Boxoffice-July.1999

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 Fran^oise 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.
(Columbia, August or September undated)
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.
(Columbia, August or September undated)
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