Boxoffice-June.1989

ized by something quite nasty. The film
utilizes pioneering underwater photography,
and was shot in water tanks located
at the studio of B-movie king, Earl Owensby.
A 20th Century Fox release.
Lethal Weapon 2
Mel Gibson and Danny Glover are back
as Riggs and Murtaugh, the mismatched
crimefighters who tore up the bad guys
and the boxoffice in the spring of 1987.
Now, the prickly pair are assigned the
rather undignified task of guarding a mob
accountant, little knowing that he is the
key in a case that they have been trying to
break for months. Richard Donner
("Scrooged") once again directs, with Jeffery
Boam ("Indiana Jones and the Last
Crusade") providing the script (Shane
Black, the kid who wrote the first film,
parted company with the project when he
was determined to have Gibson's character
killed off at the end of the new film).
A Warner Bros, release.
No Holds Barred
We thought the pro wrestling craze had
pretty much come and gone, but here is
this action/adventure story which stars
the one, the only, the balding. Hulk Hogan.
Hogan, who of course made his big
screen debut in "Rocky III," heads a cast
of unknowns in this stors' which promises
"The Buddy Holly Story" and "La Bamba"
were exhilarating but ultimately
tragic rock and roll sagas which ended
with the deaths of their respective protagonists.
But in this new true-life rock biography,
its subject — Jerry Lee Lewis —
is still very much alive, although most
people find that surprising. This survivor
of seven divorces, countless life-threatening
illnesses and many personal tragedies,
"The Killer" is still a flamboyant fixture
on the concert circuit, keeping his hits
from the '50s alive.
In this biographical drama, Dennis
Great Balls of Fire
Quaid stars as Lewis during one pivotal
year in the singer's life, the year in which
he married his 13-year-old cousin and
caused a scandal which irreparably damaged
his career. Winona Ryder ("Heathers")
plays The Killer's blushing bride,
with Alec Baldwin ("Talk Radio") also
starring as Lewis' bible-thumping cousin,
the Rev. Jimmy Swaggart. Quaid lip syncs
Lewis' hits, a creative decision which
reportedly caused some sparks between
the actor and the singer. Jim McBride,
Quaid's "The Big Easy" director, directs.
An Orion release.
"revenge, greed, hand-to-hand combat,
family loyalty and romance." The film is
directed by Thomas J. Wright, who has
helmed episodes of "Beauty and the
Beast" and "Max Headroom," and it is
produced by Michael Rachmill, responsible
for such classy fare as "Roxanne" and
"Punchline." A New Line release.
The Bear
The Karate Kid III
French filmmaker Jean-Jacques Annaud
("Quest for Fire") directs this liveaction
family drama about a precocious
Canadian bear cub who is adopted by a
grizzly. This woodland adventure has
been earning critical raves and superb
boxoffice throughout Europe. A Tri-Star
release.
The first "Karate Kid" was such a simple
and predictable little film that its success
($91 million in domestic grosses) was
a genuine surprise When its first sequel
did even better ($115 million), it became
obvious that director John G Avildsen
and writer Robert Mark Kamen had
tapped into something quite special. So all
bets are off for this third installment in
the martial arts series, which finds Daniel
(Ralph Macchio) breaking away from his
mentor, Miyagi (Noriyuki "Pat" Morita).
They suffer a painful estrangement, but
are reunited — naturally — before a crucial
karate tournament. A Columbia Pictures
release.