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EDITOR AND ASSOCIATE 

PUBLISHER 

Harley W. Lond 

MANAGING EDITOR 

Tom Matthews 

ASSOCIATE EDITOR 

Shawn Levy 

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS 

John Allen 

Bruce Austin 

David H Chadderdon 

Tony Francis 

Jim Kozak 

Karen Kreps 

Lesa Sawahata 

Kristi Turnquist 

Mort Wax 

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT 

Lisa Zamastil 

CORRESPONDENTS 

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FOUNDER 

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The business magazine of the motion picture industry 

FEATURES 

DECEMBER, 1989 VOL. 125, NO. 12 

Under^^tanding does not cure evil, but it is a definite help, 

masmucli as one can cope with a comprehensible darkness. 

—Carl Gustav Jung 

12 Cover Story: Sex, Politics and the Un-Comedy 

Laugh at Ron Shelton's "Blaze" if you must, but please don't 

call it a comedy. 

14 The Giants of Exhibition—The Sequel 

More profiles of the top North American theatre circuits. 

24 The Buck Stops Here 

Can a new breed of exhibitor sell tickets for only a dollar and 

survive? 

28 Digital Sound Breaks the Film Barrier 

A technological breakthrough paves the way for digital sound on 

motion picture soundtracks. 

REVIEWS— Following page 41 

Valmont; Shocker; Dad; Fat Man and Little Boy; Immediate Family; An 

Innocent IVIan; Breaking In; Gross Anatomy; Staying Together; 

Apartment Zero; Romero; The Rachel Papers; Queen of Hearts; 

Drugstore Cowboy; Yaaba; The Trouble With Dick. 

DEPARTMENTS 

Hollywood Report 

Circulation Inquiries: 

BOXOFFICE Data Center 

1020 S. Wabash Ave 

, 

Chicago, IL 60605 

(312) 922-9326 

^

HOLLYWOOD REPORT 

Al Pacino 

"The Godfather III" 

After 

15 years of false starts 

(remember way back when, 

when John Travoha was a 

shoe-in for the lead?), the 

third chapter in the acclaimed 

series is going before 

the cameras in November. 

Starring once again Al Pacino, 

Diane Keaton and Talia 

Shire fbut not, at least for the 

moment, Robert Duvall), the 

story will be set in 1978 and 

will focus on the relationship 

between the aging Michael 

Corleone (Pacino) and his illegitimate 

son, to be played 

by "Black Rain" standout 

Andy Garcia. Francis Ford 

Coppola again directs from a 

script by Mario Puzo, with 

filming set to take place in 

Italy and New York. To date, 

the first two "Godfather" 

films have grossed over $700 

million worldwide, with an 

"Switch" Blake Edwards, 

forever trying to mine humor 

additional SlOO million in ancillaries. 

Paramount Pictures 

has already slated this one 

for a Christmas 1990 release. 

from the often caustic relationship 

between men and 

women, writes and directs 

this comedy about a male 

chauvinist who dies and is 

reincarnated in the body of a 

woman. Sound the alarm: 

Another body-switching movie! 

Kelly McGillis stars. 

"Dances With Wolves" 

Kevin Costner flexes his 

muscles by winning directorial 

duties on this seriousminded 

drama about a 19th 

century battle between military 

men and American Indians. 

No one else of note 

stars in this uncommercialsounding 

film, so it will be a 

true test of Costner's boxoffice 

appeal to see if anyone 

turns out for this one' An 

Orion release. 

"Captain America" Hoping 

desperately to cash in on 

some of that "Batman" action, 

the newly formed 21st 

Century Film Corporation is 

rushing to the screen with 

this live-action adaptation of 

the Marvel Comics classic. 

Matt Salinger stars, with 

Scott Paulin playing the evil 

Red Skull (Paulin was the villain 

in "Turner and Hooch"). 

Also starring are Darren 

McGavin, Ned Beatty, Ronny 

Cox, Michael Nouri and Melinda 

Dillon. The film, which 

brings the World War II era 

crime fighter into present 

day, is directed by Cannon 

Films house director Albert 

Pyun and produced by Menahem 

Golan. Appropriately 

enough, "Captain America" 

is being shot in Yugoslavia. 

"Daytona" Tom Cruise 

gets to indulge his love of racing 

in this action-drama being 

made by his "Top Gun" 

director, Tony Scott, and producers, 

Don Simpson and 

Jerry Bruckheimer. Playing 

his love interest is Laura San 

Giacomo ("sex, lies and videotape"). 

Filming was set to 

start in November; the title 

may change. A Paramount 

Pictures release. 

"Cold Heaven" The husband 

and wife team of actress 

Theresa Russell and director 

Nicolas Roeg reunite 

once again for this typically 

cerebral drama about a woman 

who sees a vision of the 

Virgin Mary in present day 

Cannel, Calif. Mark Harmon, 

who worked with Roeg on the 

recent TV adaptation of 

"Sweet Bird of Youth," costars. 

An MCEG production. 

"Silence of the Lambs" 

Remember Michael Mann's 

"Manhunter" from a few 

years ago? Remember the 

doctor-turned-serial killer 

who assisted in the murder 

investigation from behind 

bars? Well, that doctor — the 

subject of Thomas Harris' 

novel — now is brought to 

the forefront in this thriller 

about the tense relationship 

that develops between the 

demented Dr. Lektor and the 

female FBI agent assigned to 

break a lurid crime spree. 

Anthony Hopkins and Jodie 

Foster star, under the direction 

of Jonathan Demme. An 


"Convicts" Horton Foote, 

the playwright who provided 

the scripts for such critical 

successes as "The Trip to 

Bountiful" and "Tender Mercies," 

continues the Texas 

trilogy which started with 

1986's "On Valentine's Day." 

This installment stars Robert 

Duvall as the owner of a prison 

work farm, whose obsession 

with death is passed 

down to the young boy who is 

put in his care. Lukas Haas 

and James Earl Jones also 

star under "Bountiful" director 

Peter Masterson. An 

MCEG production. 

"Rocky V" The increasingly 

weak series reportedly 

comes to a conclusion with 

this fifth chapter, which 

finds Rocky coming full circle 

and now training a young 

hotshot fighter. Most of the 

supporting cast — save for 

the ones that died in previous 

installments — returns, as 

does original director John 

Avildsen ("Lean On Me," 

"Karate Kid III"). An MGM/ 

UA release, currently set for 

June. 

"Jacob's Ladder" Tim 

Robbins, bouncing back from 

the failed "Erik the Viking," 

stars in this thriller about a 

Vietnam vet who comes to 

believe that the hallucinatory 

visions which have overtaken 

him have something to do 

with military experimentations 

that were performed on 

him in the war. Elizabeth 

Pena also stars, under the 

direction of "Fatal Attraction" 

director Adrian Lyne. A 

Tri-Star release. 

"RoboCop 11" Direct Irvin 

Kershner, who ably stepped 

into George Lucas' shoes to 

direct "The Empire Strikes 

Back," again accepts the 

challenge of directing the sequel 

to a big, big hit. Peter 

Weller returns as the halfman, 

half-machine, who this 

time is trying to reconstruct 

his emotional past while at 

the same time doing battle 

with an evil RoboCop. Nancy 

Allen and Dan O'Herlihy also 

return to the cast. The script 

is co-written by Frank Miller, 

who authored "The Dark 

Knight" trilogy, the evocative 

and thoroughly hip Batman 

comic books for grownups 

that were published recently. 

An Orion release. 

Don Johnson 

"Hot Spot" With "Centrifuge" 

(Hollywood Report, 

Aug. '89) apparently now 

cast adrift in the light of Vestron's 

money problems, Don 

Johnson goes on to star in 

this dark thriller about a man 

who attempts to get away 

from it all by hiding out in a 

flop house, but who instead 

gets involved with murder 

and two very lovely women. 

Virginia Madsen ("Heart of 

Dixie") co-stars. Dennis 

Hopper, whose "Backtrack" 

has also been lost in the confusion 

at Vestron, directs. An 


"Clichy Days" French director 

Claude Chabrol, one of 

the innovators of the French 

"new wave" cinema, directs 

this biographical drama 

about controversial American 

author Henry Miller. In a 

major departure for the lightweight 

actor, Andrew McCarthy 

("Weekend at Bemie's") 

stars as the writer, whose 

sexual awakening in the Bohemian 

climate of 1930's Europe' 

is documented here. 

The English-language film is 

being shot in Paris, Florence 

and Rome. 

"Reversal of Fortune" 

The real-life trial of Klaus 

Von Bulow, convicted but 

then acquitted in the murder 

of his socialite wife, is given 

the dramatic treatment in 

this film by "Barfly" director 

Barbet Schroeder. Jeremy 

Irons plays Von Bulow, 

Glenn Close plays his 

doomed wife Sunny, and Ron 

Silver ("Enemies: A Love Story") 

plays attorney Alan Dershowitz, 

who wrote the book 

on which the film is based. 

Nicholas Kazan ("At Close 

Range") provides the script; 

Edward R. Pressman and Oliver 

Stone produce. A Warner 

Bros, release. 

4 BOXOFFICE

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TRAILERS 

December Releases 

Blaze 

See cover stor>' page 12. 

War of the Roses 

The featured trio in both "Romancing 

the Stone" and "Jewel of the Nile" — 

affair with another, when his first wife — 

thought to be dead — returns. Juggling 

She Devil 

Having seemingly signed some kind of 

Faustian deal with the Devil, the whining, 

atonal Rosanne Barr moves from her hit 

TV series to the big screen, with no less 

than Meryl Streep as a co-star. In this 

comedy, directed by Susan Seidelman 

("Cookie"), Barr plays an obsessed housewife 

who engineers cruel revenge when 

filled divorce of a long-married couple. 

Douglas and Turner play the combatants, 

with De Vito playing Douglas's lawyer. De 

Vito also directs, from a script by "Taxi" 

writer Michael Leeson; Leeson, in turn, 

co-produced the film with James Brooks 

("Broadcast News"). De Vito proved hiinself 

to be quite an innovative filmmaker 

with "Throw Momma From the Train," 

his directorial debut. A 20th Century Fox 

release. (12/8) 

Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and 

Danny De Vito — are reunited in this very 

dark comedy about the cruel, vengeanceher 

nebbish husband dumps her 

Enemies: A Love Story 

in favor 

of a blond beauty (Streep). Ed Begley Jr. 

plays the husband. The script is written Based on the novel by Isaac Bashevis 

by Barry Strugatz and Mark Bums, who Singer, this dramatic-comedy is about a 

provided the screenplay for "Married to Jewish man in New York of 1949 who is 

the Mob." An Orion release. (12/15) married to one woman and having an 

the three lovers is Ron Silver, with Anjelica 

Huston and Lena Olin ("The Unbearable 

Lightness of Being") co-starring. Although 

essentially a comedy, the spectre 

of the Holocaust reportedly gives the story 

more weight than its frothy plot might 

suggest. Paul Mazursky ("Down and Out 

in Beverly Hills," "Moon Over Parador") 

directs and co-authors the script. A 20th 

Century Fox release. (12 13) 

Born on the Fourth of July 

Oliver Stone's companion piece to "Platoon" 

is the real-life biography of Ron 

Kovic, a veteran who returned from Vietnam 

a paraplegic and who has since 

become one of the country's most vocal 

advocates for vet's rights. Tom Cruise 

takes on his most challenging role to date 

to star in this project, which also features 

"Platoon" stars Willem Dafoe and Tom 

Berenger in small roles. Stone wrote the 

screenplay based on Kovic's book. A Universal 

Pictures release. (12/22) 

We're No Angels 

Glory 

Two extremely volatile actors — Robert 

De Niro and Sean Penn — turn comic in 

this loose remake of the 1955 comedy 

which starred Humphrey Bogart and Peter 

Ustinov. Set in the 1930s, the two play a 

pair of escaped convicts who take refuge 

in a small Canadian town that has been 

anticipating the arrival of two holy men. 

As quick as you can say "Merry mixups," 

De Niro and Penn are mistaken to be the 

men of the church and they are soon 

called upon to cure the spiritual ills which 

6 BoxoKno; 

plague the town. Demi Moore co-stars. 

The film is directed by Neil Jordan, 

whose last film — the weak "High Spirits" 

— was reportedly sabotaged by studio 

interference; Jordan would probably prefer 

to be known as the maker of the terrific 

"Mona Lisa" with Bob Hoskins. The script 

is provided by playwright David Mamet 

("The Untouchables," "Things Change"), 

with Art Linson ("Casualties of War," 

"The Untouchables") producing. A Paramount 

Pictures release. (12/8) 

The Civil War's first all-black regiment 

is celebrated in this fact-based period drama 

directed by "thirtysomething" creator 

Ed Zwick. Matthew Broderick stars as a 

young officer who is put in command of 

the black troops, which include Denzel 

Washington and Morgan Freeman. Once 

again, it appears that Hollywood can't tell 

a "black" story without putting a white 

character at the center. A Tri-Star release. 

(12/22) 

(continued p 8)

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Jake Gittes, his nose still 

The Two Jakes 

scarred by a 

knife-wielding Roman Polanski in 1974's 

"Chinatown," returns to the streets of 

L.A, to unravel more political mysteries. 

This time the case involves some kind of 

real estate scandal, with Gittes getting 

involved with a real estate developer 

framed for murder. Jack ("I've got a cut of 

the T-shirt sales") Nicholson returns to 

one of his best roles, with Harvey Keitel, 

Meg Tilly, Madeleine Stowe ("Worth 

Winning"), Eli Wallach and Ruben Blades 

co-starring. Nicholson also directs from a 

script by "Chinatown" author Robert 

Towne. A Paramount Pictures release. 

Moved to a Spring release at presstime. 

The Music Box 

The creative team behind the overblown 

"Betrayed" — producer Irwin Winkler, 

writer Joe Eszterhas and director 

Costa-Gavras — once again mine controversy 

in this drama about a criminal lawyer 

who takes her father on as a client 

when he is accused of having been a Nazi 

war criminal. Jessica Lange, still not 

much of a commercial draw, stars in the 

film, which was shot in Chicago and 

Budapest. A Tri-Star release. 

National Lampoon's 

Christmas Vacation 

Seeing as there was no "Ernest" movie 

released this year, this will have to do for 

mindless comedy. In this third installment 

of the series, the trouble-prone 

Griswald family takes to the road once 

Tango and Cash 

Known for a time as "Setup," this cop 

drama stars Sylvester Stallone — attempting 

a new look with three-piece 

suits and glasses — and Kurt Russell. 

They play rival cops who are both framed 

and sent to jail Ijy mobsters, and who 

reluctantly team up to catch the bad guys 

once they are released. Several months 

into production, original director Andrei 

Konchalovsky ("Runaway Train," "Shy 

People") was replaced by Albert Magnoli 

("Purple Rain," "American Anthem"). 

The producers, however, remain Jon Peters 

and Peter Guber, who were recently 

responsible for the minor arthouse successes 

"Rainman" and "Batman." A 

Warner Bros, release. (12/8) 

again, this time in search of the ideal 

Christmas. Chevy Chase once again stars, 

along with Beverly D'Angelo and Randy 

Quaid. John Hughes ("Uncle Buck") once 

again provides the script. A Warner Bros. 

(12/15) 

Triumph of the Spirit 

Driving Miss Daisy 

The. buttle was hot and heavy for the 

film rights to this Pulitzer Prize-winning 

stage play, and the production duo of 

Richard and Lili Zanuck emerged victorious. 

The story is a simple one, about an 

elderly Jewish woman in the South who 

develops a surprising affection for her 

black chauffeur. Jessica Tandy, who 

made the two "Cocoon" films with the 

Zanucks, stars, along with Morgan Freeman, 

suddenly the hottest serious black 

actor in the business. Also starring are 

Patty Lupone, Esther Rolle and, in a 

departure role, Dan Aykroyd. Bruce Beresford 

("Crimes of the Heart," "Her Alibi") 

directs from a script by Alfred Uhry, 

the play's author. A Warner Bros, release 

(12/22) 

The holiday season always features a 

few dramas that are released exclusively 

for Oscar consideration, but few sound 

grimmer than this true-life drama set at 

the death camp at Auschwitz. The story is 

about prisoners who are literally forced to 

fight for their lives in boxing rings that 

have been set up as entertainment for 

their Nazi captors. Willem Dafoe stars as 

a man whose fists are mighty enough to 

spare him the gas chamber, with Edward 

James Olmos and Robert Loggia co-starring. 

Director Robert M Young ("Dominick 

and Eugene") shot the film on location 

at Ausi'.hwitz, 

dp 10} 

8 BOXOFFICE

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Always 

Steven Spielberg delivers his second 

directorial effort for 1989 with this romantic 

fantasy that is a remake of the 

1943 Spencer Tracy vehicle, "A Guy 

Named Joe." The story is about a firefighter 

in one of America's National Parks 

Magic; a far-thinking Spielberg sent crews 

to film the devastating fires at Yellowstone 

last year. A Universal Pictures release. 

(12, 15) 

Family Business 

The good news: Sean Connery, Dustin 

Hoffman and Matthew Broderick band 

together to play three generations of a 

lightweight crime family The bad news; 

director Sidney Lumet ("Running on 

Empty," "The Morning After") hasn't 

made a really good film in years — certainly 

nothing with the power of "Dog 

Day Afternoon" or "Network." Still, with 

acting talent as rich as this, this would 

have to qualify — sight unseen — as one 

of the easiest-to-watch movies of the 

year. Based on the novel by Vincent Patrick. 

A Tri-Star release. 

Richardson ("Patty Hearst"), Aidan 

Quinn and Robert Duvall star. A Cinecom 

release. 

"The Wizard" Sounding suspiciously 

like an "After School Special" version of 

"Rainman," this family drama is about a 

young boy who springs his mentallyimpaired 

Httle brother from an institution 

and drives him across country. It seems 

who is aided by an angel in his pursuit of a 

lovely dispatcher. Richard Dreyfuss, reteaming 

with Spielberg after "Jaws" and 

"Close Encounters of the Third Kind," 

stars together with Holly Hunter. Audrey 

Hepburn also makes a rare appearance. 

And if the forest fire sequences look especially 

convincing, this is one effect that 

can't be credited to Industrial Light and 

Also In December 

"The Handmaid's Tale" German filmmaker 

Volker Schlondorff, rarely heard 

from (at least on these shores) since his 

brilliant "The Tin Drum" in 1979, directs 

this adaptation of Margaret Atwood's novel. 

The story is set in a futuristic society 

which is so rife with disease that women 

who are able to bear children are in short 

supply. Elizabeth McGovern, Natasha 

that the handicapped boy is a whiz at video 

games, so big brother is determined to 

enter him in a huge video competition. 

Fred Savage ("The Wonder Years") and 

Christian Slater star. A Universal release. 

[12/15) 

"Lisa" Cheryl Ladd, lost in the misfired 

"Millennium," makes another run at the 

big screen in this thriller about a single 

mother who inadvertently causes her 

young daughter to invite a dangerous man 

into their lives. Gary Sherman ("Poltergeist 

III") directs. An MGM/UA release. 

Mobile poster available. 

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Response No. 15 

10 BOXOKFICE

AcademyAward For 

Best Achievement In Sound. 

978 1979 1980 

Jf>-^ 

STRIKES BACK 

981 1982 1983 

BX 

984 1985 1986 

TheRightStuff 

AmadeuS "^t$^cA nmTH 4 

987 1988 

IASTEMPER(§)R 

Look for this year's 

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ecorded and releasee 

in Dolbv Stereo. 

All recorded and released in 

nPl 

DOLBY STEREO

COVER STORY 

" 

Sex; Politics and the Un-Comedy 

Laugh at Ron Shelton's Blaze" if you must; 

but please don't call it a comedy. 

By Tom Matthews 

Managing Editor 

FILMMAKERS ARE A temperamental 

lot and one never knows when 

they're going to be set off, but one 

certainly couldn't have expected writerdirector 

Ron Shelton's marked outburst 

when a writer made the mistake of 

labelling "Blaze," his new, as-yet-imseen 

film, a comedy. 

"Is this being sold as a comedy?!" he 

asked during a phone interview, already 

a bit inconvenienced at having been 

dragged away from a looping session. 

"That makes me nervous, because it's 

not a comedy. It's funny, but it's not a 

comedy. Who told you it was a comedy?" 

Having then been told that the offending 

word was featured prominently 

in the press notes provided by Walt Disney 

Pictures, the movie's producer and 

distributor, Shelton cursed and vowed 

that phone calls would be made. Nobody 

was going to get away with calling 

"Blaze" a comedy. 

Shelton's only half-serious outburst is 

less an artistic temper tantrum than it is 

a demonstration of how quirky and 

hard-to-define his projects are. His debut 

directorial effort — the bawdy and 

commercially triumphant "Bull Durham" 

— was stridently pitched by 

Orion Pictures as not being a baseball 

movie, because of what was then perceived 

to be a stigrria against sportsthemed 

films. Of course "Bull Durham" 

was a baseball movie, but then again it 

was unlike any kind of baseball movie 

ever made (if memory serves us correctly, 

no one in "Pride of the Yankees" 

Blaze and Earl 

togettier again 

"There are laughs in this 

movie, but it's really a 

kind of 

political-romantic 

melodrama. Sometimes 

it's funny and 

sometimes it's serious, 

but it's not a jokey 

movie. 

was ever tied to a bed and read Walt 

Whitman as a form of foreplay). It was 

an off-kilter, dialogue-rich character 

study which just happened to be set 

.i'.iainst a baseball backdrop, and which 

lu.st happened to be hilarious. 

,So 

as Shelton attempts to put a label 

"Blaze," which focuses on the legen- 

nil 

Llaiy and quite scandalous affair between 

Louisiana Governor Earl K. Long 

and stripper Blaze Starr in the late '50s, 

he isn't quite sure what to call it. But 

he'll be damned if it's called a comedy. 

"'Comedy' means that people expect 

jokes and laughs. There arc laughs in 

this movie, but it's really a kind of pohtical-romantic 

melodrama," Shelton says, 

having created a genre all his own, "It's 

kind of a jambalaya; sometimes it's funny 

and sometimes it's serious, but it's 

not a pkey movie. 

"There are probably not as many 

laughs m it as 'Bull Durham,'" he says 

firrnly, then adds with a laugh, "although 

it IS written by the same guy" 

The Legend and the Newcomer 

Having settled that, 

"Blaze's" unique 

casting next catches the eye. In this corner, 

playing the late, great Earl K. Long, 

is none other than Paul Newman, 

screen legend, Oscar-winner and spaghetti 

mogul. And in the other comer, 

playing the tough-but-tender Blaze 

Starr, is the resplendently-named Lolita 

Davidovich, essentially an unkno\v^^ 

("Not even essentially," laughs Shelton) 

who is making her feature film debut in 

a role which, besides being the title 

character, is by design a full 50 percent 

of the story. 

12 BOXOKFICE

The obvious questions are (a) what 

was It Uke working with Newman, him- 

a \\ ay that was constructive. Probably at 

tunes we were exasperated with each 

other, but it was in a very positive working 

environment," he says diplomatically. 

And what can we expect from Newman 

this time out? "I think he's funnier 

than people have seen him. Not in his 

work methods — he's legendary for his 

working professionalism — but he let go 

[in this movie], which is what I wanted 

him to do. He was reluctant to do that 

before shooting began, but he really let 

go and he's quite funny. 

"He's theatrical and flamboyant. He's 

not the contained, Fast Eddie Felson 

version of Newman that you've seen," 

Shelton says, referring to the actor's 

character in both "The Hustler" and 

"The Color of Money." "You'll see a real 

wild man." 

in her performance that was Blaze-like, 

although the two women are quite dif- 

a respected movie director; and (b) 

self 

ferent." 

J, /mis Lolita Davidovich? The first ques- But who casts unknowns opposite 

1 11 111 IS easier answered. 

We butted heads a few times, but in 

Paul Newman in a major Hollywood 

movie? In the less artistic realms of 

marketing and distribution, 

wouldn't it 

have made more sense to cast a Daryl 

Hannah or a Kim Basinger opposite 

Newman — whether they were physically 

right tor the part or not — and 

exploited the pairing of the two stars? 

"People said what a gutty thing it was 

to do, but listen, people said that I was 

crazy for putting Tim Robbins in 'Bull 

Durham.' They said, 'Who's ever going 

to believe that Susan Sarandon is going 

to go to bed with that guy when there's 

Kevin Costner?' 

"Well, my instincts there were right. 

The guy is very talented, and he was 

perfect and brilliant in the role," Shelton 

boasts. "I think that when you've 

had a script in your head for years, like 

'Bull Durham' and 'Blaze' had been in 

mine, you come at it from a different 

exact time that television came on the 

scene and changed politics forever. 

That change, Shelton believes, has not 

been for the better. 

"The old stump politicians could give 

the same speech a dozen times, and it 

was a kind of oral tradition," he observes. 

"But with television, if you say 

the same thing twice it's considered that 

you're repeating yourself. Your 

speeches are edited into the nowfamous 

sound bites, and it's very impersonal. 

"Now you can invent politicians with 

the right P.R. men and presskits; you 

couldn't do that back then," he continues. 

"The politicians did mix among the 

people, and they did have to cut deals, 

and those deals were complicated and 

brilliant, and they were made in smokefilled 

rooms. Constituents got bought off 

in the best sense, and I think that sort of 

system served the people as well or better 

than the system we have now. 

"I think television has hurt politics. I 

don't want to know what goes on in 

those smoke-filled rooms, just like I 

don't want people to know what goes on 

in the back rooms of moviemaking. That 

doesn't matter. What matters is whether 

the politician delivers for the people, or 

whether the movie delivers for the 

people. 

"I just think that television has stuck 

its nose where it doesn't belong," he 

concludes simply. 

Fact and Fiction 

Newman and Shelton 

And Miss Davidovich? What was place than a person who is coming fresh 

Shelton looking for during the unexpectedly 

to the material. And with Lolita, I just 

difficult search for the actress had a gut feeling that she could hold her 

to play Blaze, and what was it about 

Davidovich which led the director to 

own and could be a wonderful Blaze. 

And she is." 

make what some will call a nervy casting 

decision? 

"The physical requirements [of 

Blaze] were actually the least important, 

but nobody is built like Mae West 

anymore. Anorexia is in," Shelton says 

facetiously, recalling that women of the 

era featured in the film were considerably 

doughier than they are now. 

"There were a lot of actresses who 

weighed 67 pounds, and were therefore 

wrong for that kind of '50s woman. 

"But more important than that was 

the attitude of the character. There is a 

kind of essential sweetness and openheartedness 

and directness and simple 

honesty that goes along with the toughness 

of Blaze, and I found that hard to 

find," he says. "Lolita had a kind of 

straightforward directness and honesty 

Butting heads in a constructive way 

Sex and Politics 

Ask Shelton what led him to the stoly, 

which is based in part on Blaze's 

autobiography, and he says that it is the 

perfect synthesis of two of his favorite 

milieu's: nightclubs and old-style Southem 

politics. The interest in the former 

springs from Shelton's days as a minor 

league baseball player, during which he 

travelled through many of America's 

small towns and spent considerable 

time in their pubs and speakeasies (he 

doesn't specifically mention strip joints, 

and who are we to assume?). 

The latter interest springs from a 

more serious source, and it is a topic on 

which the filmmaker is quite vocal. As 

he sees it, Long came to power at the 

"Blaze" represents the first time that 

Shelton has written a script based on 

real characters (in addition to "Bull Durham," 

Shelton wrote the screenplays for 

"LInder Fire," the Nick Nolte drama 

about Nicaraguan politics, and "The 

iBest of Times," the Robin Williams/ 

Kurt Russell comedy about second 

chances). Although the real Blaze was 

interviewed by Shelton as he wrote the 

script and in fact plays a small cameo in 

the movie, the writer-director confesses 

that at some point, reality has to give 

way to the conventions of storytelling. 

"You research a picture, you get all 

the historical data you need, and then 

you basically follow dramatic niles, not 

historic ones," he says without apology. 

"I play around with chronology and the 

truth, and I exaggerate, but I unrferstate 

as well. With characters like Earl and 

Blaze, you sometimes don't go as far as 

they did. 

"I treat it kind of like it's popular 

mythology, so I wouldn't say that it's a 

true story but it is inspired by true 

events and it is spiritually true," he says, 

offering a fairly significant example. 

"Earl dies in Blaze's arms in the 

movie, when in fact she was waiting for 

him in Baltimore when he died. But her 

picture was in his wallet, so what's the 

difference?," he jokes. 

^ 

December, 1989 13

GIANTS OF EXHIBITION: THE SEQUEL 

IN 

LAST YEAR'S December issue, Boxoffice inaugurated its 

annual directory of exhibition. Our "Giants of Exhibition" 

feature detailed the corporate histories, hierarchies, 

and philosophies of the theatre circuits which ranked 

first through tenth in the number of total screens operated. 

Rather than using this year's space merely to note the new 

sizes and personnel changes at these chains, we've decided 

to focus on the next group. We are pleased to present 

"Giants of Exhibition: The Sequel," our look at the second 

10, a block of extremely varied theatre circuits. 

Once again we've asked public relations and operations 

personnel at circuits to fill out a questionnaire and to provide 

us with stockholders' reports, press releases, brochures, 

clippings, and other tidbits. We've also dug through 

files, called in favors, burned up phone lines, and generally 

exhausted our entertainment industry sources in an effort 

to present the most recent and accurate information we 

could hustle up. 

On this page we present our ranking of the top 20 theatre 

circuits operating in the U.S. and Canada, with current 

screen totals and last December's totals compared. In the 

following pages we offer profiles of 10 circuits, ranging 

from Canada's Famous Players, a new arrival in the top 10, 

to Milwaukee's Marcus Theatres, ranked 20 but still 

expanding. We hope that in the variety of sizes, stories, and 

corporate strategies these pages recount you're able to find 

engagement, inspiration, and even a bit of something that 

reminds you of yourself 

The Top 20 North American Exhibitors of 1989 

SCREENS 

CIRCUIT '89 ('88) 

1) United Artists Theatre Circuit 2741 (2677) 

2) Cineplex Odeon 1872 (1832) 

3) American Multi-Cinema 1654 (1654) 

4) General Cinema 1439 (1400) 

5) Loews 829 (822) 

6) Carmike 701 (701 

7) National Amusements 623 (552) 

8)Hoyts 473 (550) 

9) Famous Players* 499 (448) 

10)Cinemark 466 (401) 

Act III * 445 ( 126) 

12) Mann 444 (456) 

13) Excellence* 35 1 (357) 

14) Cobb* 325 (247) 

15)Syufy* 306 (283) 

16) Kerasotes* 231 (205) 

17) Pacific* 220 (212) 

18) Edwards* 21 (161) 

1 1 

) 

19) Cinema World* 160 (155) 

20) Marcus* 157 (150) 

) 

profiled In 

this issue. 

14 Boxoffice

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GIANTS OF EXHIBITION: THE SEQUEL

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Vitals 

TfiEATRES 

Profile 

ESSANESS Theatres of Chicago 

was begun by Edwin Silverman 

and Sidney Spiegel in 1929, and 

by 1985 grew to operate 120 screens in 

Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois. 

Managed at that time by Alan Silverman, 

Edwin's son, the company 

divested its Chicago market share to 

Cineplex Odeon and began to expand 

into the heartland markets of America. 

Unlike other circuits, which concentrated 

on expanding their holdings 

in the largest 40 markets, Essaness 

experimented with a premium-priced, 

quality-oriented philosophy in smaller 

areas. 

The circuit soon came under the 

control of its management team, who 

changed the name to Excellence in 

PROJECTING into the future- 

1987. Since then the company has purchased 

the Carisch Theatres of Minneapolis, 

Theatre Operators Inc. of Montana, 

Dubinsky Brothers Theatres of 

Nebraska, and several smaller independent 

operations. 

Excellence is a people-oriented circuit, 

placing heav\' priority on community 

involvement, staff training and 

education, cleanliness, and local promotion. 

Theatre staffs are encouraged 

to perform well by incentive contests 

and by their attire — all Excellence 

employees wear tuxedos and formal 

attire while on the job. Also prominent 

at Excellence Theatres are extensive 

and creative lobby displays promoting 

upcoming films and events. 

As part of its multi-million dollar 

capital improvement program, Excellence 

has refurbished over 75 percent 

of its theatre sites and plans to expand 

to over 1000 screens within the next 

three years. 

Syufy Theatres 

Profile 

SYiJFY 

Theatres, the second-largest 

THEATRE.S i.s, after Mann 

theatre chain operating exclusively 

in the American west, with all of 

its more than 300 screens located in 

Arizona, California, New Mexico, Nevada, 

and Utah. Like many other circuits 

of its size, Syufy is a family-run 

(tnterprise, with Raymond J. Syufy and 

Raymond W. Syufy as its co-owmers. 

This has been a busy year for the 

Syufy circuit. Not only did the chain 

experience an almost ten-percent 

growth, adding some 25 screens to its 

total, but it experienced its share of 

legal headaches. In February, the circuit 

was acquitted on the charge of 

monopolistic practices in its Las Vegas 

holdings (Syufy owns 34 of the towns 

67 screens). At press time, however, 

the U.S. Justice Department had appealed 

the acquittal and was awaiting 

a decision by the 9th Circuit Court of 

Appeals. 

Excellence Theatres 

230 W. Monroe Street, Chicago, IL 

60606 

Phone:(.312)332-7465 FAX:(312)332- 

7465 

Founded: 1929 

Parent Company; none 

Total Screens: 351 

Indoor Screens/Sites: 345/100 

Drive-in Screens/Sites: 6/3 

States Served: CO, lA, IL, MN, MT, NE, 

ND, SD, WA, WI, UT 

Personnel 

Alan Silverman, President 

Larry Hanson, Vice President, Operations 

Robert Persa, Vice President, Finance 

Dale Linder, Vice President, Maintenance, 

Construction and Equipment 

Ross Goldstein, Coporate Finance/ 

Acquisition Expert 

Jay Minzlaff, Operations Director/ 

Personnel 

Mark Reis, Operations Director, 

West 

Steve Menne, Operations Director, 

Midwest 

vitals 

Syufy Theatres 

150 Golden Gate 

San Francisco, CA 94102 

Phone:(415)885-8400 FAX:(415)563- 

8571 

Founded: 1941 

Parent Company: none 




States Served: AZ, CA, NM, NV, UT 

Personnel 

Raymond J, Syufy, Co-o\mer 

Raymond W. SNaify, Co-oumer 

Jack Myhill, General Manager 

David Shesgreen, Chief Film Buyer 

18 BoXOKHfK


Profile 

FAMILY-RUN ENTERPRISE, Cobb 

Theatres is one of the major cir- 

Acuits in the American south, 

with holdings in several states, in 

Puerto Rico, and in the Virgin Islands. 

The chain was founded by R. C. Cobb 

during the silent screen era, and is currently 

nm by his son R. C. Cobb, Jr., 

along with his grandsons, Bobby and 

Jeff Cobb. In addition to their 325 

screens at 46 theatre locations, the 

Cobb family also operate a string of 

video outlets, Cobb's Prime Time Video. 

Cobb Theatres are well-known in 

the South for their dedication to highquality 

sound and screen presentations. 

In addition, they are constructing 

new theatres and refitting older 

ones with conveniences such as octagonal 

multi-station refreshment 

stands and automated ticket dispensers. 

Cobb is in the midst of an aggressive 

expansion campaign, selecting 

high-visibility sites in which to broaden 

its holdings. 

Cobb Theatres 

Vitals 

Cobb Theatres 

924 Montclair Rd. 

Birmingham, AL 35213 

Phone:(205)591-2323 FAX;(205)591- 

7715 

Founded: 1946 

Parent Company: R. C. Cobb, Inc. 



States Served: AL, AK, PL, GE, Puerto 

Rico, St. Thomas 

Personnel 

R.C. Cobb, President 

R.M. Cobb, Executive Vice President 

J.R. Cobb, Executive Vice President 

Joseph Hart, Finance 

Robert M. Zeitz, Advertising, Marketing 

Director 

Jerry Brand, Film Buyer 

William Homer, Director of Theatre 

Operations 

Harris Seigal, District Manager, 

West Coast Florida 

Gary McMarken, District Manager, 

East Coast Florida 

Goodrich 

Quality' Theaters, Inc. . . 

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BAY CITY 

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• Design Flexibility & Easy Installation 

FOR SOUND SOLUTIONS 

P.O. BOX 50070 • NEW ORLEANS, LA 70150 

(504) 522-8656 • FAX (504) 524-6725 

Response No 26 

December. 1989 19

GIANTS OF EXHIBITION: THE SEQUEL


Edwards Theatres 

Profile 

ORANGE 

County, a sprawling, 

heavily populated, affluent 

area directly south of Los Angeles, 

has sprung up from cattle 

ranches and orange groves over the 

last 30 years. Along with upscale housing 

developments, shopping malls and 

theme parks (the county is home to 

Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm), 

Orange County is dotted with the cinemas 

of Edwards Theatres, a rapidly 

expanding circuit which controls the 

vast majority of the area's screens. 

The success of the Edwards circuit 

can be seen in its home office, located 

upstairs from the chains's largest 

theatre, the Big Newport, a massive 3- 

plex in which two large auditoriums 

flank a 1300-seater, all of which sits 

across the street from a brand new 9- 

plex and v\athin a ten minute drive of 

at least 30 more Edwards screens. In 

all the circuit operates 210 screens, 

from the outskirts of San Diego in the 

south to San Luis Obisbo in the north 

to some of the newer desert communities 

in the Palm Springs area, and 

plans are in the works for more complexes 

and more upgrades. 

Despite its size, Edwards is a lowprofile, 

publicity-shy, family-nm business, 

founded by James Edwards, Sr. 

and chiefly operated by W. James 

Edwards III. Its theatres are equipped 

with high-quality sound and projection 

systems, and are carefully programmed 

to reflect the tastes of the 

communities in which they are 

placed. Near the new Orange County 

Performing Arts Center, for example, 

Edwards' Town Centre Theatre often 

screens foreign or independent features, 

while such neighborhood houses 

as the Woodbridge in the bedroom 

community of Irvine book more family-oriented 

fare. 

Vitals 

Edwards Theatres 

P. O. Box 9099 

Newport Beach, CA 92658 

Phone:(714)640-4600 FAX:(714)721 

7170 

Founded: 1930 





States Served: CA 

Personnel 

James Edwards, Sr., Chairman of 

the Board and CEO 

W. James Edwards III, President and 

Chief Operating Officer 

Joan Edwards Randolph, Vice President, 

Chief Financial Officer 

Frank Haffar, Chief Administrative 

Officer 

Don C. Barton, Director of Theatre 

Operations 

Pat Notaro, Vice President, Film 

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animal cruelty— especially in 

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For more information, write PETA, 

PO. Box 42516. Washington. DC 20015 

or call (202) 726-0156. 

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December, 1989 21


Cinema 

World 

Theatres 

Vitals 

Cinema World Theatres 

107 Sixth St. 

Fulton Building 

Pittsburgh, PA 15222 

Phone:(412)232-4200 FAX:(412)232- 

0052 

Founded: 1987 


Total Screens: fso 



States Served: OH, PA, WV 

WHEN 

Profile 

A PARTNERSHIP of Matthew 

Bronfman, JefF Lewine 

and Robert Malina acquired 

Profile 

STORY OF The Marcus Corpo- 

is so classically the tale 

THEration of 

the European immigrant making 

good in America that one wonders 

why no one's made a movie of it. In 

fact, the quiet strength that marks the 

Marcus Corporation's business endeavors 

is probably the only thing keeping 

Ben Marcus' story from being more 

widely known. For the record, Ben 

Marcus was bom in Poland in 1911, 

came to America in 1925, purchased 

his first movie house in Ripon, Wisconsin 

in 1935, and by 1958, when his 

empire expanded to include hotels and 

the holdings of Cinemette Theatres in 

December of 1987, Cinema World Inc. 

was bom. The circuit enjoys a high 

profile in the tri-state area of Ohio, 

West Virginia and western Pennsylvania, 

most prominently in Pittsburgh, 

where it operates the city's only firstrun 

screens. 

Cinema World Theatres goes to extraordinary 

lengths to ingratiate itself 

with its patrons. The circuit offers discounts 

to AAA members, as well as to 

more typical groups such as seniors 

and children, it holds an annual "Moviegoer 

Appreciation Day," on which 

all of its seats are free, and in October 

it 

gives away free popcorn in celebration 

of National Popcorn Month. Cinema 

World is also the only circuit in its 

region to consistently offer alternative 

and foreign films on its screens. 

Marcus 

Theatres 

restaurants, he ran the largest circuit 

in the state with 36 theatres. Today 

the Marcus Corporation includes Marcus 

Theatres, Bugetel Inns, Marcus 

Restaurants and Marcus Hotels. 

Marcus Theatres is engaged in a 

wide-spread program of construction, 

expansion, upgrading and refitting. 

The firm has availed itself of new 

technologies in projection and sound, 

has installed computer-controlled 

concession, climate and boxoffice facilities, 

and has paid special attention 

to patrons' needs in seating, parking 

and other amenities, even experimenting 

with coat check rooms in its 

lobbies. Its plans for 1990 call for the 

addition of 6 new locations with a total 

of 50 screens. 

Personnel 

Matthew Bronfman, Chairman of 

the Board 

G. Levnne, President, Trea- 

Jeff'rey 

surer, Chief Executive Officer 

Anthony J. Crisafio, Chief Operating 

Officer 

Richard Montgomery, Secretary 

Patrick J. Corey, Head of Concessions, 

Key Equipment Buyer, Head of 

Personnel, Training 

Vitals 

Marcus Theatres Corporation 

212 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, WI 

53203 

Phone:(414)272-6020 FAX:(414)272- 

0189 

Foimded: 1935 

Parent Company: The Marcus Corporation 


Indoor Screens Sites: 153/37 


States Served: WI 

Personnel 

Ben Marcus, Chairman of the 

Board 

Steve Marcus, President 

Earl J. Clancy, Executive Vice-President, 

Chief Operating Officer 

Michael Kominsky, Executive Vice- 

President, Film Buyer 

Donald R. Perkins, Director of Operations 

Steven A. Mattiacci, Controller, 

Theatre Division 

22 Boxoffice

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FEATURE 

" 

The Buck Stops Here 

Can a new breed of exhibitor sell tickets 

for only a dollar and survive? 

By Tom Matthews 

Managing Editor 

NEED ONLY attend any exhibi- 

trade conference to hear 

ONEtion 

about the plight of theatreowners 

fighting for survival as they try to be 

included on first-run breaks. The story 

by now is familiar; as the major distributors 

scale back the number of their 

branch offices and become less willing 

to ship expensive prints to what have 

suddenly been labelled "marginal" 

theatres, these exhibitors are watching 

as their audiences either travel the 20 or 

30 miles necessary to find a first-run 

theatre, or wait for the video release. To 

be anything other than a first-run 

theatre, we have heard, is to be threatened 

with extinction. 

So it is interesting to note that in just 

the past few years, some exhibitors are 

leaping into the breach and staking considerable 

amounts of capital on an industry 

dcuiitcd to second-nm. Establishing 

a new half-step between traditional 

"We have adopted the 

philosophy that just 

because a customer 

can't pay more than 

$1.00 or $1.50, that 

doesn't mean that we 

can give them a dirty 

facility. 

second-run houses (which tend to 

charge no less than S3.00 per ticket) and 

video, these are the dollar houses — or 

discount houses — which are selling 

tickets for SI.00 or $1.50 and are reportedly 

doing business like gangbusters. 

"There is a group of people out there 

who simply can't afford those S5.00 and 

S6.00 admissions," says Lee Roy Mitchell, 

whose Cinemark Theatres of Dallas 

operates around 150 dollar screens in 

addition to its predominant first-run 

business. "There is a market out there. I 

guess it's very similar to the old drive-in 

market, which appealed mainly to 

\'oung people and senior citizens who 

were retired or semi-retired. We also 

appeal to families with children who 

just don't have the resources to go out to 

a first-run house." 

"The people want a discount alternative, 

there are no two ways about it," 

states Jack Clark, co-founder of the 

National Association of Second-Run 

Theatres, which currently represents 

about 400 second-run screens. "If I 

asked ten people on the street what 

24 BOXOKHCE

"There are an awful lot of turkeys out there, and 

those turkeys play well in the discount market. 

The distributors are picking up money from their 

marginal films." 

were the things that bothered them 

most about going to the movies, eight 

out of ten would say the price, followed 

by the quality of the movies. There is a 

huge demand for discount theatres. 

People want to get out and go to the 

movies." 

First-run Opulence 

The news is not that theatres are selling 

slightly-dated movies at bargain 

basement prices; the news is the 

theatres which are being built to present 

them in. Super Saver Cinemas, which 

currently operates 110 discount screens 

throughout the country, prides itself on 

its finish-out, which traditionally features 

larger-than-usual lobbies powered 

by elaborate light displays more commonly 

found in discotheques. Cinemark 

is not only building new state-of-the-art 

p\a\e^ 

discount theatres, but they are bringing 

new life to their older facilities by gutting 

them and installing modem equipment; 

the Santikos circuit in Texas is 

doing the same. THX sound is featured 

in many of these flashy dollar houses, as 

are cupholder armrests and top-of-theline 

Irwin seats. No longer does a dollar 

(continued p 26) 

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December, 1989 25

Dollar Houses 

(conlvnuJ from p 25) 

ticket come at the expense of creature 

comforts. 

"We try to make our theatres a fun 

place to go," says Cinemark's Mitchell. 

"We have adopted the philosophy that 

just because a customer can't pay more 

than SI. 00 or $1.50, that doesn't mean 

that we can give them a dirty facility." 

Indeed, this emphasis on aesthetics is 

more than just vsindow dressing; it appears 

to be the key element in the 

formula. If a price-conscious movie fan 

has to choose between seeing a discount 

tempered, however, by industry players 

who are looking upon the movie-for-abuck 

trend with a jaundiced eye: namely 

first-run exhibitors and, more importantly, 

the major distributors. Both are 

understandably worried that if audiences 

start getting into the habit of 

waiting tmtil they can pay only a dollar 

to see a current movie, the return on 

their investment (whether it's a theatre 

or a movie) is going to be undermined 

considerably. The discount exhibitors 

are familiar with this concern, and they 

speak as one in their response. 

"We're going after two different 

markets," says McKenna of Super Saver. 

"We are going after that part of the 

audience that had been dissected from 

the industry by rising ticket prices. It 

was a dead audience that just wasn't 

going to the theatre." 

It does seem quite possible that Hollywood is 

just feeling a little cocky in this remarkably 

profitable year, and that they may come to see 

the value of the discount houses when the 

industry slips into its next recession. 

film in a nmdown theatre or waiting a 

few weeks or months to view it in the 

comfort of their own home, the choice 

is fairly simple. But give that movie fan 

a flashy, sparkling new theatre in which 

to watch the same movie, and the lure is 

much stronger. The screens in these 

new discount multiplexes tend to nm 

toward the small (the biggest screen in 

Super Saver's new eight-plex in Seal 

Beach, Calif, for example, measures 31 

"The thing that [the distributors) continue 

to miss is that we're bringing 

people back to the theatres who had 

quit going," adds Cinemark's Mitchell. 

"We ran a survey in a lot of our theatres 

and we found that the average income 

for the families that come to our 

theatres was $20,000 or less. And I'm not 

talking about just the breadwinner; I'm 

talking about the income for the whole 

family." 

feet wide and 14 feet high), but they are "If the discount theatres went away, 

our audience wouldn't go to first-run 

still more larger than the television 

screen and few home systems offer [theatres]. They might get a small portion 

stereo sound. 

of it, but most of those people 

So far, the gamble is paying off. "Business 

would just wait for the video," says Jack 

is great. The reports that we Clark, echoing the sentiments of all of 

received recently told us that the dollar 

houses have gone through the roof," 

says Randy Blaum, marketing director 

of Act III, the parent company of Santikos 

Theatres. "Over the last 12 months, 

Act III went in and totally renovated all 

the discount exhibitors interviewed for 

this story. "They just wouldn't go to the 

theatre anymore." 

The dollar house operators are convinced 

that they are not a threat to firstnm, 

but distribution isn't so sure. To 

of our dollar theatres. We built four new date. Paramount has struck the most 

screens in one of them, we added marble 

lobbies, and we put new curtains and 

severe blow against dollar houses, imposing 

a strict SI. 05 per capita on all of 

chairs in the auditoriums. Dollar second-run product beginning with 

its 

theatres are no longer just 20-year-old "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" this 

theatres that can't make money." 

past summer (typically a discount 

house pays a flat 35 percent rental). As 

Dark Clouds Ahead 

a result, any dollar house playing a Paramount 

film would lose a nickel with 

The enthusiasm offered by discount each ticket sold, an impossible prospect 

house operators is being increasingly for anv companv. Some discount 

theatres accepted the loss and have 

continued to book Paramount product 

while they attempt to strike a more just 

deal vnth the distributor, but most simply 

stopped showing Paramount films. 

Since Paramount accounted for a 

healthy $254 million of the money taken 

in during the record-breaking summer 

just ended, this denial of product 

cannot be taken lightly by those 

theatres that want to offer hits like "Indiana 

Jones and the Last Crusade" for a 

buck. 

Most discount exhibitors expressed 

hope that other distributors would not 

follow Paramount 's lead, and in fact 

speculated that Paramount's harsh 

stance would eventually be softened. 

Others, however, speak more ominously, 

questioning Paramount's actions and 

invoking the spectre of price-fixing as 

they note that the distributor's $1.05 per 

capita just happens to represent the traditional 

35 percent rental fee extracted 

from a S3. 00 ticket (those second-run 

theatres which charge a minimum of 

S3. 00 don't seem to pose as much of a 

threat to distribution). Paramount Pictures, 

contacted to respond to this 

charge and to address the situation in 

general, declined to comment. 

Buena Vista has also managed to keep 

most of its recent films out of dollar 

houses. Although distribution strategies 

change with each film, all Disney product 

is subject to a 28-day window 

between first-run and second-run 

houses which charge at least $3.00. 

After the S3. 00 mn, the company starts 

the 28-day window again, and then 

might put two of its recent films together 

on a double bill, again in houses 

that charge at least S3. 00. Another 28- 

day window would follow that, so that in 

a worst-case scenario, it could take over 

three months for a movie to go from 

first-run to dollar theatres. "I'm practically 

playing day-and-date vvdth video," 

complains Jack Clark. 

"Our goal is to get the most money we 

can out of each picture, and also to not 

have a distribution policy that encourages 

people to wait for a reduced-admission 

run," says Phil Barlow, senior vice 

president and general sales manager of 

Buena Vista Distribution. 

Not Worried 

Despite these grumblings from two of 

the most successful movie companies, 

the owners of discount houses insist 

that they're not worried about their livelihoods. 

For one thing, they are confident 

that once distribution becomes accustomed 

to this relatively new adjunct 

to conventional exhibition, they vn\\ see 

that it is in their best interest to make 

peace with the dollar houses. 

"I really feel that Paramount is testing 

the waters with the per capitas, just 

like Warner Bros, is testing the waters 

26 BOXOFFICE

with the way they're releasing 'Batman' 

on video," says Randy Blaum. "I think 

that all of the film companies are trying 

different things to find out where the 

most amount of money can be made for 

them. I think that films that are as good 

as the ones that were released this year 

can have a long run in second-nm. Circumventing 

that is probably not the best 

decision that you can make" 

"In business, for anyone to win, everybody 

has to wdn," observes Jack 

Clark. "I think that with discount 

houses, the exhibitor wins because they 

get a high volume of people coming to 

their theatres and they get a reasonable 

return on their investment. 

"At the same time, distributors win 

because they're insured of a long-term 

stream of people interested in seeing 

movies. Sometimes, their movies have 

marginal nms and they disappear from 

the first-nm houses in a week. But 

they're picked up by discount houses 

and people are then willing to spend 

$1.00 on that movie where they 

wouldn't spend S5.00 or $6.00. The distributors 

are picking up money from 

their marginal films. 

"If the discount theatres 

went away, our audience 

wouldn't go to Grst-run 

theatres. They might get 

a small portion of it, but 

most of those people 

wouldjust wait for the 

video." 

"This was an unusual year, in that 

there were so many good movies released 

in a row," Clark continues. "But 

there are an awful lot of turkeys out 

there, and those turkeys play well in the 

discount market. People will pay SI. 00 

to give a movie a chance, and if they 

don't like it, they're only out a buck." 

It does seem quite possible that Hollywood 

is just feeling a little cocky in 

this remarkably profitable year, and 

that they may come to see the value of 

the discount houses when the industry 

slips into its next recession. But for the 

time being, the dollar house operators 

— most of whom are exhibition vets — 

are rolling with the punches and taking 

comfort in the fact that the movie business 

is never without some kind of controversy. 

"We're probably an overly-positive 

group; we don't sit around and think 

about [what troubles lie ahead]," says 

Jiin McKenna of Super Saver Cinemas. 

"From my years of experience in exhibition, 

I 

know how things change from 

day to day. If I sat around and worried 

about everything, I'd go nuts." ^ 


December, 1989 27

Disîtal 

Sound Breaks the Film Barrier 

ON 

By John F. Allen 

September 18th. 1989, Richard 

D. Wood, president of Optical 

Radiation Corporation (ORG), 

made the long awaited announcement 

that composite motion picture release 

prints with a full digital stereo soundtrack 

were now a possibility. ORG 

worked closely with the Eastman Kodak 

Gompany to develop the technology 

required for encoding, photographing, 

printing, reading and decoding digital 

sound on conventional movie film. The 

system will be trade named Ginema 

Digital Sound. 

This is truly a major breakthrough! To 

fully appreciate this accomplishment, 

try to imagine cramming 10 times more 

information than ever before into the 

same space cuirently available in the 

soundtrack area. 

Digital vs. Analog 

Digital recording is fundamentally 

different from that of analog systems. 

We are all familiar with the "wiggles" of 

an optical soundtrack. If the sound is 

loud, the wiggles are wide. If the sound 

has a high pitch, the wiggles are short 

and fast. The wiggles represent an analog 

of the sound; an analogous form of 

the pressure waves in the air which we 

hear as sound. The analog recording 

systems we are most familiar with are: 

magnetic tape, phonograph records, and 

optical movie soundtracks. Each of 

these storage inediums has its own limitations 

due to noise and distortion. 

All 

require some form of passive or active 

noise reduction for best playback results. 

Tape can certainly do a fine job of 

recording the highest frequencies we 

can hear, but it can be noisy. A phenomenon 

called "print through" can also be 

a problem. This occurs when the tape is 

stored on a reel: one layer of tape faintly 

"prints" its magnetic recording onto an 

adjacent layer. In other words, we may 

get to hear something echoed two or 

three times when we play it back. 

Though phonograph records lack a 

wide dynamic range, they can still 

sound quite good. But surface noise, 

scratches and pops are a constant annoyance. 

Optical motion picture soundtracks 

do not have either the dynamic range or 

frequency range to be truly called High 

Fidelity. In addition, a matrixing technique 

must be employed to achieve 

more than a two channel presentation. 

Without sophisticated noise reduction 

methods, optical variable area soundtracks 

are virtually unacceptable by today's 

digital standards. 

In digital recording systems, the audio 

signal itself is never recorded onto a 

playback mediutn. The sound is first 

converted into binary digits: ones and 

zeros. It is these numbers that are 

recorded. We never hear the background 

noise, clicks and pops of the 

recording's storage medium because we 

never listen to it. The numbers are 

"simply" retrieved from the recording 

and converted back into the audio signal. 

(See BoxoFFiCE, January, 1986: Digital 

Stereo, How It Works:) 

The noise level of a digital recording 

so low that we can actually hear the 

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noise of the microphone preamphfiers 

and mixer used in recording. With digi- 

In 1984, as part of the introduction of 

my HPS-4000 installation at the Plitt 

Century Plaza Theatre in Los Angeles, 1 

enlisted the assistance of Glen Glenn 

Sound, along with Giorgio Moroder's Oasis 

Recording Studios, and presented the 

world premiere of digital stereo in a 

commercial motion picture theatre. The 

presentation was so successful that it 

became all but mandatory that we follow 

it with a full length digital stereo 

feature presentation. As if it were fulfilling 

its own destiny, "Fantasia" opened 

in digital stereo and HPS-4000"' sound 

at the Century Plaza Theatre on February 

8, 1985. This was the first ever pub- 

tal recordings, wow an flutter are absent 

lic demonstration of a digital stereo film. 

This is due to the precise timing The response was enormous. "Fantasia" 

with which the digits are converted went on to two more digital pesentations 

back into an analog signal. 

in Washington, D.C., and New 

York City. (See Boxoffice, July, 1985: 

Digital Sound on Film 

Presenting Digital Stereo.) 

For the next year or so, digital was 

one of the most talked about topics in 

Digital sound in motion picture studios 

actually began about 10 years ago, 

when Walt Disney Studios began using 

digital recorders to record the sound for 

their theme park films. In 1982, "Fantasia" 

was rerecorded using these early, 

the industry. Interest seemed to fade, 

however, as people realized how difficult 

it would be to marry a digital soundtrack 

to a composite release print. 

For their special venue presentations, 

and often temperamental, machines. Disney and Showscan began using digital 

This marked the first time a feature 

discs synchronized to their films. 

film was digitally recorded, mixed and 

dubbed. Film historians will recall that, 

In 1940, "Fantasia" was also the first 

Until now, these double system presentations 

remain the only ones regularly 

used in digital stereo. The three digital 

"Fantasia" engagements were also presented 

film ever recorded and presented in 

wdth a double system. We used 

stereo. 

VHS video cassettes with the digital 

sound recorded in the Sony PCM-Fl video 

format, instead of compact discs. 

The reason digital presentations in 

standard movie theatres stopped after 

1985 was due to the lack of an inexpensive 

way in which to place digital sound 

on the film. Wide acceptance of digital 

stereo for films requires a single system 

approach. It should also be mentioned 

that the film studios have resisted investing 

the millions of dollars required 

to convert and replace their sprocketed 

analog recorders. 

Toward A Solution 

Two approaches to "single" digital 

sound on film systems have been seriously 

explored. The first was an ingenious 

approach called Fluorescent 

Sound, developed by Peter Custer of 

Pennsylvania. This system used a print 

with a normal analog optical soundtrack. 

The digital information, however, 

was printed over the picture area. Detection 

in the projector was accomplished 

by focusing an ultra violet light 

on the film and reading the "dots" on 

the film, which represent the digital 

ones and zeros. This system featured 

two redundant sets of eight full-frequency 

channels of sound. In other 

words, the sound was placed on the film 

twice. If the pickup missed the encoded 

sound in one place, it could read it at 

another location on the film. 

The drawback to the Fluorescent 

Sound system was the increased print 

cost. Distributors resisted any digital approach 

that increased either printing 

complexity or costs. They wanted a system 

that would put the digital soundtrack 

on the film at normal printing 

speeds using conventional printers. 

Some people within the industry felt 

this would prove to be an impossibility, 

believing that the dots representing the 

digital code would have to be too small 

to be resolved at a film velocity of only 

18 inches per second. Others questioned 

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whether convenrional printers would be 

up to the task of reliably printing such 

tiny images while running at speeds of 

hundreds of feet per minute. 

for digital sound on such a film and discovered 

that it could indeed be printed 

and read from a Showscan print. The 

question remained whether smaller dots 

could be printed on a 35mm film nmning 

at 24 frames per second. It looked 

very promising. It still, however, remained 

very unclear if the number of 

dots which would fit into the optical 

soundtrack area could be enough for a 

discrete multi-track digital recording 

and what quality such a soundtrack 

would have. Could it match compact 

discs? From a marketing standpoint, the 

public might seem indifferent to a digital 

sound in a theatre with less quality 

than they had at home. 

The $3.2 Million Gamble 

ORC's Wood quietly took it upon himself 

to decide that his company would 

make the investment required to complete 

the necessary research and bring 

digital stereo to motion pictures. With- 

into the existing soundtrack areas of 

70mm and perhaps even 35mm film. 

Error correction became a most difficult 

problem, taking months to resolve. 

During this time the Society of Motion 

Picture and Television Engineers 

(SMPTE) formed a digital sound study 

group. With the significant help of 

BoxoFFiCE's readers and others, this 

group found a general acceptance of a 

six channel stereo format. The format 

called for three full range screen channels, 

two full range surround channels 

and one 20-80 Hz bass channel. 

ORG and Kodak found that such a 

"5.01" channel digital recording could 

be made to fit and developed a new 

camera to photograph it. The ".01" 

channel refers to the bass channel; viath 

a range of only 20 to 80 Hz, the amount 

of data required equals about l/lOOth of 

that needed for one of the main full 

bandwidth channels. 

2 

All the test digital sound negatives 

were transferred onto positive prints at 

normal printing speeds, on normal 

printers. Only after ORG was convinced 

Actually, no one was even trying to 

find out if such an approach would really 

out any fanfare, he budgeted some S3. 

million of the company's money and 

that the "digits" could be reliably read in 

a projector, w\th sound actually repro- 

work until Showscan asked Kodak to directed Howard Flemming to fonn a duced, did they go public and proudly 

look into the situation. Showscan research team consisting of engineers announce their stunning breakthrough. 

wanted to know if a digital soundtrack and computer experts. Working closely 

could be photographically placed on with Uhlig and his colleagues at Kodak, A "Measured" Introduction 

their 70mm 60 frame per second films. Flemming and his group developed a six 

Headed by Ronald Uhlig, a team at channel digital format that would fit Gurrent plans call for a 70mm digital 

Kodak computed the dot size required 

demonstration film to be introduced 

early in 1990. A new digital soundtrack 

reader will need to be installed on existing 

projectors. Also, a new digital processor 

will need to be added to the 

theatre's sound system. With the large 

soundtrack area available on 70mm 

prints, it is believed this new system will 

work quite well. It is conceivable that 

limited 70mm digital feature presentations 

could follow later in the year. The 

first 35mm digital presentations are perhaps 

as much as two years away. This 

will allow researchers time to further 

evaluate, perfect and refine the smaller 

and slower 35mm process before offering 

it to the worldwide 35mm market. 

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( Diivenience of compact digital discs 

has made vinyl records nearly extinct in 

some stores. Digital soimd may be the 

Niiiule most important development for 

electronics since the introduction 

of solid state components. 

el required for full reproduction of digital 

sound on films. Many of today's 

theatre sound systems should therefore 

not be considered completely "digital 

ready." To hear a digital stereo presentation 

which sounds significantly better 

than current stereo films, I recommend 

that inadequate speakers and amplifiers 

be upgraded along with the installation 

of the digital processor. 

Recognizing the possibility that in 

some cases the additional dynamic 

range afforded by digital recordings 

could overload some theatre loudspeakers, 

ORG plans to include circuits which 

wiu bciibc diupuuci ciijjpiiig anu iiinii 

the processor's output to protect the 

system from damage. This will allow a 

theatre owner to install digital stereo 

without fear that the existing sound system 

will be over-stressed. 

To prevent the need for sound level 

limiting and to maximize the delivery of 

the full benefit of digital stereo to 

audiences, I have advised my clients not 

to consider stage speakers for digital 

systems unless they have a sensitivity of 

C;an digital sound prove a potent tool 

for the motion picture industry? In my 

opinion, it can. Will it? Only if audiences 

can truly hear the difference. 

To assure that they will hear the difference, 

theatre owners should seek a at least 106 dB Sound Pressure Level (1 

far greater understanding of speaker Watt, 1 meter). Theatres with auditoriums 

over 75 feet long will likely need 

systems and amplifiers than they ever 

have before. 

speakers with a sensitivity of 109 dB 

Most of the loudspeakers found in SPL. 

theatres today, and many of those currently 

offered for use in theatres, were of less than 98 dB SPL should not, in my 

Surround speakers with a sensitivity 

never intended for the performance lev- 

opinion, be considered as sufficient for 

digital sound reproduction in theatres. 

Some manufacturers have offered 

speaker systems with the sensitivities 

suggested and the power outputs required. 

Some of these speakers, however, 

represent very old and often compromised 

designs. Recognizing their inadequacies, 

manufacturers have generally 

withdrawal such older designs from the 

theatre market in the past few years. 

The power amplifiers found in many 

theatres today don't have enough power 

for current stereo presentations, let 

alone for digital stereo. Many factors 

must be considered when selecting ampiiiicib 

lui lueaiie use: leiiauiiuy, 

rugged construction, continuous power 

output, speaker protection, distortion, 

frequency response, etc. It's no wonder 

so many people seem to disagree about 

which amplifier to use. 

The point I should make here is that 

theatres should use amplifiers wnth at 

least two to four times the power 

needed to play program material at 

proper levels. This will ensure that the 

amplifiers will never run out of power 

and "clip," causing speaker damage and 

reducing the life of the amplifier itself 

An Exciting Future Beckons 

We are now beginning the formulation 

of what could well prove to be the 

sound standard that will prevail for the 

rest of our lives in the motion picture 

industry. Digital stereo holds the promise 

for vastly improved film presenations 

and audience pleasure. With a 

comprehensive digital sound system design 

approach, exhibitors can finally deliver 

the full impact of this new technology 

to their patrons. 

im 

© Copyright 1989 John F Allen All 

Rights Reserved. 

John F Allen is a sound consultant 

and distributor of the HPS-4000 theatre 

sound system 

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PRODUCTION NOTES 

The long-awaited movie adaptation of 

the stage play "Evita" is still a long way 

away Set originally to star Meryl Streep 

— in her singing debut — and be directed 

by Oliver Stone, the project has now fallen 

apart due to Stone's other commitments 

and Streep's exhaustion from her 

recent busy schedule, Financial problems 

of Weintraub Entertainment Group, 

which holds the rights to the project, 

were also thought to be a prime factor. 

A new production company called 

Magic Pictures Inc. has been formed by 

FilmDallas chief Sam Grogg and special 

effects pioneer John Dykstra. Magic Pictures, 

which will serve as a sister company 

of Grogg's and Dykstra's existing enterprises, 

will produce — but not distribute 

— five films and or TV projects with- 

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A new agreement with RCA/Columbia 

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films." Although it is anticipated that 

New Line will generally hold to its usual 

modest budgets of S3-5 million, it is now 

more feasible for the company to exceed 

that level where needed. 

PERSONNEL 

Russell Schwartz, one-time head of 

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Films as executive vice president. 

Schwartz will concentrate on worldwide 

marketing. 

Four staff members with New Line 

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Maureen Nicholson is now assistant 

Southeastern division manager based in 

Atlanta; Tim Mason has moved West and 

is now assistant division manager for the 

Western division in Los Angeles; Mike 

Simon also moves to Los Angeles to act as 

cashier and booker; and Jim Sherry remains 

at New Line's New York headquarters 

where he will serve as cashier and 

booker 

Suzanne Fedak has been named director 

of publicity and marketing for International 

Film Exchange Ltd. (IFEX). 

Fedak had previously worked with Vestron 

Pictures and New Yorker Films. 

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ASA Communications: "Split," a 

science fiction drama about a new-age 

prophet who is tracked electronically by a 

super-secret organization. The film features 

extensive use of computer generated 

special effects. The film is scheduled 

to open at the Biograph in Washington, 

D-C. in early November. 

Crown International: "Night Club," 

a psychological thriller about a man who 

is driven mad by his dream of owning a 

nightclub. The film, which stars Nicholas 

Hoppe, is scheduled to open nationally 

during the first quarter of 1990. 

Four Seasons Entertainment: "The 

Raggedy Rawney," a drama directed by 

and starring Bob Hoskins ("Who Framed 

Roger Rabbit?"). The film, about a runaway 

who takes refuge with a band of 

gypsies, was scheduled to open in New 

York in late October. Four Seasons' recently 

distributed the acclaimed "Romero." 

Paramount Pictures: "A Show of 

Force," a thriller about an American 

reporter who challenges Puerto Rican authorities 

concerning the mysterious death 

of two boys. Based on a true story, the film 

stars Amy Irving, Andy Garcia, Lou Diamond 

Phillips and Robert Duvall, and it is 

directed by Bruno Barreto ("Dona Flor 

and Her two 

.^2 BOXOFKKK

"Uncle 

1 

NATIONAL NEWS 

September B.O. Comes 

in Buckets, Waves 

Buoyed buy the successes of "Sea of 

Love" and "Black Rain," the nation's boxoflues 

soaked up $265,5 million in the four 

ueeks following Labor Day, setting a new 

Sefitember boxoffice record with a more 

than 28 percent increase over the same period 

last year. The new mark reflects the sale of 

ov er 58 million tickets, as compared with 50. 

million during the previous September. 

Mike learns table manners. 

Carmike Consolidates 

In a move whicti boosts its screen total to 

over 800, Carmike Cinemas of Columbus. 

Georgia has agreed to purchase the Consolidated 

Theatres chain of Charlotte, North Carolina 

for an undisclosed sum Carmike is 

largely based in the south, with the majority 

of its holdings in small and middle-sized 

markets which it 

dominates almost exclusively. 

It is the sixth-ranked theatre chain in the 

nation, and will operate 235 houses when the 

Consolidated deal goes through 

Fox Held Right in 

Florida Rights Case 

A United States District Court jury in Miami 

found for 20th Century Fox in a suit filed by 

the Eastern Federated theatre circuit against 

the studio and Wometco Theatres. The suit 

charged that Fox and Wometco illegally conspired 

for the exclusive licensing of Fox films 

in the lucrative Gainesville, Florida market. 

Fox, however, convinced the jury that it was 

within its rights in selecting the most powerful 

exhibitor in the area with which to deal and in 

exclusively licensing with that circuit for the 

distribution of its films. The |ury also found 

that Fastern Federal's Royal Park Cinema was 

a direct competitor of Wometco's in Gainesville, 

thus adding substance to Fox' claim that 

it had a right to select a single venue for its 

films. 

ShoWest to Focus 

on Customer Service 

The 1490 ShoWest convention, to be held 

at Bally's Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on 

February 6-8, will have as its theme customer 

service, according to Tim Warner, the convention's 

new general chairman. The training 

of employees and equipping of facilities to 

insure customer satislaction will be key components 

of the programs offered at the confab. 

The theme will be underscored in the 

convention's keynote speech by author and 

customer service authority Ron Zemke President 

of Performance Research Associates, 

senior editor of "Training Magazine," and 

editor of "The Service Edge Newsletter," 

Zemke has written or co-authored eight 

books and hosted four films on service management. 

Bally's will offer "privileged registration service" 

for ShoWest attendees, and Warner 

urges those interested in making the trip to 

get their registration and reservations taken 

care of early. For more information, call 

NATO/ShoWest at (213) 657-7724. 

RKO Classics to Get New 

Screen Life with Paramount 

Pursuant to a newly-inked three year contract. 

Paramount Pictures will supervise the 

In addition to the torrents of tickets sold for 

the month's two newest hits, the September 

figures were swelled by the successes of such 

" 

holdovers as "Parenthood, Buck," 

"When Harry Met Sally," and "Kickboxer," 

each of which pulled in a splashy $ 10 million 

plus. Other films which stayed afloat by taking 

in over $10 million during the period 

included "Lethal Weapon H" and "The 

Abyss." 

Mr. Smith Saved 

by Washington 

The Library of Congress, following the 

mandate of the National Film Preservation Act 

which was passed by Congress earlier this 

year, has drawn up a list citing 25 films as 

"national treasures". The films, which range 

widely in genre, era, casts and crew, were 

selected by a committee which started with a 

list of over 3,000 nominees. Among the final 

choices were classic favorites ("Cone With 

" 

The Wind," "Casablanca, "Singin' in the 

Rain," "The Wizard of Oz"), critics' choices 

("Citizen Kane, Intolerance," "The 

Searchers"), silents ("Modern Times," "The 

General"), and surprises ("Nanook of the 

North," F. W. Murnau's "Sunrise," Gordon 

Parks' "The Learning Tree") 

Inclusion on the list doesn't mean that a film 

cannot be colorized, or that a film must be 

preserved, or that a film is one of the best of 

all time. The legislation simply requires that 

the films on the list be explicitly labelled as 

altered if anyone does anything to them This 

explains why a film like "Star Wars," which is 

clearly not about to be lost or tinted, found its 

Al and John chill 

out 

With these figures, the cumulative take for 

the year is $3.82 billion, almost 13 percent 

above last year's record gate. Given the same 

pace over the remaining 13 weeks of the 

year, 1989's total boxoffice should rise above 

the $5 billion watermark for the first time in 

history. 

Despite the impotence of the Act, consolation 

was awarded preservation-minded 

groups such as the Directors' Guild when the 

National Film Preservation Board voted to 

declared a film "altered" if it differs in any 

way from the form of its original theatrical 

release. While, again, this ruling has no consequences 

in actual practice, it does signal to 

colorizers, editors-for-tv., and panners-andscanners 

that their activities are being noted, 

if not frowned upon, by an official organ of 

the US. government 

December, 1989 33

. . so 

: 

(312) 

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theatrical distribution of such RKO classic film 

titles as "Top Hat," "Cunga Din," "Citizen 

Kane," and the original "King Kong " The 

films have been owned since 1987 by Turner 

Broadcasting Systems, which also has title 

classic films in the MCM and Warner Brothers 

libraries. The new agreement covers some 

765 films in all, though only 50 or so are being 

considered lor theatrical rerelease. The 50th 

anniversary reissue of "Citizen Kane" is especially 

anticipated by Paramount, whose own 

pre- 1949 titles are owned and distributed by 

Universal 

Stop Them If You've 

Seen This I (or II, or III) 

Yes, George Santayana, those who cannot 

remember the past arc condemned to repeat 

it, but what is the tate of those vvrho 

remember the past too well? iMore specifically, 

has Hollywood crossed the perforated 

line and begun producing more 

sequels than original films? Production is 

underway on the long-awaited "Godfather 

III," with the principals of the previous 

two films both in front of and behind the 

camera, while the inevitable if not wholeheartedly 

wished-for "Rocky V" is also 

shooting. 

But that's just the tip of the sequel iceberg. 

During the fall and winter months, 

the xerox-minded productions that w\\\ 

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"...and in number six I 

can beat up Pat Morita..." 

loween V," "Leatherface: The Texas 

Chainsaw Massacre III," "Back to the 

Future II," "National Lampoon's Christmas 

Vacation," and "The Two Jakes," the 

breathlessly-anticipated sequel to 1974's 

"Chinatown." 

But wait, there's morel The following 

films based on previous hits are scheduled 

to appear sometime during the next year: 

"Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure II," 

"48 Hours 11" (alternate title: "Another 48 

Hours"), "Robocop II," "Gremlins II," 

"The Exorcist III: 1990," "Back to the 

III" Future (talk about assuming you're 

gonna succeed!), "The Young Guns II," 

"Basket Case 2," "Child's Play II," "Good 

Morning Chicago" (Adrian Kronauer hits 

the Windy City), "The Rescuers Down 

Under" (Disney's first-ever sequel), "Ernest 

Goes to Jail" (don'tcha just wish?), 

"Three Men and a Little Lady" (the baby 

grows up), "The NeverEnding Story II," 

"Rock and Roll High School Forever" 

(pardon, but did the first one do so well?). 

34 BOXOFUCE 

Response No, 53

iiid "Die Harder" (alternate title: "Die 

1 l.iid II; The Taking of Los Angeles International"). 

And there's even more! (This is beginning 

to sound like a late-night-tv ad for a 

kitchen appliance you don't need.) The 

following titles have been registered with 

the MPAA, although no definite plans 

have been revealed for production: "The 

Naked Giui II," "Action Jackson II," and 

"Predator II: Body Count." Rumors also 

persist about sequels to "Batman" (gosh, 

there's a longshot!), "9 1/2 Weeks," and 

"Highlander" (despite tepid domestic 

lamings, the latter two were big international 

hits). 

Now that you're thinking that there 

couldn't possibly be room enough on marquees 

for all the digits necessary to cope 

with this explosion of mimicry, you'll be 

relieved (or perhaps reviled) to hear what 

titles the folks at Buena Vista have registered 

as possible follow-ups for their fantasy 

hit of this summer (those with limited 

patience may want to skip this): 

"Honey, I Can't Get the Kids Out of My 

Head,'' "Honey, I Turned the Kids into 

Animals," "Honey, I Turned the Kids into 

Giants," "Honey, I Faxed the Kids," 

"Honey, I Turned the Kids Invisible," 

"Honey, I Sent the Kids to the Moon," 

"Honey, I Xeroxed the Kids," and "Honey, 

I Ate the Kids." What creativity — not 

a roman numeral in sight! 

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AFMA Plots EC Strategies 

Along with international policy makers, 

global economic planners, and europhiles all 

over the US., the American Film Marketing 

Association has an eye on the merger of 

national and economic interests which will 

form the European Community in 1992. 

AFMA president lonas Rosenberg points out 

that "over 60"o of our business utilizes the 

European infrastructure for distribution" to 

the over 320 million consumers represented 

by the conglomerate. AFMA is thus especially 

concerned with the possibility of trade barriers 

and quotas which would adversely 

affect the entertainment industry. 

The battle to keep trade doors open is 

being fought on at least two grounds. In July, 

AFMA chairman William Shields testified before 

the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications 

and Finance, taking an emphatic 

line against quotas. Shields' testimony, the 

first congressional appearance by an AFMA 

representative, was underscored by that of 

MPAA president jack Valenti. But MPAA companies 

do not fear proposed trade restrictions 

in quite the same way that AFMA members 

do. For while MPAA represents organizations 

which have wholly-owned subsidiaries 

or concerns abroad, AFMA companies 

must frequently sell all theatrical, tv, and video 

rights to their products to European distributors 

AFMA did more this summer, however, 

than appeal to Congress to fight its fights. The 

group met at the Cannes Film Festival with 

Jean Dondelinger, the European Community's 

Audiovisual Affairs and Cultural Commissioner. 

Dondelinger voiced EC concerns 

about its own declining theatrical revenues, 

but explained that "EC directives favor the 

joining together of European companies with 

U.S. Companies to produce and distribute 

films targeted for the international and U.S. 

markets." 


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December, 1989 35

. 

and 

EASTERN NEWS 

Boston 

Drastic budget cuts resulting from the 

state's fiscal crisis have threatened the ability 

of the Massachusetts Film Office to attract 

production companies to the state at a time 

when the Office was generating the highest 

revenues in its 8-year history. The cuts in 

funding mean that the Office cannot advertise 

in industry trade publications, update or 

reprint its production guide, or attend conventions 

at which various states and cities 

attempt to attract film and television productions. 

South Burlington, VT 

Hoyts Cinemas' closure of its 

3-plex here, 

with no announced plans to rebuild or 

replace the facility, 

leaves the immediate Burlington 

area with 20 screens. The defunct 

theatre showed first-run films. 

Arlington, MA 

The .Arlington Regent Theatre, built in 1908 

as a vaudeville house, has been saved by private 

owner/developer Richard Sacco, and 

will live on as a second-run featuring discount 

ticket prices, ushers who escort patrons to 

their seats, and "The World's Best Popcorn" 

(so they claim). The 500-plus seat theatre is 

still 

undergoing some renovation, including an 

effort to fully restore its 

balcony. 

and not only in the form of soundtrack music. 

In recent months local radio stations have 

been competing fiercely with each other to 

promote new films with sneak previews and 

soundtrack giveaways. "Movies are a phenomenal 

promotional vehicle," says Brian 

Marks, promotion director of WUSL-FM 

which has had tie-ins with 'Batman," "Do 

" 

The Right Thing, "Chostbusters II." Other 

stations in the area have hosted as many as 

4 or 5 screenings a month. 

It works like this radio station promotion 

directors, offering to work on specific films, 

contact film distributors, who rent the theaters 

and give the stations passes, t-shirts, 

posters and the like The stations then run a 

one- or two-week promotion hyping the 

films and offering the prizes The movie 

people hope to boost the box office, while 

the stations are looking to attract new listeners 

and reward loyal ones 

A last-ditch effort has been waged to save 

the Coolidge Corner Movie House from closure. 

The Coolidge Corner Theatre Foundation 

held a series of fund-raising and promotional 

events designed to draw attention to 

their plans to transform the theatre into a 

multi-purpose arts center. The Foundation 

claims to have collected $350,000 from its 

activities, which have included dinners, petitions, 

and the joining of hands to form a 

human ring around the theatre. 

WHY CHOOSE 

Philadelphia 

Ticket purchases at AMC's Olde City 2 

Theatres are now fully automated by the 

Computerised Automatic Ticket Sales 

(C.A.T.S.) system, meaning that patrons can 

phone in to reserve their tickets up to three 

days in advance or can use major credit cards 

to pay for their seats at the time of purchase. 

This is expected to be an especially big help 

come the Christmas season's big releases. 

Both the Philadelphia 

Daily News and the 

Philadelphia Inquirer newspapers are chipping 

in on an effort to increase local movie attendence 

by running promotional messages 

along with their daily theatre timetables. Slogans 

such as "Your family deserves bigscreen 

adventure" and "Tough day at work' 

See a great movie tonight" are among the 

boxed promos 

Baltimore 

The city tax on admissions to movies and 

Movies have been turning up on the radio. 

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olher amusements has increased five-fold, 

from one to five percent. The increase, part 

ot a revenue-enhancement program for the 

STATEMENT OF OW.E^Sm^.'S'ANAOEMHNT AND CRCUUVTION 

city, IS the first of its kind since 1972, and it 

brings Baltimore's amusement tax into line 

with the taxes of other major Maryland subdivisions. 

In response to the tax hike, the Charles 

Theatre, an art and foreign film venue, raised 

Its ticket prices from $4 to $4.25, Pat Moran, 

director of the theatre, said "We're very 

reluctant to take this step but we just don't 

see any other way around it," Tom Kiefaber, 

utiose Senator Theatre has not announced a 

nt'w pricing policy, stated "it bewilders me 

llial the city would slap a 500 percent 

in( rease in the amusement tax on the handful 

ol theatres left that are struggling to survive." 

( )lher theatre owners were similarly disniaved 

and confused about how to respond 

Id Ihe news. 

The Senator Theatre celebrated its 50th 

anniversary on October 5 with a gala program. 

Events at the theatre, which is listed on 

the National Register of Historical Places, 

included the display of vintage 1939 automobiles, 

the dedication of the sidewalk under 

the marquee, a champagne and hors 

d'oeuvre reception, entertainment by the 

Swing Central Band, and the screening of a 

restored version of "The Wizard of Oz." 

Honored guests at the festivities, which included 

a desert and coffee bar, included Baltimore-born 

director Barry Levinson.

Randallstown, MD 

Value Cinema, Inc. has entered the sub-run 

exhibition business here, reopening the Liberty 

Cinemas as a $l-per-ticket house Starting 

with this theatre, which was formerly run by 

F.M. Durkee Enterprises, Value hopes to 

open several discount theatres in the Baltimore 

area, showing films approximately five 

to eight weeks after their releases The Loews 

lumpers Cinema in Pasadena and the Loews 

North Point Plaza in Dundalk are the two other 

Baltimore-area theatres with S 1 

ticket policies. 

Owings Mills, MD 

Loews Theatres will open its new Valley 

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Center this winter. The 9-plex will be 

Loews' largest facility in the area. 

SOUTHERN NEWS 

Arlington, VA 

A 10-screen complex is being built by 

Loews Theatres here, scheduled for a December 

opening. The Pentagon Theatre, in 

Pentagon City, will be part of a new shopping 

center 

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Christmas holiday season Seating a total of 

1800 patrons, the auditoriums will feature 

state-of-the-art sound and projection facilities 

and luxurious seating accommodations \n 

additional feature will be an indoor boxoffice 

equipped with computerized ticket machines 

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Atlanta 

Litchfield Theatres of South Carolina now 

owns 38 screens in the Atlanta area, having 

opened a 8-plex at the Covington Square 

Shopping Center in Lithonia at the end of 

September. The auditoriums, which range 

from 150 to 350 seats in capacity, feature 

state-of-the-art projection facilities and waterfall 

curtains on every screen. 

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Cincinnati 

A 12-screen Showcase Cinemas complex, 

the largest movie house in the city, opened 

here in late September with a gala party and a 

preview screening of Touchstone's "An Innocent 

Man," which was filmed at the Cincinnati 

Correctional Institute. The complex seats 

over 4,000 patrons in 

has free lighted parking for over 

rocking chair loungers, 

1,800 vehicles, 

and features a 9,000 square foot art gallery 

lobby in which original movie posters are 

displayed. 

Indianapolis 

Owners of several adult theatres and businesses 

in Manon and Hendricks county have 

filed lawsuits objecting to the 1983 Indiana 

state "nuisance" laws which have been used 

to obtain court orders to close down porno 

houses and the ilk. Charging that the law 

deprives them of the rights to freedom of 

expression and due process of law, Stuart 

Bench, lawyer for the besieged entrepreneurs, 

pointed out that various sites at which 

prostitutes have been arrested such as truck 

stops have not been the targets of police 

raicjs of the sort that the pornographic enterprises 

have suffered. 

In a related story, the Rivoli Theatre, which 

offers the only X-rated films in central Indiana, 

was raided by police who arrested Charles 

and Delores Culchian, the owners, and Phil A, 

Hill, a part-time employee. The three were 

charged distributing obscene matter 

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The Irving Theatre on the city's old East 

Side has been converted into a full-time classics 

house by operate Harry Burkart III, The 

first offering under the new format was the 

restored version of "The Wizard of Oz," 

which opened on October 10, For Halloween, 

the Irving ran the 3-D versions of "House 

of Wax" and "Dial M For Murder," buying 

15(K) pairs of 3-D glasses for patrons 

Burkart 


.3H Boxoffice

tictided to go to a repertory format after 

stu(iylng attendence figures for other nights 

when classic films were programmed. He 

explained, "With a 1.4 million population 

base in the Indianapolis area, I need |ust 700 

to attend to make money." 

Detroit 

Expanding its presence in the Detroit area, 

AMC has opened 2 multiplexes in Livonia, 

e\[)anded the Abbey 4 and Americana 8 

Tlicatres, and added the Computerised AutonialK 

Ticket Sales system to its Maple 3 

llicdlres. Opened with fanfare including 

siicak previews, charity benefits, and comniunity 

festivals, the Laurel Park 10 in the Laurel 

I'ark Place shopping center and the Wonderland 

6 at the Wonderland Mall also featLjre 

automated ticket sales systems. AMC's 

increase from 86 to 122 screens in the Detroit 

ami Lansing areas also includes the addition of 

liiur screens each to the Abbey and the 

\niericana. 

devoted to alternative films. Eventually, Rand, 

which enters the Chicagoland exhibition 

market with this project, intends to have live 

music before showtimes and a cafe in the 

theatre lobby. 

Delaware, OH 

Several independent theatre owners, 

meeting at the Strand Theatre, asked U.S. 

Representative lohn Kasich of Ohio and State 

Representative loan Lawrence to help them 

battle what they call unfair competition by 

film distributors. Lawrence said she planned 

to introduce state legislation to force distributors 

to rebid films 45 days after they are 

released. She also said she would ask federal 

anti-trust authorities to look into charges that 

the national theatre chains are conspiring to 

force independents out of business. The 

exhibitors of second-run films here charged 

that the chains are holding films until they are 

no longer profitable for others to show. 

screens, Dolby sound, aisle lights, and soundenhancement 

for the hearing-impaired. The 

boxoffice will be equipped with computerized 

ticketing, and the Marcus Corporation is 

exploring the idea of Installing a coat-checking 

facility. 

WESTERN NEWS 

San Antonio 

Despite a policy which forces theatres 

owners to pay Paramount Pictures $1.05 for 

every ticket sold, Santikos Theatres will continue 

to screen the studio's films at its $1 cinemas. 

Randy Blaum, marketing director for 

Santikos' parent company Act-Ill, said that 

negotiations between the chain and the studio 

were underway, and indicated that Santikos 

would join other $1 theatres in refusing 

to show Paramount films if a compromise 

could not be reached. 

Chicago 

Rand Theatres will add a 

10-screen theatre 

to 1800 Clybourn, a retail, restaurant, and 

entertainment center here. The complex already 

houses the Willow Street Carnival comedy 

theatre, a tournament-quality billiards 

hall, a microbrewery and restaurant, and a 

health club, along with a dozen upscale retailers 

Three of the 10 screens will seat between 

750 and 1000 patrons, and two will be 

I\4ilwaukee 

Marcus Theatres will open a 10-plex in suburban 

Oak Creek here in time for the coming 

summer. Located at a major intersection in 

the densley-populated suburb, the Oak 

Creek Cinemas will feature luxurious seats 

with high "T" backs and cup-holding arm 

rests, optimum sight lines, wall-to-wall 

Houston 

Loews Theatres has put $4 million in their 

new Memorial City Mall 8-plex, which seats 

3,400 patrons in a luxurious setting featuring 

marble floors, lighted glass brick columns, 

track lighting along the aisles, curtained walls 

in all the auditoriums, and a high-ceilinged 

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The 5th Avenue Cinema, one of Portland's 

final two remaining single-screen theatres devoted 

totally to alternative programming, has 

closed, Its owners citing a declining interest in 

the theatres' type of programming, the competition 

of mainstream houses, and the 

spread of the VCR as the reasons for the 

demise The city is now left only with the 

Cinema 21 as a single-screen house for foreign, 

indy and revival releases. 

Renton, WA 

General Cinema Theatres will open the 

Renton Village 8 Cinema, a 2300-seat complex 

in the Renton Village Shopping Center 

here The complex will replace the original 

Renton Village 3-plex, which opened in 1%8. 

All of the auditoriums have had their facilities 

upgraded, with plush chairs and clear sight 

lines featured in each The theatre also has 

two computerized boxoffices and can show 

films in 70mm and LucasFilm THX formats. 

Other renovations that General has undertaken 

in the area include work on the Everett 

Mall Cinema and the Overlake Theatre, and 

the construction of multiplexes in 

Tacoma, and Federal Way. 

Silverdale, 

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

London 

As if its somewhat disappointing stateside 

boxoffice performance weren't enough, the 

makers of 20th Century Fox's "The Abyss" 

got a bureaucratic slap in the face here when 

the film was attackecj by censors who were 

only willing to give it a rating of " 2" 1 (children 

under 12 not admitted) if a shocking scene 

involving the dunking of a white rate in an 

oxygenated liquid were removed. 

Despite writer-director lames Cameron's 

testimony that the rat not only survived its 

apparent drowning but now lives as a pet at 

his home, the British Board of Film Classification 

invoked the obscure Cinematograph 

Films (Animals) Act of 1937 after consulting 

with the Royal Society For Prevention of 

Cruelty to Animals The makers of the film 

could chose either to cut the controversial 

scene or to appeal the ruling, but the film was 

slated to premiere in the UK. on October 

12th either way. 

(916)346-2094 


CONCEPTS' 

Fabul 

put 

Instttutloruil IVailerf for 

Antl-lMer Thallers 

kingTt-ailen 

Custom Feature Presentati 

Albuquerque, NM 

iwerks Entertainment opened the second 

of its two U.S Iwerks 879 Theatres here. The 

large-screen theatre, which utilizes the 8- 

perf/70mm configuration, is based at the 

New Mexico Museum of History, its sister 

theatre is located at the Jacksonville (Florida) 

Museum of Science and History. Iwerks director 

of marketing Craig Hanna reports that 

"the Albuquerque theatre has been sold out 

since it opened" in August. 

San Francisco 

The city's oldest surviving theatre, the 

Embassy on Market Street, will be christened 

the Civic Cinema under the new ownership 

of David Tsao, and is 

considering the addition 

of live rock shows to its standard bill of second-run 

features. The Embassy opened in 

1405 and was the only downtown theatre to 

survive the great earthquake of the following 

year 

Switzerland 

As Disney discovered a few years back 

when it was refused permission to change its 

Swiss distributor from the local Parkfilm to 

Warner Brothers, the Swiss Cinema Laws 

have been pretty tight in protecting national 

interests from international competition. All 

that will change soon, however. Swiss foreign 

affairs and trade bodies have begun the process 

of opening the distribution and exhibition 

industries to foreigners. 

The shift, prompted by the Swiss Film Distributors 

Association's call to update Swiss 

Cinema Laws, will result in several crucial 

changes. Firstly, Swiss-registered firms with 

foreign capital or interest will be permitted to 

become distributors and to enter the exhibition 

market Both of these areas had been 

strictly reserved for native companies since 

1962, with United International Pictures, 20th 

Century Fox and Warner Brothers being 

granted admission on the basis of having 

been operating in Switzerland prior to that 

date Secondly, the new legislation will alter 

the quota system for film imports, which 

stands currently at approximately 30 pictures 

a year per distributor 

In effect, the new regulations 

will place majors and indies on the 

same legal footing. 

Catalogue. 

Upon Request 

CINEMA CONCEPTS 

THEATRE SERVICE 

COMPANY, INC. 

67020 Powers Ferry Road 

Suite 150 

Atlanta, Georgia 30339 

(404)956-7460 

BOXOhKKK 

Response No 

Orange County, CA 

Despite published reports to the contrary. 

Pacific Theatres and Drive-lns announced that 

It has not permanently closed its two fourscreen 

drive-ins in La Habra and Buena Park. 

The facilities will be closed for the winter, said 

a Pacific spokesman, in a reflection of declining 

attendance, but the chain still 

believes that 

the tuture ot the multiscreen drive-in is 

sound Pa< ilic 's announcement coincided 

with the announcement of a similar winteronly 

closing for an independently owned 

drive-in in 

nearly Santa Fe Springs 

ON THE MOVE 

Alan Cordover has been promoted to vice 

president, exhibitor services for the Domestic

UMrit)ution Division of Paramount Pictures. 

CiiriJover will 

oversee Paramount's services 

to exhibitors, Including field promotion, creation 

and distribution of "Film Tracks" magazine, 

and the operation of Premiere House, 

which supplies advertising and merchandising 

materials directly to theatres. For the past two 

years Cordover has served as executive 

director of exhibitor services for Paramount 

Things are looking up for four members of 

New Line Cinemas' distribution division, 

Maureen Nicholson has become assistant 

southeastern division manager at the Atlanta 

office, having joined New Line from Universal 

and Embassy in 1986, Moving from the Atlanta 

position to the Los Angeles assistant division 

manager slot Is Tim Mason, another 1986 

arriver, Mike Simon and jlm Sherry have taken 

up booker and cashier posts In Los 

Angeles and New York respectively 

Brian Durwood, who until recently served 

as a Product Line Manager for Data I/O In 

Seattle, has been named Vice President of 

for such films as "Rocky," "Wargames," and 

the Pink Panther and lames Bond series. As an 

actor, he was nominated for an Obie for his 

work In "Sweeny Agonisties." 

Furn Brockman, a former advertising artist 

for Fox Midwest Theatres and National General 

Corporation, died in Kansas City on September 

24 Brockman had also served as an 

ad artist for the Tower Theatre In Its vaudeville 

days, manning a drawing board kept in a 

dressing room He was 87. 

Film and legitimate theatre publicist lames 

McMillan died September 29 In San Francisco. 

He represented Columbia Pictures In San 

Francisco, Dallas, Philadelphia, and Chicago 

between 1962 and 1975, in between stints as 

a publicist for live theatrical venues and circuits. 

Arnold M. Picker, former Executive Vice 

President and International head of United 

Artists Pictures, died on October 8 In Boston 

at the age of 76. Picker began his career In the 

entertainment Industry in 1935 In the foreign 

department at Columbia Pictures, rising in 

1945 to Vice President In charge of Foreign 

Distribution at Columbia Pictures International. 

In October of 1951 he |olned United Artists 

Pictures as a partner and as Executive Vice 

President in charge of international dlstrltjution, 

retiring In 1967. 

Picker was very active In charitable circles 

and In film education. In conjunction with 

Brandels University and the American Jewish 

Historical Society he founded and served as 

Chairman of the Board of the National Center 

for Jewish Film. At the City College of New 

York he started a film course which he named 

alter his father, the late David V. Picker, an 

executive at Loews Theatres. Also at 

C.C.N.Y 

, Picker founded the Leonard Davis 

Center for the Performing Arts. In Florida, 

where he lived until his death, he co-founded 

the Holocaust Documentation and Education 

Center at Florida International University In 

North Miami and served as mayor of the city 

of Golden Beach 

Picker is survived by his wife of 54 years, 

Ruth, two daughters, seven grandchildren, 

and two brothers, Sidney, a producer, and 

Eugene, former president of Loews 

Theatres. 

f^ 

PRESENTING THE FANTASTIC 4 

XR171 

ANTI-STATIC 

nonyellowing 

pearlescent surface 

Finance for the American Multi-Cinema, Inc 

Durwood, the son of AMC Chairman and 

CEO Stanley Durwood, has previously served 

as part of the theatre circuit's Los Angeles film 

buying operation 

OBITUARIES 

Howard Milton, a retired accountant who 

worked for Fox Midwest Theatres In Kansas 

City until 1954, died in his Blue Springs, Mo. 

home at the age of 82 After leaving Fox Midwest, 

Milton took a similar post with National 

General in Los Angeles until he retired to Missouri 

in 1972. 

lack Reyes, a former licensing sales director 

at MGM/UA who began his career In the 

entertainment industry as an actor, died after 

a short Illness. He was Instrumental In licensing

VALMONT 

Reviews 

Sfonijig Colin Firth, Annette Bening, Meg Tilly, Henry Thomas, 

Jeffrey Jones, and Fairuza Balk- 

Produced by Paul Rassma Written hy Jean-Claude Catriere. 

Directed hy Milos Forman 

An Orion release. Historical drama, rated R Running Time: 

138 min Screening date: 10/24/89. 

Anyone in Hollywood will tell you that costume dramas 

based" on obscure 18th-century novels are boxoffice anathema. 

And yet in the last 12 months, two versions of the same epistolary 

18th-century novel, and a French one at that, have been 

turned into major studio films. Go figure. 

Stephen Frears' "Dangerous Liaisons" was a mild boxoffice 

success, due primarily, one supposes, to the star appeal of 

John Malkovich, Glenn Close and Michelle Pfeiffer in its lead 

roles. It was a wicked, ironic film, difficult to interpret in its 

More lush but not as captivating as "Dangerous 

Liaisons," this alternate version of the same story also 

lacks star power. Look for strong critical support but 

modest boxoffice. 

tone, and did not make a compelling case for the Choderlos de 

Laclos novel on which it was based. Now Milos Forman (director 

of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," "Hair," "Ragtime," 

"Amadeus") has made "Valmont" based on the same material, 

without the big stars, without the cynical tone, with a lot 

more costume, pomp, music, and that sort of thing, and with a 

slightly less appealing and interesting result. 

It's hard to think or talk about "Valmont" without constantly 

referring back to Frears' film, and without finding the newer 

film to be less worthwhile. For starters, almost everyone in 

the earlier film is corrupt or corruptible, whereas "Valmont" 

features a world of slightly dippy people who happen to be 

rich and adulterous. "Dangerous Liaisons" was claustrophobic, 

with characters often scurrying around like chess pieces. 

"Valmont" occupies all of Paris and its environs, with carriages, 

duels, huge balls and weddings displayed in a more 

open, breathing environment. "Dangerous Liaisons" was very 

literary. "Valmont" is plainer, the language much easier to 

follow. Jean Claude Carriere has written in lots of extras who 

have lots of silly pratfalls and one-liners to perform, and his 

script hasn't nearly the strict architecture of Christopher 

Hampton's for Frears. Carriere's characters disappear for 

large chunks of time (the film is by far the longer), and when 

they reemerge it isn't necessarily good news. 

The acting in Frears's film was strange — quasi-comic, quasi-evil, 

quasi-droll You could never be sure what the characters 

meant or how the actors felt about it. There is no such 

complexity in the Forman film. It is a straightforward and 

plain in its tone as was "Amadeus," and, although often quite 

good, the performances aren't as absorbing as those in "Dangerous 

Liaisons," because we don't know the actors in "Valmont" 

so well. It's interesting to watch John Malkovich as an 

18th-century count. It is not as compelling to watch new faces 

in new roles. This is not, by the way, to detract from the fine 

work of Annette Bening as the Marquise de Merteuil (the 

Glenn Close role), of Meg Tilly as Madame de Tourvel (the 

Michelle Pfeiffer role), or of Colin Firth, who handles much of 

the role of Valmont well. But there isn't quite the same edge 

— people aren't acting against type because they don't have 

types to begin with. They fit more naturally into the text but 

they also vanish into it more completely. 

To be fair, the plots of the two films are so dissimilar that 

they may as well have been based on two distinct works. 

"Valmont" is mostly concerned with the romance of young 

Cecile Volange and her music teacher Danceny. Valmont and 

Merteuil, the licentious plotters who were the center of 

Frears' film, are relegated to large but peripheral roles. Even 

more brusquely treated is Meg Tilly's Tourvel, who is not the 

pious, faithful wife played by Michelle Pfeiffer, but rather a 

naive rube, whose entrapment would appear a piece of cake. 

The whole thing is pretty timid stuff, especially given predecessor. 

"Valmont" is a Hollywood film, the sort of thing that occasions 

much breasting-beating around Oscar time. "Dangerous 

Liaisons" is something other, something, in retrospect, pretty 

good. "Valmont" is lovely, lovely, lovely, but hollow at its 

center. Frears' film was hollow too, but it was a hollowness 

bom of nihilism, whereas Forman's film is hollow because it is 

shallow. Both films warp their original source by making a 

20th-century film of it, but whereas Frears and Hampton modernized 

the material with existentialism and drollness, 

Forman and Carriere commercialize it with gilt and soap. 

"Dangerous Liaisons" wasn't quite good enough to make you 

read the book "Valmont" isn't quite good enough to make you 

read the novelization. 

Rated R for sexual situations.— Shawn Levy 

SHOCKER 

Starring Mitch Pileggi, Peter Berg. Michael Murphy, and Cami 

Cooper 

Produced by Marianne Maddalena and Barin Kumar Written 

and directed by Wes Craven. 

A Universal release Hoiror, rated R Running Time: 110 mm 

Screening date: 10/24/89 

Determined to create an utterly unredeemable villain now 

that his first child, Freddy Krueger, has grown up into a hellbom 

Henny Youngman whose films (directed, it often seems, 

on spec) consistently outgross (in all senses) his own, talented 

director Wes Craven now gives birth to Horace Pinker, an 

anarchic brute who butchers whole families for the sheer love 

of slaughter. "Shocker," Pinker's debut, is a ripper of a birth 

announcement. Part "Blue Velvet," part "Max Headroom," 

part even of the best of the "Nightmare on Elm Street" films, 

it continually bolts in surprising directions, drunk on its terror, 

nerve and wit Craven loses control at times, with some poor 

casting ( Imii ( ,s aiul writing particularly evident, but the ener- 

Review Index

:^\ and freshness that mark the bulk of it raise "Shocker" well 

.ibove its class. 

I'inker( Mitch Pileggi) is a Satan-worshipping TV repairman 

\\liose shop is filled with sets refitted to show repeating loops 

ot nuclear explosions, KKK rallies, Cambodian killing fields, 

and the like. His massacre of the family of local college football 

star Jonathan Parker (Peter Berg) is witnessed by the kid 

in a dream. After Parker fingers the killer for his police lieutenant 

foster-pop (Michael Murphy), Pinker hacks up the 

Freddy Krueger's natural father gives birth to yet 

another unstoppable madman, but audiences may be 

tiring of the formula. Its debut weekend grossed an 

unremarkable $4.5 million. 

kid's girlfriend. Now Parker and his cop-pop stage a weird 

competition to catch the maniac, one using forensics and 

search warrants, the other relying on dreams and intuitions. 

(Guess who's right. ) At Pinker's electrocution (no trials in this 

small town), the damnedest things happen, and it turns out, 

though of course only Jonathan knows this, that Pinker has 

been transformed into some sort of energy field and is 

entering other people's bodies, using them as hosts to continue 

his rampage. 

As if all this weren't enough. Pinker uses his would-be last 

words to reveal that he is Jonathan's biological father, leaving 

the poor kid to deal with a chilling version of that most terrifying 

of adolescent horrors: that of seeing in one's father one's 

own future. This Freudian nightmare reaches an apotheosis 

when Pinker enters the body of Officer Dad and attempts to 

kill Jonathan. Instead, in a twist that inaugurates the rollercoaster 

final quarter of the film. Pinker escapes into the TV 

airwaves, and takes to murdering tube-transfixed families all 

over town. When Jonathan dives into TV-land to catch the 

fiend, the film mutates into a dizzying (and not quite fullybaked), 

parody of mass culture. 

Despite the film's various literary lapses, Craven's visual 

skill is consistently engaging. His camera spins and glides and 

prowls along sets strikingly lit and decorated. And the man 

knows his timing, both the chilling and the comic kinds. The 

viewer generally behaves like a happy marionette — clutching 

armrests, giggling nervously, all in good fun. But that's 

only some of the time. Other moments of the film are leaden 

in the extreme. Cami Cooper, the slashed-up girlfriend, is 

idiotically deployed as a bloody Glenda the Good Witch helping 

Jonathan that she threatens to sink the whole film. In fact, 

no one under 30 in this film bears watching or listening to. 

so 

DAD 

Starring Jack Lemmim, Ted Danson, Olympia Dukakis and 

Ethan Hawke. 

Produced by Joseph Stem and Gary David CSoldherg Written 

and directed by Gary David Goldberg 

A Universal Pictures release Dramatic-cumedy, rated PG 

Running time: 117 mm Screening date 10/19/89 

Critics were surprisingly harsh on this flawed but 

moxing father-and-son melodrama. Opening small on 

107 screens, the mo\'ie took in a bittersweet $535,504. 

Ofiêring a perfect bookend to "Parenthood," "Dad" is a 

resonant and deeply-felt film about the moment at which the 

roles of parent and child are reversed, the moment at which 

the offspring suddenly becomes the keeper and protector of 

his or her parents. It is alternately comedic and sad, it is 

probably the first serious entrant in the traditional Fall/Winter 

Oscar contest. 

The story is about the renewed relationship between the 

aging Jake Tremont (Jack Leinmon) and his distant, corporate-minded 

son, John (Ted Danson). When we first meet 

Jake, he is slowly wasting away. Married to a headstrong wife 

(Olympia Dukakis) who treats her husband like a child, doing 

everything for him up to and including putting the toothpaste 

on his toothbrush, Jake has been allowed to turn into a docile, 

feeble-minded retiree. 

But when his wife is hospitalized with a heart attack, Jake is 

suddenly left to fend for himself This turns out to be impossible 

— the old man has forgotten how to do the most basic 

tasks — so John hesitantly decides to live with his father, at 

least until his mother comes home. John is shocked to see 

how fragile and confused his father has become, but by retraining 

him to take care of himself and by getting him out of 

the house to simply have some fun, Jake grows stronger and 

more alert. At the saine time, the relationship between father 

and son grows deeper. 

Pileggi is remarkably intense as the random, relentless, unrepenting 

Pinker, and Murphy gets to play a "Blue Velvet" style 

earnest rube and, in a side he's never shown before, a villain 

inhabited by the spirit of a true fiend. 

Craven's play with fathers and sons here may reveal his 

own ambivalence at the success of Freddy Krueger, or his 

mistrust of television, which comes off as the evilest daddy of 

all. The message isn't clearly enough shaped. He's gotten to 

leam to tighten his scripts, stop casting kids, and, if he's serious 

about resenting sequels, kill his baddies off more unambiguously. 

Despite its flaws, though, "Shocker" is quite a job of 

work, and it is, after all, only a horror movie. 

Rated R for violence, language.— Shawn Levy 

December, 1989 R-

— 

— 

Jake s health ultimately sags and when he is admitted to the 

hospiul for exploratory surgery, he unexpectedly slips into a 

coma The film grows somber and potentially tragic, but then 

Jake: magically awakens, suddenly imbued with new life and 

vigor Now drawn toward loud clothes and flamboyant behavior, 

anci rejuvenated by a revived interest in sex, Jake turns 

into a firecracker, and the film loses some of its credibility. 

This marked change in personality is explained as Jake's reaction 

to a fanciful world which he has created in his mind, but it 

ends u|i just bi'iiig an excuse to load the movie with some 

funir. I'll! iinii ahstic old folk schtick. Audiences will no doubt 

enji)'. II. but n h.i.s little to do with real human behavior. 

Aside 1 10111 this brief fumble, however, "Dad" is a rich piece 

of work, addressing an inevitable subject which was handled 

less-successfuUy in the Tom Hanks/Jackie Gleason melodrama, 

"Nothing in Common." Lemmon turns in his most subdued 

and least showy performance in a very long time, but the 

real surprise is Danson, who shines in his first real starring 

role. Playing a character of complex range, he carries much of 

the movie and does so skillfully. 

Writer-director Gary David Goldberg created "Family Ties," 

and he clearly has a refined ear for the way real people talk 

and react to each other. There are many parallels between 

Goldberg and James L. Brooks ("Terms of Endearment," "Broadcast 

News") — both started out creating television of 

impeccable quality, both made their feature film debuts with 

stories about death and how it draws families back together — 

and he is a welcome addition to the big screen. If his future 

works continue to have the huinor and wisdom of "Dad," he 

will be a filmmaker to keep an eye on. 

Rated PG for language. Tom Matthews 

FAT MAN AND LITTLE BOY 

Stamng Dwight Schultz, Paul Newman, John Citsack and Bonnie 

Bedelia- 

Produced by Tony Gamett Directed by Roland Joffe Written 

by Bruce Robinson and Roland Joffe. 

A Paramount Pictures release Drama, rated PG-13 Running 

tunc 126 mm Screenme date 10/10/89 

The urge to label this dry historical drama "a bomb" is 

great, but we'll say simply that it opened poorly. Its Brst 

weekend on 843 screens brought in only $1.3 million. 

"Fat Man and Little Boy" is an arid, perfunctory retelling of 

the development of the atomic bomb. As an educational tool, 

the film has its merits, but as entertainment, it is pretty slowgoing. 

The year is 1942, and General Leslie R. Groves (Newman) is 

given the unenviable task of overseeing the development and 

implementation of the world's first atomic bomb. Forging a 

kind of unholy alliance with physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer 

(Dwight Schultz), the duo round up all of the great minds in 

the country and impound them in a remote New Mexico laboratory. 

Their task: to do the impossible and build the unthinkable, 

all within an inflexible 18-month deadline. 

Oppenheimer, a morally vague man (at least as presented 

here), plunges head-first into the assignment, driving himself 

and his fellow eggheads to exhaustion as they scramble to 

invent the device that could destroy the planet. Only on the 

periphery do we meet anyone who blanches at the thought of 

such an ungodly invention; in the laboratory, the thrill of problem-solving 

and ground-breaking does not allow time for 

introspection. 

The Germans surrender, but the scientists and the military 

forge ahead, too enthralled with the idea of their "gadget" to 

stop simply because the enemy it was intended for is no longer 

a threat. With the Japanese next in line among the squashables, 

the film follows the development of the bomb right up 

until the first horrorific test in the New Mexico desert. Twenty-one 

days later, the first of two bombs was dropped on 

Japan 

"Fat Man and Little Boy" is directed by Roland Joffe, a man 

of little humor or subtlety. His political agenda is clear from 

the outset — nuclear bombs are bad — but to support his 

stance he has crafted a dry, documentary-like film which is 

boring when it should be sobering. We watch the meticulous 

creation of the bomb, pelted with technological theories and 

terms which few moviegoers are going to understand, but the 

film never really says anything. The moral responsibility of 

the men involved is never truly addressed. 

Part of the problem may lie in the casting of Oppenheimer. 

Dwight Schultz, heretofore best known as a star of "The A 

Team," is not much of a presence; the best he can do to 

convey Oppenheimer's inner anguish is to suck bitterly on a 

cigarette clamped between two outstretched fingers. Here is a 

man who literally holds the destiny of the world in his hands, 

and we never once understand how much blame he is willing 

to accept for his actions. And General Groves, who makes only 

intermittent appearances throughout the second half of the 

film, is presented as nothing but a blustery caricature of a 

hard-as-nails military man. It is Newman's least interesting 

performance in years. 

This same story was told earlier this year in the TV-movie 

"Day One." That production was far more entertaining — 

more interested in character than polemics — but its ratings 

were only fair. So unless moviegoers are lured in by the deceptive 

promise of Paul Newman in a starring role, "Fat Man and 

Little Boy" will probably only find acceptance with critics and 

those whose politics jibe with the filmmaker's. 

Rated PG-13 for language and minor gore. Tom Matthews 

IMMEDIATE FAMILY 

Stamng Glenn Close. James Woods, Mary Stuart Masterson 

and Kevin Dillon 

Produced by Sarah Pillsbury and Midge Sanford Directed by 

Jonathan Kaplan Written by Barbara Benedek 

A Columbia Pictures release Dramatic-comedy, rated PG-13 

Rimning time: 95 min Screening date: 9/21/89. 

Any Elm that can make James Woods boring must be 

doing something wrong. This mushy melodrama about 

Yuppies in search of a bouncing baby tax deduction uill 

be orphaned soon after its delivery. 

Those who enjoy taking potshots at the whining, selfabsorbed 

folks on "thirtysomething" will find much to denigrate 

in "Immediate Family," a sparkless, thoroughly benign 

movie about a handsome, tastefully attired couple's attempts 

to adopt a child. 

The couple in question here are Linda (Glenn Close) and 

R-81 BoxoKUCE

— 

Michael (James Woods) Spector, a professional couple living 

in the yuppie-validated splendor of Seattle. They've got it all: 

respectable jobs (he is apparently the best-paid veterinarian 

in the country, she's an "I work when the mood strikes me" 

real estate agent); a beautiful house (hardwood floors and a 

lake view); nice clothes (sweaters, sweaters, sweaters — 

mostly in earth tones); and cool cars (him: a brand new, shiny 

black Saab Turbo convertible; her: a rugged, equally brand 

new Range Rover). 

And yet (heavy sigh) they can't bear children, so they mope 

a lot. They finally decide to adopt, and they are introduced to 

Lucy (Mary Stuart Masterson), a rootless young girl who is in 

the late stages of pregnancy and willing to give her baby away 

to the right couple. The Spectors are thus put into the position 

of auditioning for the suspicious girl — trying to prove that 

they will be worthy parents for her child — while they in turn 

try to get some sense of her lineage (for all they know, this kid 

could be bom with a genetic inability to choose the correct 

wine to go with squab). 

In true soap opera fashion, Lucy reneges on the deal and 

decides to keep the baby after it is bom, taking it back to Ohio 

to live with her family in redneck squalor. But after a few days 

filled with swearing and cigarette smoking, Lucy decides that 

the baby would be better off with the Spectors. After all, her 

father dnves a truck' What kind of environment is that for a 

child to grow up in? 

Beyond its snobbism and its predictability, "Immediate 

Family" is just one dull movie, awash in a soupy mix of good 

vibes and cheap heart-tugging ploys. The movie was written 

by Barbara Benedek, who co-authored "The Big Chill," and it 

is rife with all of the touchie-feely things that irritated that 

film's detractors. Most laughable is its blatant attempts to 

yield another hit soundtrack album filled with hip songs from 

the '60s; a scene in which Close and Masterson groove to Van 

Morrison's "Into the Mystic" must rank as one of the ickiest 

movie moments of the year. 

Rated PG-13 for language. Tom Matthews 

AN INNOCENT MAN 

Starring Tom Selleck, F Murray Abraham, Laila Robins 

Produced by Ted Field and Robert W Cort Written by Larry 

Brothers Directed by Peter Yates 

A Touchstone Release Drama, rated R Running Time: 113 

min Screening date 10/2/89 

Contrary to the title, Tom Selleck is guilty of starring in 

a really silly movie. This Glm and "Lock Up" may have 

killed the prison genre once and for all. Three 

weekends grossed a manacled $14.9 million. 

Some movies need to be taken in on the giant screen, where 

the spectacle of color, light, sound and motion enhance the 

meaning of the written text. "An Innocent Man" should be 

seen on one of those three-inch pocket TV's. Not only would 

the film not suffer from the constraint of the tiny frame, but, 

presumably, the smaller images would make the thing easier 

to ignore, and that is a very good idea. 

"An Innocent Man" recounts the times of Jimmy Rainwood 

(Tom Selleck), who is framed by two crooked cops who'd 

rather bust him than admit they broke into his house and shot 

him by mistake. In prison Rainwood is befriended by the 

requisite gnarled old-timer (F. Murray Abraham) and threatened 

by the equally requisite big black gang leader (Bruce A. 

Young). Throughout he is unflaggingly supported by his loyal 

wife (Laila Robins), who, after parole is granted him, helps 

Rainwood trap the belligerent cops who made the movie necessary. 

The worst thing about "An Innocent Man" is by far Larry 

Brothers' script, a creaking, illogical, inept beast bom of a 

mindless devotion to the three-act formula, a tin ear for dialogue, 

and an utter paucity of ideas. It goes on for about a 

quarter too much and borders just a touch on ugly racism. It 

would've been a crummy movie-of-the-week; let's not even 

discuss it as a feature. 

Let's move instead to director Peter Yates, who goes straight 

for the stereotypical or the sentimental wherever he can — 

swelling music, shouting and weeping, tense stares, and 

senseless, arrhythmic pans and dollies. He and cinematographer 

William Fraker create something like a mood with their 

unpretty version of LA. and their notably dingy prison, but 

once they set the table they have no idea what or how to cook 

Thus the production design, along with the slick editing of 

Stephen Rotter and William Scharf, goes utterly to waste. 

Selleck is well-served by Yates' TV-style insistence on 

close-ups and spare, symmetrical compositions. The craggy 

good looks that say Clark Gable, however, are undercut by an 

emotive ability that is more Betty Grable. Maybe if he'd've had 

something other to do that protest his innocence in a breastbeating, 

wimpy bowdlerization of the Bill of Rights, or pine 

away for the bland Robins, or trade mean looks with the tooflabby-to-be-scary 

Young or the stupid cops (David Rasche 

and Richard Young), he'd've done a better job, but that's a 

matter between Selleck and the screenwriter. Abraham manages 

to add a bit of life to the muck, as does Todd Graff as an 

inmate whose days are numbered. 

"An Innocent Man" wishes it were like the great prison 

dramas of the 30's and 40's, and it tries hard to steal their 

cliches, but it manages to be only one thing: guilty, guilty, 

guilty. Next case. 

Rated R for violence, nudity. 

BREAKING IN 

— 

Shawn Levy 

Starring Burt Reynolds, Casey Siemaszko, and Sheila Kelley. 

Produced by Hatry Gittes Written by John Sayles. Directed by 

Bill Forsyth 

A Samuel Goldwyn Release Comedy, rated R Running Time 

91 mm Screening date: 9/27/89 

Burt Reynolds got the best reviews he's received in 

years — by making himself look miserable. After ten 

days in release, this small gem grossed an unpromising 

$1.4 million. 

Light, flaky, sweet, and finally leaving you hungry for a bit 

more, "Breaking In" sounds more like a pastry than a film. In 

a way, it is. "Breaking In" is an American-made croissant, a 

film that, shot in French with a few more jump cuts or wacky 

angles, would've fit into Francois Truffaut's resume with 

ease. 

To compare Bill ("Local Hero") Forsyth's latest film to one 

made by a legend is to say more about its style than about its 

substance. "Breaking In" isn't a classic, but it does have the 

jaunty, pleasantly self-secure tone of a film like "Confidentially 

Yours" or the happier moments of "Shoot the Piano 

Player" or "Jules and Jim." Forsyth cuts from some action 

before it's over, dwells on some sober moments for so long that 

they become jokes, lets his players perfonn outrageous bits of 

nonsense, and is not above tweaking a few sacred noses, such 

as those of district attorneys and bom-again christians. 

"Breaking In" is the story of two thieves: old, wise, deliberate 

Ernie (Burt Reynolds in a powdered toupee) and young, 

dumb, impulsive Mike (Casey ("The Young Guns") Siemaszko). 

Emie teaches Mike the ropes of the safecracking trade 

December, 1989 R-82

— 

while liimself learning how to abide and, eventually, admire 

his p.iitner's ebullience. The two run a few jobs together, 

argui- I'Ver style, Mike is nabbed and jailed, and they part 

ami( /,'lv at the end, at a point which most filmmakers 

woui i ve thought was the middle. It is a slight film, more a 

miniature than a mural, but full of the stuff that real life 

seems to be made of. 

Much of the burden of a film of this sort falls on the shoulders 

of its cast. Most obvious, of course, is Reynolds, playing 

out of character as both old and low-key. He affects a limp, 

juts his jaw to suggest dentures, never mugs or ironizes, and in 

general pulls off a nicely quiet turn. It's not clear if it works, 

but at times Reynolds shrinks so deep into Ernie that one 

forgets he's around at all. 

Siemaszko (would such a name have ever left the original 

Samuel Goldwyn's desk unaltered?) is another story altogether. 

If at first you hate him because you think he's a silly jerk, 

you later learn to love his jerky silliness. He plays Mike with a 

pathos, energy, and cherubic stupidity that make him the center 

of attention. Imagine a film featuring an engaging teenager 

who's neither nerdish nor smarmy! 

Other nice performances are turned in by Sheila Kelley as 

Mike's prostitute-in-training girlfriend, Lorraine Toussaint as 

her mentor, and Maury Chaykin and Steve Tobolowsky as a 

criminal lawyer and a d.a., respectively, who damn near steal 

the whole thing as they practically play 'the odd finger is it' 

plea-bargaining Mike's fate. 

"Breaking In" doesn't holler for attention, beg for laughs, or 

con you into tears. It isn't perfect — the look is too often flat 

and a few too many plot threads are left dangling. It is a 

warmish, coolish, unsentimental look at a few things done by 

a few people, and, as such, is more ambitious, and certainly 

more enjoyable, than any pratfall-and-hardware-filled 'comedy' 

you can name. 

Rated R for language. Shawn Levy 

GROSS ANATOMY 

StitiTiiig Miittbfw hhidini-. Daphne Zuniga and Chnstine Lah- 

Prudueed hy Howard Rosenman and Debra Hill Directed by 

Thorn Eherhardt Written by Ron Nyswaner and Mark Spragg. 

A Buena Vista release. Dramatic-comedy, rated PG-13 Running 

time: 113 mm Screening date: 10/16/89 

It didn't take a coroner to Bgure out why this dull 

doctor drama was D.O.A. With a predictable premise 

and a non-magnetic star, it could only bring in an 

anemic $2.8 million its debut weekend. 

Maybe at some early point in "Gross Anatomy's" development, 

some Clever Jim (perhaps one of the /bi(r writers it took 

to come up with its storyj said, "Imagine it's Hawkeye Pierce 

at medical school." Now that might make a great movie; 

"great," however, is a word which shouldn't even exist in the 

same paragraph as "Gross Anatomy." 

Taken from the well-thumbed file marked "Brilliant Wise 

Guy Takes On Authority Figures, Is Humbled," the movie is a 

dull, cliche-filled comedy-drama about first year med student 

Joe Slovak (Matthew Modine). Joe shoots from the hip, cracks 

wise, mugs a mile a minute. You're supposed to love him; we 

in 

wanted to slug him. 

Joe never studies and he is forever annoying his tight-jawed 

instructors, which makes him very unpopular with his study 

group. Caricatures all — an ethnic one (Alice Carter), a bootlicking 

one (John Scott Clough), a vulnerable, pill-popping 

one (Todd Field) and, of course, the-girl-who-can't-stand-Joebut-slowly-falls-in-love-with-him 

(Daphne Zuniga) — the 

study group tolerates crazy Joe because, well, he's brilliant. 

His teacher (Christine Lahti) wants to bounce him but she 

won't because he's, well, brilliant. And through it all, Joe just 

keeps smirking and goofing because he's just so gosh darned 

brilliant. 

What this movie really wants to be is "The Paper Chase" for 

doctors-in-training, but that would require intelligence, an 

illuminating look into the pressure cooker atmosphere of the 

classroom, and a real screenplay. What we get instead is dull 

nonsense, diluted by lame comedy, lame drama and lame 

romance. The movie does squeeze a few queasy jokes out of 

dissecting cadavers (we laughed, we were not proud), but 

that's the extent of it, quality-wise. 

Simply put, this is the kind of formula pablum which would 

make a fortune if — and only if — Tom Cruise starred in it. 

Matthew Modine, slumming here, is no teen heartthrob, and 

as a result "Gross Anatomy" has all the chances of a cardiac 

Tom Mat- 

arrest. That title isn't going to help, either. 

Rated PG-13 for language and sexual situations. 

thews 

STAYING TOGETHER 

— 

Starring Dermot Mulroney, Tim Quill, Sean Astin, Melinda Dillon 

and Jim Haynie 

Produced by Joseph Feury. Directed by Lee Grant Written by 

Monte Merrick. 

A Hemdale Films release. Dramatic-comedy, rated R Runnmg 

time: 91 min Screening date: 10/11/89 

It's destined to be labelled a "Mystic Pizza" about guys, but 

"Staying Together" is a far richer, far more potent piece of 

work. The elements are the same — the excellent, fresh-faced 

cast, the small-town setting, the modest budget — but this is a 

much deeper film, addressing personal crises of a much more 

troubling nature. 

The story hinges on the three McDermott boys: Brian (Tim 

Quill), a brooding hothead who is having an affair with a middle-aged 

woman (Stockard Channing); Kit (Dermot Mulroney), 

who is being tortured mercilessly by an ex-girlfriend 

(Daphne Zuniga) about to marry another man; and Duncan 

(Sean Astin), a half-pint wiseguy whose drinking problem 

isn't quite as cute as he thinks it is. Living in the small town of 

Ridgeway, South Carolina, the boys live a pretty carefree life, 

working in their father's chicken restaurant and raising hell in 

their off hours. 

But then their father (Jim Haynie) suddenly — and quite 

selfishly — sells the restaurant, leaving the boys without an 

income or a future. Brian takes it the. hardest, rightfully feeling 

that the sons should have been involved in the decision, 

and he leaves home in a rage. When tragedy strikes, however, 

the family is pulled back together, determined to shake off at 

least some of their errant ways and move forward as a unit. 

"Staying Together" offers a surprisingly potent examination 

of a family being torn apart by change and insensitive 

behavior (just like real boys , all three of the sons are perfectly 

rotten at times). This may not be a typical clan — the mother 

(Melinda Dillon), for instance, takes a bothersomely casual 

view of her boys' promiscuity and alcohol and marijuana 

abuse — but the emotions are universal. Betrayed by their 

father, the boys rebel in different but quite painful ways. And 

when Kit, disoriented by the violent changes that have 

occurred and driven to distraction by his ex-girlfriend, wrongfully 

accuses his mother of adultery, the fury and hurt conveyed 

by her is almost too real to watch. As a result, the 

eventual reunion between mother and son is that much more 

moving. 

The film was directed by actress Lee Grant, and one can 

assume that it is her acting background which has allowed her 

to draw out such satisfying performances from her cast. The 

three young actors pl,T\'in!; the McDcnnott boys — actors who 

have heretofore pl,i\ id miK Mipp.uiini; roles — are terrific, as 

are the rest of die , ,isi lulu, h nu Imles Dinah Manotf of TV's 

"Empty Nest," who hapiien.s to lie (.r.uit's daughter). 

R-83 BOXOKKKE

— 

The film also has a coarseness which is much appreciated. 

Its handling of sex and drug use is surprisingly frank, and its 

language is sure to offend (in the last few scenes of the film, 

the boys experience not one but two cathartic moments, both 

^ of which involve the shouting of phrases which can't be 

I printed here). This bawdy approach gives the film a real 

* verve, but it may also prevent it from reaching as wide an 

audience as "Mystic Pizza." "Staying Together" is a "warts 

and all" movie about a small-town family, and it was obviously 

made for an adult audience only. 

Rated R for language, drug use, nudity and sexual situations. 

Tom Matthews 

APARTMENT ZERO 

Starring Colin Firth and Hart Bochner 

Produced by Martin Donovan and David Koepp. Directed by 

Martin Donovan. Written by Martin Donovan and David 

Kocpp. 

A Skouras Pictures release. Psychological thriller, not rated 

Running time: 124 min. Screening date: 10/4/89 

Argentinean filmmaker Martin Donovan tries so hard to 

emulate masters of the macabre like Roman Polanski and 

.Alfred Hitchcock that his "Apartment Zero" unintentionally 

becomes a parody of the genre. Murky and muddled, the murder 

mystery is stylized to a fault. 

A bleak urban landscape — the English-speaking community 

of Buenos Aires — is the setting for a story peopled with 

deeply anguished, lonely characters. Colin Firth gives a 

remarkably good performance considering how unsympathetic 

his character is. He plays Adrian Leduc, an introverted 

cinephile who is deeply mistrustful of his nosy, eccentric 

neighbors and emotionally tortured by the deterioration of his 

crazy, institutionalized mother (El via Andreoli). 

Donovan goes overboard in creating opportunities to editorialize 

about cinema by having Adrian run a revival house 

that's going bankrupt because of video. He lives alone in a flat 

filled with Hollywood stills, but financial pressure forces him 

to overcome his reclusiveness and take in a boarder. 

Laughably dreadful characters answer his ad for a roommate, 

but he settles on Jack Carney (Hart Bochner). Jack is 

phenomenally good-looking and charm oozes out of his sincere 

eyes. He has a way of giving everyone exactly what he or 

she wants and he is immediately liked by everyone in Adrian's 

building, including a lovelorn wife, a pair of old biddies and a 

drag queen. 

For Adrian, it's love-at-first-sight, and he jumps into the role 

of the wife in this odd couple, washing, cooking and doting 

over Jack. He has no idea that his new friend is responsible for 

— 

a recent series of gruesome murders. The boxoflfice cashier at 

Adrian's moviehouse belongs to a local human rights group 

that theorizes (correctly) that the murders are the work of a 

former death squad leader, but Adrian shares none of her 

interest. 

When his mother dies, Adrian stumbles onto clues that Jack 

has much in common with his namesake, the Ripper, but he 

can't handle the truth. When Jack kills the cashier, Adrian 

helps him dispose of "the bitch's" body, and the two men 

pledge their devotion to each other. 

A pang of guilt on Adrian's part leads to a struggle over a 

gun, during which Jack allows himself to be shot by Adrian. 

Still unable to face the truth — like Hitchcock's Norman Bates 

— Adrian sets up house with the corpse. In the final scene, we 

see that boxoffice business is booming after Adrian turns his 

cinema into a pom palace and he has been transformed into 

the kind of Marlboro Man his roommate had been. 

The suspense in "Apartment Zero" is as deceptive as the 

character of Jack. Most of it comes from an overdone soundtrack: 

pounding heartbeats, thundering tympanies and swelling 

music. The many extreme close-ups, bizarre camera 

angles and shadowed faces enhance the dark, brooding mood 

of the picture, but distract from what little intrigue the screenplay 

contains. 

The film is unrated, but it contains minor profane language 

and a lot of mutilated corpses. Karen Kreps 

— 

NEXT OF KIN 

Staning Patrick Swayze, Liam Neesun, Adam Baldwin and 

Andreas Katsulas 

Produced by Les Alexander and Don Enright Directed by John 

Irvin. Written by Michael Jenning 

A Warner Bros release. Action, rated R Running time: 108 

min Screening date: 10/25/89 

While it doesn't come close to making full use of a pretty 

good idea, "Next of Kin" certainly deserves more than the 

frugal release that Warner Bros, has given it. Perhaps they're 

still pinching pennies over there in light of the Yahoo Serious 

incident. 

Giving a new twist to the traditional fish out of water yam, 

Patrick Swayze plays Truman Gates, a mountain man from 

rural Kentucky who long ago became a cop in Chicago. Truman 

maintains close ties with the folks back home, but his 

acceptance of the big city life — and the big city laws — has 

strained relationships with those he left behind. 

Both cultures are thrown together when Truman's visiting 

brother (Bill Paxton) is murdered by Joey Rosselini (Adam 

Baldwin), the foster son of a Chicago mobster (Andreas Katsulas). 

Truman is determined to find the murderer through conventional 

legal means, but his kinfolk — particularly his other 

brother Briar (Liam Neeson) — want the killer tracked down 

immediately, in honor of an old mountain tradition. The two 

brothers work the mean streets of Chicago, using their own 

methods to prove Rosselini's guilt, while we see that the mob 

family is being brought down from the inside by dissention 

and betrayal. 

"Next of Kin" is surprisingly respectful of the Appalachian 

men and avoids making jokes at their expense, perhaps 

because it devotes so much time to wallowing in Italian 

cliches (Truman's first confrontation with the top mobster 

takes place while the hood fusses over a pot of spaghetti 

sauce; henchmen gorge themselves on pizza during a stakeout; 

Frank Sinatra is heard singing "My Way" on some 

unseen radio right before a big shootout). The extent of 

Swayze's characterization of a mountain man is a drawl and 

an ever-present hillbilly hat, but it's a good performance and 

evidence that he may yet become a certified leading man, 

"Road House" notwithstanding. 

Better still, though, is Liam Neeson, who is quickly becoming 

a terrific, chameleon-like character actor (he was the 

mute transient in "Suspect," the egotistical movie director in 

"The Dead Pool," and the misguided lover in "The Good 

Mother"). An Irishman by birth, he not only affects a convincing 

Southern accent, but also acquires the plodding dexterity 

of a man whose limited intelligence is more than compensated 

for by his survival savvy. 

A lot more could have been done with this story; when a 

whole gang of mountain men show up in Chicago in the final 

few minutes to take on the mobsters, we wished they had 

arrived sooner and that the story said more about the clash of 

cultures and family loyalties. But strictly as an action picture, 

"Next of Kin" delivers the goods. Once it gets to video it will 

probably get the attention it merits. 

Rated R for language and violence. Tom Matthews 

ROMERO 

Starring Raul Julia and Richard Jordan. 

Produced by Ellwood E. Kieser, CSP Directed by John Duigan 

Written by John Sacret Young. 

A Four Seasons Entertainment release Drama, rated PG-13 

Running time: 105 min. Screening date: 8/29/89 

"Romero" is the first theatrical production of the Reverend 

Ellwood E. Kieser and his Paulist Pictures, but it is not your 

standard church movie. It is relevant to current international 

events, and it should draw a politically informed, mainstream 

audience. The production of the film itself is a guerrilla tactic 

against the government of El Salvador. 

The film dramatizes the life of Archbishop of San Salvador 

Oscar Romero (played by Raul Julia) and the political awakening 

which led to his being gunned down by Sandinistas 

while celebrating the Eucharist in 1980. Julia gives a performance 

rivaled in his own career only by "Kiss of the Spider 

Woman," and it ought to earn him another Oscar nomination. 

He plays a weak man who is dragged kicking and screaming 

into heroism, and who finally surrenders to the will of God. 

December, 1989 R-84

A rigid, bookish priest who is trusted to "not make waves" 

that would cause his parishioners even greater suffering at the 

hands of El Salvador's government, Julia's Romero seems at 

first to lack passion. But as responsibility is thrust upon him, 

he evolves into a towering figure of a leader and a martyr who 

heroically speaks out to help the poor. 

The archbishop cannot remain blind for long to the rigged 

elections, the kidnapping and murder of political dissidents, 

the racism and the massacre of innocent people in public 

gatherings, nor can he forgive the murder of his best friend. 

Father Grande (Richard Jordan), who is gunned down for agitating 

the poor. When the minister of agriculture (Omar 

Rodriguez), the son-in-law of a church patron (Harold Gould), 

is taken hostage by revolutionaries, Romero tries to negotiate 

his release. But the president-elect, General Humberto (Harold 

Cannon-Lopez), refuses to bend to revolutionary demands, 

the hostage is killed, and the government blames a 

radical priest ( Alejandro Bracho) for inciting the kidnappers. 

The priest is tortured for his "crime." 

When Romero finally defies the mihtary, soldiers desecrate 

a church. The priest then tries to make a public appeal to the 

United States to stop sending arms to El Salvador, and that 

outcry leads to his assassination. 

The political repression, now standard fare to many TV 

news watchers, is brought to life by Geoff Burton's vivid cinematography. 

The film was shot entirely in Mexico on a meager 

budget, and the Third World images are convincingly true 

to the ones seen by this writer in El Salvador over a decade 

ago. 

There is never any confusion as to who are the villains and 

the good guys in "Romero," and its complex politics are 

spelled out clearly. While there are some hazy spots (the relationship 

between Romero and two women — the aristocratic 

wife of the hostage and a doomed, human rights activist — is 

unclear), these moments pass quickly. 

Rated PG for physical violence and naked corpses.—Karen 

Krcps 

THE RACHEL PAPERS 

starring Dexter Fletcher, lune Skye, Jonathan Pryce. James 

Spader, and Michael Gambon 

Produced by Andrew S. Karsch Directed and Written by 

Damian Harris 

An MGM/UA release Romantic Comedy, rated R Runmng 

Time 95 min Screening date: 9/8/89 

This nice little Sim — like the current "True Love" and 

last year's "Some Girls" — fell victim to the continuing 

confusion at MGM/VA. They all desened better 

treatment. 

Midway through "The Rachel Papers," his bizarre brotherin-law 

gives our lovelorn protagonist a bit of advice called 

Norman's Law: "Be flash". It is a credo which the makers of 

the film follow with rigor. "The Rachel Papers," from England, 

is the freshest teenager movie since "Heathers," from 

America. And there's some sort of cultural argument to be 

made here, because unlike "Heathers," which shocked and 

amazed with its violence and black humor, "The Rachel 

Papers" relies on wit, charm and panache for its effect. 

The plot of "The Rachel Papers," which is based on Martin 

Amis ly/J novel OI tne same name, is no eanri-snauerer: 

Charles Highway (Dexter Fletcher), a young Don Juan, lusts 

after Rachel (lone Skye), a sultry American, who is attached 

to DeForest (James Spader), a condescending preppy. Charies 

lands Rachel after much maneuvering, and then dumps her 

abruptly, having discovered himself to have run out of passion 

for her. So what else is new? 

The appeal of "The Rachel Papers," however, lies in the 

ways Amis and director/screenwriter Damian Harris have 

reinvigorated this traditional material. Young Mr. Highway is 

no old-fashioned Lothario. He uses a computer database and a 

clinical variety of techniques which include costumes, accents, 

poems, and props to land his prey. Fletcher often 

addresses the audience in the second-person (a la "Ferris 

Bueller "), and he is so unusual and bright that his merest 

glance is effectively engaging. 

The film benefits as well from its great assortment of odd 

characters. As he lives in his sister's London home, Charles 

must deal with his brother-in-law Norman, played with glee 

by Jonathan ("Brazil," "The Ploughman's Lunch") Pryce, an 

aging hippy who spends his time boozing, making mysterious 

deals, and proffering the aforementioned advice. At an interview 

for Oxford, Charies meets Dr. Knowd (Michael Gambon 

of TV's "The Singing Detective"), whose brusk assessment of 

the young man's prose is a highlight of the film. Spader ("sex, 

lies and videotape") is brilliant in a small role, especially 

when he scans with silent, snobbish disgust the trappings of 

the Highway family's middle-class suburban home. 

Harris and his visual crew — cameraman Alex Thomson 

and production designer Andrew McAlpine — are very flash 

indeed, using with success effects such as overhead angles, 

grainy slow motion shots, and the mad decor of Charles' city 

digs. The film is crisply paced, often beautiful, and consistently 

lively. 

About the only problem with "The Rachel Papers" pops up, 

unfortunately, smack in the middle. Rachel, both as written 

and as acted, is a cipher. Fought over by two men both more 

interesting than herself capable of affecting personality only 

in her wardrobe, able to please sexually in an unlikely variety 

of ways (many of which, by the by, feature her on top, in the 

only glimpse we get of initiative on her part) , Rachel is exactly 

the sort of Kewpie-Doll projection of male lechery that Diane 

Lane had exclusive rights to a few years ago. Skye can't do 

much to act her way out of this trap, and the empty hole that's 

left in the center of the film ultimately proves more distracting 

than beguiling. 

Rated R for graphic nudity and language.— S/iou'm Levy 

QUEEN OF HEARTS 

Starring Anita Zagaria, Joseph Long, Eileen Way and Vittorio 

Dusc 

Produced by John Hardy. Directed by Jon Amiel. Written by 

Tony Grisoni 

A Cinecom release Dramatic comedy, unrated. Running time 

112 min. Screening date: 9/14/89 

"Queen of Hearts" is a typically quaint, heartwarming 

cttbrt from England's BBC-bred group of filmmakers. Its modest 

charms should find favor on the arthouse circuit. 

The story opens in a small Italian village, where the lovely 

Rosa (Anita Zagaria) is about to enter into an arranged marriage 

with the cruel Barbariccia (Vittorio Amandola). Rosa's 

grim-faced mother (Eileen Way) is all for the status-elevating 

marriage, but Rosa's heart belongs to Danilo (Joseph Long), a 

R-85 BOXOKUCK

I 

Minple but hardworking young man. Moments before the wediliiig, 

Rosa decides to nm off with Danilo and following a 

tri'acherous leap from a church tower onto a passing hay wagon, 

the happy couple escapes to London. 

We then jump forward several years, to a point where Rosa 

and Danilo are the proud owners of a small espresso cafe and 

four children, the youngest of which — Eddie (Ian Hawkes) — 

provides the narration for the film. Rosa's mother and Danilo's 

father (Vittorio Duse), who can't stand each other, have also 

migrated to London and are staying in the cramped home of 

their children, but things run comparatively smoothly until 

Barbariccia also moves to town. Still desperately in love with 

Rosa, he is determined to use any means necessary to get 

revenge on Danilo and win Rosa away from him. 

Barbariccia opens a card club and hires Danilo's eldest son, 

Bruno (Jimmy Lambert), away from his father's cafe. When 

Barbariccia also acquires the appliance store to which Danilo 

had been making modest payments on his espresso machine, 

the villain is able to threaten his rival with financial ruin. 

lanilo is finally lured into a card game with Barbariccia in an 

attempt to settle the score, but he plays poorly and is ultimately 

forced to wager his wife's hand. When he loses yet 

asam, a tragic set of circumstances begin, 

"Queen of Hearts" dances between lilting family comedy 

and despair of almost operatic proportions, with everything 

lield together by an element of magic (Danilo's success in 

London, in fact, is triggered by a betting tip offered to him by a 

talking pig's head). In the last act, when Rosa is handed over 

to Barbariccia, and Eddie apparently shoots his brother, and 

Danilo appears on the verge of suicide, the movie seems destined 

to end in the bleakest possible circumstances. But everything 

is settled happily in a clever string of events. 

Some have called "Queen of Hearts" a British "Moonstruck," 

which is accurate only up to a point. Screenwriter 

Tony Grisoni deftly juggles the light and the dark, much as 

"Moonstruck's" John Patrick Shanley did, and the multi-generational 

cast gives this film the same richness. But the humor 

is much more subdued and the drama is far more intense, 

meaning that while sophisticated audiences will find much to 

like, a wider acceptance is unlikely. 

The unrated film contains mild language and violence. 

Tom Matthews 

DRUGSTORE COWBOY 

Starrmg Matt Dillon, Kelly Lynch, James Le Gros, Heather 

Graham and William S Bioroiighs 

Produced by Nick Wechsler and Karen Murphy. Directed by 

Gus Van Sant ]r Written by Gus Van Sant & Daniel Yost 

An Avenue Pictures release Dramatic-comedy, rated R Runmng 

time: 100 mm Screening date: 10/15/89 

Some call it a comedy, some call it a drama. Either way, 

it is a biting look at a dirty subject from a 

not-too-distant past. Critics raved, and 17 days on under 

Bve screens grossed $192,134. 

"Drugstore Cowboy" is a mordant, blistering black comedy 

about those heady, "Just Say 'Why Not?'" days of the early 

1970s. Unremittingly tough and yet brilliantly funny, this 

smart anti-drug film forgoes lectures and melodramatics, and 

simply shows how really stupid people are when they're perpetually 

stoned. 

The story is essentially about a group of young people who 

find it endlessly glamorous to live under water, but then 

devote every waking hour just trying to find oxygen. The leader 

of this merry band of junkies is Bob Hughes (Matt Dillon), a 

swaggering, occasionally sweet-souled dude who takes great 

pride in being the revered leader of a gang which is only 

marginally dumber than he is. His wife Dianne (Kelly Lynch) 

is Bob's only trtie soul mate, but the two of them have allowed 

Rick (James Le Gros) and Nadine (Heather Graham) to tag 

\ along as they travel across the Pacific Northwest, looting 

pharmacies for any controlled substance they can pop, shoot 

or smoke. 

It's all a chemically-fogged game of cops and robbers for 

Bob and his pals. But when Heather O.D.s in a hotel room, and 

Bob attempts to stash the body up in the rafters, and a sheriff's 

convention comes to town and books all of the hotel rooms — 

— 

including the one containing dead Heather — "Dnigstore 

Cowboy" turns into a dark, at times almost slapstick comedy 

of ertors. 

This bnish with death and the law leaves Bob spooked (Bob 

is one superstitious guy), and he decides to return home to 

Portland and get on a methadone program. Dianne refuses to 

join him, so Bob goes it alone, fighting a temptation which is 

not eased when he is reunited with Totn (Beat novelist William 

S. Burroughs), the fallen and unrepentant junkie priest 

who first introduced Bob to dope. Bob stands tough and at the 

end of the movie he seems to have beaten back his demons — 

if he can only survive being shot by the hopheads who think 

he still has drugs for them. 

"Dnigstore Cowboy" is savage m its unflinchmg realism and 

in its willingness to make light of a serious subject, which of 

course means it's a movie that Hollywood would never have 

touched (Hollywood's idea of dealing with drug problems is 

very special episodes of "Growing Pains"). Director and cowriter 

Gus Van Sant Jr. has an unerring style which pricks like 

a hypodermic, and he is supported expertly by Dillon, who 

drops the lumbering, unschooled performances of his past and 

emerges as (who would've guessed it?) an actor Of the countless 

challenges which could've sunk this film, the biggest was 

making Bob likeable despite his seediness, and Dillon is flawless. 

Even at his worst. Bob is like a puppy on lithium. 

This tnovie should be required viewing for every teenager 

despite its R-rating {because of its R-rating), but short-sighted 

authority-types will somehow decide that "Dnigstore Cowboy" 

glorifies drtig abuse and will blackball it. Sophisticated 

movie audiences, however, will revel in its shrewdness and its 

grittiness, and may even label it — justly — one of the best 

movies of the year. 

Rated R for language and drug use, 

YAABA 

— 

Tom Matthews 

Stalling Fatimata Sanga, Noufou Ouedraogo and Roukietou 

Barry. 

Produced by Freddy Denaes, Michel David, Pierre-Alain Meier 

and Idrissa Ouedraogo. Written and directed by Idrissa Ouedraogo 

A New Yorker Films release Comedy, not rated. In Moore with 

English subtitles Running time: 90 min. Screening date: 9/19/ 

As a depiction of village life in a rural West African village, 

Idrissa Ouedraogo's "Yaaba" is unparalleled. The film allows 

us to witness daily life in an exotic, impoverished world where 

barefoot people live in mud-and-thatch huts, eating, washing, 

sleeping and making love without any privacy from the community. 

It should draw audiences concerned with African- 

American heritage and Third World problems. 

As a morality play packaged as family entertainment, however, 

it is way too simplistic — as spare as the dry, muted 

brown plains on which the story is set, Ouedraogo sentimentalizes 

and ideologizes his home in Burkina Faso, and he tries 

to make these people who roam the desert seem like the 

familiar characters of any TV sitcom. Featuring two exceptionally 

talented 12-year-old lead actors, the film seems 

geared toward viewers too young to keep up with the English 

subtitles. 

December. 1989 R-86

"Yailia" means "Grandmother." It is the name given to a 

withered old woman (Fatimata Sanga) by a boy and a girl who 

befrici-.d her during a game of hide-and-seek Believing that 

the I ''.J woman is a witch who is responsible for all of their 

woes, the villagers have banished her to the outskirts of town 

and forbid the children to visit. But the mischievous boy, Bila 

(Noufou Ouedraogo), is undeterred. He steals food for the old 

woman and defends her from rock-throwers. 

When the girl, Nopoko (Roukietou Barr>'). is stricken with 

tetanus, the villagers consult a charlatan witch doctor who 

blames the old woman for hexing the girl. The villagers, 

crazed with fear and superstition, bum her house. But Bila 

believes that his Yaaba can find a cure for Nopoko's fever and 

pleads for her help, and sure enough, she's well-connected 

with the best medicine man in the region. 

Bila delivers the medicine to Nopoko and the girl has a 

miraculous recovery. Bali's grateful stepmother sends the two 

children to bring food to the old lady, but they find that their 

friend has died peacefully in the desert. 

The most fascinating aspect of "Yaaba" is the intimate way 

in which it presents the close-knit agrarian community, but 

keeping track of all the personalities in the expanded families 

that it "depicts proves to be difficult. The script is so uneven 

that, at times, the village seems densely populate, while at 

others it seems an empty, land-locked outpost. 

Having only a minuscule budget for this film, Ouedraogo 

cast many of his relatives, and these non-professional actors 

possess a powerful spirit which lifts the film above its primitive 

plot. The strong performances, couple with the rich cultural 

detail, are what contributed to the film's celebrity on the 

festival circuit and in Parisian cinemas. 

The film is unrated, but it contains sexual situations and 

suggestive, off-camera sound effects. Karen Kreps 

— 

— 

REVIEW DIGEST 

Story type key: (Ac) Action: (Ad) Adventure: (An) Animated: (B) 

Biography: (C) Comedy: (Cr) Crime: (D) Drama: (DM) Drama with 

Music: (Doc) Documentary: (F) Fantasy: (H) Horror: (M) Musical: 

(My) Mystery: (OD) Outdoor: (Pol) Political: (R) Romantic: (SF) 

Science Fiction: (Sus) Suspense: (W) Western 

2 2§22S I fc 

Abyss, The PG-13 

(Foxl' 

*= t felS s s g 

SCO o S3o H P ^ 

< HO 

THE TROUBLE WITH DICK 

Stairmg Tom ViUard, Susan Dey, Elame Giftos and Elizabeth 

Gorcey 

Produced, written and directed by Gary Walkow. 

A Fever Dream Productions release. Comedy, rated R Running 

time 86 mms Screening date: 9/19/89 

"The Trouble with Dick" is a lackluster, low budget farce 

about a struggling young science fiction writer named Dick 

Kendred (Tom Villard), who is trying to overcome writer's 

block brought on by a stalled career and a compHcated sex 

life. 

The film opens with Lars Shrike (David Clennon), the hero 

of Kendred's science fiction stories, armed with a talking raygun 

and making his way through desert terrain complete with 

alien creatures. Kendred's "reality" is interwoven with 

Shrike's otherworld adventures throughout the film in an 

effort by producer-writer-director Gary Walkow to commit 

Kendred's fanciful tales to the screen. 

Kendred aspires to be a serious science fiction writer, but 

his editor/ publisher, Mr. Samsa (Jack Carter), demands more 

commercial material with the usual "sex, violence and alien 

T-and-A". Discouraged, Kendred turns to old college chum 

Diane Freed (Susan Dey), now a serious science researcher 

living in a rooming house. 

Kendred takes a bedroom in the rooming house in hopes of 

starting up a romance with the disinterested Diane, but he 

soon discovers that his landlady, Sheila Dibble (Elaine Giftos), 

and her seductress daughter Haley (Elizabeth Gorcey) have 

other plans. Bedroom doors open and close and incessant bedhopping 

takes place as mother and daughter pursue the harried 

writer. Kendred becomes understandably distracted and, 

as alter-ego Shrike's otherworld problems start to infiltrate his 

life, he begins losing his grip on reality. 

The idea behind "The Trouble with Dick" is interesting 

enough, but nothing can make up for its mediocre acting and 

poor dialogue. It is impossible to empathize with the characters, 

and any kind of interrelationship (other than sexual) is 

virtually nonexistent. Villard is truly annoying as Kendred, and 

one wonders throughout the movie why two women would 

spend such vast amounts of energy pursuing such a rubberfaced 

clown. 

While it is true that the film won the Grand Prize at the 1987 

United States Film Festival, it seems unlikely that it will 

attract much attention during its limited release. 

M Rated R for language and sexual situations. Lisa Zamastil 

R-H7 

BOXOFUCF.

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Screen

SNEAK PREVIEWS 

The following films are tentatively scheduled 

lor release during the months of February 

and March. The distributors, however, cannot 

stress strongly enough that these dates 

and titles are subject to change. 

WHERE THE HEART IS 

Dabney Coleman stars in this dramaticcomedy 

about a wealthy industrialist who 

decides that the best way to teach his two 

kids about the real world is to cut them off 

from his financial holdings. Anthony Michael 

Hall and Uma Thurman ("Dangerous Liaisons") 

play the suddenly penniless young 

adults. )ohn Boorman ("Hope and Glory") 

directs. A Buena Vista release 

FLASHBACK 

When a former radical long-thought dead, 

turns up alive and threatens to spill the beans 

on his now-legitmate former cohorts, a green 

FBI agent is assigned to keep him from getting 

bumped off Dennis Hopper and Kiefer Sutherland 

star under the direction of Italian 

filmmaker Franco Amurri. A Paramount Pictures 

release (3/16) 

STELLA 

A no-show at Christmas, this is the Bette 

Midler vehicle about a down-on-her-luck 

mother who gives selflessly to her young 

daughter. A Buena Vista release 

CRY BABY 

John Waters directs a typically deranged 

cast in this musical about rival gangs in the 

1950s. The stars include everyone from TV 

heartthrob lohnny Depp to former porn star 

Traci Lords to former hostage Patty Hearst. 

Waters also wrote the script, and filmed the 

movie on his home turf in Baltimore. A Universal 

release 

CRAZY PEOPLE 

Advertising is getting a much-deserved 

poke in the eye with this comedy about a 

former mental patient who decides that the 

best way to sell products is to simply tell the 

truth. Dudley Moore stars, along with Daryl 

Hannah, Mercedes Ruehl, Paul Reiser and LT 

Walsh. Tony Bill ("Five Corners") directs from 

a script by Mitch Markowitz ("Good Morning, 

Vietnam"). A Paramount Pictures release. 

(2/16) 

BIRD ON A WIRE 

Like "Flashback," this comedy is about a 

man who is haunted by a figure from his 

decadent days in the late '60s Mel Gibson 

stars as the guy who had ratted on his former 

partner after a drug deal had fallen apart, and 

is now on the run from the bitter ex-con 

Coldie Hawn co-stars. Directed by lohn Badham 

("Stakeout"). A Universal Pictures release. 

WELCOME HOME, ROXY CARMI- 

CHAEL 

The totally swell Winona Ryder ("Great 

Balls of Fire") stars in this comedy about an 

Ohio town turned upside-down when its 

most famous native - a huge movie star - 

"Mountains of the Moon" 

returns for a visit, jim Abrahams ("Big Business," 

"The Naked Gun") directs; Penney Finkelman 

Cox ("Honey, I Sfirunk the Kids") produces. 

An ITC Entertainment Group release. 

ROMUALD AND JULIETTE 

Coline Serreau, director of "Three Men 

and a Cradle," directs this French romp about 

a yogurt tycoon and an attempt by his staff to 

take over his empire. Danielle Auteuil and Firmine 

Richard Leauva star. A Miramax release 

THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER 

Alec Baldwin stars in this thriller based on 

the best-seller by Tom Clancy, The story concerns 

the crew of a Soviet submarine which is 

trying to defect to America, while their 

furious comrades back in Moscow attempt to 

blow them up, Sean Connery and Scott Glen 

co-star under the direction of John McTiernan 

("Die Hard"). A Paramount Pictures release 

(3/2) 

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS 

"Saturday Night Live" standout Dana Carvey 

makes his leading man debut in this comedy 

about a con man who house-sits for a 

friend, and is mistakenly welcomed into the 

neighborhood as the upstanding owner of 

the home. The film is directed by "Mystic 

Pizza" director Donald Petrie A Universal Pictures 

release. 

EVERYBODY WINS 

The surly team of Nick Nolte and Debra 

Winger star in this drama about a New England 

woman who hires a gruff detective to 

prove the innocence of an imprisoned man 

Karel Reisz ("The French Lieutenant's Woman") 

directs from a screenplay by playwright 

Arthur Miller, his first since "The Misfits" 

in 1961. An Orion Pictures release. 

I LOVE YOU TO DEATH 

Lawrence Kasdan ("The Accidental Tourist") 

directs this dark, fact-based comedy 

about a woman who falls back in love with 

her philandering husband, only after she is 

convicted for trying to kill him, Kevin Kline 

and Tracey Ullman star, A Tri-Star release. 

TRIP WIRE 

A bold daylight robbery of a U.S. Army 

weapons shipment ignites a battle between a 

ruthless gang leader and a federal agent. 

David Warner ("Star Trek V") and Terence 

Knox ("Tour of Duty") star, along with Charlotte 

Lewis ("The Golden Child"), Isabella 

Hofmann and Yaphet Kotto. lames Lemmo 

directs. A New Line Cinema release. 

MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON 

Real-life 19th-century explorers Richard 

Burton and John Hanning Speke face friendship 

and betrayal as they embark on a perilous 

expedition to discover the source of the 

Nile. Patrick Bergin, lain Glen and Omar Sharif 

star; Bob Rafelson ("Black Widow") directs. A 

Tn-Star release 

ROGER CORMAN'S FRANKENSTEIN 

UNBOUND 

The semi-legendary low budget movie 

maven returns to the director's chair for the 

first time since 197 1 with this science fiction 

thriller which gives yet another spin to the 

"Frankenstein" saga. This time, a 21st century 

scientist travels back in time to witness firsthand 

Dr. Frankenstein's amazing creation, 

lohn Hurt plays the time-traveller, Bridget 

Fonda ("Scandal") plays writer Mary Shelley, 

who supposedly made up the story, and Raul 

Julia ("Romero") plays a very real Dr. Frankenstein. 

The script is by Ed Neumeier ("RoboCop 

") and F.X. Feeney 

December, 1989 53

BOXOFFICE_ 

m- 1 SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER 

3uena Vista 

818) 560-5151 

Cinecom 

212) 239-8360 

Columbia 

818) 954-6000 

212) 751-4400 

MGM/UA 

213) 444-1500 

Miramax 

212) 888-2662 

Orion 

213) 282-0550 

212) 980-1117 

Paramount 

213 468-5000 

212 333-4600 

Tri-Star 

[Columbia) 

318) 972-7700 

Universal 

818) 777-1000 

212) 759-7500 

farner Bros. 

318) 954-6000

I 

FEATURE CHART — DECEMBER 1989 

JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH 

\flus, 

, 

Andy 

Stella. D, 

Bene Midler, Steven Collins 

Buena Vista 

(818) 560-5151 

Cinecom 

(212) 239-8360 

Columbia 

(818) 954-6000 

(212) 751-4400 

IVIGM/UA 

(213) 444-1500 

Lenny Henry: Live and Unleashed. ( 

Miramax 

(212) 888-2662 

. C, R, Bob Hoskins. Denzel 

Trip Wire. Ac, David Warner, Terence 

. Peter Coyote, Jurgen 

me. D. Chrishan Slater 

New Line 

Cinema 

(212) 239-8880 

, thf, Lou Diamond Phillips 

Wins. D, Nick Nolle, Debra 

Orion 

(213) 282-0550 

(212) 980-1117 

Garcia, Richard 

Paramount 

(213 468-5000 

(212 333-4600 

(818) 972-7700 

Signs. D, Jimmy Smits, Laura San 

thr, 

David Cronenberg 

A, C, Forest Whitaker, A 

20th Century 

Fox 

(213) 277-2211 

Johnny Depp, Traci Lords 

r Knocks, C, Dana Carvey 

Coupe de Ville. C, Patrick Dempsey, Alan 

Bird on a Wire. Ac. Mel Gibson, Goldie 

Universal 

(818) 777-1000 

(212) 759-7500 

1 Don't Leave. CD, Jessica Langc 

Warner Bros. 

(818) 954-6000

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Clearing House 

RATES: 75c per word, minimum $20, $7 50 

extra for box number assignment Send copy w/ 

check to BOXOFFICE, P O Box 25485. Chicago. 

ILL. 60625. at least 60 days prior to publication 

BOX NO. ADS: Reply to ads with box numbers 

by writing to BOXOFFICE, P O Box 25485. 

Chicago. ILL. 60625; put ad box # on your letter 

and in lower left corner of your envelope Please 

use # 10 envelopes or smaller for your replies. 

HELP WANTED 

THEATRE MANAGER. Expanding West Coast movie 

circuit looking for aggressive, hard working individuals 

to manage luxury multi-plex theatres and deluxe driveins. 

Base pay with incentives, salary neg based on 

experience, 4V, day work week, benefits including 

medical /dental /optical & life insurance plan. Send 

resume to: P.O. Box 5181. San Francisco. CA 

94101. 

POSITIONS WANTED 

THEATRE EXECUTIVE, semi-retired, seeking temporary 

or short tenn top level management position in 

movie theatre industry. Familiar with all 

phases of the 

business including real estate, construction, operations 

and negotiations. Travel anywhere How can I help 

you? All replies confidential. Contact Boxoffice number 

4678 

EQUIPMENT FOR SALE 

COMPLETE THEATRE EQUIPMENT: ( New. Used or 

Rebuilt) Century SA. R3. RCA 9030, 1040, 1050 Platters: 

3 and 5 Tier, Xenon Systems 1000-4000 Watt, 

Sound Systems mono and stereo, automations, ticket 

machines, curtain motors, electric rewinds, lenses, 

parts and many more items in stock. COtvlMERCIAL 

large screen video projectors. Plenty of used chairs 

PROFESSIONAL SERVICE AND INSTALLATION 

AVAILABLE DOLBY CERTIFIED Call Bill Younger 

Cinema Equipment Inc., 9372 N.W, 13 Street, Miami, 

Florida 33172 (305) 594-0570. Fax: (305) 592- 

6970 

BURLAP WALL COVERING DRAPES: $1 68 per 

yard, flame retardant Quantity discounts Nurse & Co 

, 

Ivlillbury Rd.. Oxford. MA 01540 (508) 832-4295 

DOLBY CP-50 Stereo processor $2995 00; Simplex 

XL projector $1795 00; Cinemecannica V-4 Projector 

$2595 00; Noreico FP-20 Projector $2595.00; Potts 

3-Deck Platter $2395 00; Potts 5-Deck Platter 

$3895.00; Philips 35/70 AAII Projector $3695.00; 

Cinemecannica V10 35/70 Projector with Christie 

4.5K console & Christie AW3 Platter and sound system 

$11,500.00; Much more, call or whte to CineVision 

Corporation. 1771 Tullie Circle. NE Atlanta. Ga. 

30329 (404) 321-6333 

NORELCO FP-16 16mm Professional projector with 

pre-amp. 1600 watt xenon lamp & power supply, 

excellent, used. $5995.00. CineVision. 1771 Tullie Circle. 

N.E.. Atlanta. Ga. 30329 (404) 321-6333 

16MM VIEWLEX projector with 500 watt Kneisley 

Xenon Contact Roy Smith. Box 2646. Jacksonville, 

FL, 32203 Or call (904) 354-4102. 

BEVELITE MARQUEE LETTERS, Pronto, 

Brite-Glo, 

Snap-Lok- Several sizes, several colors. From $1 .50 to 

$3-00 each. Some new, as expensive as$12. 00 each. 

Contact Tankersley Enterprises. Box 36009, Denver, 

CO 80236 Or call (303) 980-8265 

NEW YEARS AND ANNIVERSARY SALE WHILE 

SUPPLIES LAST. Splicing tape $2 00, Ciro M3 splicer 

new $275.00. New Xenons 1KW $350, 1KW $400, 

2KW $495. 3KW $550. 4KW $995, sand urns $20, 

pizza oven $595, juicer like new $250, late model 

Coke 4.5 & 6 post mix $400-1000. Manley Popper RB 

$550. three bay Automaticket $500 RB, turnstiles 

$250 RC, American Steller chairs $25. Irwin Citations 

$30. Hussey's $30. Rockers $35-50. Export specialists, 

international Cinema 6750 NE 4th Court Miami 

Fla. 

CENTURY CL PROJECTOR (large lens) on RCA 

9030 S/H on Century base. used, in very good condition. 

Three available available $2200.00 each Delivery 

available- Call Roger Smith day or night at (81 7) 

548-8948 

THEATRE EQUIPMENT FOR SALE: RCA sound 

heads. Xenon lamps 1000-6000 Platter and makeup 

table Projectors Many spare parts Xenon bulbs new. 

used, 400-6000. Call Bill Anderson at (804) 359- 

5005 

SPECIALS-NEW & LIKE NEW ISCO Magnacoms 

$295. scopes: Isco $450. Kowa/Kollmorgen $295. 

Sankor $250. B&L $195, Isco Ultra MC 100-150MM 

new & like new $395, other lenses from $85 00 Film 

cleaners $250. Ashcratt, Strong, carbon reflectors and 

parts 50% off list. RCA 26241 bronze gear $55 00. 

Call now. International Cinema 305-756-0699. 

TWO BEAUTIFUL Diplomat popcorn machines for 

sale with new kettles. Great condition. $2000.00. One 

Mosler drop safe with combination. Great condition. 

$500-00. Call (312) 251-7411- 

SPARE PARTS-Century. Westrex, Westar, Monee, 

Cinecita, Cinemex. discounts up to 50% off list Check 

with us now. International Cinema PH: 305-756-0699 

FAX 758-2036 

SINGLE FACE MARQUEES: 8 high 20 long, with 

Bevelite track, hi-output lighting with your theatre 

name, top quality construction, offered as a result of 

bankruptcy. Will ship for $4850.00 or 36 payments of 

$160.00 including insurance. Bux-Mont Electrical Advertising 

Leasing Systems, 221 Horsham Road. Horsham. 

PA 19044. Call (215) 675-1040. 

PROJECTORS, lamphouses. rectifers, platters, automation, 

lenses, stereo sound systems, all 

rebuilt and all 

at great savings. Trades accepted, call us now. International 

Cinema Equip. Co. 305-756-0699. 

DRIVE-INS—You can have stereo sound as good as 

indoor theatres AM, FM stereo, speakers. Call for 

details (414) 769-3227 

EQUIPMENT WANTED 

TUBE-TYPE EQUIPMENT by Western Electric. Wesirex. 

Langevin. Mcintosh. Marantz, Quad, ARC Early 

speaker systems, units by W. E Jensen, Altec, JBL, 

EV, RCA, Tannoy, Telephone (818) 701-5633, Audio 

City. P. O. Box 786. Northridge, CA 91328-0786 

ROCKERS needed with cup holder arms—approximately 

600 Also two Dolby Stereo systems. Call Mike 

at (209) 784-5060 or (209) 782-1420. 

THEATRES FOR SALE 

BRAND-NEW THREE SCREEN theatre in second fastest 

growing county in the U.S. Only theatre in Flagler 

County. Florida. Thirty miles from nearest theatre. Full 

stereo Cinemascope, completely automated. Some 

owner financing Call (904) 445-3668. a.m. or p.m. 

TWO TRI-PLEXES-good condition. Small town, 

southern California Profitable. Real Estate included. 

Growing area. $750K F.P Unique opportunity. Page 

Olson Commercial & Business Brokerage. Call (619) 

455-5600, 

NICE TWIN THEATRE on two acres. 400 seats in 

each side. Parking lot black topped. Sell or lease, will 

negotiate. In Conroe, Texas Call (409) 856-6495 or 

(214) 754-0400. 

THEATRES WANTED 

WE ARE LOOKING to buy low priced Drive-In 

Theatres, still in operation or shut down, makes no 

difference. Will consider any situation if the price is 

TRI STATE SEATING AND INSTALLATION CO. 

Used seats & parts, sales & service, preventive maintenance 

programs, complete S partial renovations to 

accommodate your budget, acoustical wallcoverings 

and more Services offered throughout the United 

States and Canada Free Information (313) 928- 

9390 

"ALL AMERICAN SEATING" by the EXPERTS! Used 

seats of quality Various makes American Boditorm 

and Stellars from $12 50 to $32 50 Irwins from 

$12 50 to $30 00 Heywood & Massey rockers from 

$25 00 Full rebuilding available New Hussey chairs 

from $70 00 All types theatre proiection and sound 

equipment New and used We ship and install all 

makes Try us! We sell no Junk! TANKERSLEY 

ENTERPRISES BOX 36009 DENVER, CO 80236 

Phone: 303-980-8265 

GREAT BUYS ON PRE-OWNED SEATING! Available 

for immediate shipment! 700 Massey Mini Astro Loungers 

good condition $12 00 each 150 Massey 

Polaris Mint Condition (removed from a college) 

$20 00 each 250 Irwin Citation Mint Condition Armrest 

with cupholders $30 00 each 

1 230 Massey Rockers 

good condition $ 1 5 00 each 

Call now and reserve 

yours! Cinema Equipment, Inc., 9372 NW 13 St., 

Miami, FL 33172. Call (305) 594-0570. Fax (305) 

592-6970 

THEATRE REMODELING 

FOR TWINNING THEATRES call or write Friddel Construction, 

Inc , 402 Green River Drive, Montgomery, TX 

77358 (409) 588-2667. 

MULTIPLEXING THEATRES We can perform all functions 

from consulting to complete turnkey package professionally 

and efficiently with minimum down time. 

Write or call Bill Clark. Quadrants Construction, (313) 

261-9800, 12425 Stark Road, Livonia, Ml 48150 

DRIVE-IN CONSTRUCTION 

SCREEN TOWERS INTERNATIONAL New, 

Used, 

Transplanted, Complete Tower Service Plus Indoor 

Screens Box 399-Rogers, TX 76569, 817-642- 

3591 

MARQUEES, SIGNS 

LEASE OR PURCHASE PLANS: Replacement Marquee 

letters shipped immediately BUX-MONT Electrical 

Advertising Systems, Horsham, PA. 19044. Call 

(215) 675-1040. 

FILMS WANTED 

WE ARE LOOKING for old film. 35mm or 16mm Horror. 

Sci-Fi. Exploitation, J.D and Sandal, etc. 

, 

Especially 1950s- 1960s low budget and independent 

fare. B&W or color Call Greg at (415) 355-5459 Or 

write to: FILMS, 1042 Yosemite Dr. Pacifica. CA. 

94044 

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY 

right- Singles, twins, or triples. West of the Mississippi 

only Call (415) 359-3292, 9-5pm Pacific time. Or ^^^^^^^^^ 

write to: Drive-ln, 1042 Yosemite Dr., Pacifica, Ca, MISCELLANEOUS 

94044 

THEATRE SEATING 

ALLSTATE SEATING, INC. Specialists in auditorium 

and theatre seating service, installation, covers. Phone 

(617) 436-3448. 

SECOND FASTEST GROWING area in the US 100 

new homes per month in draw area Population has 

doubled in last 5 years 

Brand new three screen theatre 

with state-of-the-art equipment. 88% owner seeks an 

investor, or would consider an outright sale. Call (904) 

445-3668, am, or p.m. 

WANTED: MOVIE POSTERS, lobbies, stills, etc Will 

buy any sized collection The Paper Chase. 4073 La 

Vista Road. Tucker, GA 30084 Phone 1-800-433- 

0025 

FOR SALE: Two Automaticket ticket machines, 3-unitgood 

condition, $495 00 ea. Dominion Theatre Equipment 

Co, Ltd. Phone (604) 582-1848 anytime. 

December, 1989 57

if 

1 

^ 

zf^pmms^ 

Anaglyph Glasses 

-LOW PRICES, 

FAST SERVICE 

-24 HR HOTLINE 

DEEP VISION 3-D 

.YWOOD CA 901 

213-465-5819 

CROWD CONTROL 

STANCHIONS & ROPES 

NO LOWER COST 

BUY DIRECT FROM THE 

MANUFACTURER AND SAVE 

ONE-HALF OR MORE 

Ad Index 

Alpro Acoustics 19 

American Licorice Company 10 

American Seating 34 

AstTly Audio. Inc 17 

Automaticket 38 

Bevelite-Adler 39 

Ctiristie Electric Corp 

C2 

Cinema Concepts Ttieatre Service, Inc 40 

Cinema Supply Company 58 

Corporate Design 31 

Crest Sales of Texas 58 

Crown Industries. Inc 58 

Deep Vision 3-D 58 

Dinet Distributed Networks, Inc 37 

Dolby Laboratories 1 

Dworkin Construction 30 

Eickhof Projection & Sound 40 

Entertainment Data, Inc 23 

Goodrich Quality Thieatres, Inc 19 

Greer Enterprises, Inc 41 

Hadden Ttieatre Supply Co 30 

Hurley Screen 38 

GET OUT OF THE DARK. 

The Consumer Information Catalog will 

enlighten you with helpful consumer information 

It's free by writing — 

Consumer Information Center 

Dept. TD, Pueblo, Colorado 81009 

International Cinema 

Equipment Co., Inc 25 

Irwin Seating 

C4 

JBL Professional 5 

Joe Hornstein, Inc 38 

LaVezzi Precision, Inc 34 

Manutech 37 

Mark IV Cinema Systems 9 

Newton-Brown Associates 35 

Osram Corp 15 

Pike Productions of Boston 28 

RIcos Products 36 

Seating Concepts 27 

Silver King 31 

Smart Ttieatre Systems 29 

Soundfold International 36 

Strong International 

C3 

Sunmark Special IVIarkets DIv 7 

Teccon Enterprises Ltd 35 

Tectinikote Corp 41 

Ttieatron Data Systems 21 

US Development Corp 39 

Weldon, Williams & Lick 58 

Westpark Hotel 32 

CREST SALES OF TEXAS-MOTION PICTURE EQUIPMENT 

Complete Sales — Service 

AUTHORIZED DISTRIBUTOR FOR MANY MANUFACTURERS 

Ed Cernosek 

1900 S. Central Expressway 

Dallas, TX 75215-1309 

complete line of . . . 

m 

Concession, Snack Bar and Janitorial Supplies 

plus Projection and theatre equipment also parts 

For The Best In Service. . .Give Us a Call 

^^ CINKMA SITPPI.V COMPANY. IN(^ 

|jj[^( P.O. BOX 148, 

MILLERSBURG, PA. 17061 

TELEPHONE: (717) 692-4744 

p\e plalcd chrome or solid brass. 

^^ 

These graceful m 

TICKETS 

SHIPPED WHEN PROMISED 

PRINTED AS SPECIFIED 

nylon vclour or naugahydc covering, and a wiilc 

CROWN INDUSTRIES 


CONTACT DAVE KOTAREK 

Weldon, Williams & Lick 

P.O. Box 168 

Ft. Smith, Arl(. 72902 

501-783-4113 

Hesponse No 91 

58 BoxofUCE

Who In The World Can You Turn To Eor All 

Your Theater Projection Equipment? 

STRONG INTERNATIONAL, THAT'S WHO! 

w 

There is one place on Earth that can do it all. 

Put your projection booth in business with one call to 

Strong International. 

Projection Systems • Xenon Snuphouses }0^n Bulbs • • Prewired Consoles 

Film Platter Systems • Sound Sysx^s • Power Supplies •Automation Systems 

Response No 95

No other company gives you 

this kind ofpubhc support 

If they gave Academy Awards for 

seating, t.his would be the winner. The 

Irwin Citation. Truly a classic. 

Stylishly smart. Extremely durable. 

AITordahly priced. 

No wonder it's the favorite in theatt>r 

seating. Every year Citation outsells 

all competing lines combined. 

Choose 32" or 35" Hi back design. 

I'hey're both Irwin .solid, hacked l;v 

1; win service. 

With coiiipulcr aided. ir.si.uii.wi 

help you woik.uil scalm.UI'lan.s, tloi.islopesand.sight 

lines. Nddclail IS loo 

small. No delivery is more important 

than yours. In fact we haven't missed 

an opening yet. 

Public support is our product. Cuslomer 

support is our business. 

For more ii\format.ion call us at (616) 

784-2621. Irwin Seating Company, P.O. 

Box 2429, Grand Rapids, Ml 49501. 

•almg t'anada, Ltd., 5ti7.S 

HKii , Mississauga, Oi\tari 

(11(1)238-1502. 

m 

Irwin 

Seating 

Company 

I

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