Boxoffice-July.1991

usiness magazine of the motion picture industry July 1991, $3.95 

He's Back! 

Diractor James Cameron 

Returns From "The Abyss' 

For "Terminator 2" 

'li 

Concessions for the '90s: 

Beyond Popcorn and Soda 

t 

Sydney's Mecca Moi 

e Old Meets the N#l Down Under

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The business magazine of the nnotion picture (ndustry 

JULY, 1991 VOL. 127 NO. 7 

A\ long m OUT ai'ilniiliifii i\r\\riaiiM\ .mi- ..//".•/•î/), njjrnir\. nj rxrltiMfrnm, 

i( utU lir mucketi Iri lirluMuns. 

— I'hunia.'i ( Utrlvic- 

ON THE COVER 

Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as a "kilhng 

machine" from Ihe (ulure pn wnier-director 

James Cameron's "Terminator 2." a June 

release from Tri-Slar (See cover story, page 

14) 

FEATURES 

Cover photo by Zade Rosenlhal/Carolco 

REVIEWS—Following page

1 

HOLLYWOOD UPDATES 

It seems like Hollywood's most talked 

about on-again/oft-again romance this year 

is between director Paul Verhoeven and 

screenwriter )oe Eszterhas. The pair, who 

are collaborating on Carolco's big-budget 

"Basic Instinct," reconciled in mid-April 

after months of creative differences that 

saw Eszterhas (who is also executive producer) 

drop off the picture. But in San Francisco, 

where the project is filming, the 

pleasantries didn't even last through the 

end of the month. After protests by activist 

groups over the script's portrayal of homosexuals, 

Eszterhas sought to make changes 

to appease the gay community. " The reason 

I am suggesting the changes is simple," 

he wrote Verhoeven. "I want to help better 

the lives of gay people, and not hurt them." 

But Verhoeven, in agreement with producer 

Alan Marshall and star Michael 

Douglas, rejected the changes, which, according 

to Caroico, "undermine the 

strength of Eszterhas' original material, 

weaken the characters which he so vividly 

portrayed and lessen the integrity of the 

picture itself." Eszterhas, disappointed by 

the developments, was rumored to be considering 

distancing himself from the production 

once again. "I admit it's a perverse 

situation," he said, "because I'm fighting to 

change my script with a director who 

doesn't want to change." 

The famed "Katzenberg memo," in 

which Disney Studios chairman Jeffery 

Katzenberg called for budget cost-cutting, 

seems to nave been behind Hollywood 

Pictures' decision to put the long-awaited 

film version of the musical "Evita" into 

turn-around. To be produced by Robert 

Stigwood, directed by Glen Gordon Caron 

(famous for TV's "Moonlighting") and star 

Madonna, the film was reportedly 

budgeted at $29 million, while Disney was 

unwilling to spend more than $25.7 million, 

according to insiders. The parting was 

said by both parties to be amicable, and 

several studios were reportedly interested 

in picking the project up. Stigwood has 

been trying to make the film since 1982, 

with, at various times, directors Ken Russell 

and Oliver Stone, and actresses Liza Minnelli, 

Bette Midler, Barbara Streisand and 

Meryl Streep. 

"JFK," Oscar-winner Oliver Stone's account 

of the events surrounding the assassination 

of President John F. Kennedy, 

began shooting in Dallas in April. Controversy 

was swirling around the production 

even before filming began as Stone fought 

with Dallas County commissioners to use 

the actual Texas School Book Depository 

from which Lee Harvey Oswald was supposed 

to have fired the fatal shots. The 

commissioners finally relented, and Stone 

began filming with a reenactment of the 

assassination. The movie stars Kevin Costner 

as Jim Garrison, the New Orleans D.A. 

who tried to prove Kennedy was a victim 

of a CIA and FBI conspiracy. A month later, 

in Cannes, MPAA president Jacl< Valenti (a 

former special assistant to Lyndon Johnson 

and a passenger in the motorcade in which 

Kennedy was shot) was quoted as saying 

that Garrison's book on the assassination, 

"On the Trails of the Assassins," is "a piece 

of trash. ..No one ever presented one shred 

of confirmable evidence [that there was 

any conspiracy]." Valenti added that he is 

a fan of Stone's work, and expects the 

director to make a great film. 

Look for two versions of the Christopher 

Columbus saga to hit theatres by October 

12, 1992, the 500-year anniversary of the 

explorer's "discovery" of America. Paramount 

will be distributing director Ridley 

Scott's "Christopher Columbus," which 

will star Gerard Depardieu, while LJniversal 

is tentatively set to distribute producer 

Alexander Salkind's "Christopher Columbus: 

The Discovery," written by Mario 

Puzo, directed by George Cosmatos and 

starring Timothy Dalton. Both are budgeted 

between $40 million and $50 million. 

Steven Spielberg's longtime associate 

and friend Frank Marshall has said that he 

plans to leave Amblin Entertainment, announcing 

that he wants to concentrate fulltime 

on directing. Marshall made his 

directorial debut last summer with the Hollywood 

Pictures feature "Arachnophobia," 

produced by Amblin. He'll follow it up next 

year with Hollywood Pictures' period 

drama "Swing Kids." Marshall is married to 

Amblin president Kathleen Kennedy, with 

whom he has co-produced such Spielberg 

films as "Raiders of the Lost Ark", "The Color 

Purple" and the upcoming "Hook," which 

stars Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman and 

Julia Roberts. He will complete his duties 

on "Hook" and "Noises Off' before leaving 

Amblin. 

Kevin Cosfner is planning to move his 

Tig Prods, from troubled Orion to Warner 

Bros., according to inside sources. Costner 

has had an office on the lot for the past 

several months as work was being completed 

on the studio's "Robin Hood: Prince 

of Thieves." Meanwhile, his "Robin Hood" 

director Kevin Reynolds signed a first-look 

agreement with Caroico Pictures, making 

him the latest addition to a roster of 

filmmakers that also includes James Cameron, 

Oliver Stone, Ridley Scott, Tony 

Scott, Alan Pakula and Renny Harlin. 

While no new picture has yet been assigned 

under the deal, it is rumored that 

Reynolds may end up directing "Cutthroat 

Island," a pirate script by Michael Beckner, 

or "Little Things," an adventure/love story 

set in South America, which was written by 

William Mastrosimone from Reynolds' 

own idea. 

EDITOR AND ASSOCIATE 

PUBLISHER 

Harley W. Lond 

SENIOR EDITOR 

Jeff Schwager 

ASSOCIATE EDITOR 

Marilyn Moss 

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS 

Jotin Allen 

Bruce Austin 

David H. Chadderdon 

Tony Francis 

Karen Kreps 

Fern Siege! 

Mort Wax (International News) 

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Claire Dolan 

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\

Robert De Niro 

"Mad Dog and Glory" Robert 

De Niro and Bill Murray 

both play against type in this 

contemporary drama about 

an introverted cop (De Niro) 

who saves the life of a loan 

shark (Murray). In return, Murray 

gives him the gift of a 

woman for a week, and a 

sometimes humorous love 

story evolves. It's Murray's 

first straight role since his turn 

in the disastrous 1 984 adaptation 

of W. Somerset 

Maugham's "The Razor's 

Edge." John McNaughton 

("Henry: Portrait of a Serial 

Killer") directs for producer 

Steve Jones and executive 

producer Martin Scorsese 

from Richard Price's ("The 

Color of Money") original 

script. A Universal pictures release. 

"Noises Off" Peter 

Bogdanovich, trying to come 

back from the failure of 

"Texasville," his much-touted 

sequel to "The Last Picture 

Show," and after being fired 

from the Gene Wilder-Richard 

Pryor vehicle "Another 

You," is directing this farce 

based on Michael Frayn's 

Broadway hit. It tells the story 

of a second rate theatrical 

company's production of a 

new play, and features the 

kind of broad physical comedy 

that Bogdanovich choreographed 

so well in "What's Up 

Doc?" Carol Burnett stars as 

the troupe's once-famous but 

now-fading star, while Michael 

Caine portrays the 

show's director. Rounding out 

the cast are Denholm Elliott, 

Julie Hagerty, Mark Linn- 

Baker, Annie Potts, Christopher 

Reeve, John Ritter and 

Nicolette Sheridan. The 

screenplay is by Marty 

Kaplan, and the film will be 

the last produced by Frank 

Marshall for Steven Spielberg's 

Amblin Entertainment 

before he jumps ship to FHollywood 

Pictures to direct. Marshall, 

not incidentally, got his 

start in movies as location 

manager on Bogdanovich's 

debut film, "Targets," and continued 

working with thedirector 

on such films as "The Last 

Picture Show," "What's Up 

Doc?" and "Paper Moon." A 

Touchstone Pictures/Amblin 

Entertainment production. 

Was it 

"Prelude to a Kiss" 

just a few years ago that Hollywood 

couldn't get 

enough 

of movies in which one 

person's soul was moved to 

another's body? Wasn't some 

kind of law passed outlawing 

future productions that employed 

this device? Apparently 

not. Red hot superstars 

Alec Baldwin and Meg Ryan 

star in this comic fairy-tale 

about a young couple whose 

wedding reception is interrupted 

by a mysterious old 

man (Sydney Walker) whose 

soul switches places with the 

bride's after he kisses her. Still, 

there's cause for hope: this 

one's based on a hit Broadway 

play that was genuinely enchanting, 

and it's been moved 

to the screen by playwright 

Craig Lucas and director Norman 

Rene, the same pair responsible 

for the play's 

success as well as last year's 

critical fave "Longtime Companion." 

In addition to a large 

lump of money, Lucas and 

Rene reportedly demanded 

and received absolute control 

over the production. Oscarwinner 

Kathy Bates co-stars, 

along with Ned Beatty and 

Patty Duke. A 20th Century 

Fox production. 

"House of Cards" Kathleen 

Turner stars in this drama 

about a six-year-old girl 

whose special nature changes 

the worlds of the people 

around her. Tommy Lee 

Jones, Park Overall and Esther 

Rolle co-star for writer-director 

Michael Lessac, who's best 

known for directing episodes 

of the TV sit-coms "Newhart," 

"Taxi" and "Anything But 

Love." An A & M Films production 

for PentAmerica Pictures. 

"Howards End" For their latest 

highbrow film, producer 

Ismail Merchant, director 

James Ivory and screenwriter 

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala return 

to novelist E.M. Forster, who 

provided the basis for their 

earlier films "A Room With a 

View" and "Maurice." Helena 

Bonham Carter, star of the former, 

and James Wilby, star of 

the latter, play the leads, while 

Anthony Hopkins and 

Vanessa Redgrave head up 

the supporting cast. The story, 

set in the Edwardian era, revolves 

around two independent, 

liberal sisters, an 

unlikely romance and the inheritance 

of a beautiful estate 

known as Howards End. An 

Orion Classics release. 

"The Babe" Based on the 

title, we were hoping for a 

new Paulina Paurizkova film. 

Actually, it's another screen 

biography of George Herman 

"Babe" Ruth, perhaps the 

greatest baseball player ever, 

whose life was last brought to 

the screen in 1948 witn the 

lamentable "The Babe Ruth 

Story," starring William 

Bendix. The omni-present 

John Goodman ("King Ralph") 

is The Bambino this time, 

while Kelly McGillis co-stars 

and the imitable Arthur Hiller 

("Silver Streak;" "Married To 

It") directs from John Fusco's 

("Crossroads") script. A Universal 

Pictures production. 

"Thunderheart" Fusco also 

wrote this one, which is being 

produced by Robert De Niro 

for his company Tribeca Productions. 

Val Killmer ("Top 

Gun") and Grahame Greene 

("Dances With Wolves") star 

in the fact-based story about 

events that occurred on Native 

American reservations 

during the 1 970s. It's directed 

by Michael Apted ("Gorillas in 

the Mist"), who's well-known 

for his expert location work. A 

Tri-Star release. 

"Chicago Loop" James 

Spader ("sex, lies and videotape") 

and Theresa Russell 

("Black Widow") star in this 

film based on the new novel 

by Paul Theroux ("The Mosquito 

Coast"). If it's anything 

like the book (and it should 

be: Theroux is adapting), the 

film will be a disturbing, psychological 

thriller about a female 

undercover cop (Russell) 

who becomes involved with a 

man (Spader) she believes to 

Theresa Russell 

be the kinky sex killer she's 

been assigned to hunt down. 

If that sounds vaguely familiar, 

it should: the Al Pacino- 

Ellen Barkin hit "Sea of Love" 

had an identical plot, though 

the sexes of the main characters 

were reversed. This one's 

directed by Russell's hubby, 

Nicolas Roeg, who's no 

stranger to the psycho-sexual 

arena, having directed "Don't 

Look Now," "The Man Who 

Fell to Earth" and "Bad Timing: 

A Sensual Obsession." A Cannon 

Pictures production. 

"Newsies" Disney's first live 

action musical in more than a 

decade, this one features a 

roster of youngsters, led by 

Christian Bale(tnechildstarof 

Steven Spielberg's "Empire of 

the Sun") and David Moscow 

("Big"). It tells the true story of 

New York City's famed turnof-the-century 

newsboys' 

strike, in which a group of 

young "newsies" joined forces 

to combat publishing giants 

Joseph Pulitzer and William 

Randolph Hearst after the 

greedy magnates cut the boys' 

profits to up their own. The 

film co-stars Robert Duvall as 

Pulitzer, while Ann-Margaret 

and Bill Pullman play, respectively, 

a showgirl and a reporter 

who lend the kids a 

helping hand. The songs are 

by Oscar-winning composer 

Alan Menken ("The Little Mermaid") 

and lyricist Jack Feldman, 

while the screenplay 

credit is divided four ways, 

between Bob Tzudiker, Noni 

White, David Fallon and Tom 

Rickman. Making his feature 

directorial debut will be choreographer 

Kenny Ortega, who 

devised the steps for "Dirty 

Dancing" and "Salsa," among 

others. A Walt Disney Pictures 

production. 

6 BOXOFFICE

Starring Four 

ofAmericas Favorites 

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Response No 5 

h,'it 

ME

TRAILERS 

COMING IN JULY 

Terminator 2: 

Judgement Day 

They're back! Superstar Arnold 

Schwarzenegger, writer-director lames Cameron 

and leading lady Linda Hamilton have 

returned to the fold with this sequal to the 

monumentally successful 1984 sci-fi thriller. 

Once again, Arnold is the unstoppable robot, 

but this time he's been reprogrammed by the 

good guys to protect the love child produced 

by Hamilton and Michael Biehn in the original. 

With Arnie's help, the kid may even fulfill 

his destiny and save mankind. It sounds sort 

Dying Young 

Julia Roberts stars in this drama about a young woman hired to be caretaker for a terminally 

ill rich boy played by Campbell Scott ("The Sheltering Sky"). Guess what. ..they fall in love. This 

is a real change of pace for director Joel Schumacher: his earlier efforts "The Lost Boys" and 

"Flatliners" (which starred Roberts) were pure style over substance. Roberts' "Steel Magnolias" 

co-star, Sally Field, produces, while Richard Freidenberg, who wrote the acclaimed TV drama 

"Promise," adapts Marti Leimbach's novel. A 20th Century Fox release. 

Life Stinks 

Mel Brooks' last few films have ranged from 

the merely mediocre ("To Be Or Not to Be") 

to the downright awful ("Spaceballs"), but 

anyone who remembers "Blazing Saddles" 

and "Young Frankenstein" knows that when 

he gets on a roll there's no one funnier. Troubled 

MGM is hoping this one will be a return 

to form. It stars Brooks as an arrogant billionwhich 

received a mixed reception at Cannes, 

is written and directed by John Singleton, a 

22-year-old phenom from USC. A Columbia 

Pictures release. (7/1 2) 

Regarding Henry 

"Working Girl" director Mike Nichols and 

star Harrison Ford reunite for this bittersweet 

dramatic-comedy about an attorney whose 

successful career cannot mask the fact that he 

feels utterly empty. When he's shot in the 

head during an armed robbery, he is forced to 

of like a high-tech version of "My Bodyguard," 

but you can bet there'll be plenty of action 

and some dark humor thrown in for good 

measure. See cover story, page 14. A Tri-Star 

release. (7/3) 

jI^^-- ** 

Problem Child 2 

The Terminator isn't the only one who's 

back—so is lunior, the little dickens better 

known as "Problem Child." |ohn Ritter and 

Michael Oliver return as father and adopted 

son, who've relocated to Mortville, best 

known as "Home of the Navajo 'Love Rock.' 

" (No, we're not making this up.) There Junior 

meets his match in Trixie (Ivyann Schwan), 

daughter of the school's mild-mannered 

nurse (Amy Yasbeck) and a pint-sized terror 

in her own right. Meanwhile, lunior'sdad Ben 

(Ritter) is besieged by LaWanda, the town's 

wealthiest woman (Laraine Newman), who's 

looking for a husband, and by his father, Big 

Ben (lack Warden), who's on the run from his 

creditors. Screenwriters Scott Alexander and 

Larry Karaszewski, who were responsible for 

the original, wrote this one as well, while 

director Brian Levant makes his feature debut. 

A Universal Pictures release. (7/3) 

start over, relearning the basics and recapturaire 

who bets a business rival that he can 

survive for thirty days in a Los Angeles slum, 

without his money, connections or identity. 

Lesley Ann Warren ("Choose Me") is the 

clever bag lady who teaches him a thing or 

two about I ife. Brooks co-wrote the script with 

Rudy DeLuca (one of his writing partners on 

"Silent Movie" and "High Anxiety") and Steve 

Haberman. A MCM/UA release. (7/1 2) 

Boyz N the Hood 

Hollywood has been slow to warm to the 

rap phenomenon, but Columbia Pictures is 

now taking the plunge with this coming-ofage 

drama set on the mean streets of South 

Central L.A. Larry Fishburne ("King of New 

York") stars, with controversial rapper Ice 

Cube making his acting debut. The film,

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Point Break 

Largo Entertainment, the major new production 

entity funded by Japan's JVCAîctor 

Company, makes its debut with this actiondrama 

about a young FBI agent who infiltrates 

a murderous gang of surfers. Keanu Reeves 

("Parenthood") is the hero, Gary Busey ("Lethal 

Weapon") his veteran partner and Patrick 

Swayze, doing a switch from his romantic turn 

in "Ghost," is the villain. The question is, will 

female audiences who lined up to see Swayze 

flex his pecks in "Ghost" and "Dirty Dancing" 

support him as a tough guy? Based on "Road 

House" and "Next of Kin," the answer may be 

no. Director Kathryn Bigelow, whose "Blue 

Steel" was a stylish suspenser, is hoping to 

catapault Swayze into the annals of 

by Bigelow, Peter 

villainhood. The script is 

Miff and James Cameron, Bigelow's husband 

and the director of "The Terminator." A 20th 

Century Fox release. (7/1 2) 

Bill and Ted's 

Bogus Journey 

The month's third sequel, and one hopes it 

wasn't a case of truth in advertising that made 

them change the title from "Excellent Adventure 

2" to "Bogus Journey." This time out, those 

awesome dudes Bill and Ted are trying to 

make their way through the maze of the afterlife 

as they travel through Heaven, Hell and 

beyond in an attempt to regain their lives, save 

their women-folk, protect future generations 

from the forces of evil and win their local 

battle of the bands competition. Keanu 

Reeves ("Point Break") and Alex Winter return 

in the title roles, while George Carlin co-stars. 

Peter Hew itt d i 

rects from Scott Kroopf's scri pt. 

An Orion Pictures release. (7/19) 

Mobsters 

Doomed to be labelled a brat pack "Godfather," 

this true-life period drama stars Christian 

Slater ("Pump Lip the Volume"), Patrick 

Dempsey ("Some Girls") and Richard Grieco 

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("If Looks Could Kill") as Lucky Luciano, 

Meyer Lansky and Bugsy Siegel, respectively, 

during their formative years. Newcomer Costas 

Mandelar is Frank Costello, while Michael 

Gambon ("The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and 

Her Lover"), Oscar winners Anthony Quinn 

("Zorba the Greek") and F. Murray Abraham 

("Amadeus"), and "Twin Peaks'" Lara Flynn 

Boyle round out the cast. Michael 

Karbelnikoff makes his feature directorial 

debut following a career in advertising; the 

script is by rookie Mike Mahern and veteran 

Nicholas Kazan ("Reversal of Fortune"). A 

Universal Pictures release. (7/1 9) 

10 BoxomcE 

Response No. 9

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c 1991 X

Lame Ducks 

Paramount Pictures attempts what appears to be a rather blatant 

attempt to create a modern-day Marx Bros, troupe with this broad 

comedy about a trio of screwups who are inexplicably charged with 

saving a struggling ballet company, lohn Turturro (who just won the 

Best Actor award at Cannes for the upcoming "Barton Fink"), English 

comic Mel Smith and Robert Nelson star, with Nancy Marchand 

playing the stuffy Margaret Dumont role, lerry and David Zucker are 

producers, and Pat Proft wrote the script (all three are veterans of 

"Naked Gun"). Dennis Dugan ("Problem Child") directs. A Paramount 

Pictures release. (7/26) 

Another You 

The always-reliable team of Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor 

("Silver Streak," "Stir Crazy" and "See No Evil, Hear No Evil") make a 

fourth appearance together in this bittersweet comedy. Pryor's a 

skilled- but-desperate con man who joins forces with a pathological 

liar (Wilder) just out of a sanitarium. Faster than they can say, "lust 

Kidding," they're involved in a mistaken identity scam with, they 

hope, hilarious results. Maurice Phillips ("Riders of the Storm") took 

over the director's seat from Peter Bogdanovich after—you guessed 

it— "artistic differences." Mercedes Ruehl, Stephen Lang and Vanessa 

Williams co-star, and Ziggy Steinberg wrote the script. A Tri-Star 

Pictures release. (7/26) 

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12 BOXOFFICE

, ; 

' 

Hot Shots: 

An Important Movie! 

Well, anyuay, il i importani tor )im Abrahams, 

who soared as part of the "AirplanelTNaked 

Gun" team before being 

grounded with the mediocre "BiR Business" 

. . 

\ 

I'rnichael." 

Here he returns to lamiliar ground with this 

spoof on military hardware films a la "Top 

Gun." Charlie Sheen ("Platoon"!, Gary Elwes 

("Days of Thunder"), Lloyd Bridges ("Airplane") 

and Oscar-winner George C. Scott 

("Patton") star. Abrahams co-wrote the script 

with Pat Proft ("Lame Ducks"), who has two 

films scheduled to open the same day. A 20th 

Century Fox release. (7/26) 

Dutch 

Ed O Neill, (TV's "Married. ..With Children") 

and loBeth Williams ("Switch") star in 

this comedy from director Peter Faimah 

("'Crocodile' Dundee'i. When her young son 

(Ethan Randall) needs to be picked up from 

boarding school in Atlanta and delivered 

home to Chicago in lime lor Thanksgiving, 

O'Neill gets the assignment. No problem, 

right? Guess again. But they'll probably learn 

alot about each other, friendship, and the 

meaning of life along the way. A 20th Century 

Fox release. 

Also This Month 

"Kickboxer II: The Road Back" Bringing the 

month's sequel count up to lour, this one tells 

the story of the brother of the kickboxer lean- 

Claude Van Damme played in the original. 

Peter Boyle co-stars. A Kings Road release. 

"Eraserhead" A reissue of aufeur David 

Lynch s bizarro look at the life of a boy whose 

head is shaped like an eraser. A genuine cult 

classic, full of St range, repulsive imagery and 

perhaps even some hidden meaning. A 

Miramax Films release. 

"The Miracle" Writer-director Neil Jordan's 

powerful new drama, starring Beverly 

D'Angelo. A Miramax Films release. (See review 

this ISSUl' 

"101 Dalmations" A reissue of Disney's 

animated classic about a villainess named 

Cruella De Vil who kidnaps a litter of puppies, 

setting off a wild "dog-hunt" across the English 

countrvsldc. A Wall Disney Pictures release. 

\-M\ 

"My Father's Glory" Director Yves Robert 

("The Tall Blond Man With One Black Shoe") 

adapts Marcel Pagnol's ("lean 

De Florette") 

autobiographical tale of childhood in the Provence 

region of France. Pan two of the saga, 

"My Mother's Castle." will be released later in 

the summer. An Orion Classics release. 

"Prisoners of the Sun" The ubiquitous 

Bryan Brown ("FX2"I stars as an Australian 

army captain sent to an Indonesian island to 

investigate WWII war crimes. A Skouras Pictures 

release. 

"The Big Man" Director David Leiand's 

("Wish You Were Here") saga stars Liam Neeson 

("Dark Man") as an unemployed miner 

who becomes a bare-knuckled prize-fighter, 

loanne Whalley-Kilmer ("Scandal") co-stars. 

"Livin' Large" T.C.Carson plays a young 

black reponcr who rises to prominence after 

a major scoop. Michael Schultz ("Disorderlies") 

directs. A Samuel Coldwyn Company 

release. 

Th« n^tv Kodak semi- 

TUjr "Film \rom Start to 

Finish" xs a full-day 

adventure that begins 

behijui the cameras ami 

culminates with the 

moviegoing experience. 

At the bottom line, 

your theater plays the 

starring role. So, let 

Kodak help you play to 

a packed house more 

often. Call Terri Smith 

nou> at 213 464-6131 

and start lining up your 

crowds early. 

^ Eastman 

K^B 

Mntinn Motion Pir;tiir« Picture RIms Rims 

C Unman K'mUi C

COVER STORY 

Back From The Abyss 

Writer-Director James Cameron Faces Judgement Day 

With "Terminator 2" 

JAMES 

By Jeff Schwager 

Senior Editor 

CAMERON LOOKS tired. There are 

bags under his eyes, and he's moving 

quickly, like someone who thinks that 

if he can just tough it out, if he can just hurry 

his way through what he's doing now, he'll 

be able to get some rest. Trouble is, even if 

he hurries—and he has to hurry—he's not 

going to be done for another two months. 

That's when the long-awaited "Terminator 

2: Judgement Day," which reteams 

Cameron with Arnold Schwarzenegger, 

will finally be unveiled, just in time for the 

Fourth of July weekend. Until then, he has 

to make do with what little time he has. So 

he's killing two birds with one stone, sitting 

down for a takeout chicken lunch and a chat 

about the movie he refers to as "T2" during 

a short break from looping and mixing at 

George Lucas' Skywalker Sound facility. 

"It wasn't necessarily something I 

wanted to do for some time," he replies 

when asked why it's taken so long for the 

sequel to appear. "I wanted to do other 

things first. And then it really wasn't possible 

because the rights were tied up. Then 

Mario Kassar [CEO of Carolco Pictures] 

kind of waded in and grabbed the rights and 

made some deals, and made it possible to 

make the film. Apparently Arnold said to 

him that he wasn't interested in making the 

film unless I directed it, which was very 

kind. So Mario called me up to see if we 

could put something together. And we did. 

It was as simple as that." 

Simple— it's a word that doesn't come up 

often with regards to "T2." Its predecessor 

was a stylish blend of sci-fi technology and 

film noir sensibility that was a huge critical 

and commercial success, and expectations 

for the sequel are incredibly high. For better 

or worse, all eyes are focused on Cameron, 

and the pressure is immense. He calls what 

he's going through now "the post-production 

from Hell," and throughout Hollywood 

rumor has it that the budget for the film has 

skyrocketed to the unheard of sum of $100 

million. Cameron gives a humorless 

chuckle when that figure is mentioned, and 

though he refuses to fix a specific amount 

for the film's cost, he insists that he's coming 

in on budget, as well as on time. 

"It was a very tight schedule," he explains, 

"and to a certain extent our budget 

reflects our schedule. We knew we were 

going to be in huge overtime in post-production, 

and that was all budgeted in. It's 

not like it's an over, it's just a lot of money. 

And we knew in advance we were going to 

be spending it. because it's the only way to 

get the film ready for July 4. But Tri-Star, 

Carolco and I all believe that's the right 

time to release the film, so we'll be there, 

whatever it costs." 

Getting the film done on time and on 

budget is especially important to Cameron 

because his last film. "The Abyss," missed 

its release date and reportedly went way 

over budget. According to Cameron, the 

film's late release was brought on when the 

start date got pushed back by six weeks 

while the projected release date. July 5, 

stayed the same. Ultimately. Cameron says, 

the film could have been released on time. 

"The studio made that decision," he emphasizes. 

"I urged them to do it. but the 

studio had the opportunity to release the 

film on the day that they had originally 

agreed to with the exhibitors. But they 

wouldn't have been able to release it in 

70mm; they wouldn't have had time to 

make the 70 mm prints. The studio elected 

to maintain the scope of the presentation. 

That was a decision that was made at the 

highest level of Fox. For which I'm very 

grateful. The 70mm prints are a completely 

different and highly superior experience of 

that movie." 

Still, the film received a lukewarm response 

from audiences and critics alike; 

most people seemed to think it was an uneasy 

blend of underwater fantasy and 

human drama. Cameron says the most useful 

lesson he learned from "The Abyss" was 

"the importance of correctly positioning the 

film in the marketplace. The studio. I think 

ill-advisedly, used the kind of ad-line that 

led people to expect something from the 

film that it didn't deliver. 

"They said from the maker of 'The 

Terminator' and "Aliens' comes 'The 

Abyss.' Well, anybody can take those two 

points and extrapolate a third point from 

them— put a ruler across two points and get 

a straight line that takes you somewhere. 

Except that where it took you in your mind 

wasn't what the movie was about. So two 

things happened. People who didn't want to 

see an underwater horror film didn't go; 

they were probably the audience that I was 

trying to reach in the first place. People that 

did want to see an underwater horror film 

went and were disappointed. 

"Obviously, there were enough people 

who knew there was something else going 

on that did show up, or we wouldn't have 

made $65 million, which ain't hay. But I do 

think that it missed the target slightly 

through marketing. Maybe also it needed 

some slightly bigger draw than Ed Harris 

and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio in the 

summer marketplace. You couldn't sum up 

that movie in 25 words or less, and you 

didn't have a big star to hang it on. The 

14 BOXOFFICE

— 

studio tried to hang it un mc and that's a 

mistake, because people don't reall\ care 

too much about the director, unless maybe 

you're Lucas or Spielberg." 

This time out he doesn't face those marketing 

difficulties. Not only can "T2" be 

summed up in less than 25 words—try "The 

sequel to "The Terminator'" for starters 

but in the seven years since the first "Terminator" 

was released, Schwarzenegger 

has catapulted to the pinnacle of superstardom. 

Still. Cameron insists he didn't return 

to "The Terminator" to shore up his commercial 

standing after "The Abyss." 

"It's not like I said. "Oh. I'sc got to do a 

surefire hit,'" he insists. "By the way. 

there's nothing surefire about a film that 

costs S6.S million plus coming out in the 

summer marketplace. It's got to make a lot 

of money to recoup. So, no. this was as risky 

as any film I've ever undertaken. When I 

got into it I knew what the above the line 

figures were, and I knew the burden that the 

tlim was carrying. I knew going in that it 

was going to be a very expensive movie. 

Even before we wrote the script. Even before 

one story board was drawn. I knew, 

regardless of what we wrote—even if it was 

"My Dinner With the Terminator"—it was 

going to be a really expensive movie. That's 

a given; that's out of my hands. So we 

better give people something that's worth 

going to see. We better give them the best 

movie they can pay money to see. That's the 

goal." 

In the past. Cameron has said that his goal 

as a filmmaker was to take people to a place 

they'd never been before. Although "T2" is 

a sequel— a form which doesn't usually 

accommodate originality—Cameron says 

that that's still the goal. ""Aliens' was a 

sequel." he points out. "and it still took 

people to a place they'd ne\cr been before. 

And this film falls into the same kind of 

philosophical category. Which is that we 

use some familiarelcmcnis as a springboard 

to take us in a new direction. We go in new 

directions emotionally, thematically and 

visually. There's a lot of things here that 

nobody's ever seen before." 

One thing Cameron says won't be seen 

in the new film is an overabundance of 

violence. Many people blamed "Tcrmina 

tor" for the onslaught of ultravioleni film-, 

which followed in its wake, including 

"Robocop" and "Robocop 2." but Cameron 

draws a line between the action of a "Terminator" 

and the violence of a 'Robocop," 

"It's a violent movie. " he says of "T2," "but 

it's not gratuitously violent. There's a tremendous 

amount of action, but very little of 

what I'd call violence. 

"It's getting into an area of semantics, 

and I think people are going to be splitting 

hairs about that for a long time. The way I 

drew the line within the film is, if nobody 

gets killed it isn't violent. And the body 

count in the movie is about three, so I'd say 

it's not that violent a movie. It's a helluva 

lot less violent than "Indiana Jones' part two 

or three. It's not like "Robocop 2" 

"Robocop 2' is off the scale as far as I'm 

concerned. That's a disgusting film. [The 

first] "Robocop" IS violent but at least it"s a 

well-made film. "Robocop 2' is a pile of 

dogshii." 

Cameron disagrees with social critics 

who feel that violent films create violent 

audiences; he thinks the causes of s iolence 

in society run deeper. "I don't think that 

people see \ iolent films and go out and act 

\iolently. I think if they read in the headlines 

that we just killed LSO.tMiO Iraqis with 

bombs, it may give them the idea that 

human life is not that important. I don't 

think that going to see a cathartic fantasy 

experience in the cinema is going to be 

nearly as likely to give them permission to 

act out something that they might not have 

otherwise. Violence is there innate within 

the human organism. It's just a question of 

how it's controlled—what societal controls 

are put on it. and what internal controls are 

imprinted on the person. 

|-ilm is a powerful way of reaching f)eople. 

but I don't think that anyone has ever 

scientifically proven that there's any connection 

between violence in films and people 

taking that as permission to go act it out. 

Maybe in isolated incidents here and there, 

but I've never seen that successfully demonstrated. 

This particular film |'T2"| 

isn"l 

going to excite anybody to do anything, 

because the bad guy does the bad stuff. 

\S h.ii I object to is when the good guy does 

the bad stuff, w hen the good guy gouges out 

somebody 's eyes or shoots somebody w iihout 

due process. Then, you're holding up as 

a role model, or even as just a rooting interest 

for the duration of the film, somebody 

who acts in a way that's morally reprehensible. 

The bad guy's supposed to act morally 

reprehensible: that's what makes him 

the bad guy." 

That's one rea.son that, unlike in the first 

"Terminator." Schwarzenegger won't be 

playing the villain this time around. Instead. 

Cameron has devised it so that his character—an 

exact replica of the cyborg he 

played last time out— is kidnapped by the 

human rebel forces, reprogrammed. and 

sent back-in-time to earth to protect the b

s 

PROFILE 

The Director 

With Her New Film ^'The Doctor, " Randa Haines Hopes Hollywood 

Will Concentrate on Her Work, Not Her Gender 

FEW 

By Jeff Schwager 

Senior Editor 

FILMMAKERS HAVE made as auspicious 

a debut as Randa Haines. In 

1986. with just a few years" experience 

in the minor leagues of television, she 

moved up to the majors with the highly-acclaimed 

and commercially successful 

"Children of a Lesser God." With it, she 

became the first American woman ever 

nominated for the Directors Guild's best 

director award, and she entered the select 

circle of directors who have seen their first 

feature nominated for a Best Picture Academy 

Award. 

But that was five years ago, and in Hollywood 

the question on the tip of 

everyone's tongue is, "What have you done 

lately?" For Haines, the answer to that question 

is not a simple one. After such a remarkable 

first effort, one would think she 

would have made several more films by 

now. In fact, she's only just completing her 

second film, entitled "The Doctor," which 

will be released by Buena Vista on August 

2. But the scarcity of work, she insists, 

hasn't been for lack of offers. 

"It's really by my own choice," Haines 

explains. "I've always kind of gambled at 

each stage of my career. I've waited until 

material came along that I really loved. I 

was offered a lot of very important movies 

in the last few years, but nothing I really had 

to do. Then this came along and it 

really, 

really stimulated me. And I've always done 

that: I've always waited until I fell in love 

with something." 

Based on Dr. Edward Rosenbaum's 

novel "A Taste of His Own Medicine," 

"The Doctor" tells the story of Jack McKee, 

a successful surgeon who ends up on the 

other side of the scalpel when a routine 

checkup uncovers a growth in his throat. It' 

not, however, your typical discase-of-theweek 

tllm. For Haines, the most important 

theme it explores is one she dealt with previously 

in "Children of a Lesser God": a 

person's inability to communicate. The earlier 

film involved a deaf girl's relationship 

with a teacher who could hear: in this one, 

Doctor McKee may lose the power of 

speech when he is diagnosed with cancer of 

16 BOXOFFICE 

the vocal chords. 

"It's the story of the transformation of a 

person who really doesn't communicate," 

Haines says. "He talks alot, and is very glib 

and in control of his life he thinks, but he's 

really very unconnected. He's not a communicator. 

And what happens is, his voice 

is threatened by the surgery; he may lose his 

voice. And it's in that period when he's 

confronting that and recovering from that, 

when he can't speak, that he really learns 

how to communicate. 

"It has almost a mythological structure. 

He starts out in the realm of the Gods: he's 

a heart surgeon, and he literally holds 

people's hearts in his hands. And that all 

changes. He becomes a patient and sees the 

other side of the equation, the waiting, the 

filling out of forms. He comes to question 

his faith in his profession, and ultimately, 

he's forced to confront his own mortality." 

While the film's central theme is one it 

shares with "Children of a Lesser God." it 

is not, at least in Haines' mind, a continuation 

along the same lines. "The Doctor", she 

feels, "is a much more 'male' film, and it 

has more humor. It isn't about a relationship; 

it isn't romantic." 

It is a more topical film, and it has much 

to say about the medical system in America 

today, a subject Haines feels strongly about. 

She hopes the film will challenge people in 

the medical profession to reevaluate their 

priorities. "It touches on some controversial 

issues: how much power the insurance companies 

have; how, if people aren't covered 

for certain tests or treatments, they just 

won't get them; and how doctors start to 

lose their human impulses and feelings. 

You know, he's a doctor, and like anything 

in life, you don't know how people experience 

something until you've experienced it 

yourself. By becoming a patient, he becomes 

a better doctor." 

One way audiences are sure to be reminded 

of "Children of a Lesser God" is by 

the presence of William Hurt. Hurt was 

nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his 

work in "Children." and. when Wairen 

Beatty dropped out of "The Doctor" due to 

"creative differences." he was Haines' first 

choice as a replacement. Beatty. Haines 

says, "just wanted to explore different aspects 

of the character than I did. He was 

interested in different relationships, and it 

just didn't work out." 

With Hurt, she had no such differences. 

"Bill and 1 have a lot of the same interests 

in terms of characters. We look for the same 

things in a script. You know, an actor is one 

of a director's tools of storytelling. They 

bring the character to life. Bill just brings so 

much range to the character, so many different 

levels. He's always interesting to 

watch, and that's especially important here, 

because he's in every single scene of the 

movie. Here again, there was a tremendous 

technical challenge: in 'Children of a Lesser 

God' he had to learn sign language, and here 

he had to learn how to be a surgeon. He had 

to make that believable, and he does." 

Haines' own biggest challenge is to have 

people concentrate their attention on her 

films, and not the fact that she's a woman 

director. 

"It's so hard for anyone to get to 

direct." she concedes. "And it's especially 

hard if you're a woman. I've tried to put on 

blinders to the subject. There are so many 

aspects to being a director, that I have to 

concentrate all my energy on that. So I've 

tried not to focus on how I'm being treated 

differently orwhat people say about me. It's 

one thing if they're saying I'm slow or 

something like that, but if people are just 

mumbling that I'm a woman, well, that's 

not something I can change. It's unproductive 

to focus on those things, so it's something 

I' ve just chosen to ignore. I'm looking 

forward to the day when people will just 

^ 

talk about my work as a director, not as a 

woman director."

MODERN THEATRE 

) 

Concessions for the '90s: 

Beyond Popcorn and Soda 

The Questfor New Products and Better Service Keeps 

Concession Stands Alive With Activity 

HI. 

T 

By Alex Demyanenko 

WIS MARKHD a pcnod of experimentation 

in movie concessions. The decade 

saw the emergence of numerous 

new products for hungry moviegoers. Instead 

of asking for a "tub of "com and a extra 

large coke." filmgoers were suddenly requesting 

"fro/en yogurt and a double 

espresso." Now in a new decade, the pursuit 

to add new marketable items to concession 

stand menus continues. Although one 

would think that the industry would eventually 

exhaust the number of possibilities 

for new products, concessionaires 

persist in trying to expand the definition 

of movie concessions. 

While John Louis, vice president 

of the Wehrenberg circuit in Missouri, 

hasn't witnessed any new innovations 

in the pa.st year in his 

theatres, his circuit has added a few 

new items which have proven to be 

successful ventures. "We opened a 

theatre about three years ago and put 

m a complete deli operation, and it 

turned out to be ver> popular so we 

are adding deli items to some additional 

locations." Louis says that ice 

cream items — malts, shakes, bars 

— have also been a hit and are being 

added to a number of the circuit's 29 locations, 

which also includes screens in Arizona. 

"One of the big changes for us has been 

experimenting with frozen drinks." says 

Barrie Locks, president of Michigan's 

Locks Star Theatres. "We have ended up 

having frozen cola prixlucts. which are like 

a slush or a Slurpee, being a huge hit in the 

Detroit market." Locks, who has seen her 

chain's per capita sale of concessions go up 

from SI. 65 to SI. 75 in the last year, says 

that the frozen drinks have become a permanent 

fixture on her theatres' menus, with 

each of the circuit's multiplex outlets sporting 

at least four frozen drink machines. 

The L(X'ks Star chain has experimented 

v\ ith a number of products, including piz/a 

and a cookie bakerv. But aside from bottled 

w ater. Locks notes that Michigan audiences 

are more likely to buy more traditional concession 

fare, rather than what she calls "cafe 

items. In Michigan, in addition to the popcorn 

and slush, we sell a lot of hot dogs. We 

don't have any upscale cafes." she says. 

Regional tastes are a key aspect in determining 

what products are sold where and 

the AMC circuit exemplifies the diversification 

of modem concessions in regard to 

financial 

and geographical demographics. 

A Loeks Star Theatre hi-iech concession stand 

Wally Helton, director of food service operations 

for AMC's West Division, is all too 

familiar with regional preferences. His office 

tracks what the product mix is and how 

it 

sells in all of the theatres under his jurisdiction. 

This careful supervision has been 

the impetus behind many of the circuit's 

decisions to change their concession mix. 

"We in the West Division have changed 

to Promise popping oil. which has zero 

cholesterol and 98 percent less saturated 

fat," says Helton. "California often dictates 

more so than any slate in the country what 

is going to happen Inationwide]. We do 

have a lot more people in California who 

are more health-conscious and we do cater 

to them. That's why the cafes really came 

into existence, to bring in soda waters and 

seltzers and some of the alternative drinks 

to replace Coke and Pepsi." 

While Pepsi and Coke may not have 

passed the finicky taste tests of some West 

Coast moviegoers, the soda companies continue 

to battle it out in theatres as well as on 

the grocery shelves. Some theatre circuits 

have recently switched soda distributors, 

most notably National Amusements, who, 

after 53 years, jumped ship from Coke to 

Pepsi. 

According to a Pepsi spokesman, cost 

was not the main factor in the 

switch: "National Amusements," 

the trade ne\\spaper Variety quoted 

the unnamed source as saying, "was 

looking for a company that would be 

an innovative, very progressive 

partner, and not just a low-cost supplier." 

Others, however, think that cost 

may indeed have been what swung 

the scales, and are anxiously awaiting 

Coke's reaction. 

"[The switching] 

naturally has caused a lot of 

consternation at Coca-Cola." says 

Loeks. "I think Coca-Cola's game 

plan is to ask most of its customers 

to sign multi-year contracts, which 

has not been the practice. We sell Coke and 

have forever, but I believe competition between 

Coke and Pepsi is a wonderful thing, 

because it obviously helps our pricing. The 

public is accepting of both, so it really does 

come down to dollars. TTiis is a business, 

after all." 

Fast Food Marketing 

In the neverending search for new marketing 

strategies, some circuits have turned 

to food deals which recall those employed 

by fast food chains. AMC has added the 

"Funpack." which is the theatre's version of 

(continued 

July, 1991 17

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

ConcGSsions ('""'"«/) 

McDonald's "Happy Meal." Targeting the 

younger set, the folded box contains a small 

portion of popcorn, a small drink, a candy 

item, and toy surprise. But kids aren't the 

only one's who are given the opportunity to 

buy the nifty package. An adult design is 

available to senior citizens in markets 

which sport a high senior population. "The 

only thing we don't put in |to the senior 

version] is the toy surprise." says AMC's 

Helton. 

Implemented in April, the "Funpack," at 

least at this point, is "more of a customer 

service attitude than anything else," says 

Helton. The sales haven't, he says, "gone 

through the roof yet," nor has the product 

sped up operations as other combo deals 

have done in the past, resulting in an increase 

in profits. 

Locks Star's "Super Bucket Combo," on 

the other hand, is designed to reduce the 

waiting time at the concession line. Locks 

Star takes a dollar off the regular price if a 

customer orders the combo, which consists 

of a large popcorn and a large coke. 

New Service Possibilities 

As concession operators exhaust the possibilities 

for new concession items, they 

may turn their emphasis to the distribution 

of the products. As the country becomes 

more service oriented, there is nothing to 

suggest that theatres will not also follow 

suit. 

"I think in order to get people to come to 

our theatres, we' re going to have to provide 

a high level of service," says Locks, whose 

chain's policies perhaps best exemplify the 

trend towards a more service-conscious 

commitment. 

Locks Star has initiated a number of policies 

which are geared to improve and speed 

up service. Their "next-in-line service" 

promises a free coke to anyone who waits 

in line more than three minutes, for tickets 

or concessions. In the last six months, they 

have given out 31,000 free 20-ounce cokes. 

The chain also has a concession stand sales 

and service incentive: it pays its employees 

a percentage of everything they sell at the 

concessions, which is calculated daily, in 

addition to their base pay. "You'll pay more 

to your help, but your bottom line will go 

up," says Locks. "We all live off our concessions, 

so service is real important." 

AMC's Helton agrees. In fact, he believes 

that the new wave of the future in 

concessions is self-serve operations. He 

discloses that AMC has something "up on 

the boards now" that would combine attendant 

help with self-service features. "There 

is a segment of the population out there that 

likes to get their own stuff and there is a 

certain segment of the population that 

wants to be waited on. We're also testing 

self-service options not only for the benefit 

of patrons but to benefit us, as well." 

One of those developments is a popper 

which an attendant controls by a remote 

control unit similar to one used at home on 

the family TV set. The attendant would be 

able to signal a computer in the popper 

which would regulate the loading, popping, 

and dumping of the popcorn. "It would be 

as close to perfect popcorn as you could get 

because it would all be handled by a computer." 

So in the '90s, the battle for profits may 

well move from the field of innovation to 

the realm of efficiency. Theatres should be 

prepared to feature a crackerjack staff ready 

^ 

to assist patrons expecting fast, efficient 

service. Those who want to remain competitive 

have learned that they can't afford to 

make concessions with their concessions. 

Alex Demyanenko is film 

editor of the 

Village View newspaper in Los Angeles, 

Calif. 

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18 BOXOFFICE 

Response No, 29 

Response No. 31

INSIDE EXHIBITION 

' 

Sydney, Australia's Mecca Movie City 

Remodeled and Rebuilt, This73-Yecir Old Theatre 

Keeps Its Edge Over Encroaching Competition 

IN 

By Mark A. Karluliuk 

M ANV RKSPHCTS, independent cinema 

exhibition in Australia reflects the 

trends, developments and issues current 

in the United States. Nowhere is this comparison 

more appropriate than in the southern 

Sydnc) suburb of Kogarah, a raciall) 

mixed, diverse community hub of 50.0(K) 

inhabitants. 

In 

1990, the neighborhotKl Mecca Theatre, 

an old picture palace built in 1918. 

re-opened as Mecca Movie City, a state-ofthe-art 

four-plex. Owner and manaiiinj; director 

Phil Doyle decided to rebuild and 

rejuvenate his single screen cinema as a 

response to changing public taste and imminent 

competition. No longer was the old 

single screen viable in 

public wanted state-of-the-art 

an area where the 

sound, outstanding 

picture quality and, more importantly, 

a choice of movies al convenient 

times. 

Competition also played a part in 

prompting Doyle to build the four-plcx 

With over .^5 years of experience m the 

motion picture industry, he realized that one 

of the major cinema chains would eventually 

open up in a local mall, as was the trend 

stateside. During re-construction of 

Dovle's cinemas, one of Australia's largest 

exhibitors. Greater L'nion. in conjunction 

with Warner Bros., decided to open an 

eight-plex in a giant shopping mall three 

miles to the south. The opening of the 

Greater Union 8. however, has not affected 

Mecca's competitive edge. Doyle 

embarked on an extensive advertising cainpaign 

emphasizing the price advantage he 

has (top admission S8.5() AUS versus the 

competition's SI I .AUS), convenience, bargain 

days, comfort and first run film choice. 

Such a well planned campaign has allowed 

Doyle to increase his market share. This is 

significant. considering the levelsof market 

saturation that have cKCurred. 

From a technical angle, the ke_\ to 

Mecca's record of reliability has been adaption 

and improvisation. Using predominately 

U.S. built equipment, such as 

Century CC projectors. Cinema Film Systems 

platters. Ultra-Stereo processors 

equipped with noise reduction cards from 

Smart, and Irem rectifiers, the projection 

booth li>oks like a trade display from Sho 

West. Mecca's technical director. Robert 

Lopez, has maintained a record of rcliabilit> 

that e\en a large corporate chain would 

tlnd hard to match. Boasting over .^5 years 

experience with projection equipment. 

I.opez adapts the U.S. machines for Australian 

use and improvises where necessary to 

keep them operating. 

As Lofwz acknowledges, simplicity and 

efficiency wins hands down o\ er whiz bang 

technology. F-or example although local 

suppliers had PC computer l\isi.il ik kciing 

systems available. Mecca chose Pacer for 

the reliability 

of the company's PXII. the 

stand-alone operations capability, and user 

friendliness. In order for the staff to relate 

more easily to the computers. ihe> have 

even written an operations manual, called 

"PacerCheck." 

It was not without a little regret and sadness 

that Doyle decided to tear dow n the old 

Mecca theatre and. within its walls, build 

Mecca Movie City. Although a dedicated 

cinema, the old Victory Theatre (as it was 

originally called), had the capability to hold 

live shows. Such a capacity was facilitated 

by eight scenery lines, a full stage house, 

change rooms, a 40-foot stage, act drop and 

french action curtains. 

The flavor of the old theatre has not been 

completely lost in the new four-plcx. Each 

of the four auditoriums has been given an 

identity of its own, \\ ith names such as Ritz, 

Manhattan and Palace. In turn the flavor and 

ambience has been created by lying in appropriate 

decor, such as art deco lighting, 

richly colored curtains, and matching interior 

color schemes. A member ol the American 

Theatre Historical Association, and an 

avid cinema-goer since childhood, Doyle 

appreciates the need for atmosphere and 

escapism that the public seeks out in its 

entertainment. 

The auditoriums vary in size from 80 to 

200 seats, the size of each cinema being 

based not on guesswork hut on a careful 

evaluation of market conditions. For exampie, 

with a blockbuster two of the large 

cinemas can be interlocked, thereby allowing 

a capacity of almost 4(X). while for art 

house fare such as "Cyrano de Bergerac. 

or double features, the small cinema can be 

used. This inherent tlexibilitv allows Do\ le 

to maximize programming potential, 

thereby catering to the rather fickle taste of 

the public. 

The cinemas are laid out side by side with 

.1 central passage way connecting them. 

This provides for minimum staffing levels. 

On the busiest night no more than three 

people are required to run the entire front of 

house. The projection booth is such that ii 

can be operated comfortably h\ one person. 

Overall. Doyle sees the transformation of 

his bekned theatre as an outstanding success, 

proving that even in an ever changing, 

fiercely competitive industry such as motion 

picture exhibition, individuality and 

the positive use of talent has a place. He has 

proven that a small independent operator 

can build a complex that escapes the 

'cookie-cutler' similarity of the large complexes, 

yet offers better returns in relation 

to size. He sees the survival of independent 

operators such as himself as the life blood 

of the industry, offering the public a genuine, 

fairly priced and quality altemativv. 

^ 

Mark A. Barheliuk is a free lance writer 

and BoxohTiCE correspondent reporting on 

Australia and the Pacific. 

July, 1991 19

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BEFORE 

WE BECAME professional popcorn 

handlers— part of the everyday 

business of running a theatre—we 

were popcorn eaters. Remember all the 

popcorn you've eaten over the years—during 

all those hours you've spent in dark 

theatres watching movies'? For most of us, 

the time we've racked up in movie theatres, 

if counted, would take up a good deal of our 

waking hours. And, if you're like a lot of 

us. popcorn has always been an important 

part of what's up on the screen. 

By Marilyn Moss 

Associate Editor 

Popcorn, 

although some of us would hardly admit to 

it, can make a good film better and a bad 

film tolerable. 

Now, about the specifics of popcorn. 

Well, there's the popcorn we had as kids. 

When we were younger, maybe our tastes 

didn't always run to the limits of connoisseur-dom. 

We just liked popcorn—mostly 

because we rarely had to pay for it. All we 

knew was that our parents stood in line and 

the popcorn miraculously appeared before 

the movie began. And, as we got older and 

began attending movies by ourselves or 

with our school chums, we stood in line, 

yes, but—well, again—how much were we 

really aware of way back then'? 

Popcorn. It comes in basically one 

shape, and so far no one has played around 

to make it come any differently. But the 

way popcorn tastes is another story. There 

is cheesy popcorn, strawberry popcorn, 

fajita popcorn and—maybe somewhere out 

there—even chop suey popcorn. 

for shopping malls. 

But that's 

In our theatres there is 

just popcorn, the kind that our patrons count 

on. The lard in it is gone, but a variety of 

popcorn oils remain in use. Popcorn is 

buttered, popcorn is plain. But most importantly, 

popcorn is our staple. 

And what about the history of popcorn? 

Most of us have, perhaps, given little 

thought to its origins. Or given little 

thought to the art of making popcorn: the 

inventive ways that those little kernels 

transform into the nuggets we and our patrons 

pop into our mouths. Some of us pop 

it in our theatres and some of us tear open 

bags while that great aroma of popped com 

fills the theatre. 

In Marion, Ohio someone has given a 

lot of thought to the history of popcorn 

kernels. In fact, in this city there is even 

a museum and a festival dedicated to 

nothing other than popcorn. The Wyandot 

Popcorn Museum in Marion, Ohio thinks 

about popcorn every day. In this building 

is housed a century of the various ways 

popcorn has been made and thought 

about. There are classic antique poppers, 

such as Cretors, Dunbar and Cracker 

Jack, Bartholomew and Long-Eakin. And 

there are even several homemade, one-ofa-kind 

antique poppers to be found. There 

is, in short, everything to make you think 

about popcorn and some artifacts to make 

you start thinking about it if you haven't 

already. 

The Wyandot Popcorn Museum also 

houses the original 1 892 Ol.sen Commercial 

Dry Popper, not to mention a horse-drawn 

Model D Wagon complete with driver seat. 

And, says the museum, in the eariy part of 

the century—a holdover from the 1 9th century—economy 

poppers were hand powered 

while the quality Cretors, Dunbar and 

Kingery machines were steam powered. 

All of this information—along with these 

fascinating artifacts—is to be found at the 

museum, and demonstrations are part of the 

atmosphere here. 

But popcorn is not just an inside matter 

in Marion, Ohio. There is also an annual 

Marion Popcorn Festival held downtown 

on Thursday, Friday and Saturday following 

Labor Day. The three-day event features 

headliners from the pop music scene 

and about as much information on popcorn 

as you could ever wish to find. 

So, if it's 

history you're after, and if your taste for 

history runs to a curiosity about popcorn, 

the Popcorn Museum in Marion, Ohio is the 

place to visit. 

Because the ways things look 

in Marion, perhaps popcorn is our national 

pastime after all. 

For more information, contact Wyandot 

at l-8()0-WYANDOTor6l4-3874255. H 

20 BOXOFFICE

1 

. 

The 

Georgetown Theatres I & 11. of 

Fort Wayne. Ind.. mounted a spirited 

lour week promotion lor Walt 

Disney's "Shipwrecked." Headed up by 

Roben Collie. Georgetown Theatre I

. 

Summer Promos and 

Tie-ins 

Despite the apparent lack ot' surefire summer 

blockbusters (though the most likely are 

"Terminator 2" and "Robin Hood"). American 

theatre owners still have a long. hot. and 

very promotable summer season ahead of 

them. Whether it's with a local Pizza Hut. a 

record store or a clothing emporium, there are 

numerous opportunities for the adventuresome 

showman or showwoman to cross-promote 

their summer fare. Only your 

imagination can hold you back. 

Theatre owners with merchandise boutiques 

also have a plethora of products to sell: 

there are massive merchandising campaigns 

linked to "Rocketeer." "Robin Hood" and 

"Terminator 2." For more infomiation on 

merchandising licensed products from these 

particular films, contact the merchandising/licensing 

departments at the respective studios 

(a list of such contacts appeared in last 

August's BOXOFHCE Buyers Guide). 

Some of the upcoming films and their announced 

product tie-ins and promotions: 

"Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves": Look 

for a massive marketing push and a host of 

tie-ins for this June 14 Warner Bros, release. 

SHORT TAKES 

In addition to a Nintendo video game, novelizations. 

clothing, trading cards, party goods. 

Kenner Toys action figures and Sherwood 

Forest playsets, and promotional items such as 

buttons and cups, Warners has reportedly 

swung a deal with Ralston Purina for a "Prince 

of Thieves" arrow-shaped fruit-flavored cereal. 

The film's soundtrack, from Morgan 

Creek Records, will be released June 2 1 

Warners is also repeating its catalog .sales 

program that was such a hit with "Batman." 

The company has printed up 6 1/2 million 

fold-out brochures offering for sale such items 

as "Robin Hood'"T-shirts. hats and toys. The 

brochures, which theatres hand out to exiting 

patrons during the film's opening week, have 

been distributed to the top 10 to 15 circuits. 

The brochures are coded for particular circuits, 

which receive a small percentage of the 

sales. 

For other promotional product tie-in information, 

call Karine Joret at Licensing Corp. of 

America, which licen.ses Warner's products 

(818-954-6450). In-theatre displays, buttons, 

mobiles and posters are still available for 

"Robin Hood"; for more infomiation, call 

your local field rep., or Ron Chan at 8 1 8-954- 

6125. 

"Terminator 11": Tri-Star's hot sequel will 

sport a host of tie-ins. including a 900 number 

call-in game, licensed products, and a tie-in 

with Subway sandwich shops. Comic books, 

jigsaw puzzles and a toy line of "Terminator" 

figures will be available for sale. 

The Subway 

sandwich stores (at 5.300 locations) will distribute 

"Terminator 2" teaser soft drinks and 

will offer "Terminator 2" meal deals. Perfume 

maker Prince Matchabelli's "Hero" cologne 

will tie-in to the film, with a sweepstakes 

contest offered in 20.000 stores nationwide 

(grand prize: a meeting with Schwarzenegger). 

In-theatre promotional materials include 

banners, standees, sunglasses, buttons and T- 

shirts. For more information, contact your 

local field rep. or Dawn Dubovsky, director of 

exhibitor relations, 2 1 3-280-8000. 

"Rocketeer": Buena Vista's high-tech 

entry in the summer sweeps has already garnered 

some 60 licensed products tied in to the 

film, with such items as pins, buttons, and 

posters. There will be promotional tie-ins with 

the Pizza Hut chain of restaurants, as well as 

an M&M/Mars candy tie-in. In addition, a 

soundtrack album by composer James Homer 

is due out on Hollywood Records. For more 

information, call your local field rep. 

"Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey": 

Following 

the impressive, massive promotional efforts 

for "FX/2" (see Bo\omcv.Shi>rt Takes. 

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22 BOXOFFICE Response No 27 

Hi

' 

May. page 42). Orion is aiming ils promi)- 

(lunal guns ai the youth market lor the teen 

comedy. This uill include a line >.)( excellenl 

toy figures, a Ralston-Purina cereal, and a 

Nintendo game, and a lic-in with Bultertlnger 

candy. A pop/riKk soundtrack album, featuring 

heavy metal groups, will be released by 

Interscope records. For more mromialion. 

contact your liKal field rep. or Ste\e FKnn. 

VP field operations, national promotions and 

exhibitor relations. 2 1 2-632-5«85. 

Paramount is promoting its summer releases 

in one multiple promotion, entitled 

"Paramount's Pa.ssport to Summer Entertainment" 

(see Bnx()tM("Ki7i()/-/7'«ic.v, June, page 

29). A reported S45 million is being allocated 

for products and promotions, including 20 

million "scratch and win" cards, tie-ins with 

Chrysler. GixHlyear. Kmart and the USA Network, 

and point-of-purchase displays at 

1 2.(MK) l(K.ations. The films in the package arc 

"Soiipdish," "Naked (Iiin 2 1/2." "Reuardinu 

Henry" ,iiul "Lame Ducks." 

"Boyz N Ihi" Hood": Ihis July release 

from Columbia will spin-off a soundtrack 

album on Warner Bros. -distributed Qwest records, 

featuring rapper and film star Ice Cube, 

as well as 2 I.i\e Crew and other rappers. 

"The Commitments": The latest offering 

from director Alan Parker is a unique film 

about Irish rcvkers struggling to make it 

playing 

.American soul and r&b music. The 2()th 

Century Fox August 1 6th release has spawned 

an MCA soundtrack which will be available 

the second week of August. 

Other soundtracks available 

for currently 

released films: 

"Jungle Fever": a Stevie Wonder 

soundtrack album featuring 10 songs from the 

film. 

"Thflniu \ l.uuise": a soundtrack album 

of country and western/southern rock, featuring 

Glenn I'rey's "Part of Me. Part of You." 

"Hackdraft": a soundtrack album, featuring 

two songs b\ Bruce Homsby. 

"A Rage in Harlem": an eclectic 

soundtrack album featuring r&b oldies and 

new gospel recordings. 

MovieFone Moves Into 

Boston With TV 

Commercials 

I Miij: II-- iirsi l\ commercials to introduce 

MovieFone in Boston in April. New York 

agency Ryan & Partners has quickly generated 

more than .lO.OOO calls per week — the 

highest call volume for any market introduction 

since the service's inception in Los Angeles 

in 1989. 

MovieFone. ba.scd in New York and Los 

Angeles, is a free service that provides local 

listings of movies, their locations, and 

showtimes through a local phone call. 

The .''O-second commercials on Boston's 

WLVI-TV. a sponsor of the free service, 

broadcast the basic message. "Looking for a 

" 

movie shouldn't take as long as seeing one 

Nationally. MovieFone generates o\ct 

200.0

NATIONAL NEWS 

Tartikoff in at Paramount 

Brandon Tartlkoll, the 42 year old executive 

who guided NBC's ascent from last to first 

place in the television ratings war, has been 

named the new chairman of Paramount Pictures. 

Tartikoff succeeds Frank Mancuso, who 

departed from the studio in a haze of controversy 

after the appointment of Stanley laffe as 

president of Paramount Communications. 

Tartikoff, who assumes his new position on 

luly 1, will report to Jaffe, the same arrangement 

that Mancuso refused to accept as a 

violation of his contract. Tartikoff, however, 

has been guaranteed autonomy and the 

power to green light as he sees fit. 

The announcement came at the beginning 

of May, and was followed by a press conference 

at which Tartikoff said of Paramount, 

"The studio has always stood for quality," and 

that it "is poised for its greatest years ever." 

Tartikoff also acknowledged that he would 

encourage the purchase or start-up of a television 

network by parent company Paramount 

Communications, saying, "Part of me 

still finds it very attractive to have a distribution 

system for TV product, and of course a 

network is the best system." Paramount Communications 

chairman Marvin Davis, however, 

dismissed speculation that his company 

would buy NBC as "pure nonsense." Under 

Tartikoff s control, NBC and Paramount had 

a longstanding, mutually beneficial relationship, 

with the TV division of the studio providing 

the network with such programs as 

"Cheers," "Dear John" and "Wings." 

Tartikoff got his start as a TV program executive 

in 1976 with ABC, and moved to NBC 

the following year to become director of comedy 

programming. In 1980 he became president 

of NBC Entertainment and chairman of 

the NBC Entertainment Croup. The network 

flourished under Tartikoff's command, leading 

the ratings for its first time ever in the 

1985-86 fall season, and he became chairman 

of the newly established NBC Program 

Development Group in October, 1 988. 

Peters Out at Columbia 

Colorfu I executive Ion Peters stepped down 

from his post as co-chairman of Columbia 

Pictures Entertainment in May, leaving his 

longtime partner and friend Peter Cuber in 

sole control of the studio. In a statement issued 

by Columbia, it was announced that 

Peters would be heading up his own company, 

which will produce film, music and 

television product exclusively for CPE. According 

to the CPE statement, the new company 

"will enable Peters to concentrate on the 

creative side of the entertainment business, a 

true showcase for his talent." 

In the prepared statement, Peters emphasized 

that the move was his choice: "I have 

asked Sony to convert my employment arrangement 

and establish an entertainment 

company which will be tied exclusively to 

Columbia Pictures Entertainment. I am enthused 

by this opportunity to productively 

channel my creative interests." Cuber, meanwhile, 

said, "In this new endeavor he has my 

unbridled support," adding that Peters' new 

company "will have the highest level of autonomy 

in developing, producing and marketing 

its product." Still, many in the industry 

speculated that Peters had been squeezed out 

as a result of parent company Sony's displeasure 

with his flamboyant style. One incident 

which particularly embarrassed Sony came 

when Forbes magazine published a report last 

year saying that Peters had hired a woman he 

was dating for a high-level executive position. 

Peters and Cuber were hired late in 1 989, 

shortly after Sony purchased CPE for $3.4 

billion. The company was then forced to pay 

another $500 million to Warner Bros, to free 

the partners from an existing production deal. 

Peters, a former hairdresser, was romantically 

linked with his client Barbara Streisand in the 

mid-70s, and gained his entrance into production 

with her remake of "A Star is Born." 

He later formed a partnership with Cuber, and 

the duo was responsible for such hits as "Rainman," 

which won the Oscar for Best Picture, 

and "Batman." 

Loews Rules "No Dice" 

Loews Theatres, the nation's fifth largest 

chain, announced in May that they had decided 

not to show Andrew "Dice" Clay's new 

concert film "Dice Rules" on any of its 866 

screens. The film received an NC-17 rating 

from the MPAA, continuing the comedian's 

controversial career pattern. 

Often criticized by feminist and minority 

groups for his outrageous act, Clay's appearance 

on Saturday Night Live last year caused 

singer Sinead O'Connor and series regular 

Nora Dunn to boycott the show. Indeed, the 

film "Dice Rules" was scheduled for release 

last year by 20th Century Fox, but was 

dropped from the studio's schedule. It is now 

being released by Seven Arts, a division of 

Caroico, in association with Blossom Pictures. 

According to a statement by Loews chairman 

A. Alan Friedberg, Loews policy is to 

exhibit "NC-1 7 films which it deems not to be 

pornographic on a picture to picture basis." 

The Clay film, however, is "so offensive to 

women as to make its exhibition by Loews 

Theatres inappropriate and unacceptable." 

Friedberg maintains that he is "an ardent supporter 

of First Amendment Rights and freedom 

of expression. ..The film maker has a right 

to make any film he chooses to make; the 

adult public has a right to see any film not 

ruled to be legally obscene; we have a right 

to exhibit films we choose to exhibit and an 

equal right to refuse to exhibit films we choose 

not to exhibit." 

Reports that several other chains, including 

AMC, had also refused the film are false according 

to lerry Cruenberg of Blossom Pictures, 

which is distributing the film for Seven 

Arts. Cruenberg says he has "no complaints" 

aboutthe reception the film has received from 

theatre chains, pointing out, "We're only 

opening in 40 theatres, so we didn't need 

AMC. Of course, they can play it if they want 

to. All they have to do is call. But Loews 

Theatres were the only ones who said they 

have a problem with it, and that's their business." 

The Diceman himself, at a press conference 

shortly after the Loews announcement, 

said, "I'm going to continue to do what I do. 

It makes the crowds laugh. After all, it's comedy. 

I'm not ruining Western civilization." 

WB: Joint Venture, 

Per Capita 

Warner Bros., in its continuing quest to 

operate theatres throughout the world, has 

entered into a joint venture with the lapanese 

supermarket chain Nichii to open 30 multiplexes 

throughout japan over the next seven 

years. The fifty-fifty venture, known as 

Warner-MyCal, is expected to cost roughly 

$7.35 million, or 1 billion yen, with each 

multiplex containing six to twelve screens and 

seating between 2,500 and 3,500 people. 

At a press conference in Tokyo, Warner 

Bros, chairman Robert Daly said, "We believe 

that by building multi-plex theatres, and also 

placing them in locations where there are 

virtually no theatres, we will be able to both 

increase the frequency of attendance and win 

new customers." Nichii will build the theatres 

on its existing supermarket sights, saving 

Warners the cost of buying land in the world's 

most expensive real estate market. Warners 

will manage the theatres, which will show 

American, European and lapanese films, and 

will not be restricted to Warner Bros, releases. 

Meanwhile, here at home, Warners announced 

that, for the first time, it would be 

imposing per capita minimums on ticket 

prices for all first run films. Effective lune 14 

(the release date for the studio's much-anticipated 

"Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves"), 

Warners will expect theatres in major markets 

to pay rentals based on a $5 admission for 

adults and $3 for children; in minor markets 

the rates will be $4 for adults and $2 for 

children. 

The policy will discourage theatres from 

discounting tickets, though special provisions 

have been made for bargain matinees. While 

many of the major studios have some form of 

per capita policy, enforcement of the policies 

has been selective. Twentieth Century Fox, for 

example, has a per capita on its first run films 

on a market-by-market basis. Tri-Star's contracts 

allow for per capita pricing, but they 

rarely enforce it. 

L.A. Ticket Tax 

In early May, the Los Angeles City Council 

passed a proposed 1 per cent admission tax 

on city theatres, but it seems unlikely that the 

tax will ever go into effect. First, the California 

branch of the National Association of Theatre 

Owners promised an all-out court fight to 

defeat the tax, forming a coalition with other 

entertainment related companies and gathering 

40,000 signatures for a petition against the 

tax. Then Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley got 

on the bandwagon, pledging to veto the bill 

if it ever reached his desk. Bradley echoed 

theatre owners' and patrons' sentiments when 

he said, "To be hit with a 10 percent tax for 

24 BOXOFFICE

just trying to get a little enjoyment out of life 

is absolutely unacceptable." 

First run tickets in Los Angeles already run 

$7.50, and, assuming theatre owners passed 

the proposed tax on to consumers, that would 

raise ticket prices to the unprecedented level 

of $8.25. As Alliance of Motion Picture and 

Television Producers vice president of public 

affairs Cini Barrett put it, "By imposing such a 

tax, the entertainment capital of the world will 

send a message to cities and states, hungry for 

revenue, that it is okay to single out and tax 

the entertainment industry. Thus, it will essentially 

be creating a national tax on its own 

home induslrv." 

Discount Ticket Suit 

For the second time this year, a suit has come 

before the California Court of Appeals seeking 

to prevent theatres from offering discount tickets 

to senior citizens and children. The suit, 

which was dismissed in Los Angeles Superior 

Court, alleges that the practice of offering 

discount tickets to selected groups violates 

California's Unruh Act, which prohibits discrimination 

due to, among other things, age. 

According to attorney Ted Tierney, who is 

representing his wife lanice Tierney in the suit 

against AMC Theatres, the practice of offering 

discount tickets based on age is an act of 

"benevolent discrimination," which reinforces 

the view that "people 55 or older are in need 

of help and can't take care of themselves." He 

says the idea (or the suit occurred to him 

several years ago, when a friend over 55 

received the discounted rate despite having 

an annual income of over $500,000. Tierney 

believes that seniors wishing to receive discounts 

should have to pass a "means test" 

similar to the one required to receive a Golden 

Bear pass to the national parks. To receive the 

Golden Bear pass, seniors have to prove that 

their income does not exceed $900 per 

month. 

A similar suit filed against Mann Theatres 

was dismissed by the California Court of Appeals 

earlier this year. Tierney, however, has 

pledged to take his fight to the California 

Supreme Court if he loses in the appellate 

division. AMC's position, according to west 

coast council Robert Piatt, is that, "Asa matter 

of public policy, they are entitled to enjoy 

discounts." Piatt points to discounted bus 

fares, insurance rates and IRS tax waivers as 

legal precedents for AMC's position. 

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Nelson Goes to New Line 

,\tlcr many niontti^ ot ncKi'iMlion, New 

Line Cinema Corp. has acquired Nelson 

Entertainment's film and video distribution 

rights for an estimated $ 1 5 million cash, plus 

stock. The deal will give New Line its first 

opportunity to feed its extensive distribution 

system with A-Budget movies, and gives the 

company rights to the more than 600 films in 

Nelson's library, including "The Last Emperor," 

"The Graduate," "Kiss of the Spiderwoman" 

and "The Princess Bride." The deal also 

includes video and overseas theatrical rights 

to Castle Rock's slate of films, including "Misery," 

which New Line will release on video, 

and the upcoming "City Slickers," starring 

Billy Crystal. Nelson has been on the brink of 

bankruptcy for some time, and owes Credit 

Lyonnais approximately $100 million. 

Merchant Films •Policy Films 

•Datestrips •No Smoking 

FILMACK STUDIOS 

1327 So. Wabaah Avanus Chicago. IL 60605-2574 

312-427-339S FAX 312-427-4866 

CATALOG UPON REQUEST 

July, 1991 25

don't 

EASTERN NEWS 

BOSTON, MA 

New leases in the notorious "combat zone" 

indicate the return of pornographic film 

houses to this area. There were seven theatres 

in the so-called "zone" when a crackdown 

closed all but two. When Chinatown activists 

heard that a new pornographic film house and 

an adult book store—along with a strip parlor—were 

to open, they began immediate 

protests to city hall. "We've been trying to get 

rid of the combat zone and its pornographic 

film houses for some time," said Chinatown 

activist George joe. In the mid 1980s The 

Boston Redevelopment Authority devised a 

raise in real estate values to drive out pornographic 

businesses by allowing real estate 

development in the zone. It was hoped that 

development would boost real estate values, 

but the real estate market has since taken a 

nosedive and all of the major developments 

planned for the zone have been put on hold. 

Because most legitimate businesses have 

abandoned plans to open stores in the zone, 

porn operators are once again on the move. 

The old Paris Theatre, which dates back to 

the days of former owner, famed exhibitor 

and producer Joseph E. Levine, will not be 

torn down, according to A. Alan Friedberg, 

Chairman of Loews Theatre Management 

Corp., which owns the house. Says Friedberg, 

"I've negotiated with the landlord, who said 

he was negotiating to put up a building that 

would be more economically valuable than a 

theatre. I know if he still feels that way, 

but the theatre continues to be successful and 

we would like to remain. If we have to close 

in 1992, there are other possibilities that we 

would open somewhere in the neighborhood." 

PHILADELPHIA, PA 

Sandra Richman, a stunt person and stunt 

coordinator for a number of recent films 

("Prizzi's Honor," "A Chorus Line" and 

"Ghostbusters") has opened offices here as 

Sandman, Inc. where she is consultant to 

movie studios and major TV networks. 

For the opening of "Mannequin Two: On 

the Move," AMC Olde City 2 Theatres tied in 

with the chain of Rib-It Restaurants here. During 

"Happy Hour" at the restaurants, passes 

fora special screeningweredistributed, along 

with posters of the movie and T-shirts to 

promote it. 

Roxy Theatre in center city announced significant 

bookings of films that would not otherwise 

be shown here, including the offbeat 

Greek film "Landscape in the Midst," and two 

animated Japanese films, "Robot Carnival" 

and "Lensman." 

UA Sameric 4 in center city was the only 

movie house in the region to screen the revived 

Stanley Kubrick film, "Spartacus". 

However, instead of the restored and uncut 

1 97 minute version in 70mm, and with stateof-the-art 

Dolby stereo, the 1 960 classic was 

relegated to a 35mm print squeezed onto a 

small screen in a narrow 400-seat theatre. 

While the Sameric 4 is equipped for 70mm, 

Charles Sampayo, the Universal Studios 

branch manager whose district includes Philadelphia, 

said only eight of the 32 prints of 

"Spartacus" in release nationally were in 

70mm, and because of its $ 1 6,000 cost, it was 

not cost effective to make it available for this 

city. A spokesman for Sameric Theatres said 

that when Universal would not supply a 

70mm print, the chain decided to put the 

feature in a small auditorium. 

Ramon Posel's Ritz at the Bourse Theatre 

offered two ways for patrons to see the fivehour, 

1 1 minute restored version of Bernardo 

Bertolucci's "1900." For $10, patrons could 

see both parts in one sitting; and for $ 1 2, they 

could the two parts in separate showings. 

Philadelphia Variety Club, Tent No. 13, 

was recently the recipient of a symphony 

concert presented by the suburban Bala Orchestra 

Association at the Bala Middle School 

Auditorium. 

After being closed for two months due to a 

major fire at a high-rise office building nearby, 

the AMC Midtown Theatre in center city has 

reopened. During its closing the theatre was 

refurbished. 

PAINTER'S CROSSING, PA 

AMC Theatres has added a nme screen 

complex to its chain in Eastern Pennsylvania 

with the opening of its Painter's Crossing 9 

Theatres in the Village at Painter's Village 

Shopping Center. The new multiplex offers 

plush, comfortable seating with patented cupholders, 

Ultra-Stereo surround sound in all 

the theatres, state-of-the-art Torus screens, 

computerized automatic ticket sales for three 

days in advance (phone or boxoffice order) 

and discount prices for daily Twi-Lighl shows 

(at $3.50 for senior citizens and children). For 

the grand opening, Bugs Bunny and some of 

his friends were on hand on Saturday and 

Sunday to have their pictures taken with children 

attending the showings. To acquaint the 

area people with the new movie venue, it was 

free admission for all at the opening on Saturday 

and Sunday, limited to available seating. 

Also, popcorn and sodas were sold at $ 1 each 

as a donation to the Variety Club. The grand 

opening was promoted as an "Oscar Weekend," 

with all nine features shown being either 

Oscar winners or Oscar nominees. 

HARRISBURG, PA 

In a similar event, movie fans in this city 

were treated to free movies this past May 

when AMC's Colonial Commons 9 on Rt. 22 

had its pre-grand opening weekend featuring 

nine Oscar-winning films. TheColonial Commons 

9 is the region's newest and largest 

multi-theatre complex. As with the opening 

of AMC's Painter's Crossing 9 in Eastern Philadelphia, 

patrons were also offered $1 popcorn 

and soda, with proceeds going to the 

Variety Club. And Bugs Bunny and friends 

traveled to this opening as well. 

MIDWEST NEWS 

ST. LOUIS, MO 

For its 85th anniversary, the St. Louis-based 

Wehrenberg Theatres decided to celebrate its 

origins. This past May 15, the company offered 

a five cent admission to any of its theatres; 

five cents was the admission price when 

the chain's president Ronald P. Kreuger's 

grandfather, Fred Wehrenberg, founded the 

circuit on St. Louis' South Side back in 1 906. 

In addition, on May 22 patrons were able to 

purchase a bag of popcorn for a nickel— and 

to have a soft drink, on May 29, also for a 

nickel. 

TOLEDO, OHIO 

A seven year wail for a developer to rescue 

the historic Loews Valentine Theatre in downtown 

Toledo from being razed has finally 

ended. The National Church Residence in 

Columbus, Ohio will convert the 54-room 

Renaissance Building in which the auditorium 

is located into a retirement home for 

modest-income senior citizens. Agreement 

has been reached with the city of Toledo and 

the Toledo Cultural Arts Center so that the 

levels is 

projectwill be ready for occupancy by winter, 

1993 at an estimated cost of $4,000,000, 

subject to approval by the Ohio Historic 

Commission and the National Register of Historic 

Places. Government help at all 

expected. 

The theatre will be renovated in the second 

phase of construction, at an estimated 

$12,000,000, to provide a 700-seat performance 

center. A fund-raising campaign is 

planned, with the state also involved in financing 

the auditorium. The Valentine Theatre 

will be 100 years old on Christmas night, 

1 995, the target date for its re-opening. For 

most of its existence it operated as a film 

house. 

CHICAGO, IL 

Loews' Piper's Alley Theatre in Piper Plaza, 

Chicago, opened this past May. The complex 

houses four screens and has a seating capacity 

of 1,294. Also featured is state-of-the-art 

equipment that includes Dolby stereo, cupholder 

armrests and a 70mm screen. The 

concession stand offers popcorn and hot dogs 

and will introduces yogurt and cookies, 

espresso, capuccino, Mr. jubbly sweet popcorn 

imported from Europe and Walkabout, 

a bottled Australian water. 

26 BoxomcE

Irish to sponsor— jointly—the marketing of 

the Irish film and TV industry at three major 

exhibitions at Cannes. This is the first time the 

two bodies have cooperated to market any 

industry from Ireland. The project received 

financial backingfrom The International Fund 

for Ireland. 

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 

The Prices Surveillance Authority, a governmental 

watchdog agency, is to hold a public 

enquiry into the cost of a movie ticket here. 

Claiming the $11.50 (AUS) maximum currently 

charged by the major cinema chains is 

rising out of stepwith inflation, the P. S. A. feels 

that the 40% increase in five years is not 

justified. Citing lower staff cost, increased 

session times and the economic advantages 

of multiplexing, the P.S.A. feels that the public 

is being exploited. Public concern appears to 

be the motivating factor behind the enquiry. 

The P.S.A. also intends to look into the relationship 

between film distributors and the 

major cinema chains, the distributors and 

theircontrol ofthe video market as well as the 

practice of identical ticket pricing by the 

major cinema circuits. 

Harold Yuker is Provost 

of Hofstra University. 

He has cerebral palsy. 

President's Committee on 

Employment of the Handicapped 

Washington, D.C. 20210 

Oliver's Stoiy 

Oliver 

is one ofthe lucky ones. 

He was one of six dogs we rescued 

before they could be sold to a major 

dog dealer for experimentation. 

The interstate transportation of lost and 

stolen dogs destined for laboratories is a 

nightmare for these animals— many of them 

beloved companions— even before the experiments 

begin. It is estimated that 100.000 dogs 

per year make the journey to dog dealers and 

experimenters. 

Since 1980. People for the Ethical Tl-eatment 

of Animals has become this nation's most effective 

and hard-hitting organization when it 

comes to exposing and stopping animal cruelty, 

especially in laboratories. 

Suffering animals need knowledgeable and 

assertive fighters on their side— they're not all 

as lucky as Oliver 

For additional information on how you can 

help, write: PETA, RO. Box 42516. Washington. 

DC 20015. or call (202) 72t>0156, 

OBITUARIES 

Memorial services were held on April 29 

for Joseph E. Elicker, former creative director 

and executive assistant to William Coldwyn, 

who owned and operated the chain of Goldman 

Theatres in the Philadelphia market. Elicker 

was 82. He was also a music composer, 

writer, filmmaker and the inventor who created 

a paint-by-numbers system that enabled 

theatre operators to paint their own promotional 

posters. He was the former director of 

tourism for the Grand Bahama Islands. He 

built and formerly owned the Paradise Inn 

Resort in Yucatan, Mexico. 

ON THE MOVE 

Evelina Regina has been promoted to director 

of international advertising and publicity 

at Orion Pictures International. Having joined 

Orion in 1988, Regina will now be responsible 

for the creation of advertising campaigns 

and will oversee worldwide publicity and 

promotional activities for the division. 

Also at Orion, Leslie Reynolds Weiller is 

now director of field publicity and promotions 

for Orion Pictures. Previously manager 

of field publicity, Weillerwill now coordinate 

all field publicity and promotion activities and 

will direct four field representatives overseeing 

24 agencies. 

Mark Cheatham has been named director 

of west coast publicity for New Line Cinema. 

He will be responsible for managing west 

coast publicity campaigns for all New Line 

Cinema films. 

Also at New Line, Linda Videtti has been 

promoted to manager of marketing from her 

previous position as assistant manager, marketing. 

Videtti will now coordinate the testing 

of creative materials and recruited audience 

screenings. She will also act as liaison between 

the marketing and production departments 

and work closely with research. 

Again at Orion, Steven Flynn has been 

named vice president, field operations, national 

promotions and exhibitor relations. 

Previously vice president of national promotions 

and exhibitor relations for the studio. 

Flynn will additionally oversee field publicity 

and promotions at Orion. 

Also, Robert M. Mott has been named vice 

president, finance and administration for 

Orion Pictures Distribution. Most recently, 

Mott was vice president, administrative and 

financial systems planning for the company. 

Paul Steinke has been promoted to the 

position of vice president, production finance 

for Hollywood Pictures. In his new capacity, 

Steinke will continue to oversee all aspects of 

finance related to motion pictures produced 

under the Hollywood Pictures banner, budgeting, 

supervision of foreign and domestic 

production costs and development. 

Mireille Soria has been appointed vice 

president of production for Walt Disney Pictures. 

In this capacity, Soria will oversee all 

aspects of developing and producing motion 

pictures for the Walt Disney Pictures banner. 

She will report directly to David Vogel, senior 

vice president, production. 

Also at Disney, Greg Probert has been promoted 

to the position of vice president, finance 

and administration for Buena Vista 

International. Probert will oversee all aspects 

of finance operations, accounting, control 

and financial planning related to motion pictures 

released in foreign theatrical markets 

under the Walt Disney, Touchstone and Hollywood 

Pictures banners. 

At National Amusements, Stephen Sohles, 

formerly director of management information 

systems, is now vice president, MIS. In this 

capacity Sohles will expand on his current 

MIS role and be more involved in overall 

management planning and implementation. 

As a way to strengthen their existing relationship 

and enhance each company's operations. 

Vision International has named Moshe 

Diamant its co-chairman. Diamant is co-chief 

executive officer of Epic Productions, a privately 

held independent producer of feature 

films. Mark Damon, Vision chairman and 

chiefexecutive officer, will now assume a seat 

on Epic's board of directors and be a member 

of that company's executive committee as 

well as be an Epic shareholder. 

Veteran entertainment industry reporter 

Michael Cieply has been named executive 

vice president of Steve Roth Productions. Cieply 

will be involved in all aspects of production 

for the company. Most recently, he was 

a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, working 

on investigative pieces and covering the business 

aspect of the industry. 

28 BOXOFFICE

mure 

— 

funnier still when he gets stiff and controlled. Here he transfonns 

into the ultimate psychiatnst 

he's got the posture, thi 

WHAT ABOUT BOB? 

.\u,iiti,^ ii... .'.I...' •,..,. .........; Dicyfitss, lulu: Hagtrty and 

Charlie Kursmo 

Produced by iMura Zishn Directed by Frank Oz Screenplay 

by Turn Schulman Story by Ali'in Sargent and Ixiiira Ziskin 

A Touchstone Pictures release Comedy, rated PG Running 

time 99 mm Sircening date 5/18/91 

"What About Bob?" may be one of the cnielest jokes ever 

played on a psychiatrist — indeed one of the crudest ever 

committed (pun intended) to celhiloid Yet its story is so outrageously 

funny that the joke may get lost in all the bellylaughs 

Director Frank Oz, taking off from a hilariously funny 

script, goes for the conventions of this genre— the zany 

patient who drives his doctor nuts— at the same time that he 

transcends all the silliness inherent in this familiar scenario 

"What About Bob" is a tightly wrapped farce about a patient 

who keeps coming unglued and who deconstnicts his doctor 

along the way It's a psychiatrist's worse nightmare and a 

filmgoer's funniest fantasy. 

clipped short beard and the natty clothes down to a tee He's .i 

tour de force of psycho-babble and he's about to get mashed 

by his patient, Murray, who does him in good True, the plot i,-- 

somewhat predictable, yet, the machinations of hne-tuned 

performances and impec cable writing and direction leave pre 

dictability in the dust as "What About Bob" taki-s off .m.i 

doesn't let up 

Rated PG for fun and neurosis Marilyn Mtjss 

ONLY THE LONELY 

Starring John Candy, Maureen O'Hara, Ally Sheedy, Anthonu 

Quinn, lames Bclushi and Milo O'Shea 

Proiluced by lohn Hughes and Hunt Lowry Written athi 

directed by Chns Columbus 

A Tieentieth Century Fox relea-v Drama comedy, rated PC, 

13 Running time 105 mm Screening dale .5 16 91 

John Candy is stuck in comball heaven and he desers'i 

better "Only the Lonely" makes little use of Candy's enoi 

mous talent: here he's given a chance at last to show off his 

flair as a dramatic actor, yet he's surrounded—and thcrefon 

grounded—by writer-director Chris Columbus' (director of 

"Home Alone") sappy though nonetheless well-intenlioncci 

script. Candy can't really lift himself out of the sugar here, bin 

he tries— he really tries. This film is sweet-natured just liki 

Candy, yet it doesn't always measure up to his talents. 

John Candy held his omttj in this well-intentioned 

mother-son soap: the film opened to a lukewarm figure 

of $.100,94.1 at I, .521 screens. 

Bill Miirrdv I 

bclicwiblf iind inilearing than he's ever 

been) is Bob Wylie. a neurotic who has more phobias than he 

has hairs on his head He's a man in a panic about everything: 

touching doorknobs (or anything else) without using a kleenex, 

getting on elevators, maybe even just getting out of his 

apartment At his first session with psychiatrist Leo Marvin 

(Richard Dreyfuss), he feels he's found the one man who can 

help him Yet the horror follows: he's also informed that the 

good doctor is leaving for a one month vacation This is a 

patient's worst fear and Bob reacts appropriately 

he's hellbent 

— in his sweet natured way, of course— on following Leo 

to New flampshire just to be near him So he packs up his 

goldfish (named Gill) in a used gefilte fish jar, strings it 

around his neck and takes off. 

Scuroticn unite! This funny film has kept fvrrynne 

laughing: its per st rrrn .ivrragr rvrn jumped from 

$630,000 in its first neck to SH00,»H.5 in its second. 

Once in New Hampshire, Bob wiggles into Leo's home, family 

and career. He becomes a welcome guest to Leo's wife 

(Julie Hagarty) and Leo's kids yet a life-threatening intrusion 

to Leo. And as Bob begins to feel better (all he really needed 

was a family, of course), Leo begins to unravel. Mis professional 

guise deterioriates, and worse yet, he's the only one who 

thinks Bob is a pain There is a ring of Hitchcockian paranoia 

in the proceedings, and it makes for a fine collision with the 

line of comedy here. You don't know whether to laugh or to 

shudder 

Richard Dreyfuss is funny when he gets manic, but he's 

Candy is Danny Muldoon (yes!), a good-hearted Chicago 

cop who, with his partner, Sal (John Belushi), drives around 

hoisting bodies fboth dead and alive) into his police wagon 

Danny seems satisfied with his life, but beneath his sweci 

nature lies a great hole where his affections would like to be 

Danny is lonely to the core. He'd like to meet a girl and settle 

down, but if he did, he'd have to confront his greatest problem 

his acid-tongued mother. Rose (given great flair by veteran 

actress Maureen O'llara), a woman who mns Danny's life a.s 

swiftly as she cooks his meals and makes his bed 

But trouble comes when Danny meets Theresa Luna, the 

shy daughter of a neighborhood undertaker Theresa works in 

her father's funeral parlor giving make-up jobs to corpses whci 

are about to debut in their caskets When she and Danny fall 

for each other ihev spark a chord eoinc haywire in wh.nt used 

Review Index 

Ballad of tfie Sad Cafe, The R 46 

Dice Rules R-47 

Every Other Weekend R-46 

FX 2 R-41 

Mannequin Two: On the Move R-44 

Miracle, The R-45 

One Good Cop R-42 

Only the Lonely R-40 

Rage in Harlem, A R-43 

Reflecting Skin. The R-46 

Requiem (or Dominic R-45 

Straight Out of Brooklyn R-44 

Sweet Talker R-43 

Switch R-41 

Toy Soldiers R-44 

Truth or Dare R-42 

What About Bob? R-40 

Wild Means Can't Be Broken R-43 

July, 1991 R-40

— 

— 

— 

to be Rose Muldoon's controlled universe. The problem, however, 

is not so much the venom that Mom spits out as she 

realizes she is losing her son, instead it is that Danny can't 

take a stand against his mother. He feels guilt and he feels 

fear. He's afraid to live his own life and to sever his ties with 

Rose. Ultimately he will, of course; yet it seems at times 

especially for Theresa— that the moment will never come. 

most profit from its characters doing something quirky or 

unexpected. Or saying something interesting. While parts of 

this film are fun, the character development, such as it is, 

rarely rises to the level of cardboard. It's craftsmanship like 

this that has given the honest profession of hack writing a bad 

name. 

Critics called this film a not-so-artful-sequel, but it has 

proven to be a steady achiever, grossing an average of 

$5 millions in its Brst three weeks. 

The problem with "Only the Lonely" rests with Chris 

Columbus. That he has saturated the story with a heavy dose 

of sentiment— so that his actors seem to be walking around 

dragging their feet in syrup—isn't really irritating here. It's 

that the dialogue, as well as the direction, is sluggish; and what 

you end up with is an extremely watchable cast (O'Hara is a 

standout) who looks also to be watching— the director, that is, 

and waiting for a cue. Candy has wonderful moments in the 

film. He's a gifted actor who seems here to be asking for 

more— for something!— to do. 

Rated PG-13 for good intentions. Marilyn Moss 

FX2 

Starring Bryan Brown, Brian Dennehy, Rachel Ticotin, Joanna 

Gleason, Philip Bosco and Tom Mason 

Produced by Jack Weiner and Dodi Fayed Directed by Richard 

Flanklin Written by Bill Condon 

An Otion Pictures release. Drama, rated PG-13 Runnirig time: 

109 min Screening date: 5/7/91 

In this perfunctory sequel to the well-accepted "FX," Bryan 

Browm's character, RoUie Taylor, emerges as an updated Mandrake 

the Magician, a quick-thinking hero who can cloud 

men's minds— not with the magic of hypnotism but with the 

more potent sorcery of modem movie special effects. When 

that tact is explored with imagination, such as when the 

unarmed Taylor must face down a trained assassination in an 

empty supermarket, "FX2" explodes with uncharacteristic 

cleverness. 

The rehash begins when a macho yet sincere policeman, 

the ex-husband of Taylor's current girlfriend, asks Taylor to 

rig up some special effects magic in order to capture a serial 

killer. Sounds too complicated—why not just arrest the guy? 

But the story's got to start somewhere, right? When the cop is 

killed amid signs of ruthless police cover-up, Taylor sends his 

girl and her son to New Jersey so that they can get into worse 

trouble, and he calls in his old friend from the first movie, Leo 

McCarthy (Dennehy) for help. 

Eventually our clever heroes leani that the corrupt police 

are helping the Mafia retrieve pieces of gold medallions 

designed by none other than Michelangelo himself— the artist, 

that is, not the Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtle. By then, so 

many mysteries have been unraveled, so many good guys have 

turned out to be bad guys, and so many surprises have just 

been special effects that could never happen in real life, that 

the unreal plot makes the entire enterprise seem like an overblown 

Saturday morning cartoon. Given the invention of a 

special effects clown suit controlled by remote control in the 

film, at times you almost expect to see Rocky and Bullwinkle 

walk onto the screen to say, "Now there's something you don't 

see everyday. A clown suit flying a helicopter." 

On the positive side, the performances are good— the most 

enjoyable thing about the film. Brown makes an excellent 

hero, Dennehy looks to be having fun, and the major supporting 

players all look and act with a kind of naturalness found 

nowhere else in the film. It's almost enough to make us look 

forward to the possibility of "FX3." Almost. 

Rated PG-13 for language and violence. Arthur Byron Cov- 

SWITCH 

Starring Ellen Barkin, Jimmy Smits, JoBeth Williams, Lorraine 

Bracco and Petry King 

Produced by Tony Adams Written and directed by Blake 

Edwards 

A Warner Bros, release. Comedy, rated R Running time: 103 

min Screening date: 5/6/91. 

With "Switch," his latest treatise on male hysteria, Blake 

Edwards continues what seems to be his career-long obsession 

with telling dirty jokes, flinging sexual innuendos and displaying 

a general fear of assigned sexual roles when they come 

unhinged or at least confused. With "10" and "S.O.B.," the 

dirty jokes came bundled in neat little packages of insider 

trading notes about Hollywood. With "Victor/Victoria," Edwards 

seemed hard-pressed to convince his audience (no less 

than himself) that male homosexuality did not threaten him. 

which sexual role 

Now with "Switch," we see the extent to 

reversal makes him uncomfortable. The film purports to be a 

joke on males who womanize, but if we look closely we see the 

ugly way that Edwards dislikes women here. The dirty joke in 

"Switch" is played not on the men in the story but on the 

women who are their sexual objects of prey. 

TTii's farce on sexual role-snitching disappointed at the 

boxoBBce: in three weeks it grossed only $11,661,000 on 

1,000-plus screens nationwide. 

Otherwise, there's nothing the matter here that some 

decent dialogue couldn't have fixed. This script so obviously 

rehashes plot devices from the first film (boring cliches when 

used even then), that it niiis out of steam just when it would 

Ellen Barkin plays a woman (a woman inside a 

named Amanda who is 

man. ..echoes of "Victor/Victoria"?) 

really a man named Steve Brooks (Perry King) — a male chau- 

R-41 BOXOFFICE

— 

vinisi and philandering womanizer who has been killed off by 

three females who just couldn't take it anymore Sent halfway 

up to heaven. Steve is then given the chance to redeem himself 

he's sent back to Earth with the task of hnding one 

woman on this planet who doesn't hate his guts If he succeeds 

he'll avoid ending up in hell. Fat chance 

comes to life and Artie finds himself in financial straight.s 

Never has one film driven home so well the notion that raisiiu 

a family in the 90s is such a woeful dilemma Artie makes onl\ 

a cop's salary and things look pretty grim. 

After a mediocre opening wrrkrml, ihi-. ninlri i r>/> liloi 

< Duliln't Hft h.iiuli tiffrtl to tin- hii\i)thi i: \lti-r _'5 i/.n > 

If dropped to J disappointing iiuniltrr J I on tlir < harts 

with a little more than $11) ntillion. 

Then Artie gels it in his head that maybe he can make sonn 

bucks by swindling a coke hood who he's been after for a loni' 

time To do so will mean that this good cop nins the risk oi 

crossing the boundaries of the law. not to mention his own 

good conscience But he needs money because he wants tc 

hold onto his family So Artie crosses the line and swindles his 

way into some money We can't imagine what the outconnwill 

be— and when the outcome arrives neither can we belicM 

that it was written into this script At thi.s point— at the end ot 

the film— we're more than ever aware that we're watching ,i 

movie; more so. we're reminded once again hnw murh movies 

manipulate us 

So Amanda Steve enters Steve s tormer lite as a sexy 

woman who just can't shake the male who resides in her body. 

She chews on men and women alike as if they were her cud. 

and she manipulates everyone equally She's more a man in 

drag than anything else, and so Edwards has Barkin parading 

around the screen as enamored of her own breasts as she is of 

those belonging to every woman she meets Amanda just can't 

help being an obnoxious male— even when she is a tantalizing 

woman 

Edwards would have us believe that this is the story of a 

male chauvinist's commeupance and eventual redemption (in 

the silly end of this thing Edward's characters opt for sentimentality) 

But. what Edwards thinks he's doing and what he's 

actually (unconsciously) doing are two ditferent things entirely. 

The story attempts to expose the antics of Steve the 

womanizer and to show all of us that Edwards understands 

how silly such men are Yet the film itself ( 

given its camera 

angles, the way Barkin is made to parody her own body and 

the almost violent way that JoBeth Williams' sexuality is 

mocked by this camera) is really hateful toward women's bodies 

In addition to the sluggish pace that hovers over this film. 

the sexual crimes against women in "Switch," are committed 

not by a chauvinist named Steve Brooks but by a conflicted 

director named Blake Edwards. 

Rated R for blantant sexual jokes.—Man/i/n Moss 

ONE GOOD COP 

SduMiii; Michiict Kiaton, Rene Russn and Anthony LaPaglia 

Produced by Laurence Mark Wriitcn and directed by Hcyu'ood 

Gould 

A Hollywood Pictures release Drama, rated R Running time 

105 mm Screening date 4/30/91 

Because there are so many cliched moments in "One Good 

Cop," there's a good chance of having the sensation— all the 

way through the film—that you're watching a film instead of 

getting caught up in all the drama on the screen Strange as it 

may sound, though, even this problem doesn't get in the way 

of enjoying this story about a New York cop who gets trapped 

by his own surroundings and comes out smelling like a rose 

Part of the reason why "One Good Cop" works us over so 

well is that Michael Keaton just can't help being good material 

for the movie screen. He's a magnetic enough performer to 

pull the weight on anything dead around his feet Not that 

"One Good Cop" lies dying, but it does bank on many cinematic 

conceits we've seen before 

Keaton is New York cop Artie Lewis who's got a partner 

(Anthony La Paglia) about to be popped (we know this walking 

into the film) and who will then leave three (too) adorable 

daughters for Artie to take into his life Artie's wife. Rita (Rene 

Russo), is a woman huning to have children but unable to do 

so So when the three little girls are left to their charge, Rita 

"One Good Cop" is at times an uneasy mix of genre: it's .i 

violent cop tale at the same time that it's a sugar-coated ston 

about the pleasures (no less than the struggles) of familv 

dom The little girls in Artie's life are often loo cute for belie 

vability; and Artie's wife looks a bit loo much like a model whc 

has escaped the pages of Vogue Still, just when manipulation 

hits hardest, so does "One Good Cop" overcome its shortcomings. 

The sentiments of family, tested as they sometimes arcring 

true nonetheless. A good deal of this authenticity has in 

do with how hard this film tries—and succeeds- at getting tn 

important issues about personal joys, personal convictions 

But more than anything, it's Keaton's authenticity as a man 

who is conflicted yet still holding his own that rings truest. 

Rated R for violence. Marilyn Moss 

TRUTH OR DARE 

Sforririi; Madonna 

Produced by Jay Rocwc and Tim Clawson Directed by All^ 

Keshishian 

A Miramax Films release Musical documentary, rated R Run 

ning time 118 mm Screening date 5/8/91 

At the crucial moment of Madonna's new documentan 

"Truth or Dare." the singer and several membersof her entoii 

rage engage in the titular party game and, as it turns out, 

ever\'one chooses the dare—no one wants to tell the truth 

That game is a perfect metaphor for this film, for though 

Madonna is perfectly willing to engage in almost any outrageous 

act in front of the camera, we don't get any sense of 

what she's really like off stage 

For those who idolize the singer's public image, of course 

the lack of genuine insight won't be a disappointment. Abom 

half the film is concert footage— a treat for her fans— and thi: 

other half has her offering up "spontaneous" tidbits that reinforce 

her carefully crafted persona. But there's no real feeling 

July, 1991 R-42

— 

— 

of spontaneity to the film, no feeling— as in such documentaries 

as the Bob Dylan portrait "Don't Look Back" or the Beatles' 

"Let it Be"— that we're seeing anything but what this expert 

media manipulator wants us to see. 

As her then-boyfriend Warren Beatty puts it when Madonna 

is asked if she wants to say anything off camera, "She 

doesn't want to live off camera, much less talk. What's there 

to say if it's off camera?" The notoriously reticent Beatty 

sounds like the voice of reason in this case: Madonna will bare 

her breasts, pose before her mother's grave, insult Kevin 

Costner behind his back, even confess that ex-husband Sean 

Penn was her great love, but these acts are like moving snapshots; 

there's no depth to them, and they reveal nothing about 

Madonna, If, as she would have us believe, this is a "tell-all" 

documentary, then there must not have been much to tell. 

Like the image in her videos and magazine spreads. Madonna 

must be merely two dimensional. 

Given the constraints imposed by Madonna's willful selfcontrol, 

director Alek Keshishian has done a decent job of 

fashioning an entertaining portrait of the pop icon. But at just 

under two hours, the film could probably lose thirty minutes 

without cutting anything substantial; after all, nothing from 

nothing is nothing. 

Rated R for language, brief nudity and adult situations. 

Jeff Schwager 

WILD HEARTS CAN'T BE BROKEN 

Starring Cliff Robertson, Gabnelle Anwar, Michael Schoeffling, 

Dylan Kussman and Kathleen York 

Produced by Matt Williams and Oley Sassone Directed by 

Matt Williams. Written by Matt Williams and Oley Sassone. 

A Buena Vista Pictures release Drama, rated G Running time: 

89 mm Screening date: 5/20/91 

In this family-oriented drama, our heroine, Sonora Webster 

(Gabrielle Anwar), is an orphan living with her poor aunt on a 

Georgia farm during the Great Depression Sonora is a headstrong 

and willful young girl who loves horses and can't resist 

taking a dare from her enemies. Unfortunately, the trouble 

she gets into keeps costing her poor aunt money she doesn't 

have. So Sonora must run away before she's sent to a welfare 

home. 

At a local fair she watches a woman and a horse dive from a 

high tower into a pool of water. Sonora has found her life's 

ambition: to be a diving girl. She talks herself into a job with 

Dr. Carver's (Cliff Robertson) traveling-diving-girl-and-horse 

show and overcomes adversity in the forms of a jealous rival, a 

headstrong, willful love interest, lousy cash flow and blindness 

caused by a bad dive with an equally headstrong and 

willful horse. Ultimately, she achieves her dream— just as the 

movie's title promised she would. 

That, in a nutshell, is the problem with this uplifting, warmhearted 

family movie. It's so intent on being warm-hearted 

and uplifting that, despite the various character conflicts 

ostensibly happening on the screen, it never generates any 

energy. Or intelligence. Or suspense. Or social commentary. 

Or dramatic interest. Or anything else that movies might generate. 

The only reason why this viewer cared about its characters 

was the fact that once upon a time, we are led to assume, 

there was a real person who, presumably, went blind and 

became a big star in the diving girl circuit. 

The filmmakers don't say anything particularly original or 

even interesting in this film, despite all the decent possibilities 

in the story. The dialogue is rudimentary, relationships 

are never adequately explained—much less explored—and 

the "historical fact" of our heroine's blindness is plotted in 

such a contrived manner that it seems like a cheap set-up for 

a tear jerker. This movie might bring a lump to the throat, but 

not for long. 

Rated G for family fare. Arthur Byron Cover 

SWEET TALKER 

Starring Bryan Brown and Karen Allen 

Produced by Ben Gannon Directed by Michael Jenkins 

Writ- 

ten by Tony Morphett from a story by Bryan Brown and Tony 

Morphett 

A New Line Cinema release Adventure, rated PG Running 

time: 88 min. Screening date: 5/10/91 

As sleepy as is the town in which it is set, "Sweet Talker" is 

a feeble, anemic attempt to cash in not only on Bryan Brown's 

limited following but also on the recent success of other fuzzy, 

feel-good films. 

When paroled con artist Brown arrives in a backstepped 

Austrailian seaside village, the locals mark him as a crafty 

fortune hunter looking to unearth their legendary treasure. 

But, spouting tales of computerized equipment and heat-sensitive 

imagery, Brown turns the tables and manipulates these 

skeptical townsfolk into cashing into his myth for profit. 

Bumping Brown off" the track, however, is single mom/ 

innkeeper Karen Allen, who blithely looks past his salesman 

rhetoric and quickly falls in love and into bed with him. Allen 

also has a son (a cute-as-Macauley-Culkin Justin Rosniak) 

whose life problems are supposed to stem from the fact that 

he has no father in his life. Man and boy then form an immediate 

and unrealistic bond within the few weeks that this feeble 

plot transpires. 

As Brown's scheme/scam nms a ludicrous course, we are 

dragged through a soggy mire of simple confidence-man 

games that plod along to a Hollywood-happy ending via greedy 

yokels wanting to make a quick buck along with evil, maniacal 

developers, Japanese business interests, heinous drug 

dealers and about any other cliched antagonist imaginable. 

Every few scenes or so the action turns back again to the 

relationships between man and woman, man and child. And 

let's not also forget: man against town, man with family, conman 

wanting to bilk some suckers and con-man finding 

Xanadu with a loving woman and son. "Sweet Talker" is lost 

between wanting to be the thinking person's "Crocodile Dundee" 

and a classic G-rated Disney action adventure. Not being 

able to decide what it is puts this film in a genre-limbo and 

makes it hard-pressed to find an audience who wfll buy tickets. 

Rated PG for romantic situations.—Man Florence 

A RAGE IN HARLEM 

Starting Forest Whitaker, Gregory Mines, Robin Givens, Zakes 

Mokae and Danny Glover 

Produced by Stephen Woolley and Kerry Boyle. Directed by 

Bill Duke Written by John Toles-Bey and Bobby Crawford. 

A Miramax Films release Comedy-thriller, rated R Running 

time: 115 mm Screening date: 4/25/91. 

Mixing equal doses of disturbing violence and physical 

comedy, director Bill Duke's adaptation of Chester Himes' 

novel "A Rage in Harlem" always seems on the verge of taking 

off—but it never quite does. Duke seems uncertain whether 

he's trying to make something in the vein of those clever Bill 

Cosby-Sidney Poitier vehicles of the 70s or something darker, 

like "The Grifters," and the result is an unsettling blend of the 

two genres. 

Still, there are enough laughs, thrills and fine performances 

to make "A Rage in Harlem" worth seeing. Forest Whitaker 

(who co-produced) stars as Jackson, a God-fearing Harlem 

undertaker who has steered clear of women throughout his 

twenty-odd years, probably more out of fear than religious 

conviction. His world is thrown for a loop when he meets 

Imabelle (Robin Givens), a breathtaking /emme/ofnk who has 

come to town to fence a suitcase full of stolen gold that has 

already caused a slew of deaths in her native south. She has no 

place to stay and, attending the Annual Undertaker's Ball, she 

picks Jackson as an easy mark. 

Needless to say, Jackson falls head over heels in love, and 

before long the jaded Imabelle falls for his innocent charms. 

But trouble comes to their paradise in the form of her lover 

Slim (Badja Djola), the mastermind of the gold heist whom 

Imabelle thought had been killed in the gunfight down south. / 

Slim reclaims Imabelle and the gold, and Jackson has no ^ 

choice but to go to his no-good, con-man stepbrother Goldy 

(Gregory Hines) for help. They strike a deal: Jackson gets the 

girl, Goldy gets the gold. 

The plot nms as smooth as clockwork and there are several 

amusing sequences, but the characters never really come to 

R-43 BOXOFFICE

life At best they're two dimensional: Goldy defines himself by 

his greed, Jackson by his religious ideals and Imabclle by her 

lack of heart, and of course all three leopards change their 

spots by film's end Finally, the real reason we care about 

them is because of the humanity they're given by Mines, Whitaker 

and Givens 

Of course, Mines and Whitaker have proven themselves 

before in more difficult roles, the real surpnse here is Givens 

Best known for her off-screen performance as Mrs Mike 

Tyson, she proves herself a surprisingly deft comedienne as 

well as an absolute knockout From a male point of view, it 

doesn't hurt that Duke lets his camera linger on her voluptuous 

body, but it may annoy female audience members. The 

supporting cast is also uniformly fine; Djola makes for a truly 

homfying villain, shouting the fateful words "Pop goes the 

weasel!" whenever he wants someone killed. Hanny Glover 

has an entertaining bit role as Harlem's most powerful mobster 

who has a soft spot for his small dog; and Zakes Mokae has 

the film's most moving moments as Goldy's transvestitc 

friend Big Kathy 

The problems with "A Rage in Harlem" may be traceable to 

Duke's inexperience as a director The film has a fine visual 

look, but the shifting tone and sometimes indecisive pace 

keep the potentially explosive elements from igniting The 

result is better than, say, "Harlem Nights," which, at least on 

the surface, this film resembles That's not saying much, but 

it's something "A Rage in Harlem" may not be all the rage, 

but it's not half-bad either. 

Rated R for violence, language and sexual situations. Jeff 

Schwager 

TOY SOLDIERS 

Starring Sian .AsfiM, Wil Wheaton. Keith Coogan, Andrew 

Dwoff, Dcnholm Elliott and ixmis Gossett, ]r 

Produced hy Jack E Frcedman, Wayne S WHliams and Patricia 

Herskovtc Directed by Daniel Peine. ]r Written by Daniel 

Peine. ]r and David Kuepp 

A Tn Star Pictures release Drama, rated R Running time 112 

min Screening date 4/24/91 

In Hollywood's latest example of mix-and-match moviemaking, 

co-writer-director Daniel I'etrie, Jr has combined 

"Die Hard 2" with "The Dead Poet's Society" and come up 

with "Toy Soldiers," an entertaining, suspenseful and wholly 

ndiculous story of a group of Colombian terrorists who commandeer 

an all-boys prep school. 

The film opens in South America, where our terrorists have 

taken a courtroom full of hostages The group's leader, Luis 

('ali (Andrew Divotf), is demanding the release of his father, a 

powerful drug lord, but it's too late: Daddy Dearest has already 

been sent to Florida to stand trial. So, after tossing the responsible 

judge from a helicopter, Cali heads off for parts 

unknown 

Slow fade, syrupy music, and we're at New England's Regis 

School, where the son of the U.S. Federal judge who'll be 

trying Cali, Sr. is a student Anticipating possible danger, government 

agents whisk the boy away to safety, but those silly 

Colombians turn up anyway And though their target is 

nowhere in sight, they're in luck: the sons of assorted millionaires, 

politicians and a mafioso are perfectly suitable substitute 

hostages. The one hitch in Call's plan is that the boys of 

The Regis School, nicknamed The Rejects School, are just 

that: rejects from other prep schools who have a real problem 

with authority. And they're not going to take this terrorist 

infiltration stuff sitting down—they're going to fight back 

The leader of the Rejects is Billy Tepper (Sean Astin), 

who's been thrown out of three schools already and proves his 

strategic brilliance by selling vodka disguised as mouthwash 

and tapping in to the school's phone line in order to call unauthorized 

900 numbers after hours Before you can say "Yippee-Ky-O," 

Billy and compatriots Joey Trotta (Wil Wheaton), 

Snuffy Bradberry (Keith Coogan), Ricardo Montoya (George 

Perez) and Hank Giles (T.E. Russell) have come up with a 

plan to overthrow their captors. 

The members of the young ensemble all do fine work; even 

when their actions aren't believable, their acting is And one 

has to credit the filmmakers for giving us two minority 

— 

heroes— Montoya is Mexican-American, while Giles is Ali 

can-American-^rather than just using them as backgrouiul 

dressing Divoff makes a surpnsingly likeable villain: after all 

it's hard to begrudge him his family loyalty, and he makes .i 

point of avoiding unnecessarv" cruelty Denholm Elliott aiul 

Louis Gossett, Jr also turn in stellar perfonnances as The 

Regis School's good-humored headmaster and its no-nonsensi' 

dean. 

Petrie and co-writer David Koepp have done a good job m 

twisting genre conventions to their advantage, though the subplot 

involving Joey Trotta's mobster dad definitely should 

have been excised (Jern,' Ohrbach. who plays the don. had hl.^ 

name taken out of the credits) Petrie's direction is also topnotch—the 

movie has pace and energ\' What it doesn't haviin 

its entire two hours, is an onginal idea "Toy Soldiers " is .i 

perfect example of paint-by-niimbers filmmaking, a fact th.i' 

even Petrie and company's expert execution can't hide 

Rated R for violence and language. Jeff Schwager 

MANNEQUIN TWO: ON THE MOVE 

btiirrmj; Knsiy ^wansun. William Ragidalc, Mc^luicli Tayh.' 

Terry Kiscr and Stuart Pankin 

Produced by Edward Rugoff Directed by Stuart RaPHtl Wni 

ten by Edward Rugoff, David Issaoi, Ken Lcvine and Bcifi. 

Israel 

A Tiventieth Century Fox release Comedy, rated PG Runnir, 

time 95 min Screening date: 5/17/91 

"Mannequin Two" — is an embarrassingly thin sequel to tin 

successful--if silly "Mannequin," in its use of blatant stereotypes 

and formulaic gags It could be viewed as a screwball 

comedy gone awn,' in that it retains the character of th.ii 

flamboyant purveyor of cool, Hollywood Montrose (the outspoken 

and outrageous Meshach Taylor 1 in its mild effoii 

toward continuity, but it comes off looking more like a vari.i 

tion than a sequel 

The film keeps the same setting as that ol 

the original movie— Philadelphia's showplace, Wannamaker's 

Department Store— and creates a brand new mannequin ten 

this unsuspecting schmo to fall for. 

During a stag>' tlashback from 1,000 years past, handsoiin 

Prince William (William Ragsdale) has the gall to fall in Iom 

with a lowly (and of course, beautiful) peasant girl (Kri.si\ 

Swanson). The reigning Queen cries daggers and summoii.s 

her evil court sorcerer (Terry King) to freeze the maiden toi 

yes— 1 ,000 years. 

Flash to the future Prince William has been reincarnated .i'. 

his present day counterpart— also named William. The e\il 

sorcerer's great, great, great, great, etc. grandson. Count Spretzle, 

is shipping the legendar%' peasant girl to Prince's department 

store (Philly's fabulous Wannamaker's) for a tribute to 

the heralded fable and to allegedly dnim up tourism for his 

country— which has been plagued by rains for the past— yon 

guessed it, 1,000 years Spretzle's real agenda, however, is to 

wait out the last few days of the millennium and then escapi 

to Bermuda with the awakened maiden to live happily evi i 

after. 

No surprises here. William reemerges on the scene to cast .i 

damper on the Count's well-laid plans. All action from this 

point on centers on watching Spretzle's trio of body-building 

Austrian-accented henchmen (one is even named Arnold! I 

tear the store apart in pursuit of William The Count is nastilv 

menacing, the girl is mindlessly beautiful, and Hollywood 

primps and simpers while young William saves the day. 

Material like this surely won't make it to any semiotic s 

class; but considering what recession-torn America finds 

entertaining these days, "Mannequin Two" may surprise us 

all at the boxoffice. 

Rated PG for sexual innuendo.—Man Florence 

STRAIGHT OUT OF BROOKLYN 

Stomng Utorgc I Ofii.s, Ann u .Siindrts. tAiuitncK Oilluiiii 

Jr . Mark Malone. Reana E Drummund and Barbara Sanon 

Wntten. produced and directed by Matty Rich 

A Samuel Coldwyn release Drama, rated R Running time: 91 

min Screening date: 5/14/91 

— 

July, 1991 R-44

Hwaa 

— 

— 

You have to give Matty Rich credit. Straight out of Brooklyn 

himself, this 19 year old African- American director wrote, 

produced and directed this first feature literally by the skin of 

his teeth. Raising the money himself— in bits and pieces, it 

appears—Rich has managed to orchestrate a tough little film 

that should put his name on some insider lists. While "Straight 

out of Brooklyn" isn't a complete success, still it has much 

going for it. 

Though filmed in 35 mm, Rich's film has the look and feel 

of a stylized home movie; and this serves the director well, 

given "Brooklyn's" success in capturing the rough edges of the 

characters and the crazy-quilt life style they struggle with. On 

top of this. Rich's camera—no less than his script— has a frenetic 

and often humorous edge to it. All the better to serve-up 

the frenzy of life in a Brooklyn housing project. 

"Straight Out of Brooklyn" banks on a confrontational reality 

factor. No less do the characters confront each other than 

they challenge us to understand their struggles. The place is 

contemporary Brooklyn — yes, a housing project—where we 

find the Brown family. Ray Brown (George T. Odom), the 

father, is a man who is struggling to support his wife, Frankie 

(Anne D. Sanders), and their two children. Ray is also a man 

beaten to a pulp, so to speak, by a world that is "white" and 

hostile— and the distinction between what he imagines and 

what really befalls him in this world becomes less clear every 

day of his life. The only way he can deal with his pain is to 

drink himself into hostility and beat up his wife while his 

children watch, paralyzed and fearing for their own lives. 

While his daughter seems to cope with the situation (she 

has dreams about getting an education and getting out), the 

same can't be said for Ray's son, Dennis (Lawrence Gilliard 

Jr.), who hovers on the brink of impending disaster. Convinced 

that life holds nothing for him, Dennis, along with his 

friends, plots a robbery so that they can make it out of Brooklyn. 

Unfortunately, Dennis is dead wrong about how to get out 

of his doomed life and ultimately his plans spell disaster for 

everyone. 

As a director, Matty Rich has the kind of energy that borders 

somewhere between fierce humor and stagy dramatics. Given 

the subject matter of this film, there's an impulse to compare 

him to Spike Lee. Yet, even at his young age. Rich displays 

more of an ability than Lee to curb anger and transform it into 

art that inspires more than it beats its audience over the head. 

He's also given to fewer episodes of sophomoric digression 

than is Lee. There are frequent scenes in "Brooklyn" badly in 

need of editing, just as there are some embarrassing moments 

of dialogue gone a' meandering. Still, if this first film is any 

taste of what's to come in Rich's career, he stands in good 

stead. 

Rated R for violence and language. 

Marilyn Moss 

REQUIEM FOR DOMINIC 

Starring Felix Mittercr, Viktima Schubert, August Schmolzer 

and Angelica Schutz 

Produced by Norbert Blecha Directed by Robert Domhelm 

Written by Michael Kohlmeicr ami Felix Mitterer 

A Hemdale release Drama, rated R Running time: 88 mm 

Screening date: 4/30/91 

Advertised as a "powerful political thriller," "Requiem for 

Dominic" may entice audiences who favor gore and suspense. 

Yet they will leave the theatre not only with a good film on 

their minds but also a load of disturbing realities. A provocative 

documentary-like drama filmed only five months after 

the Ceaucescu gang was toppled from power in 1989, "Requiem 

for Dominic" carries the harsh truths of incendiary 

battles that are fought and the casualties incurred in creating 

freedoms. 

Director Robert Domhelm, who is known for his light American 

work (such as the whimsical "Echo Park" and the brittle 

"Cold Feet") returns to Romania to film the story of a childhood 

friend. It's a heartfelt work, one that bears the gritty 

realities of a non-fiction autobiographical masterpiece. "Requiem" 

echoes the journey of Domhelm to Temesvar, 

Romania, on a mission to discover the truth about his pacifist 

chum, Dominic. 

A simple factory worker with humble intentions, Dominic 

Paraschiv (August Schmolzer) was set up and branded as a 

member of the Securitate, the Commimist version of our CIA. 

Eighty bodies litter the ground of the hospital morgue, a brutal 

reminder of what this "Butcher of Temesvar" did to his fellow 

factory members. Imprisoned in a hospital, he is tied down by 

a crude jute net keeping him captive in his nakedness. No one 

tends to his wounds. He begs for water and is splashed with 

jeers, plus multitudes of questions from a curious media who 

sprawl his name and pathetic persona across newspapers and 

television sets. Another monster lies in their midst. 

Upon his arrival via a Viennese humanitarian aid group, 

Paul Weiss (Felix Mitterer) finds his pal, this so-called hero 

who allegedly helped topple the government. He has become 

an unlikely victim of the overthrown dictatorship. No one will 

talk to Weiss; yet he innately feels and believes his playmate 

is innocent To seek the truth, he embarks on a fact-finding 

battle through covert military operators and frightened Rumanians. 

His intemal struggle is deadly and his research nearly 

kills him as he, too, is hunted, hailed and ridiculed. 

Gritty uprising scenes are intercut with the filmed scenes to 

add a good measure of authenticity. Domheim's footage captures 

a strife-tom Romania. It has a surreal quality and there 

is a distinct allusion to Sir Carol Reed's "The Third Man": a 

man returns home to find that his good friend is not what he 

first imagined him to be. Or is he? In this way "Requiem for 

Dominic" is a thought-provoking film for mature audiences. 

Rated R for graphic violence. Man Florence 

THE MIRACLE 

Starring Beverly D'Angelo. 

Donal McCann, Niall Byrne and 

Lorraine Pilkington 

Produced by Stephen Woolley. Directed by Neil Jordan Written 

by Neil Jordan 

A Miramax Films release Drama, not yet rated Running time: 

97 min Screening date: 5/8/91 

A small, misty Irish resort town is the setting for "The 

Miracle," writer-director Neil Jordan's magical, moving drama 

that focuses on the relationship between two local teenagers 

and a mysterious American woinan who turns up on their 

shore. It's an intimate, sometimes painful and always insightful 

look into the depths of human emotion, featuring splendid 

performances by a pair of newcomers and some incredibly 

evocative visual images. 

Jimmy (Niall Byrne) and Rose (Lorraine Pilkington) are 

two teenagers who seek to relieve the boredom of their lives 

by playing a game in which they make up stories to go along 

with the people they see. Their home situations are miserable. 

Jimmy's father Sam (Donal McCann) is an alcoholic musician 

who has never recovered from the death of Jimmy's mother; 

there's no bond between father and son, and Jimmy even 

refuses to play saxophone in Sam's band. If anything, Rose's 

relationship with her father is worse— he's more interested in 

his golf game than he is in her life. 

One of the subjects of Jimmy and Rose's game is an older 

woman, perhaps 40, who Jimmy theorizes is French and is 

running from the law. When she goes for a sv^m in the sea, 

they get close enough to go through her things, but she 

catches them before they come across anything decisive. Jimmy 

becomes obsessed with the woman, who turns out to be an 

American named Renee. When he follows her to Dublin, he 

finds out that she's an actress, currently starring in a musical 

version of "Destry Rides Again." 

Despite the difference in their ages, Jimmy starts pursuing 

her romantically, though she puts him oflF. He steals a poster 

from her show and puts it up on his bedroom wall, but when 

his father sees it he becomes incensed. The next time Jimmy 

goes to Dublin to see Renee's show, he sees his father talking 

to her in the wings. He begins to suspect that they were once 

lovers, and that his meeting with her may have been something 

more than chance. 

The emotional crux of the story is the friendship between 

Jimmy and Rose. It's obvious that she has a crush on him, and 

when she takes up with a cruel animal trainer from the circus 

that's passing through town, Jimmy too becomes jealous. But 

they both seem afraid to crack the fragile shell of their relationship 

by trying to become something more than friends, so 

they each tum to someone else. 

Byme plays Jimmy as a boy who's had to tum into a man 

too quickly; in many ways his actions are a defense against 

R-45 BOXOFFICE

— 

necoming his father, yet he seems doomed to repeat at least 

ome of Sam's mistakes It's a performance of rare depth and 

iionesty, made all the more remarkable by the fact that this is 

Byrne's motion picture debut As Rose. Pilkington (also making 

her debut) is equally fine— there's a world of understanding 

and intelligence displayed in her eyes, and her movements 

and deliver)' display the ease of a natural actress 

McCann does a solid turn as Sam. though his despair at 

times teeters on the brink of hamminess The only performance 

that doesn't ring tnie is D'Angelo's Rose Her emotions 

seem obvious, and— perhaps b

— 

; 

O 

gets a handle on Miss Amelia, and her southern accent sounds 

like a strange hybrid of hillbilly and cockney. 

Miss Amelia is an embittered loner, a mannish woman who 

is both the town loan-shark and the town doctor. As the film 

opens, she has no friends and seems to like it that way. But 

then along comes Cousin Lymon (Cork Hubbert), a hunchbacked 

dwarf claiming to be a distant relative, with whom 

Miss Amelia has an affair. Their relationship opens Miss Amelia 

up, and as she blooms — going so far as to wear a scarlet 

dress instead of her usual overalls— she decides to open up her 

home as a cafe. 

Everything seems idyllic between the couple until Miss 

Amelia's former husband, Marvin Macy (Carradine). is released 

from prison and shows up on the scene. A ne'er-do-well 

who inexplicably fell for Miss Amelia, he's still enraged by her 

refusal to consummate their marriage, and he sets out to 

avenge himself Miss Amelia isn't worried—she's proven herself 

more than his equal in the past— until Lymon shifts his 

loyalties and begins siding with Marvin Macy. Then war is 

declared, and the film culminates with an out and out brawl 

between Miss Amelia and Marvin Macy. 

Like Redgrave, Hubbert seems monumentally miscast in 

the central role of Cousin Lymon. Michael Dunn (of "Ship of 

Fools" and TV's "The Wild, Wild West" fame) played the role 

on Broadway, and it's easy to imagine how he would have 

charmed Miss Amelia despite his diminutive size—he had an 

aura of sophistication and intelligence. Hubbert's performance 

is one long whine; he's so unappealing that Miss Amelia's 

attraction to him is completely inexplicable. Only Carradine 

captures the essence of his character, making Marvin Macy 

frightening yet strangely sympathetic. 

Hirst also wrote the script for the dreadful Merchant-Ivory 

adaptation of "The Deceivers," and here he shows once again 

that he has no sense of pace and a deaf ear for dialogue. In his 

directorial debut, Callow shows a flair for Diane Arbus style 

gothic images— the film is interesting to look at—but he 

should have concentrated on giving some spark to the script. 

Not rated, some violence. Jeff Schwager 

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

Comedy: (D) Drama: (DM) Drama with Music: (Doc) Documentary: 

(H) Horror: (M) Musical: (My) Mystery: (SF) Science Fiction: 

(Sus) Suspense: (W) Western. 

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DICE RULES 

Starring Andrew "Dice"Clay. "Noodles" Levenstein and Maria 

Parkinson 

Produced by Fred Silverstein. Directed by Jay Dubin Written 

by Andrew "Dice" Clay and Lenny Schidman. 

A Seven Arts release Comedy, rated NC-17 Running time: 87 

min Screening date: 5/16/91 

Remember those American Cancer Society ads that showed 

pictures of haggard, defeated old men above the caption, 

"Smoking is very glamorous"? It would be possible to believe 

that "Dice Rules," the new concert documentary starring 

Andrew "Dice" Clay, was produced by feminists employing a 

similar strategy: "Sexism is very funny." 

It's not simply that "Dice Rules" is offensive—though it 

certainly is that, and whether Clay is endorsing these attitudes 

or merely parodying them remains an open question More 

importantly, from an aesthetic standpoint, the film (compiled 

from Clay's two night, sell-out stand at New York's Madison 

Square Garden) is so woefully unfunny that it boggles the 

mind. Clay doesn't tell jokes, he tells obscenities; it should 

have been titled "Dice Craps Out." Watching the crowd cheer 

him on is like watching an infantile version of Hitler's Nuremberg 

rallies. 

"Dice Rules" opens with a scripted sequence entitled "A 

Day in the Life," which, if it is possible, is even more excruciating 

than the concert footage. In it, Clay plays a pathetic, 

Jerry Lewis-like character married to an obese, abusive 

woman (Maria Parkinson). Everybody pushes him around 

until the day he gets his first leather jacket; then, miraculously, 

he's transformed into the stud-waffle we all know, the 

Diceman. 

The concert segment is no funnier, but, like footage of the 

Gulf War on the 6 o'clock news, it's at least curiously watchable; 

there's the feeling that we're seeing the deterioration of 

human decency and values happen before our eyes. One is 

left wondering what future generations—or perhaps an alien 

civilization—would make of it. It might tell them more about 

our culture than we'd want them to know. 

Rated NC-17 for language. Jeff Schwager

I 

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THE NUMBERS PAGE 

Top Twenty Boxoffice Performers

Sa5r«S''^'*'?t^63i8?»S*!'^'l*'''S^"=**'^'-'''?*>^^^^^^ 

SNEAK PREVIEWS 

These films are scheduled tor release in 

August and September. As usual, the release 

dates are tentative and subject to change. 

LOVE POTION #9 

Writer Dale Louner ("Ruthless People") 

turns director with this comedy about an elixir 

which works too well in generating passion. 

Tate Donovan ("Memphis Belle") and Sandra 

Bullock star. A 20th Century Fox release. 

BARTON FINK 

The Coen brothers ("Raising Arizona," 

"Miller's Crossing") are responsible for this 

period comedy about a New York writer reluctantly 

brought to Hollywood in 

the early 

'40s. John Goodman and |ohn Turturro ("Five 

Corners") star. A 20th Century Fox release. 

PURE LUCK 

A bumbling accountant is sent on a haphazard 

mission to rescue a kidnap victim in 

Mexico in this comedy based on the French 

film, "Le Chevre." Martin Short and Danny 

Glover star, under the direction of Nadia Tass 

("Malcolm"). A Universal Pictures release. 

OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY 

The filmed version of the acclaimed play 

pairs Danny DeVito and Gregory Peck as, 

respectively, a ruthless tycoon out to acquire 

a family-run business, and the owner who 

resists nis advances. Penelope Ann Miller 

("The Freshman") plays the lawyer trapped 

between them. Norman Jewison ("Moonstruck") 

directs. A Warner Bros, release. 

THE SUPER 

Oscar-winner |oe Pesci, who has been 

dancing nimbly between drama 

("CoodFellas") and comedy ("Home Alone"), 

keeps things light with thisspoofaboutaslum 

lord forced tolive in his own tenement. Rod 

Daniel ("K-9") directs; Sam Simon ("The Simpsons") 

and Nora Ephron ("My Blue Heaven") 

wrote the script. A 20th Century Fox release. 

WELCOME TO BUZZSAW 

When Matthew Broderick finds himself 

stranded in a dismal logging town, his plight 

only becomes worse when his wallet containing 

a phone number worth $60 million disappears. 

Francis Veber ("Three Fugitives") 

directs. A Universal Pictures release. 

ROVER DANGERFIELD 

Rodney Dangerfield provides the voice and 

the script for this animated feature about a Las 

Vegas dog suddenly forced to fend for himself 

on the streets. A Warner Bros, release. 

CURLY SUE 

John Hughes returns to directing for the first 

time since Uncle Buck" with his bittersweet 

street comedy about a drifter and his young 

daughter who "sting" a rich attorney, lames 

Belushi stars, as does Kelly Lynch ("Drugstore 

Cowboy"). A Warner Bros, release. 

TRUE IDENTITY 

Independent filmmaker Charles Lane 

("Sidewalk Stories") goes big time with this 

social satire about a black man forced to pose 

as a Caucasian in order to elude a vindictive 

hood. While white, he learns first-hand the 

benefits of being light-skinned. British comic 

Lenny Henry stars. A Buena Vista release. 

(8/2) 

THE DOCTOR 

William Hurt stars in this medical melodrama 

about a doctor who finds shortcomings 

when he finds himself on the other side of the 

stethoscope as a cancer patient. Hurt's "Children 

of a Lesser Cod" director Randa Haines 

directs; Christine Lahti co-stars. A Buena Vista 


DOUBLE IMPACT 

Martial arts star lean-Claude Van Damme 

plays identical twins in this actioner about 

two brothers — one raised in Hong Kong, the 

other in Beverly Hills — who team up to take 

on the Chinese Mafia that killed their parents. 

A Columbia Pictures release. (8/9) 

DELIRIOUS 

Soap operas are spoofed in this fantasy 

about a soap writer wno bumps his head and 

awakens inside the fictional TV world he has 

created. John Candy stars, along with Emma 

Samms and Mariel Hemingway. Tom 

Mankiewicz ("Dragnet") directs. An MGM 

release. 

HARLEY DAVIDSON AND THE 

MARLBORO MAN 

In 

the near future, two rowdy bikers team 

up to save their favorite bar. Don lohnson 

("The Hot Spot") and Mickey Rourke star, 

under the direction of Simon Wincer 

("Quigley Down Under"). An MGM release. 

(8/2) 

BODY PARTS 

Summer thrills can be found in this melodrama 

about a psychologist who finds himself 

being controlled by the arm surgically implanted 

onto his body, leff Fahey, Brad Dourif 

and Lindsay Duncan star. A Paramount Pictures 


BINGO! 

The family animal pic is skewered in this 

snotty comedy about an intelligent dog and 

its search for the perfect human masters. 

Cindy Williams and David Rasche star; Matthew 

Robbins ("Batteries Not Included"! directs. 

A Tri-Star Pictures release. (8/1 6) 

TRUST 

A pregnant teenager (Adrienne Shelly) triggers 

her father's fatal heart attack, is thrown 

out of her home by her mother and tries to 

start anew with the help of an eccentric genius. 

Written and directed by Hal Hartley. A 

New Line Cinema release. (8/9) 

SUBURBAN COMMANDO 

Hulk Hogan is

Teasers 

Seasons of release in some cases are estimates, 

based un when the film went into 

production and the nature of the mnvir 

(star-driven actioners traditionally open m 

the summer, etc ). more accurate release 

dates will be published as they are made 

Dates in italics at 

available by distributors 

the end of each entry indicate the issue of 

Boxuffice m which the film was profiled m 

the Hollywooti Report column 

Buena Vista 

AUddin (Anim) 

''J 

D» Mm VVnker. Ron Oemenli (The littk- vtetnruid") 

Beauty and the Beast (Anim) 

••»: 

BUme N On the BelRioy (C) 

Duttey Moore (5 ^ II 

IvHj(Mus) 

Mddorau D* Glenn Cordon Caron ("Clean and 

Sober )f5 91/ 

Fattier o( t»> Bride (C) 

Sieve Mjrtin Dune keatoo Martn Short (6/91) 

The Last Days o( Eden (The Stand) (D) 

Sean Connery Lorraine Bracco Of John McTierrun 

(The Hunt For Red October"). (4/91) 

TheMn.(D) 

ColdieHawn (6-9)) 

Newsies (DMus) 

Or Kenny Ortega f Orty Dancing") (7/91) 

Noises Off (C) 

Carol Burnett. Michael Caine lohn Riller Dir Peter 

BogdanovKh ( TexasviHe ^' ^1) 

) 

Paradise (D) 

Don lohnion. Melanie Cnffith. (4/91) 

Columbia 

Df»C«IJ(H) 

WitKxia Ryder Dir Francis Ford Coppola f "The Godfather 

Part III 

) f? •>/) 

Machine Gun Kelly (D) 

VVilham Baldwin Or Marek kanievska ( Less than 

Zero ) 

(b r Lawrence kasdan (The 

Big t M\ I ( ( II) 

lack Ihe Bear (CD) Winter '91 

Danny UeVito Or Marshal Herskovitz ("llwtysomelhmg 

I () 91) 

My Cousin Vinny (C) 

I.inH»n ) 

Shining Through (U) Winter 91 

MelariH- Cntfiih Michael Douglas Or David Sell/er 

(Punchline ) (1 91) 

Storyville (Thr) 

lames Spader lason Robards Or: Mark Frost. (6/91) 

This Is My Life (C) 

lulu- kj\n

BOX

2 

, 

Warten 

FEATURE CHART — JULY 1991 

AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER 

C 

8 23 

t D«lw. D. imkini Hul Or Rmta 

Larmy Htny 0* CMM 

mn M^M*. 

Dunm Holman. Ncol* 

Ka)m«i Ok Rotan Bamon 

Buena Vista 

(818) 567-5030 

>w H »« Mm li H M. MM 

vovK^ Bfhin K/ouu 8, 

rM» huptct «c Jon Clauilt Van 

mm* 8 ^ 

li Hi IMmw. F Ptur B«>t e/un 

rnnm 0» WD RiOiUt 8/23 

TIM PrtKi (I TUm. 

NkIi NoAt Dir Barera Stiaoam) 

Barora SttttvanO 

RMk ftim. F 

John H*wd. Lorraine 

Bracco Ok Rcnard Donnaf 

Columbia 

(213) 280-8000 

(212) 751-4400 

*IMI. C PC 138 Mm John Candy 

ma Samms Ok Tom Maixumnu 

. Don Jodnun. Mivny SmKv Grata 

Scactni Vincent D Onotno D» GiUan 

Aimsnong 

I. Ihr Tom Barenger GreU 

ScaccN Bob Hoskms 0* Woitgang 

P*l*rs*n 

taiipMT iMkna. GtntHadunan 

ItUturi Bvyshnriiov On NOwlas Meyw 

Uillll>iW. Ihr . Kim Novak. KevKi 

Anderson. Bill Pullman Dv Mike Figiys 

Crttt Crata. Goldia Haem. Arliss 

Howard. Keith CarradKie Ok Chra Meagc 

Aran G D

O) O) 

=^.3

Oxford. 

Kerasotes 

. 

Miami. 

6750 

Miami. 

6750 

Order 

House 

RATES: 90c per *ox nurnbers 

by writir>8 to BOXOFFICE. P O Box 25485. Ovcago. 

ILL 60625. put ad box on letter and 

in lower le(t comer o< your envelope Please uee 

a 10 cnvelopee or ainaMer lor yoig raplervlsor H interested. kirxDy aubmt resutne and ret- 

I to BoxoWce Response Number 4693 

MULTIPLEX THEATRE MANAGERS. CITY MAN- 

AGERS, SUPERVISORS needed lor Kerasotes 

Theatres, an innovative, eopandrng leader m ttw motion 

located across tt» Midwest 

picture exhibition industry , 

Opportunity (or rapid advancement Please serxl resume 

and salary tustory. in confidence, to Human 

Resoixcas Dept Theatres 104 N eth St 

, 

SpmglMd. IL 62701 

EQUIPMENT FOR SALE 

COMPLETE THEATRE EQUIPMENT: (New Used or 

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

3 and 5 Tier, Xerron Systems 1000-4000 Watt. 

Sound Systems rrxxra and stereo, aulomalions. ticket 

machines, curtain rryjtors. electric rewinds, lenses. 

parts arx) many more items m stock COMMERCIAL 

large screen video protectors Plenty ol used chairs 

PROFESSIONAL SERVICE AND INSTALLATION 

AVAILABLE DOLBY CERTIFIED Call Bill Younger 

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

Fkxida 33172 (305) 594-0570 Fax (305) 592 

6970 

BURLAP WALL COVERING DRAPES: $1 85 per 

yard. Ilame relardant Quantity discounts Norse 4 (>3 . 

MMbury Rd . MA 01540 (506) 632-4295 

CUPHOLOER ARMREST state ot the art Cy Young 

CuphoWer Call 1-800-729-2610 lor FREE SAMPLE 

35~inm PROJECTOR SALE: New Simplex PR 1003 

XL Picture Head M995 New Simplex PR 1 1 4 Picture 

Head w 5 Star Sound Head & Slim Jim Pedestal, list 

S1 1.800. our price $9450 Used Pr Simplex XL's w 

RCA Sourxjheads. Opt Mag Interlock Screening Room 

System. 1600W Xenon. Clamshell pedestals. Ier^ses & 

speakers, excellent $18,000 New Altec A7 Speakers, 

list $1395. our pnce $895 New lower vertical 

platter 2hr-40min cap . $2495 New 35mm Sankor prolectkin 

lesrws 50% discount (Ilontaci Alan Gordon 

Enterpriaos, Inc. 1430 Cahuenga Blvd . Hollywood. 

CA, 90028. Tel; (213) 466-3561 or FAX 213-871- 

2183. 

PATRON THAV. Fits Wo cuphoWer armrest Cy 

Young. Inc Phone 1-800-729-2610 Call lor Iree sam- 

^ 

BOtMNE sync motor mtenock kits lor Century. Westar. 

Film Systems. Cinecita. Westrex—new $475 For Simplex 

SH-1000, or XL sourxlhead includes bronze gears 

pinion. nx)tor, flywtieel. coupler, hardware $850 C^tury 

soundtiead reverse to forward scan conversion kit 

lor Dolby $360 Failsafe cue detector $ 1 95 Extra narrow 

slit sound lens for (Century. Simplex. Ballantyne 53 

mil new $255 35mm tape splicer new $250 Intermittent 

rebuikJ $99 plus parts International Cinema, 

6750NE4thCt. Miami. FL 33 138 Phone (305) 756- 

0699 

COMPLETE THEATRE EQUIPMENT sales and ser/- 

k»— Dolby trained certified New Osram Xenon 20(X) 

watt honzontal, lists $1045, your cost $745 each Cinema 

films 100% wan-anteed 2000 wan bulb, sell $498 

New imported Xenon bulb, with warranty, special $435 

Each plus UPS shipping Marble Xenon bulbs at special 

tow prices Call or write Smith Sourxl & Protection 

Theatre Equipment & Supply, 3922 Nolen Ave SE. 

Huntsville, AL. 35801 Phone (205) 534-2824 

MICRO-FM" Stereo raOo aoond systems, stabc tree, 

call or write Audio Visual Systems. 320 St Louis Ay« . 

Woonsocket Rl 02895 (401) 767-2060 

LARGEST SELECTION oxrent and obaolata paitt! 

Century Westar Stfnpiex. Westrex. Cinemaccanica. 

Prevoat. Kirx>ton. Tokiwa. Crown. Brankert. B4H. 

Bauer kArrors. slit lens, protection lanaae. apkcars. 

Xenon btAs. cart>ons-wtial do you need? Catatog 

Dealers and Exponars watcome. ship anywttere International 

Cmama. 6750 NE 4lh Ct FL 33138 

. 

Phone (306) 75&0699. Fax (306) 756-2036. telex 

522071 

PROJECTOR EXCHANGE Save thousanda m labor 

and install new Weetar Atap automatic protectors and 

sourtdheads i your theatre Outright sales or will 

accept your old Century or Simplex XL m generous 

trade Interriational Cinema Equip Co . 

NE 4lh 

Ct . FL 33138 Phone (305) 756-0699. FAX 

(305) 758-2036 

WESTAR XENON BULBS. Warranty. Factory Fresh- 

1000W $362. 1600W $450. 2000W $475. 2500W 

$547, 3000W $575, 4000W $985 Surplus lamps- 

Imvted supplies-900W 1000W $295, 2000W $350. 

2500W $390. 4200W $795 Exports wekxxne. ship 

anywttere International Cinema. 6750 NE 4th Court, 

Miami. FL 33138 Phone (305) 7560699 Fax 

(305) 7582036 

EQUIPMENT WANTED 

OLD TUBE-TYPE equipmeni such as amps, speakers. 

drivers, horns, etc from Western Electric. Westrex. 

Langevin. Jensen. Altec. JBL. Tannoy. Mcintosh. Marantz. 

etc Call Audio City at (818) 701-5633. or write 

to Audio City. PO Box 802, Northndge. CA 91328- 

0802 

THEATRES FOR SALE 

MOVIE THEATRES For Sale 2 triplexes, small So 

Calif town Profitable exceptional opportunity Page 

Olson Corrvneroal & Business Brokerage, (619) 455- 

5600 

THEATRE FOR SALE: Family owned, single screen, 

seats approx 300, tocated on Lake Huron shoreline. 

vacation community Good condition, can be twinned 

Reasorwbly priced, must sell Write PO Box547,Harrisville. 

Ml. 48740 Or call (517) 724-6868 or (517) 

724-5409 after 6 (X)pm EST. 

TWIN THEATRE in Wooster. Ohio 300 

*- 

235 seats 

Building 1 1 years old, masonry construction Adiacent 

partung tot maintained by city Phil Mariola. Dick Kinder 

Realty. 220 N Market. Wooster. OH 44691 Call 

(216) 264-8133. $435,000. 

THEATRES WANTED 

THEATRES WANTED: East, mid-west near-south, by 

established, growing independent Inquines to Cinema 

Associates, 3678 Martsella Street, Springfield. OH 

45502 Or call (513) 325-3255 

THEATRE SEATING 

THEATRE SEATS FOR SALE: Approx 600 Haywood 

Wakefield seats Self nsers Extra clean Thick 

backs vnth extra seat covers $25 CX) each Call ( 405) 

842-0122 or (405) 948-7467 

SEAT BACK COVERS: Most fabncs in stock Cy 

Young, Inc Call 1-800-729-2610 to match fabric. 

GOOD USED SEATING-lrwin Citations from $25 

American Stellars from $20 Wakefield rockers Irom 

$35 Massey rockers Irom $25 American Desk rockers 

from $40 Massey Polans Irom $15 Springs lor 

Massey arxl Wakefield rockers $12 Complete theatre 

equipment available International Cinema Equipment 

Co . NE 4th Court. Miami. FL 33138 Phone 

(305) 7560699 Fax (305) 758-2136 

"ALL AMERICAN SEATING" by the EXPERTSI Used 

seats ot quality Various makes American Bodiform 

and Stallars from $12 50 to $32 50 Irwms Irom 

$ 1 2 50 to $30 (X) Heywood 4 Massey rockers Irom 

S25 00 Full rebuikjing available New Hussey diairs 

trom $70 00 All types ttieatre protection and sound 

aqupmeni New arxl used We ship and install all 

makes Try us' We sell no JunkI TANKERSLEY 

ENTERPRISES BOX 36009 DENVER, CO 60236 

Phone 303 960^265 

THEATRE REMODELING 

FOR TWINNING THEATRES call or write Fnddel Construction, 

Inc , 402 Green River Drive, Monlaomery, TX 

77358 (409) 5882667 

WE CAN MULTIPLEX your theatre, make it kxik fantastic 

arx] your profits will soar No one does it tor less 

Muliplex Construction Corp Call (708) 293-1401 

DRIVE-IN CONSTRUCTION 

SCREEN TOWERS INTERNATIONAL New. 

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MARQUEES, SIGNS 

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letters shipped immediately BUX-MONT Electncal 

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Ad Index 

American Licorice Co 

C2 

Automaticket 25 

China Mist Tea Co 23 

Crest Sales USA 46 

Eastman Kodak 13 

Entertainment Data, Inc 

C3 

Entertainment Equipment Corp 18 

Filmack Studios 25 

Gold Medal Products Co 12 

Greer Enterprises, Inc 46 

Hadden Theatre Supply Co 23 

Herman Goelitz, Inc 

C4 

Hershey Foods Corp 1 

Hurley Screen 25 

International Cinema Equipment 20, 46 

Just Born, Inc 9 

National Ticket Co 25 

Nestle Foods Corp 5 

Odell's 27 

Promotion in Motion Co., Inc 10 

Ricos Products 18 

Self-Powered Lighting, Inc 20 

Smart Theatre Systems 21 

Soundfold International 22 

Sunmark Special Markets Div 7 

Here is a splicer of proven design 

and then some. Check these 

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• Heavy steel castings 

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• Nickel plated for non-rust 

long wear 

• Clean cut perfect registration 

every time 

incernacionai Cinema 

leauiDmenccomDanyinc 

6750 N E- 4th Court, Miami, FL 331 38 USA 

Phone (305) 756-0699, Fax (305) 758-2036 

Telex 522071 Int Cinema Mia 


'^ 

NQ LONELINESS, 

NO DESTITUTION, 

NO SICKNESS, 

WAR... 

WE'D LIKE TO 

REMIND YOU 

THAT THE 

UNCENSORED 

CONTENT 

OF THIS 

MAGAZINE 

IS MADE 

POSSIBLE 

BY THE 

CONSTITUTION 

OF THE 

UNITED STATES. 

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CONSTITUTION 

Fhc words wc li\'c b\' 

To Icani more aboai the ConstitutitMi wi itc 

Con 

stitution, Washinjôn. 1>C ;oi;oQ. The C-.'>iiiini 

siDn on the [^Kcntctini.il ofThc L'.S Con-viilutio'i QX/KM 

Please join. 

+American 

Red Cross 

CREST SALES USA—MOTION PICTURE EQUIPMENT 

Complete Sales — Service 

AUTHORIZED DISTRIBUTOR FOR MANY MANUFACTURERS 

Ed Cernotak 

1900 South Central Expressway 

Dallas, TX 75215 


SILENT SALESMAN 

Roy LIsenbe 

214-565-7894 

Doesn't Boil or 

Steam Flavor Out 

STEAMEnE 

Portable Steam Table 

water under pans 

without 

^*'*' pans 

5235 

F.O.B. QUINCY. MICH. 49082 

GREER ENTERPRISES, INC. 

BOX 35, QUINCY, MICH. 49082 


toincil 

46 BOXOFFICE

July 1991 

VoKJ ane' S«(>lemb«r 1991 

Reader Service 

For more Information, 

mtu •dvotlMinsnl end produci «•»•

1 

ENTERTAINMENT DATA, INC. 

L 

' 

'Access B world ofinfornu tion."^ 

WEEKLY RELEASE SCHEDULE 

OVERNIGHT GROSSES 

ON-LINE DATA BASE 

EDI INTERNATIONAL 

CUSTOM RESEARCH 

ENTERTAINMENT DATA, INC.- 331 N. MAPLE DRIVE "BEVERLY HILLS, CA 90210 -213 -271 -2105 

LOS ANGELES • SAN FRANCISCO • DALLAS CHICAGO WASHINGTON, D.C. • NEW YORK • ATLANTA • lACKSONVILLE LONDON 

Response No 5

IT'S 

america's favorite 

jeliybean: 

^ 

NOW APPEARING . 

AT THEATRES 

WITH GOOD TASTE 

Samples available on request. To order, 

call your Goelitz Broker or toll-free today. 

VM9S( ot the Rockies 

2400 N. Watney Way. Fairfield. CA 94533 

800-323-9380 

East of (he Rocliies 

•1991 Herman Goelitz, Inc. "Registered trademarks of Herman Goelitz, Inc. 

Response No 53

Boxoffice-July.1991

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