Boxoffice-June.1989

BLUE RIBBON RESULTS:
"
''Rain Man" Reigns Supreme
By Tom Matthews
Managing Editor
THE IMMORTAL words of Raymond
INBabbitt: "Uh-oh."
There was definitely not a fair fight
when it came to picking both the best
and most popular movies of the fall and
winter seasons. "Rain Man," that alltoo-rare
mix of class and thundering
boxoffice power, clobbered all of its
competition, more than doubling the
number of points its nearest rival ("Mississippi
Burning") earned in the "Best"
categoiA'. Both in terms of tickets sold
and pure craftsmanship, this was the
film that made exhibitors the happiest.
The irony, of course, is that this
touching tale of brotherly love and
repressed emotions could have very
easily never been made at all. The stoiy
of its on-again, off-again path to the
screen is reaching legendary proportions,
with just about eveiyone now
knowing that three different directors
(Martin Brest, Steven Spielberg and
Sydney Pollack) signed on and then
abandoned the project because of
scheduling conflicts and problems with
the script (an early draft of the screenplay,
at least according to Newsweek,
involved white supremacists, wath Raymond
building a motorcycle from memoiy
in order to race to this brother's rescue!).
At the last moment — knowing that
they would be hampered by the writer's
strike — Barry Levinson and his partner
Mark Johnson finally accepted the
challenge. But even then the project
almost came unglued. Dustin Hoffman,
whose legendary tenacity was primarily
responsible for keeping the film on
track during its prolonged pre-production
ordeals, finally got before the camera
and immediately sensed that he
couldn't "find" his character. Despite
extensive research and personal contact
with several autistic people, the actor
wasn't comfortable with his interpretation
of that ven,' unique affliction. And
when Dustin Hoffman isn't comfortable,
production becomes very tenuous.
It wasn't until a few days into shooting,
during the scene in which Raymond
stresses the urgency of returning to
Ohio to buy his particular brand of
14 Boxoffice
underwear, that the actor truly understood
the peculiar single-mindedness of
his character. He finally settled into the
role that would ultimately win him his
second Oscar.
And for their part, BOXOFFICE readers
knew that they were witnessing something
special. Gary Strahan, with General
Cinema in Mishawaka, Indiana, says
simply, '"Rain Man' is by far the best
movie that I have seen in a very long
time," while Andre Grey of United Artists'
Stonestown Theatres in San Francisco
calls "Rain Man" the best picture
by far, adding "Hoffman should get an
Oscar or quit the industn,'."
"There were no great
Glms last year, just some
very good ones piled in
with mediocre ones.
'"Rain Man' was vidthout a doubt the
best and most popular film this winter,"
says Mark A. Robertson, who works for
R/C Theatres in Christiansburg, Va.
"Very seldom does a film come along
that opens strong and grows for as many
weeks as 'Rain Man' has."
'"Rain Man' was an extremely brilliant
piece of cinematic art," claimed
James Stewart with Moonchild Films in
Orange, Calif '"Rain Man" is a masterpiece,"
chimes in Bertha Mariano of
Miami, Fla. "Dustin Hoffman had better
win Best Actor," threatens Kari Rea
>rV
with Svufy in Las Vegas, failing to add
what would happen if he didn't. All in
all, a soaring combination of artistry and
commercialism, the likes of which, sadly,
we see far too infrequently.
A Very Good Year
As far as general observations went,
the mood of our readership reflected
the record-breaking course set by the
films of '88. Most seemed to feel particularly
blessed that Hollywood kept their
cash registers ringing, and they expressed
a hope that this windfall will
continue.
"What a mixed bag of good films.
There were plenty of excellent performances,
and just a good time going to
the movies," says Mike Sowinski with
General Cinema in Merrillville, Ind.
"What a fabulous year! The public was
given a wide variety of films to choose
from for their motion picture entertainment,"
proclaims Sharron Marshall with
Mann Theatres in San Diego, "It was
hard to pick just five films from a selection
of 73 because many were so good.
Let's hope that the producers and distributors
keep up the good work," says
Randy Thomsley, with the Film Gallery
in Anchorage.
Some readers, however, appreciated
the quality of what Hollywood had to
offer, but made some astute obser\'ations
about the kinds of films being produced,
and how they're being distributed.
"The movies are continually being
targeted toward smaller, more urban
audiences, leaving the rural towns
cold," observes Dennis W. Guidry, who
works for Jet Cinemas in Galliand, La.
"The movies are being made better, but
with less mass appeal." And Stan R.
Sinith with the Big Sky Cinema in Dillon,
Mont., offers the familiar complaint
about distributors focusing only on peak
release seasons. "I would like to see the
film companies concentrate on the
whole year, and not just on summer,"
he says. "They are especially neglecting
tlic
fall and the late winter."
But What About...?
The obvious hits and critical favorites
("The Naked Gun," "Working Girl,"
"Twins," etc.) all earned glowing com-