n stars) 

tarring Julian Sands and Asia 

\ til to. Directed by Dario A rgento. Writb\ 

Gerard Brack and Dario Argento. 

; 

f duced by Claudia Argento. A Medusa 

1 11 production. So distributor set. Horn 

\otyet rated. Running time: 104 min. 

vot to be confused with anything even 

niotely resembhng the Andrew Lloyd 

V her musical, this "Phantom" bears die 

ind unmistakable imprimatur of Italre-meister 

Dario Argento, who not 

lanages the awe-inspiring task of de- 

^ a great work of literature, but singlen 

1 Jedly negates the contributions of a host 

c irestigious collaborators along the way. 

shamelessly casting his own daughter 

- 1 a .\rgento) as the fated Christine, Argento 

r 

iher incinerates his credibility by installing 

J ian Sands as the maskless Riantom, all but 

1 iting the star of "Wariock" and "Gothic" 

t n eract as flagrandy as possible. Argento, 

T

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THE CONMAN ^1/2 

Starring Andy Lau, Ben Ng, Emotion 

Cheung, Angie Cheung, Waise Lee and 

Nick Cheung. Directed, written and produced 

by Wong Jing. A China Star Entertainment 

Production. No distributor set. 

Action/Comedy. Cantonese-language; subtitled. 

Notyet rated. Running time: 112 min. 

In addition to being one of Hong Kong's 

most prolific auteurs, Wong Jing is also 

among its most uneven. Equal parts genius 

and hack, Wong has made films that rank 

among both the worst and the best that 

Hong Kong's dwindhng film industry has 

ever produced. His latest, "The Conman," 

is sadly among the former—a catastrophic 

mess of a movie made even more regrettable 

by the fact that it's a spinoff from what 

is arguably Wong' s best and most enduring 

contribution to Hong Kong cinema, the 

"God of Gamblers" franchise popularized 

by star Chow Yun-fat. 

On the whole, the film merely culls together 

pieces and chunks from previous 

"God of Gambler" efforts, as well as such 

Hong Kong standards as John Woo' s "Once 

a Thief and Ringo Lam's "Full Contact," 

both of which play on the same "released 

convict tries to rebuild life only to find that 

girlfriend/wife has hooked up with cowardly 

former buddy" angle. 

THE GIRL OF YOUR DREAMS 

*•** 

Wade Major 

Starring Penelope Cruz and Antonio 

Resines. Directed by Fernando Trueba. 

Written by Rafael Azcona & David Trueba. 

Produced by Fernando Trueba. A Lolafilms 

production. No distributor set. Comedy. 

Spanish- and German-language; subtitled. 

Not yet rated. Running time: 124 min. 

After segueing from the Oscar-winning 

"Belle Epoque" (1992) into an ill-advised 

Hollywood debut with the dim-witted 1995 

comedy "Two Much," Fernando Trueba returns 

to both form and Spain with a smartlywritten, 

lustrously-realized World War 

Il-era farce, "The Girl of Your Dreams." 

Set in Berlin's UFA film studios in 1938, 

the film stars rising star Penelope Cruz 

("Belle Epoque," "The Hi-Lo Country") as 

popular Spanish ingenue Macarena Granada, 

the most high-profile figure in a delegation 

of actors and filmmakers who leave 

their civil war-torn homeland to participate 

in a Spanish-German co-production: an Andalusian 

musical entitled "The Girl of Your 

Dreams." Though glad to be away from the 

front lines of war, the delegation is also well 

aware that they are being used as pawns in 

a propaganda effort designed to serve the 

purposes of the two countries' respective 

dictators, Franco and Hitler. 

What they do not anticipate is the social 

turmoil they encounter in Germany, a level 

of oppression that surpasses even that in 

their own country. 

To make matters worse, Macarena has 

caught the eye of Nazi Propaganda Minister 

Joseph Goebbels (Johannes Silberschneider), 

a notorious womanizer whose rumored 

fondness for actresses is second only 

to his refusal to take "no" for an answer. 

By turns funny, heart-wrenching and 1 

affirming, "The Girl of Your Dreams" i 

unabashedly old-fashioned product: 

more closely resembling an old Hollyw \ 

backstage musical than anything that S{ 

or Germany might have produced.—W 

Major 

LET THERE BE LIGHT! ^1/2 

Starring Helen de Fougerolles, Teh 

Karyo, Ticky Holgado, Harry Holtzni 

and the voice ofPierre Arditi. Directed 1 

written by Arthur Joffe. Produced 

Claudie Ossard. A CIBY 2000 producti 

No distributor set. Comedy/Fanto, 

French-language; subtitled. Not yet rat 


"Let There Be Light!" is a prime exan 

of what happens when a semi-idea is h - 

heartedly underdeveloped by a bunch of 

- p 

pie who haven't the sUghtest idea what the; • 

doing or what they want to say. hi fact, if - 

for the extensive use of special effects 

would be easy to beUeve the whole dim-^ 

ted morass a complete improvisation. 

The so-called story runs thusly: Godinvisible 

presence voiced by actor Pit 

Arditi—determines that it is time he cc 

municate directly to mankind through si n 

and sound, i.e. make a movie! With cc* 

pleted script in hand, God and his dimi 

! 

tive wingless-angel sidekick Rene (Tii 

Holgado) descend to earth to pick a direc 

With Rene working the street angle, C 

hops around from person to person, t 

ploying bodily possession as a means to 

close to the real power brokers. 

But Hollywood proves horribly disi 

sioning (which calls into question the di\ 

ity of a God that doesn't already know th 

forcing God and Rene to turn their att 

tions instead to Paris, where their ideal 

rector surfaces in the person of a yoi 

television cameraperson/aspiring filmr 

ker named Jeanne (Helene de Fougerollt 

After the initial shock of being asked 

direct God' s script subsides, Jeanne enlists 

help of her boss, a television mogul nan 

Harper (Tcheky Karyo), not realizing f 

Harper is actually Satan. Once that unforti 

ate Uttle detail sinks in, though, Jeanne ki 

cated piece of work than the pretentioi 

rambhng blather that is "Let There 

Light!" Millennial fever, however, seems 

i 

have gripped both Joffe and produc 

Claudie Ossard, to the extent that both wc 

willing to suspend their better judgment 

i 

the service of it. 


86 (R-75) BoxoFFiCE

'< 

letimes 

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H COLOUR OF LIES 

!^'.rring 

^^^1/2 

Sandrine Bonnaire, Jacques 

hblin, Valeria Bruni-TedeschiandAnn 

de Caunes. Directed by Claude 

7; irol. Written by Odile Barski and 

7( de Chabrol. Produced by Marin 

M. titz. An MK2 production. No distributor 

tt Thriller. French-language; subtitled, 

h et rated Running time: 113 nun. 

,.nong the handful of reliable constants 

1 ;irld cinema, Claude Chabrol' s pseudoji 

iicockian crime thrillers are unique. 

Iiiveteran New Wave director's 30-plus 

ii> in 40 years are as close to a genre 

K d as there is ever likely to be, even 

He ; impressive for the consistency of their 

h and the diversity of their plots. Exceptl

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88 (R-77) BoxoFTiCE 

REVIEWS 

AN IDEAL HUSBAND iririririr 

Starring Cate Blanchett, Minnie Driver, 

Ruperi Everett, Julianne Moore and Jeremy 

Northam. Directed and written by Oliver 

Parker. Produced by Barnaby 

Thompson, JJri Fruchtmann and Bruce 

Davey. A Miramax release. Comedy. 

Rated PG-13 for brief sensuality/nudity. 


One of Oscar Wilde's most ingeniously 

orchestrated drawing room comedies 

(filmed several times previously, including 

a 1947 version by Alexander Korda), this 

tenebrous farce set among the London aristocracy 

of the 1 890s receives a breezy treatment 

from writer/director Oliver Parker 

("Othello") and his all-star cast that should 

exhilarate and enthrall Wilde novices and 

devotees alike. The chain of events begins 

when youthful indiscretions return to haunt 

Sir Robert Chiltem (Jeremy Northam), 

courtesy of seductive blackmailer Mrs. 

Chevely (JuUanne Moore). Less fearful of 

losing his social status than jeopardizing his 

marriage to loving wife Gertrude (Gate 

Blanchett), Ghiltem turns for help to his 

friend Lord Arthur Goring (Rupert Everett), 

a carefree playboy with a special knack for 

indiscretions and knowing how to deal with 

them. What Chiltem doesn't know is that 

Goring has a history with Mrs. Chevely that 

predates his own, information which Goring 

isn't especially eager to share so long as 

Robert's sassily irrepressible sister Mabel 

(Minnie Driver) has her sights on him. 

At once funny and romantic, heart-breaking 

and gloriously nerve-wracking, "An 

Ideal Husband" adds yet another first-rate 

plume to the Miramax chapeau, insuring 

another rousing awards season come yearend. 

Wade Major 

LIMBO iririri^V2 

Starring Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, 

David Strathairn, Vanessa Martinez, Kris 

Kristofferson and Casey Siemaszko. Directed 

and written by John Sayles. Produced 

by Maggie Renzi. A Screen Gems 

release. Drama. Rated R for language. 


At first glance, "Limbo" seems to be 

precisely the kind of ferociously independent 

and passionately original film one 

would expect from the reigning king of 

independent cinema, John Sayles. In the 

tradition of "City of Hope," "Passion Fish," 

"Lone Star," "The Secret of Roan Inish" 

and "Men With Guns," the director's latest 

is yet another unconventional character study 

set in an exotic, distinctive locale—in this 

case a remote, pastoral Alaskan settlement. 

Similarities to Sayles' previous efforts, 

however, abruptly end there. For "Limbo" 

takes added risks that may surprise even the 

most ardent Sayles admirers—risks that demand 

as much of the audience as the audience 

is likely to demand of the film. 

For the better part of its first half, 

"Limbo" is a straightforward ensemble 

piece, painting a portrait of a rural village 

struggling to find middle ground between 

the economic need for change and the fervent 

desire of its citizens to keep things as 

they've always been. As the story progresses, 

three players emerge more for 

fully from the fray—fisherman-turn, 

handyman Joe Gastineau (Dav 

Strathairn), nightclub singer Donna De 1- 

gelo (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) i 

Donna's troubled teenage daughter Not 

(Vanessa Martinez). 

, 

The relationships that evolve betwt 

these three, and the residual effect of th 

respective histories, is, ultimately, the d 

matic engine that drives "Limbo" to 

powerful, provocative conclusion. It i: 

journey that is at once exhilarating a 

frightening— at times even alarmii 

Sayles' flagrant disregard for conventi 

and the so-called "rules" of screen storytt 

ing have run afoul of traditionalists in i 

past, and "Limbo" is no different. Far fn 

possessing any kind of familiar "act" stn 

ture, the film ebbs and flows in harmo 

with the emotions of its characters, maki 

its eventual outcome increasingly unp 

dictable as events progress. 

For some, the task of fully following su 

an unusual story may seem unduly ch 

lenging. Still, audiences need not dig t 

deeply to fully appreciate, at the very lea 

the craft of the film. Strathairn and cinen 

tographer Haskell Wexler, both frequt 

Sayles collaborators, produce typically t 

cellent work, as does Mastrantonio, w 

sings all of her own songs. 

The film's most shining revelation, hoi 

ever, is 19-year-old Martinez—briefly se 

in "Lone Star"—a gifted young actress w 

understands acutely that in "Limbo," wl 

the audience does not see, hear or ev 

comprehend is often more important th 

what they do. Wade Major 

THE STENDHAL SYNDROME ^^ 

Starring Asia Argento and Thorn 

Kretschman. Directed by Dario Argem 

Written by Dario Argento and Fraiu 

Ferrini. Produced by Dario Argento «/ 

Giuseppe Colombo. A Troma releas 

Horror. Rated R for graphic violence ai 

sexual situations. Running time: 88 mil 

Though Dario Argento might ha 

served the cinematic arts better by stayii 

with the Hitchcockian thrillers of his eai 

career like 1970's "The Bird with the Cx\ 

tal Plumage," his horror classics—begi 

ning with 1977's "Suspiria"—have left 

indelible impression on the genre. Argeii 

films are designed to shock using the opp 

site technique of Hitchock, leaving nothii 

to the imagination and taking viewers in 

the heart of the gore. Though the horror 

Argento' s films is usually hyper-realisti; 

it's often couched in the most horrifying 

real scenarios featuring stalkers and rapist 

"The Stendahl Syndrome" is an unsu. 

cessful hybrid of Argento' s thrillers ar 

horror films. 

The story involves a polic 

detective, Anna ("B. Monkey's" As 

Argento), who's hunting a sadistic rapi 

and serial killer. In the process, she finds tl 

darkest side of herself. The story boj 

down, but Asia (the director' s daughter) h; 

the presence of a darkly drawn Uma Thu 

man and gives a solid performance in wh 

is an otherwise flawed film. Tit 

Cogshell

1 

lie 

Tli LOVE LETTER •1/2 

at, 

REVIEWS 

arring Kate Capshaw, Blythe Danner 

Ellen DeGeneres. Directed by Peter 

.Sun Chan. Written by Maria Mag- 

Produced by Sarah Pillsbury, Midge 

\ford and Kate Capshaw. A 

R imWorks release. Comedy. Rated PG- 

L- or some sensuality, nudity and strong 

la ]uage. Running time: 87 min. 

pening this movie just two days after 

Phantom Menace" was a stroke of 

V That way DreamWorks can blame 

b ih Maul and Jar Jar Binks for its failure 

iread of where it really belongs—on a 

te'ble script. The leaden dialogue gives 

th cast nothing to work with and it's a 

st lie because, for a moderately budgeted 

II ie. it's a heck of an ensemble. Apart 

fr II the three top-billed there is also Tom 

E'rett Scott ("One True Thing"), Tom 

Si'eck ("In & Out"), talented newcomer 

Ii anne Nicholson and a couple of icons in 

E:lish stage legend Geraldine McEwan 

u Gloria Stuart of "Titanic" fame. 

plot, about an anonymous love letter 

ii-j is accidentally read by most of the cast 

ai' propels them into romantic encounters, 

is retty unconvincing—but the real probie 

is with the spoken words. Usually, Ellen 

DGeneres makes you laugh and makes you 

tf k: here, she just makes you wonder if she 

rt i her lines before she signed to do the film. 

Tcall the dialogue pedestrian would be an 

ii lit to people who walk. 

V few weeks before "The Love Letter" 

vs released, DreamWorks sent copies of 

tl' titular movie missive, which contains 

[i''s like "I no longer care for my thoughts 

u sss they're thoughts of you," to joumali; 

around the country. It was a brilliant 

s .It. One reporter thoughts she was being 

s ked and called the cops. An estranged 

c';ple each got a copy and thought it had 

c'ne from the other. DreamWorks should 

h e gone even further, scrapped the movie 

c npletely and sent everyone in America a 

c ')y of the letter. Mike Kerrigan 

TEA WITH MUSSOLINI ••l/Z 

Starring Maggie Smith, Joan 

Plowright, Cher, Lily Tomlin and Judi 

Bench. Directed by Franco Zeffirelli. 

Written by John Mortimer and Franco 

Zeffirelli. Produced by Riccardo Tozzi, 

Giovannella Zannoni and Clive Parsons. 

An MGM release. Drama. Rated PG for 

thematic elements, language, brief nudity 

and some mild violence. Running time: 

115 min. 

Franco Zeffirelli 's autobiography serves 

as the source material for "Tea with Mussolini," 

the story of an Italian boy and a group 

of expatriate British and American women 

in Italy on the eve of World War II. Luca 

(the child version played by Charlie Lucas, 

the teen incarnation by Baird Wallace) has 

been effectively abandoned by his father, 

and as his mother is dead, Mary (Joan 

Plowright), the father's secretary, tês him 

in. She shares the task of rearing him with 

a colony of feisty English women headed 

by Lady Hester (Maggie Smith), the 

ambassador's widow, who believes she has 

a special relationship with Italian dictator 

Benito Mussolini. When war breaks out, the 

women depend on this relationship to protect 

them, even though they are now 

"enemy aliens" in their beloved adopted 

country. Two "vulgar" Americans, meanwhile, 

are thrown into custody with them, 

an excavator (Lily Tomlin) and a rich, 

brassy art collector (Cher) who knew 

Luca' s mother. As the true nature of fascism 

becomes apparent, the women are compelled 

to examine their beliefs, and Luca 

learns he has some growing up to do. 

Cher and Tomlin play the Americans 

with gusto, but their acting style is so different 

from that of their English counterparts 

and their presence so fiercely 

contemporary that they seem to be in another 

film. The biggest stumbling block, 

though, is the unfocused, occasionally rambling 

script that evokes a period but not a 

point of view. L.J. Strom 

ONLY $149.95 

M naw cottCBptiott in 38 nun spUean 

thMt nuut b9 Men (0 be bBliavad. 

m 

PREVIOUSLY REVIEWED: MAY/JUNE/JULY FILMS 

he alphabetical list below notes the issue of BOXOFFICE in which our review of an 

upcoming film appeared, the star rating, and distributor/release date information. 

"Adventures ofSebastian Cofe"***I/2: Par. Classics, undatedAug.; see Nov. 1998. 

"All the Little Animals" *l/2: Lions Gate, undated Summer; see Nov. 1998. 

"Arlington Road'' iri^m: Columbia, 7/9; see Jan. 1999. 

"Autumn Tale" ifirirm: October, 7/9 (NY); see Nov. 1998. 

"Bandits" •••: Stratosphere, 8/13 (NY); see Sept. 1998. 

"The Blair Witch Project" •••1/2: Artisan, 7/16; see April 1999. 

"Bueim Vista Social Club" •••••: Artisan, 6/4; see June 1999. 

"Desert Blue" •••: Goldwyn, 6/4; see June 1999. 

"The Dinner Game" •••••: Uons Gate, 7/9; see May 1999. 

"Last Night" ••••: Lions Gate, undated Summer; see July 1998. 

"Late August, Early September" ••••1/2: Zeitgeist, 7/7; see Nov. 1998. 

"Lucie Aubrac" •••: October, June, undated; see June 1997. 

"Marcello Mastroianni... " ••1/2: First Look, July undated; see April 1999. 

"My Son the Fanatic" iririfir: Miratnax, 6/25 (NY/LA); see Nov. 1998. 

"Portraits Chinois" ••••: Phaedra, 8/20; see Sept. 1997. 

"The Red Violin" ••: Lions Gate, 6/11 (NY/LA); see Nov. 1998. 

"Run Lola Run" irl/2: SPC, 6/18 (NY/LA); see Nov. 1998. 

"Trick" •••: Fine Une, 7/23 (NY/LA/SF/TO); see April 1999. 

"Twin Falls Idaho" -kiricirl/2: SPC, 7/30 (NY/LA); see April 1999.

REVIEWS 

STAR WARS: EPISODE I—THE 

PHANTOM MENACE ^^ 

Starring Uam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, 

Natalie Portman, Samuel L. Jackson and 

Jake Uoyd. Directed and written by George 

Lucas. Produced by Rick McCallum. A Fox 

release. Sci-fi/Action. Rated PG for sci-fi 

action/violence. Running time: 131 min. 

It's true that no film could have lived up 

to the hype surrounding the release of "Star 

Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace." 

Indeed, no film in history has had people 

lined up six weeks in advance, toy stores 

mobbed at midnight and phone lines 

jammed the moment tickets went on 

sale. But to have the film in question 

disappoint on so many levels is, well, 

exasperating. George Lucas' talents 

as a director and a storyteller haven't 

blossomed in the 22-year leave he's 

taken since "Star Wars" first appeared 

on the bigscreen. Instead, 

they've withered while his gift as a 

digital artist has bloomed. 

The story of Darth Vader's origin, 

"The Phantom Menace" focuses on 

the peaceful planet of Naboo's efforts 

to ward off an attack by the greedy 

Trade Federation. Jedi Knights Qui- 

Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and Obi- 

Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) 

escort Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman) 

to the Galactic Senate in Coruscant 

to plead for the protection of her 

{)eople. En route, they make a proonged 

pit stop at Tatooine, a desert 

planet ruled by gangsters, to make 

repairs on their damaged ship. It's 

there that Qui-Gon discovers a slave 

boy by the name of Anakin Skywalker, 

in whom he senses the power of 

the Force. 

When this rebel band finally arrives 

in Coruscant, a planet blanketed 

by skyscrapers, the Senate forestalls 

addressing the Queen's concerns by 

forming a bureaucratic committee. 

Also, the Jedi Council denies Qui- 

Gon' s request to make Anakin his 

apprentice, sensing in him not only 

the Force but also a tremendous 

amount of fear. As Yoda tells him, 

"Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. 

Hate leads to suffering." (Foreshadowing, 

anyone?) They then return to Naboo to defeat 

the Federation on their own. 

Consisting of four separate battles, the 

climax embodies the basic problem of the 

film: over-saturation. There are simply too 

many characters and too much going on to 

care about any of it. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan 

take on Darth Maul (Ray Park), a villain 

who could have eclipsed Darth Vader had 

he not just been a lap dog for the bad guy, 

in an operatic two-on-one light saber brawl. 

Meanwhile, Naboo's underwater residents 

battle the droid army, the Queen breaks into 

her own castle, and Anakin saves the day by 

accident. 

While consummate actors, the cast has 

too little to do here. Portman' s delivery is 

stiff and flat, perhaps hindered by the gorgeous 

but cumbersome costumes designed 

by Trisha Biggar. Qui-Gon' s fate is undramatic, 

simply because we haven't had 

the time to get to know him (nor young 

Obi-Wan, for that matter). Lloyd rattles off 

his lines like he's the star in a grade school 

Christmas play, and supercool Samuel L. 

Jackson is grossly underused. 

Lucas' digital work, while visually stunning, 

distracts from what little story there 

is. A kind of sidekick to Qui-Gon, Jar Jar 

Binks (Ahmed Best), a floppy-eared amphibian 

with a Jamaican accent who's constantly 

getting in the way, resembles the 

annoying chameleon creature in "Lost in 

Space," only he's life-size and talks. The 

Park is Darth Maul in Fox's "Star Wars: Episode 

The Phantom Menace. " 

Podrace on Tatooine—a heart-racing but 

long and extraneous scene drawn directly 

from the speederbike chase in "Return of 

the Jedi"— puts a pause on the pace of the 

plot. And the completely digital ground war 

looks like a cartoon posing as live action. 

"Star Wars'" biggest problem, though, is 

that it's beloved by a generation who were 

kids when it first came out; their passion is 

based on nostalgia. But it's been 22 years 

since "Star Wars" premiered, and now 

those hardcore fans are adults. Yet Lucas 

still makes his movies for kids. Arguably, 

he's introducing the legacy to a new generation, 

and today's children will remember 

"Episode I" as fondly as the series' loyalists 

recall "Episode IV." But the majority of 

today's moviegoers aren't watching in wideeyecl 

wonderment anymore. Eye candy isn't 

a reward in and of itself—it has to be backed 

by substance. Annlee Ellingson 

THE UNDERGROUND COMEDY 

MOVIE 1/2 

Starring Gena Lee Nolin, Slash andM 

chael Clarke Duncan. Directed and wr 

ten by Vince Offer. Produced by Jeffr 

Jaeger. A Phaedra release. Comedy. U., 


A grouping of disparate sketches andpi 

odies built around a few central charactei 

writer-director Vince Offer's "The Unde 

ground Comedy Movie" pushes the conce 

of cynical satire well beyond its limits. Tl 

movie is only occasionally funny—a sketi 

about a 250-pound, bald, black, gay bik 

virgin had potential—but it's reler 

lessly gross and pointlessly offensiv 

This film is only for those who dor 

require any context for their shot 

comedy. Perhaps a copy of "Satire f 

Dummies" might help the filmmake 

in their next outing. Tim Cogshei 

AFTERLIFE **l/2 

î 

Starring Arata andErika Oda. L 

rected and written by Hirokaz 

Kore-Eda. Produced by Shiho Sa 

and Masayuki Akieda. An Artist 

License release. Japanese-la) 

guage; subtitled. Drama. Unrate> 


The souls of the recently decease 

stay for a week in somewhat shabl 

but not unpleasant accommodatioi 

while trying to select their favori 

memory from life. Case workers he 

them with this formidable task, ar 

have the unenviable chore of then tr 

ing to recreate these moments on filr 

When each individual views the fil 

and relives the treasured experienc 

they move on to a place where they' 

assured they'll have that recollectii 

forever. 

The opening of "After Life" is vei 

promising, intersplicing the reflci 

tions of each of the newly departi 

(many of whom are played by non-ai 

tors, recounting their true life expcr 

ences). Though it' s to the film' s cred 

that the plot's crux raises an intr 

guing question and incites the viewi 

to analyze his or her own life in search i 

such a moment, this can be distracting, i 

the mind begins to wander when th 

onscreen characters' stories begin to p 

repetitive. Their anecdotes surprisingly fa 

to evoke the strong pathos they might s 

easily have elicited. Furthermore, nothin 

sounds more depressing than amateur ghd 

filmmakers using scrounged props, \o\\ 

budget special effects and last-minute in 

provised foley to try to illustrate one's mcx 

cherished memory. It would be very dill 

cult to capture on film the complex ck 

ments of emotion that makes that memor 

so special, so it seems that this AA^ projec 

would only serve to dilute it. Also confut 

ing is the fact that one man who's hare 

pressed to select a memory is give 

videotapes of his life to review; if th 

Akashic Record is on VHS, why don't the 

just use that footage? Christine James 

90 (R-79) BoxoFncE

. ention 

1 

REVIEWS 

TE MUMMY *•• 

Starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz 

a i John Hannah. Directed and written 

b Stephen Sommers. Produced by James 

j:ks and Sean Daniel. A Universal re- 

Use. Sci-fi/action. Rated PG-13 for per- 

V ive adventure violence and some 

p tial nudity. Running time: 124 min. 

rhis isn't your mummy's "Mummy." 

lis isn't the meandering, bandaged, only 

s newhat undead corpse who you could 

x\ behind, kick the ass of and run away 

bore it could even turn around. This is a 

s')ematural, plague-wreaking, organ-re- 

T'ving, fly-spewing Creature of Eternal 

r'ght who, after 3,000 years entombed 

I der the sands of Egypt, is inadvertently 

r'akened by a prim but nubile 1920s-era 

1 rarian ("Chain Reaction's" Rachel 

Vliisz). Now she must stop him, with the 

Tp of a brashly charismatic adventurer 

(Jlast From the Past's" Brendan Fraser) 

j:d her comically alcoholic gadabout 

l)ther ("Sliding Doors'" John Hannah), 

1 fore he destroys the world. 

Aspiring to combine the mystical epic 

;,venture of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" with 

i; larger-than-life Love Never Dies im- 

]tus of "Dracula," this "Mummy" comes 

(^more like the monster of Frankenstein 

iVidimentarily-stitched aggregation of elaents 

that comes alive in spite of itself. 

The romance never quite sparks, the dan- 

'rs are standard genre-issue and the plot 

s holes more conspicuous than the desicted 

mummy's beetle-ridden body, but the 

Jects-driven film should still be able to 

trform a feat even more formidable than 

fiurrecting the dead: holding a teenager's 

for a two-hour span. Christine 

:mes 

pQUILA BODY SHOTS ^1/2 

Starring Joey Lawrence and Dru 

ouser. Directed and written by Tony 

iyu. Produced by Tony Shyu and Jong 

lyu. A Heartland release. Comedy. Rated 

for language, some nudity and subince 

abuse. Running time: 94 min. 

Director Tony Shyu has all the ingredits 

for an intoxicating first feature: One 

it inventive premise, two parts attractive 

>ung leads (Joey Lawrence ofTV's "Blosm" 

and newcomer Dru Mouser), and the 

sual skills of an experienced commercial 

rector (Shyu himself) as a chaser. But 

'equila's" script is the cinematic equivant 

of rotgut. 

Lawrence is actually quite good as 

'hnny, a hip college student smitten by the 

etty Tamlyn (Mouser). When Johnny and 

s dimwitted friends are invited to a mysrious 

Halloween party in Mexico, he 

inks a magical Tequila mix and finds 

mself with the power to read women's 

inds. Inexplicably, he can also receive 

sions from the after-life, and learns that 

amlyn is being stalked by the spirit of her 

.*ad husband from a previous life. 

As the story lurches along this path, "Teiila" 

becomes a strange brew of bad dia- 

'gue, sloppy story-telling and cheap 

)ecial effects.—r/m CogsheU 

FLASHBACK: August 26, 1963 

What BOXOFFICE Said About... 

THE HAUNTING 

[Based on Shirley fackson^s novel ''The Haunting of Hill House/^ DreamWorks' 

Jan de Bont-helmed supernatural thriller ''The Haunting" star Lili Taylor, Liam 

Neeson and Catherine Zeta-Jones and will open on July 23. The book was 

previously adapted in 1 963 by Robert Wise, who also changed the title to "The 

Haunting,'' though DreamWorks' version is said to be drawn from the book and 

not the classic film. ] 

Richard Johnson, as a professor of anthropology, 

has heard of Hill House and takes it as a challenge 

for his psychic research. Russ Tamblyn, Julie Harris, 

Claire Bloom and Richard Johnson face the eerie 

sounds, fear and terror, and learn that the house is 

their antagonist. 

The superb artistry of tllmmaker Robert Wise, who 

set a fast tempo in "VVest Side Story," now results in one 

of the year's best adaptations of a supematural mystery 

in "The Haunting." Wise never attempts to show violence; 

nothing ever appears on the screen to harm 

anyone, but people are faced with unknown forces, 

which motivate their actions like a hypnotist drawing on the subconscious. Plot 

development is superior to run-of-the-mill whodunits. 

EXPLOITIPS: 

There is sufficient scientific evidence to tie in with for promotion of this film to 

make it acceptable for all types of stunts. Hire an old deserted house in town and 

plant some stories locally that a prize will be offered for anyone staying in it 

overnight—and that it is like Hill House. 

CATCHLINES: 

You May Not Believe in Ghosts, but You Cannot Deny Terror... 

At Hill House the Dead Don't Stay Quiet! 

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S A 

MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM 

•••1/2 

Starring Michelle Pfieffer, Kevin Kline 

and Calista Flockhart. Directed and written 

by Michael Hoffman. Produced by 

Leslie Urdang and Michael Hoffman. A 

Fox Searchlight release. Romantic comedy. 

Rated PG-13 for sensuality and nudity. 


If Michael Hoffman takes any noticeable 

liberties with Shakespeare's fairy comedy, 

it's to give Kevin Kline's Nick Bottom, a 

lowly provincial among royalty, maincharacter 

status. No complaints there. Kline 

("Wild Wild West") is so comfortable with 

Shakespearean language that viewers may 

forget diey are hearing literature and simply 

enjoy Kline's revels. 

Bottom is a hammy actor in a play to be 

performed at the wedding of Theseus 

("Simon Birch's" David Strathaim), a 

duke, to 

Hippolyta ("Lost and Pound's" 

Sophie Marceau). During rehearsals in the 

forest, he stumbles into the fairy kingdom, 

whose king (Rupert Everett of "My Best 

Friend's Wedding") turns him into a donkey. 

It's part of jealous Oberon's spat with 

his queen ("Deep End of the Ocean's" Michelle 

Pfeiffer, most ethereal), whom he has 

tricked into falling in love with the ridiculous 

Bottom. Unlike in the play. Bottom is 

not just a source of laughter as an ass unexpectedly 

enjoying a life of leisure. Here he 

is given a whole other dimension, including 

an unhappy marriage and a sad early scene 

that is the film's only departure from romantic 

hijinks. 

In classic Shakespeare-in-the-Park fashion, 

Hoffman has transferred "Midsummer's" 

original ancient-Greek setting to 

tum-of-the-century Italy—the village of 

Mount Athens. That results in the pleasure 

of watching buttoned-up Victorian lace 

loosen under the influence of Tuscany' 

sunny, sensual abundance. 

Most of the unbuttoning occurs among 

two sets ofyoung lovers— played by Calista 

Flockhart ("The Birdcage"), Christian Bale 

("Metroland"), Anna Friel ("The Land Girls") 

and Dominic West ("Spice World")—^who 

have fled to the forest to sort out their various 

romantic woes. There they also become unknowing 

playthings of the fairies. 

Cinematically, Hoffman has respected 

the play's language, holding steady on the 

actors' faces as they speak. There are no 

flashy cuts, for example, a la Baz 

Luhrmann's version of "Romeo and Juliet." 

Hoffman uses special effects only occasionally 

to juice up the fairies' world, particularly 

in the antics of Puck ("The 

Impostors'" Stanley Tucci), Oberon's impish 

go-between. Odierwise, this "Midsummer" 

is rendered much like a stage 

production (one with a huge glitter budget), 

with an almost deliberate artifice. The fairy 

kingdom looks enchantingly like a Victorian 

illustration come to life. Melissa Morrison 

July, 1999 (R-80) 91

REVIEWS 

ENTRAPMENT iî^Ml 

Starring Sean Connery, Catherine 

Zeta-Jones and Ving Rhames. Directed by 

Jon Amiel. Written by Ron Bass and William 

Broyles. Produced by Sean Connery, 

Michael Hertzberg and Rhonda 

Tollefson. A Fox release. Thriller. Rated 

PG-13 for some language, sensuality, 

violence and drug content. Running 


When producer-star Sean Connery (last 

seen in the ensemble romance "Playing by 

Heart") handpicked his co-star for "Entrapment," 

he emulated last year's popular Hollywood 

trend that paired Michael Douglas 

with Gwyneth Paltrow in "A Perfect Murder," 

Warren Beatty with Halle Berry in 

"Bulworth" and Harrison Ford with Anne 

Heche in "Six Days Seven Nights." Nearly 

40 years her senior, Connery chose the 

fresh-faced Catherine Zeta-Jones. (Freshfaced 

to American audiences, that is. This 

was before she was named ShoWest's Supporting 

Actress of the Year for her work in 

"The Mask of Zorro," and the Welsh actress 

was a television star in Britain before she 

crossed the pond.) The old gent doesn't 

seem comfortable with the fact that he could 

be his new love interest' s grandfather, however, 

and the resulting uneven relationship 

jars the whole film. 

Connery plays Robert "Mac" 

MacDougal, an expert art thief who' s showing 

no signs of slowing down in his old age. 

Zeta-Jones is Virginia "Gin" Baker, the insurance 

investigator on a mission to catch 

the old codger with his hand in the cookie 

jar—or is it that she wants the cookies for 

herself? The two of them set out to pinch a 

valuable Chinese mask, but this job is really 

just a testing ground. Once they've proven 

their trustworthiness to each other, Gin convinces 

Mac to assist her in a multi-billion 

dollar bank robbery. In the end, who' s playing 

whom—and why—will surprise you. 

Gin first convinces her boss that she' s the 

woman for the job because, well, she's not 

a man. Mac turns down her advances, however, 

claiming that they shouldn't let anything 

silly like emotional involvement get 

in the way of the task at hand. At this point. 

Gin becomes childlike, whining "But I'm 

not tired" when Mac tells her it's time for 

bed, and exhibiting a short attention span 

when he's trying to show her the finer 

points of grand larceny. 

Mac and Gin's relationship is constantly 

fluctuating between that of a father and 

daughter—or, rather, a teacher and student— 

and that of lovers, like the 

filmmakers knew they needed an element 

of romance in their movie but weren't quite 

comfortable with the pairing of their leading 

man and lady. This uneven tone characterizes 

the film technologically as well: 

Director Jon Amiel' s camera work is engaging, 

pairing close-ups and rack focus 

with a perpetually moving camera both 

outside and in, but his post-production 

dubbing doesn't always match. In the end, 

"Entrapment' s" cleverly convoluted plot 

is its least confusing aspect. Annlee 

Ellingson 

Fox's "Pushing Tin 

PUSHING TIN iririr 

Starring John Cusack, Billy Bob 

Thornton, Cate Blanchett and Angelina 

Jolie. Directed by Mike Newell. Written by 

Glen Charles & Les Charles. Produced by 

ArtLinson. A Fox release. Comedy. Rated 

Rfor language and a scene of sexuality. 

Running time: 123 minutes. 

Based on a New York Times Magazine 

article written in 1996, "Pushing Tin" takes 

viewers into a world they've rarely seen 

before: an air traffic control room. Nick "No 

Fly Zone" Falzone ("Grosse Pointe 

Blank's" John Cusack), a charming, fasttalking 

New York Italian, is the best of the 

best at what he does, managing the planes 

that fly into his airspace with confidence 

and ease while eluding the pasty pallor his 

greasy colleagues assume over time in an 

occupation known for its astronomical rates 

of depression, alcoholism and suicide. The 

high-stress job pays well, though, securing 

Nick a family home in the Long Island 

suburbs as well as allowing his wife Connie 

("Elizabeth's" Cate Blanchett) to pursue 

personal enrichment through art classes. 

Nick's cock-of-the-walk routine is disrupted, 

however, by the arrival of Russell 

Bell ("A Simple Plan's" Billy Bob Thornton), 

a part Native American with a loud 

motorcycle and busty young alcoholic wife 

Mary ("Playing By Heart's" Angelina 

Jolie), whose calm, quiet, Zen-like approach 

to his job contrasts sharply with 

Nick's intense personality. Soon Russell's 

ability to surpass Nick on the free throw line 

and at the scopes, seemingly without even 

trying, drives Nick over the edge. He sleeps 

with Russell's wife, breaking an unwritten 

rule in the profession, and systematically 

loses his wife, his job and his life. 

Like his character, Cusack' s the center of 

attention in this film, and he encapsulates 

the role adeptly, the lively dialogue b 

"Cheers" creators Glen and Les Charle 

tripping off his tongue as nimbly as the ai 

controller jargon, barraging audiences witi 

a stream of wit and charm that registers jus 

before he's on to his next clever tidbit 

Thornton's Russell is a little harder to ge 

to know. He seems oblivious to Nick's ris 

ing jealousy until a spontaneous wresthn; 

match in the middle of a crisis proves tha 

he's just another alpha male in a battle tha 

can only end with one of them leaving. Bu 

it's not quite clear what drives him to tha 

point, as he even casually brushes aside hi 

wife's infidelity as a sort of non-issue. 

This is a guy's story, and women don" 

really factor into the equation here excep 

as something the men can take from eacl 

other. Still, Blanchett (in a role so far re 

moved from her Oscar-nominated perfor 

mance in "Elizabeth" as to render he 

unrecognizable) is convincingly sympa 

thetic as the high school sweetheart-turned 

stay-at-home mom who's slightiy ditzy bi 

still loaded with self-respect, and Johe come 

off as enigmatic and mysterious as her man. 

Eventually one gets the feeling tha 

there's a message beneath the belly laughs 

that the filmmakers are trying to say some 

thing about human nature through the un 

provoked competition between these twi 

men. Their jobs—and their lives—an 

about control, or the lack of it. As his liti 

falls apart around him, Nick is desperate t( 

get it back and thinks Russell has the an 

swer. But the answer's unspoken. It has ti 

do with jumping into a freezing Coloradi 

river and standing under a landing 747 jus 

to feel its wake (which, by the way, look 

hilarious from a distance but hokey close 

up). You can't find it by thinking about i 

or analyzing it or talking about it, and ulti 

mately the audience is left out in the cole 

— Annlee Ellingson 

92 (R-81) BoxoFFiCE

' 

g 

REVIEWS 

LST& FOUND ** 

itarring David Spade, Sop\e 

Marceau, Patrick Bruel, 

AHe Lange, Martin Sheen, 

J]t Lovitz, Rose Marie and 

\'rla Gibbs. Directed by Jeff 

I 'lack. Written by J.B. Cook, 

^lrc Meeks and David Spade, 

loduced by Wayne Rice, 

^ irrie Eisenman, Andrew A. 

hsove and Broderick Johns 

\. A Warner release. Com- 

€ '. Rated PG-13 for crude 

ai sex-related humor, brief 

n iity and language. Running 

tie: 100 min. 

)avid Spade ("Tommy 

I y") stars as Dylan Ramsey, a 

r itionship-impaired man who 

h; just fallen hopelessly in 

1 e with his cello-playing next 

cor neighbor. Lila Dubois 

Villiam Shakespeare's A 

( 

f dsummer Night's 

I eam's" Sophie Marceau). 

To bad she doesn't notice 

1 n—that is, until he steals 

r beloved dog in a scheme to 

\n her affections while pretiding 

to help her find the 

f rloined pooch. 

Dylan makes some romantic 

[)gress with Lila until her 

idsome and talented ex-boyli^nd 

I 

Rene ("The Misadven- 

t es of Margaret's" Patrick 

lael) arrives on the scene det 

mined to win back Lila's 

llirt. It is only a matter of time 

I fore the inevitable show- 

(wn between the stud and the 

j ;:er over whom the lovely Lila 

' il choose. 

it is impossible to believe 

Ut a gorgeous, intelligent 

Dhisitique would even enterrn 

J 

dating the grating and 

j'ysically underwhelming 

:4an; worse, the screenplay 

'Spade, Marc Meeks and J.B. 

' 

ok is shght as the protagonist' 

ild. 

With uninspired jokes about 

excrement, bodily funcns 

and old women, the film is 

unfunny as it is purposefully 

-P.C. 

This does not mean that "Lost 

Found" is devoid of humors 

moments. 

When Spade is delivering 

'-the-cuff, "Just Shoot Me"- 

'le lines in his trademark 

rdonic style, "Lost & 

und" actually works. The 

mactic scene in which he lip 

ncs and then sings Neil 

araond's "Brother Loves 

aveling Salvation Show" is 

>o inspired. But the toilet 

mor and "There's Someng 

About Mary" dog joke 

reads lead "Lost" astray. 

Kristan Ginther 

LOVERS OF THE ARCTIC 

CIRCLE •i^ 

Starring Fele Martinez, 

Najwa Nimri and Nancho 

Novo. Directed and written by 

Julio Medem. Produced by 

Fernando Bovaira and Enrique 

Lopez Lavigne. A Fine 

Line release. Drama. Spanishlanguage; 

subtitled. Rated R 

for sexuality and brief language. 


At times moving but often 

trite, "Lovers of the Arctic Circle" 

is long on thematic exploration 

but short on story. 

The film's two main characters, 

Otto (Fele Martinez) and 

Ana (Najwa Nimri), recount 

from their individual perspectives 

how fate brought them to 

the edge of the Arctic Circle. 

Their lives have been intertwined 

since a memorable day 

on the school playground when 

eight-year-old Otto chases 

down Ana. Having both been 

recently traumatized—Ana's 

father has died and Otto's parents 

have separated—the two 

become inextricably linked. 

Eventually, Otto's father, Alvaro 

(Nancho Novo), and 

Ana's mother, Olga (Maru 

Valdivielso) marry. Otto and 

Ana are now stepbrother and 

stepsister, and as they enter 

their teen years, their strong affection 

for each other turns to 

passionate love. Adulthood is 

not kind to them and their love 

affair seemingly ends. However, 

after several years of failed relationships, 

they seek each other 

out, determined to resolve their 

feelings for one another. 

Well-acted across the board 

and technically solid, "Lovers 

of the Arctic Circle" suffers 

from the split personality of its 

mastermind, Julio Medem. Director 

Julio Medem and writer 

Julio Medem are a Jekyll and 

Hyde team. The writer Medem 

has created a story which can 

best be summed up as uninvolving 

melodramatic sludge. 

The themes of romantic destiny 

and life being a series coincidences 

have been thoroughly 

explored in numerous other 

films, yet are presented here as 

if they are both new and deeply 

profound. 

But the director Medem is 

stylish and innovative, telling 

this banal story in a very involving 

way. UtiHzing titillating 

flashbacks and he said/she said 

first-person narration, director 

Medem almost tricks you into 

believing there is more to "Lovers 

of the Arctic Circle." Sadly, 

there is not.— Kristan Ginther 

Review Digest 

Genre key: (Ac) Action; (Ad) Adventure; (Ani) Animated; (C) Comedy; 

(D) Drama; (Doc) Documentary; (F) Fantasy; (Hor) Horror; 

(M) Musical; (My) Mystery; (R) Romance; (Sat) Satire; 

(SF) Science Fiction; (Sus) Suspense; (Th) Thriller; (W) Western. 

- 1 

s c 

«< t- 

2 .- s 

U >- w U. fia 

S u^ * ro fs| «

Moviegoer Activity Report 

for the month of April 1999 

MovieFone* (777-FILM') and its sister service, moviefone.com*, are now the single largest source of movie stiowtime information in the countr/, 

providing information to over 100 million moviegoers each year The following information represents the most requested theatres and exhibitors on MovieFone. 

Rank 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

Most Requested Exhibitors 

, 

^ 

,.,,., 

Last Month s 

Total Requests Rank 

Exhibitor 

LCE 

AMC 

United Artists 

Regal/Act III 

General Cinema 

Cinemark 

Century 

Harkins 

Clearview 

National Amusements 

1,598,207 

1,173,976 

1,020,849 

530,920 

474,504 

266,728 

265,784 

260,484 

246,521 

Top 10 Exhibitors & Theatres 

212,401 

Rank Market Theatre 

Most Requested Theatres 

|_ + |y| 

*i< 

Total Requests 

Rank 

1 NY LCE Lincoln Square 86,928 1 

2 NY UA Union Square 74,248 2 

3 NY LCEOrpheum 52,611 3 

4 LA AMC Century 14 46,525 6 

5 PH UA Riverview Plaza 44,238 8 

6 NY CIvw Clielsea Cinemas 43,519 7 

7 SF AMC 1000 Von Ness 40,040 15 

8 NY LCE Village 7 38,251 5 

9 PX Hark Arizona Mills 37,904 12 

10 PH UA Cheltenham 36,602 36 

Total 

Requests 

New York 

1 ,727,904 

Los Angeles 

850,238 

Dallas 

663,593 

Chicago 

482,500 

Philedelphia 

437,345 

Phoenix 

436,439 

Miami 

413,377 

San Francisco 

388,729 

Boston 

299,039 

Toronto 

270,698 

Kansas City 

210,342 

San Diego 

197,421 

Rank Theatre (# screens) 

LCE Astor Plaza (1) 

LCE Coronet 1 & 2 (2) 

Most Requested Tlieatres Per Screen 

CityCin Gotham (1) 

7,563 

Mann Village Brun & Regent (3) 19,914 

Total Last Month's 

Requests Rank 

21,723 

18,073 

Five Star Vista (1) 6,005 

GCC Beverly Connection (6) 31,663 

UA United Artist (8) 17,632 

AMC Forum (6) 12,664 

GCC Ridgnnar Town Square (6) 1 2,01 

LCE McClurg Court (3) 11,624 

LCE Webster Place (8) 24,578 

LCE Lincoln Village (3) 6,948 

Cinemagic 3 at Penn (3) 28,093 

UASameric(4) 28,414 

UA Cheltenham (8) 36,602 

Hark Metro (12) 29,857 

Hark Desert Sky Mall (6) 14,870 

Hark Centerpoint (1 1 

) 24,749 

Regal Miami Lakes (10) 22,785 

Regal Kendall (9) 18,995 

Valentino Super Discount (3) 6,111 

Century Cinema 21 (1) 5,704 

UA Stonestown Twin (2) 9,025 

UA Coronet (1) 3,607 

BMofSOmni(l) 9,142 

LCE Cheri (4) 33,897 

NA Circle Cinema (7) 21,247 

Famous Eglinton (1 ) 5,461 

Famous Markville (4) 11,594 

Famous Yorkdale (6) 15,782 

AMC Crown Center (6) 15,903 

Boulevard Drive-In (1) 1,648 

AMC Parkway (22) 31.691 

AMCLa Jolla(12) 19,792 

AMC Fashion Valley (18) 24,980 

AMC Mission Valley (20) 18.367 

Top 3 Activeiy"^ Requested Tlieatres: 

'Caller specHically requested theatre 

Key to 

Exhibitors 

AMC 

BMofS 

Carmike 

Century 

Cnmk 

CinSlar 

CItyCin 

AMCThaalres.lnc. 

Bodon Mustum of Scl«(K« 

Carmito Qnamat, Inc. 

Century TheMrat 

Cineiniik ThMHW 

QnannStar (jjxury CifwmM 

CltyCln«ma» 

CO Cnepiex Od«on Corp 

Oksn Dickinson Tbeatias 

F t F F 1 F ManageiTWit 

Famous Famous PUyeri 

FnwStar Five Star TTiMMi 

000 Qanaral Onama IliMtm 

Hark Haikins Theatres 

24 

1 

41 

25 

18 

7 

10 

8 

42 

2 

1 

5 

2 

1 

4 

46 

2' 

3 

1 

3 

32 

11 

6 

1 

1 

2 

3 

4 

8 

1 

1 

N/A 

3 

1 

2 

3 

1 . LCE 

Total 

Requests 

Houston 

196,195 

Minneapolis 

171,300 

Atlanta 

152,300 

Denver 

135,448 

Seattle 

126,328 

Las Vegas 

101,943 

Washington, DC 

101,873 

San Antonio 

88,135 

Cleveland 

80,379 

Sacramento 

72,390 

Nashville 

61,218 

Salt Lake City 

52,448 

Worldwide 

New York, NY 

Rank Theatre (# screens) 

Total 

Requests 

1 LCE River Oaks Plaza (12) 13,157 

2 GCC Point Nasa (6) 5,951 

3 LCE West Oaks (7) 5,844 

1 GCCHar-Mar1-3(3) 7,972 

2 LCE Edina (4) 4,310 

3 LCE Westwind Plaza (3) 3,235 

1 UA Midtown (8) 5,572 

2 GCC Merchant Walk (8) 4,797 

3 GCC Parkway Pointe (15) 8,771 

1 MannCherry Creek (8) 8,156 

2 UA Continental (6) 5,725 

3 AMC Seven Hills (10) 6,387 

1 Lndmk Neptune (1) 3.874 

2 LCESouthcenter(l) 3,165 

3 LCENorthgate(l) 2.910 

1 UA Showcase (8) 8,578 

2 Century Orleans (12) 12,630 

3 Regal Boulder Station (11) 9,040 

1 LCE Uptown (1) 5,728 

2 AMC Courthouse (8) 6,334 

3 LCE Avalon (2) 1,379 

1 Regal/Act III Galaxy (14) 10,609 

2 Regal/Act III Westlakes (9) 6,302 

3 Regal/Act III Rolling Oaks (6) 3,998 

1 GCC Ridge Park Square (8) 7,354 

2 Regal Garfield Mall (8) 3,797 

3 Regal Mayfield Heights (10) 7.256 

1 Century Century 21 (2) 3,339 

2 Century Complex (12) 11,527 

3 UAGreent>ack(6) 4,306 

1 R&R Campus Twin (2) 3,367 

2 Carmike Hickory (8) 4,675 

3 Carmike Stones River (6) 3.224 

1 LCE Trolley Corners (3) 2,833 

2 LCE Holladay Centre (6) 3,418 

3 Century Century Salt Lake City(16) 8,940 

Hark Superstition Sp. 

Phoenix, AZ 

L'lndmk Landmark Ttieatre Corp. 

Mann Mann Ttieatres 

Mann MN Mann Minneapolis 

Met Metropolitan Ttieatres Corp. 

NA Natk>nal Amusements 

Pacific Paoifk; Theatres 

H&R RSR Ttieatres 

Regal/Act I 

Last Month'sl 

Rank 

3. Hark Arizona Mills 

Phoenix, AZ 

Regal Ttieatres 

S;in Carlos 

Silver Cinemas 

Sony Cinemas 

Loeks-Star Ttieatres 

Silver Cinemas 

United Artists Ttieatre Circuit

M^[J§^ HOME RELEASE CHART 

JULV 1999 

10ME VIDEO 

RELEASE 

3ATE

ADVERTISERS INDEX 

Action Lighting 97 

Automaticket/Hurley Screen 87 

Caddy Products 79 

Christie Inc C-2 

Cinema Consultants & Services 89 

Cinema Supply Co 73 

Cinevision 55 

CPI (Cinema Products Intl.) 88 

Crown Audio 33 

Deep Vision 3-D 86 

Eastman Kodak Co 35 

EIMS Inc 29 

Equipment, Etc 89 

ETM 47 

EV Audio 41 

Gold Metal Products 21 

Hadden Theatre Supply Co 61 

Harkness Hall 82 

International Cinema Equipment Co 53 

Iwerks Entertainment 50-51 

John Meyer Consulting 73 

Kinetronics Corp. USA 83 

Kneisley Electric Corp 85 

Largo Construction 82 

Lavi Industries 61 

Machine O'Matic 11 

Maroevich, O'Shea & Coghlan 66 

Mars Theatre Management Systems 69 

McRae Theatre Equipment 86 

Munters Corp 65 

National Cinema Service Corp 81 

National Ticket Co 85 

NCS Corp 80 

Nick Mulone & Son Inc 73 

ORC Lighting Products 25 

Pacer/CATS 66 

Panastereo Inc 15 

Pepsi Co. Inc 3 

Dolby Laboratories Inc 7 

Permlight Inc 45 

Pike Productions 77 

Potts, Robert L. Enterprises 87 

Proctor Companies 48 

QSC Audio Products C-3 

Ready Theatre Systems 66 

Regal Cinemas 88 

Ricos Manufacturing 31 

Schneider Optics 27 

Sensible Cinema Software 88 

Smart Products Inc 23 

Smart Theatre Systems 49 

Stein Industries Inc C-4 

Strong 13 

System Operating Solutions 65 

Technikote 87 

Tootsie Roll Industries 9 

TWI 57 

USL Inc 37 

Willming Reams Animation 83 

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING 

a wide variety of benefits and opportunity for professional 

growth. Send your resume with salary history 

to: Century Theatres Inc. Att: Facilities Dept., 150 

Pelican Way, San Rafael, CA 94901 

LET THE GOVERNMENT FINANCE your new or existing 

small business. Grants/loans to $800,000. Free 

recorded message: (707) 448-0270. (RN7) 

MIDWEST BASED company seeks experienced managers, 

assistants and sound and projection service person. 

We are growing throughout the Midwest and are 

seeking individuals who are able to rise to the challenges 

and are leaders. Relocation may be necessary. 

Send resume and salary requirements to: ShoPro Inc., 

Attn: Director of Operations, PO Box 190, Yorkville, 

IL 60560. 

SOUTHWEST CHAIN: Trans-Lux Theatres of Santa Fe, 

now accepting applications for managers and 

NM is 

manager trainees for Colorado, New Mexico & 

Arizona. Good pay & benefits with golden opportunities 

for advancement. For a career with a rapidly 

expanding company, send your resume to: Vice 

President, Trans-Lux, 433 Paseo De Peralta #101, 

Santa Fe, NM 87501 . Relocation necessary. Fax (505) 

989-3327. 

THEATRE MANAGEMENT OPPORTUNITY: Wallace 

Theatres, a nationally recognized regional theatre circuit, 

is seeking outstanding theatre management professionals 

to join our rapidly- growing organization as 

General Managers. If you are a team player, enjoy 

working with the public and are seeking a career and 

a future in the motion picture exhibition industry, send 

your resume to: Personnel Director, Wallace Theatre 

Corp.,3375 Koapaka St., Suite 345, Honolulu, HI 

96819. 

EQUIPMENT FOR SALE 

ACOUSTIC SOUND PANELS & CUSTOM WALL 

DRAPERIES available in flameproofed colors and fabrics, 

artistic or plain. CINEMA CONSULTANTS & SER- 

VICES INTERNATIONAL INC., PO. Box 9672, 

Pittsburgh, PA 15226. Phone (412) 343-3900; Fax 

(412)343-2992. 

BURLAP WALL COVERING DRAPES: $2.05 per yard, 

flame retardant. Quantity discounts. Nurse & Co., Old 

Millbury Rd., Oxford, MA 01 540 (508) 832-4295. 

COMPLETE THEATRE EQUIPMENT: (New, Used or 

Rebuilt) Century SA, R#, RCA 9030, 1040, 1050 

Platters: 2 and 5 Tier, Xenon Systems 1 000-4000 Watt, 

Sound Systems mono and stereo, automations, ticket 

machines, curtain motors, electric rewinds, lenses, 

large screen video projectors. Plenty of used chairs. 

PROFESSIONAL SERVICE AND INSTALLATION 

AVAILABLE DOLBY CERTIFIED. Call Bill Younger, 

Cinema Equipment, Inc., 1375 N.W. 97th Ave., Suite 

^v5eAÎ< 

ac^Vanco.the rmrctcle Wofkevs 

"t^necyve "twnsiqtti the '{

; r 

V PHOTO PRODUCTS at (630) 595-6469, or fax 

- 985-9104. 

-:-PLEX EQUIPMENT: Complete contents of 6-plex 

-?le. Projection equipment, sound systems, speak- 

-eats, screens, concession equipment, etc. 

ent shape!!! Call (301) 949-4761 , fax (301) 949- 

BLET TRAYS. Fits into all cupholder armrests. Used 

.iti-purpose theatres, bingo, etc. Call Cy Young 

: les Inc. at 800-729-2610. 

.EPHONE ANSWERING EQUIPMENT. All major 

inds of reliable, heavy-duty tape announcers and 

.it.ll announcers are available at discounted prices. 

-e call )im at Answering Machine Specialty, (800) 

^"73. 

A HARVEY TICKETING. Most afforable full-feanox 

office sofNvare, concession available. IBMnpatible. 

Call 1 (800) 891-1031. 

ED EQUIPMENT FOR SALE: PROJECTORS, 

ed Stereo Racks, Platters, Lamps, etc. Premier 

,; Co. Inc.. 1 (888) 456-SEAT, Fax (410) 488- 

Fmail: info@premierseating.com. 

ED PROJECTION EQUIPMENT: Replacement 

Xjipment, single or multi booths available. Please 

vou are purchasing or selling. CINEMA CON- 

\NTS & SERVICES INTERNATIONAL INC., P.O. 

h72, Pittsburgh, PA 15226. Phone (412) 343- 

Fax (412) 343-2992. 

ED PROJECTION/SOUND EQUIPMENT - 

lUirv, Simplex, Cinemeccanica, Norelco. 16/35/70 

pT, Dolby Electronics, lamps, consoles, lenses, 

non bulbs, etc. Contact Charlie at Kurluff 

;terprises (760) 956-6938; Fax (760) 956-7069. 

ESTAR QUALITY CINEMA EQUIPMENT, PARTS & 

ZCESSORIES: Westar multi-coated projection lenses 

lailable. 40mm thru 115mm in 62.5mm & 70.6mm 

r-els S450-$500. Westar 35mm Splicers $255, 

' 

Projectors & Soundheads. Two year parts war- 

Projector parts for your Century, Westrex, 

t>;ar, Monee, or Cinecita Projectors & Soundheads, 

.ernational Cinema Equipment Co. Inc. Phone (305) 

1 3-7339. Fax (305) 573-81 01 . See us on the Web at 

t\'w.iceco.com. 

ILL TRADE: YOUR THEATRE SEATS FOR OUR 

SED THEATRE EQUIPMENT. Great condition at 

eat prices. Platters, projectors, lamphouses, com- 

£te prewired stereo racks and much, much more, 

lemier Seating Co. Inc., 1 (888) 456-SEAT, fax (410) 

J8-9969, email: info@premierseating.com. 

QUIPMENT WANTED 

-OSING A THEATRE & OPENING NEW ONES? 

ade old cinema equipment for NEW DOLBY, JBL, or 

•HRISTIE. Generous allwances for old against purlase 

of new. Call & find out how to convert old assis. 

International Cinema Equipment Co. Phone (305) 

See us on the Web at 

:'3-7339. Fax (305) 573-81 01 . 

ww.iceco.com or email: iceco@aol.com. 

JRCHASE OR TRADE: For your used theatre equipent, 

concession equipment, theatre seats. Ask about 

jr storage facilities. Premier Seating Co. Inc., (888) 

i;6-SEAT, Fax: (41 0) 488-9969, Email: info@preierseating.com. 

INTAGE TUBE TYPE AMPS, woofers, drivers, horns, 

;irts, from Western Electric, Westrex, Altec, Jensen, 

L, EV, Tannoy, Mcintosh, Marantz. Phone David at 

26) 441-3942. RO. Box 80371, San Marino, CA 

1118-8371. 

/ANTED DEAD OR ALIVE: We will purchase 

lentury projectors or soundheads, new or old, comete 

or incomplete, for cash. Also interested in XL 

rid SH-1000. Call (502) 499-0050. Fax (502) 499- 

' 

352, Hadden Theatre Supply Co., attn. Louis. 

i/E WILL BUY OR TRADE for used/new equipment 

p any projector/soundhead/platter/lamphouse/con- 

!)le/speakerv1ens and concession equipment. We can 

•move or pick up anywhere in 

the U.S. or overseas. 

ANKERSLEY ENTERPRISES, RO. Box 36009, Denver, 

O 80236. Phone (303) 716-0884; fax (303) 716- 

B89. 

HEATRES FOR SALE/LEASE 

.000 SEAT THEATRE AVAILABLE, New York, 

ockland County, 1 3,500 square feet + parking. Prefer 

•ase, would consider sale. Call Jeff at (718) 392- 

629. 

RT DECO BEAUTY FOR SALE OR LEASE: 600-seat 

leatre in Southwest Minnesota. Single silver screen 

nd balcony. Fully renovated: new heat, electrical and 

2und roof. Four bedroom remodeled manager's 

partment and over 1 K of commercial rental income 

er month from 3 office units. $2(K),000. Teresa 

iansen. Box 117, Jackson, MN 561434. Or call (507) 

47-4432. 

TWO WELL ESTABLISHED TWINS with long-term 

leases, loyal clientele, good concessions. A near-north 

Chicago art cinema and a handsomely remodeled 

suburban vaudeville era house. Rare window of 

opportunity. Please contact Boxofflce Response 

Number 4749. 

IN WARM SOUTHWEST, comfortable small town. 

Established, operating, turnkey recently renovated two 

screen theatre. Apartment on premises suitable for single/couple 

owner-proprietor. Large draw area. Huge 

lot; more screens can be added, ifdesire. Send inquiry 

to: Aico, 2000 Camino Rancho, Sierra Vista, AZ 

85635. 

THEATRES WANTED 

THEATRE WANTED in Los Angeles, Orange County 

area. 350-seat preferred in good operating condition. 

For lease or purchase. Call (310) 268-8199. 

DRIVE-IN CONSTRUCTION 

DRIVE-IN SCREEN TOWERS Since 1945 Selby 

Products, inc., RO. Box 267, Richfield. Ohio 44286 

(330) 659-6631, 800-647- 6224. 

THEATRE SEATING 

550 IRWIN MARQUEE SEATS. 3 years old. Teal blue 

tufted fabric, high backs, black plastic. $30. (612) 721- 

3794 for photos/info. 

3000 IRWIN MARQUEE CHAIRS like new $65, 8000 

Irwin Citations from $25. American Stellars from $20, 

American High-Back Deluxe Rockers from $27.50, 

Wakefield self risers from $20. Thousands of bargains. 

Photos. There is only one International Cinema 

Equipment Company. Phone (305) 573-7339, Fax (305) 

573-8101. 

"ALL AMERICAN SEATING" by the EXPERTS. Used 

seats of quality, various makes. American Stellars from 

$12.50 to $32.50. Irwins from $20.00 to $40.00. 

Heywood & Massey rockers from $40.(X). Full rebuilding 

available. New American Desk chairs from $85.00. 

All types theatre projection and sound equipment. New 

and used. We ship and install all makes. Try us! We sell 

no junk! TANKERSLEY ENTERPRISES, RO. Box 36009, 

Denver, CO 80236. Phone (303) 716-0884; fax (303) 

716-0889. 

ABOUT 400 USED CHAIRS. Cushion seats & backs. 

Older but in good shape. Real bargain. Dismantled & 

ready to load. Phone: (406) 635-5384. 

ALLSTATE SEATING is a company that is specializing in 

refurbishing, complete painting, molded foam, tailormade 

seat covers, installations, removals. Please call for 

pricing and spare parts for all types of theatre seating. 

Boston, MA. Phone (617) 268-2221, FAX (617) 268- 

7011. 

AUDITORIUM SEATING SPECIALIST. New installations, 

rebuilds, repairs and reasonable rates. Bob, (970) 

224-1147. Perfection Seating Inc., 295 Lone Pine Creek 

Drive. Red Feather Lakes, CO 80545. 

"BOOSTER B. SAURUS" Child booster seats. Call Cy 

Young Industries Inc. at 800-729-2610. 

FINALLY, AN ALTERNATIVE TO ON-SITE UPHOL- 

STERY: Call us about our new upholstered Backs and 

Cushions by mail program. More cost-efficient than onsite 

upholsterers, fast turnaround, quality controlled in 

our combined 160,000 sq. ft. State- Of-The-Art Factory. 

Premier Seating Co. Inc., 1 (888) 456-SEAT, Fax: (410) 

488-9969, Email: info@premierseating.com. 

SEAT AND BACK COVERS: Most fabrics in stock. 

Molded cushions. Cy Young Industries inc., 800-729- 

2610. 

SEAT FOAMS: All makes/all models, fast turnaround. 

Premier Seating Co. inc., (888) 456-SEAT, fax (410) 488- 

9969. Email: info@premierseating.com. 

THEATRE SEAT AND BACK COVERS: Large in-stock 

fabric inventory, fast turn-around, competitive pricing at 

any quantity. Premier Seating Co. Inc., 1 (888) 456- 

SEAT, fax (410) 488- 9969. Email: info@premierseating.com. 

THEATRE SEAT RECONDITIONING: Total or Partial 

Theatre Seat Restoration in our combined 1 60,000 sq. 

ft. State-Of- The-Art Factory, featuring Sandblasting, 

Powder-coating, and In- House Upholstering. Restore 

your seats or purchase from our inventory. Premier 

Seating Co. Inc., 1 (888) 456-SEAT, Fax: (410) 488- 

9969. Email: info@premierseating.com. 

THEATRE SEATS WANTED: Will buyArade for surplus 

and unwanted theatre seats, all makes and models. 

Premier Seating Co. Inc., 1 (888) 456-SEAT. Fax (410) 

488-9969. Email: info@premierseating.com. 

USED AUDITORIUM CHAIRS: Choose from a large 

selection of different makes and models and colors, 

American Stellars and Irwin Citations competitively 

priced, shipped and installed. ACOUSTIC SOUND 

PANELS AND CUSTOM WALL DRAPERIES available 

DIRECT IMPORTERS-MANUFACTURERS 

TOLL FREE' 

CANADA AU; 

800-248-0076 


in flameproofed colors and fabrics, artistic or plain. 

CINEMA CONSULTANTS & SERVICES INTERNA- 

TIONAL, Inc. RO. Box 9672, Pittsburgh, PA. 1 5226. 

Phone (412) 343-3900, Fax (412) 343-2992. 

"WHILE THE THEATRE SLEEPS zzzzz" On-site 

reupholstery, 20 years' experience in the field. Top 

fabrics, molded seat cushions and .State of the Art. Cy 

Young cupholders. Call Cy Young Industries Inc., 

(800)729-2610. 

MARQUEES 

MARQUEE LETTERS: All makes, all styles. Heavy 

discounted - immediate shipping. Bux-Mont, phone 

(215) 675-1040, fax (215) 675-4443. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

35MM XXX adult features. About 1 2 features from the 

80s. Call for titles. Phone (612) 874-1303. 

ASSOCIATED WITH THEATRES SINCE 1920. At 94 I 

make handmade fishing lures. Theatre people also 

like to fish. Free brochure. Homer Phillips, River City, 

Rt. 2, Box 440, Ronceverte, WV 24970. 

BOOST CANDY SALES instantly with our "Carnival of 

Prizes"! Scratch-off promotion for less than a nickel 

each ticket. Free catalog. 1 (800) 633-3556. 

HERSHENSON ARCHIVE WANTS TO BUY exhibitor 

magazines, studio yearbooks, pressbooks, movie 

posters (all years and studios). Free appraisals of pre- 

1960 material. Phone (417) 256-9616. fax (417) 257- 

6948. 

INCREASE SALES & TRAFFIC INSTANTLY!!! Use 1 of 

our 4 different stock Scratch Offs for less than 5 cents 

each ticket! Your choice. Free catalog. 1-800-633- 

3556. MJW Mkting. 

MOVIE POSTERS WANTED: Highest prices paid for 

lobby cards, 1-, 3- and 6-sheets, window cards, banners, 

glass slides. Dwight Cleveland, P.O. Box 10922, 

Chicago, IL 60610-0922. Phone (516) 877-2914, fax 

(516)877-0283. 

MOVIE POSTERS WANTED! I pay top dollar for vintage 

material. John Hazelton, P.O. Box 119, 

Huntington, NY 11743. Phone: (516) 421-7203, fax: 

(516)421-7240. 

THEATRE RECREATION. Greenbrier Valley River 

Estate. Near the world's famous Greenbrier Hotel, 

Greenbrier Valley Airport, etc. Free brochure. Write to 

Homer Phillips, Rt. 2, Box 440, Ronceverte, WV 

24970. 

SERVICES 

ALTEC, JBL, E.V. SPEAKER RECONING: Factory 

authorized service, fast turnaround. We stock 

diaphragms for popular theatre drivers. Cardinal 

Sound & Motion Picture Systems Inc. Dealer inquiries 

welcome. (301)595-8811. 

CALL ME about rebuilding your intermittents, projectors 

and sound heads. Century or Simplex. .Pinky 

Pinkston at (903) 523-4912. Pinkston Sales and 

Service, Rt. 1 , Box 72-H, Sadler, TX 76264. 

IN-THEATRE DESIGN. Hand-pleated drapes installed. 

Speakers and wire mounting. Movie screens installed. 

Painting and polymix. Coast-to-coast service. Call 

(508) 285-7593. Haffer Co., Norton, MA. 

MOTORS REPAIRED - for all types of projection 

equipment. Save on cost of replacing motors. 6-month 

warrantv on repairs. Phoenix Cinema Specialties, Inc. 

(301)831-7360. 

SOUND/DRAPING FABRICS IN STOCK. All new 

selection of fabrics. Installation on brackets available, 

or sewn in pleated drapes. Call Cy Young Industries 

Inc., 800-729-2610. 

ULTRAFLAT REFLECTORS: Why buy new when you 

can have it restored? Hopeless cases restored to 

brightness. Call your dealer or ULTRAFLAT, 20306 

Sherman Way, Winnetka, CA 91 306. (81 8) 884-01 84. 

http y/www.u ltraflat.com 

"WHILE THE THEATRE SLEEPS zzzzz" On-site 

reupholstery, 20 years' experience in the field. Top 

fabrics, molded seat cushions and .State of the Art. Cy 

Young cupholders. Call Cy Young Industries Inc., 

(800)729-2610. 

July, 1999 97

DEAR ADVERTISERS: 

Our editorial and display advertising offices have moved 

(to 155S. El Molino Ave., Suite 100, Pasadena, Calif. 91101), 

but our billing address remains the same. 

BILLINGS/PAYMENTS SHOULD BE SENT TO: 

BOXOFFICE Corporate Headquarters 

P.O. Box 25485 

Chicago, IL 60625 

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find a wealth of 

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awaiting you! 

98 BOXOFFICE

New DCA 3422. 

Perfect For Subs!

k;ii*wi...sl!5....-i 

%m^..- 

^ 

hi. 

We will custom design and build your concession stand to your special requirements. 

We combine state-of-the-art technology with professional craftmanship, incorporating all 

the clearly received ideas of the clients. Every feature is designed with a concept towards 

practical performance... controls devised for easy, fast operation. 

Concession Stands, Box Offices, Popcorn Poppers, Butter Dispensers, Popcorn Warmers, 

Nacho Warmers, and any related theatre lobby fixtures. 

feVJwiMHlialDllllBiiBBlll^Sllll^ 

CALL: 516-789-2222 • FAX: 516-789-8888 

http://members.aol.com/steininc1

Boxoffice-July.1999

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