Boxoffice-July.1995

TRAILERS: AUGUST
The Tie That Binds
"Cape Fear" screenwriter Wesley Strick
makes his directing debut with this Hollywood
Pictures thriller about a loving couple
("Little Odessa's" Moira Kelly and "Indian
Summer's" Vincent Spano) who adopt a little
girl. Her biological parents are accused murderers
("Grumpy Old Men's" Daryl Hannah
and Keith Carradine, also in "Wild Bill") on
the run—and come to take their daughter
back. Interscope exec David Madden ("The
Hand That Rocks the Cradle") produces with
Patrick Markey ("The Quick and the Dead"),
John Morrissey and Susan Zachary; Michael
Auerbach scripts. 5ee the Sneak Preview in
our lune issue. (Buena Vista, 8/1 1
Big Bully
A new writing instructor, David Leary ("Little Giants'" Rick Moranis), crosses
paths with a shop teacher, Roscoe Bigger ("Nine Month's" Tom Arnold)—the
some Roscoe, then nicknamed Fang, who in elementary school terrorized the
smaller David. All semblance of ocTulthood disappears as the pair engage in
a battle of greased floors, wet willies and "I'm tellin's." Don Knotts returns to
the screen with co-stars Juiianne Phillips ("Skin Deep"), Carol Kane ("Addams
Family Values") and Jeffrey Tambor ("Radioiand Murders"). Steve Miner
("Forever Young") directs; Mark Steven Johnson ("Cops and Robbersons")
scripts; Lee Rich Productions heads Lee Rich and Gary Foster produce with
Morgan Creek topper James Robinson. (Warner, 8/4)
Exploitips: From the director of "Forever Young" ar\d the writer of "Cops and
Robbersons"^-gives you goose pimples, doesn't it? High-concept lowbrow
comedy could be less than bully if the blockbusters ofJune and July have the kind
of legs exhibitors are hoping for. Then again, comedy is in relatively short supply
in the crowded summer field, so maybe Warner knows something we don t.
A Walk in the Clouds
Director Alfonso Arau follows his art-house
smash "Like Water for Chocolate" with this
studio film about a soldier ("Speed's" Keanu
Reeves) who, on his return from World War
II, falls in love with the daughter (Spanish
actress Aitana Sanchez-Gijon)of a dictatorial
father (Italian superstar Ciancarlo Giannini).
The Zucker brothers produce; Robert Mark
Kamen ("The Power of One") scripts. The film
was originallv slated lor February, then April;
it could advanc c into late July. Sec our Sneak
Preview in llir l.musry issue. (Fox)
Exploitips: Keanu Reeves, a born-again action
s(a/ llhinks to last summer's "Speed, " still
has trouble parking ll:c art houses, as "Little
Buddha" showed. Still, he's your romantic
hook here. II the studio doesn 't supply one, a
"From the Director of 'Like Water For
Chocolate'" tagline can only help with emotional
material like this.
Mortal Kombat
Ending a I 5-week release lull for the usually
hyperactive New Line, this action/adventure
(based on a best-selling computer game)
follows the three key characters Liu Kang,
Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade on their journey
to defend the future of mankind. Christopher
Lambert ("The Hunted"), Talia Soto
("The Manibo Kings") and Bridgette Wilson
("Last Action Hero") star for director Paul
Anderson; Larry Kassanoff ("True Lies," "T2")
produces. The film originally had been slated
for a May debut. (New Line, 8/1 8)
Exploitips: Advance awareness within its
teenage target audience is huge thanks to the
virtually unprecedented success of the computer
game on which it's based. A decent
opening is guaranteed; after that, it'll have to
be a better film than the equally games-driven
"Street Fighter" or "Double Dragon" if "Mortal
Kombat" isn't to be slain by summer's
high-power fare. Put a "Mortal Kombat" arcade
game in your lobby and raffle off 10 free
games at each matinee to drum up interest; it
could he among the most promotionally productive
bucks you ever spent.
Exploitips: Melodramatic dramatizations
of real-life issues (like custody battles) have a
history of decent boxoffice if pulled off right,
so "Tie" could be a sleeper. Skew to young
adults, who might be tired of shoot-'em-ups
and caped crusaders come August's dog days.
Desperado
This English-language sequel to director
Robert Rodriguez's "El Mariachi" (which was
a Columbia pickup in 1992) finds Antonio
Banderas ("Miami Rhapsody") now filling the
role of the guitar player without a name, here
on the trail of the infamous Mexican drugiord
Bucho ("Only You's" Joaquim De Almeida).
Aiding him is his best friend ("Airheads'" Steve
Buscemi) and a beautiful bookstore owner
(south-of-the-border star Salma Hayek).
Cheech Marin and Quentin Tarantino co-star;
Rodriguez also produces with Bill Borden ("La
Bamba") and scripts; Los Lobos provides the
music. (Sony/Columbia, 8/25)
Exploitips: // any new title stands a good
chance of igniting the waning days of summer,
it's this one. Rodriguez "El Mariachi"
was one of the best action films of its year
despite a minuscule budget: one can only
guess what he was capable ofpulling off here.
Play the ethnic angles in markets with a large
Latin American population: elsewhere, aim
for the male testosterone crowd and the romance
set via Spanish heartthrob Antonio
Banderas. This can't miss.
A NOTE TO OUR READERS:
Our Trailers section is
designed to provide
long-lead information on
films slated to premiere in
the month after our cover
date. For current titles and
their release dates, and for
all important distribution
telephone numbers, please
consult the Studio and the
Independent Feature Charts
in each issue.
10 BoxomcE