Boxoffice-Febuary.1998

10 BoxoFncE
(the film received its PC- 13 rating, for crude
and sex-related humor and language, way
back on 3/1 9/97)—goes after the M TV crowd
the distributor targeted for "Meet Wally
Sparks," which resulted in a multimilliondollar
writeoff. But the young Carrot Top could
connect where the septuagenarian Rodney
Dangerfield didn't, as he's a campus favorite.
To help, draw public (and media) attention by
accoutering staff in Carrot Top wiggery.
In God's Hands
In this "dramatic jet-age road movie about
three young men searching for waves, friendship
and themselves all across the world,"
three surfers (portrayed by real surfers Shane
Dorian, Matt George and Matthew Stephen
Liu) are joined in their adventures by a mysterious
journalist (Shaun Thompson) and a
Brazilian beauty (Maylin Pultar). Zaiman King
directs, and he scripts with co-star Matt
George, editor of Surfing Magazine; surfer
Tom Stern produces. (Triumph, 3/6)
Exploitips: King's hard-R fans from the likes
of "Wild Orchid" can 't be counted on to join
"Hands" here. But surfing documentaries have
a devoted specialized audience that will provide
a core demo for this fiction film. To reach
the mainstream male moviegoer, emphasize
the good times and adventure aspects.
Three Ninjas: Showdown
at Mega Mountain
This fourth "3 Ninjas" entry (also known as
"Three Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain")
is a variation on "The Legend of Galgameth," a
Korean myth about a medieval monster who
protects a boy from a Dark Knight. Matthew
Botchis, Michael O'Laskey II and J.P. Roeske
star. Sean McNamara directs; Simon Shin ("3
Ninjas") produces. (TriStar, 3/6 ltd)
Exploitips: Rated PC for nonstop martial arts
action, some gunplay and mild language, this
action/comedy is likely to draw only the preteen
crowd. Fans ofthe first entry (1 992) having
outgrown the series (there being few fans of the
second and third), exhibitors could ease their
uphill selling battle by staging karate performances
by young people at their theatres.
Bulworth
In "Bulworth" (a tentative title; the working
name was "Tribulations"), a wealthy U.S. senator
(Warren Beatty) is tired of life and so sees
no reason to avoid a hit that's been planned
by a friend—until, that is, the senator meets a
beautiful African-American woman (Halle
Berry). Paul Sorvino, Oliver Piatt, jack Warden
and Don Cheadle co-star. Warren Beatty
also directs, scripts and produces. (Fox, 3/6)
Exploitips: Fox depicts the story thus: "He
must frantically seek out the only one who can
call off the killer in a hair-raising comic
chase." So expect something more akin to
"Heaven Can Wait" than to "Reds." Which,
from a boxoffice standpoint, is all to the better.
Talk of Angels
A sort of gender-bender variant on Ken
Loach's "Land and Freedom," this period
dranna tells of a young Irish woman who
arrives In Spain on the eve of the country's
civil war. Polly Walker ("For Roseanna"), Vincent
Perez ("TheCrow:City of Angels"), Frances
McDormand ("Fargo") and Franco Nero
star. Nick Hamm directs; Ann Guedes and
Frank McGuinness script; Patrick Cassavetti
produces. (Miramax, 3/6 NY/LA)
Exploitips: This has been multiply reslated
since its planned Aug. '96 bow. Best bets are
the date-night college crowd and the usual
specialized suspects (the educated 40+
demo), who are more likely to be familiar with
the story's historical events. A PC rating (for
some politically motivated violence) makes it
a candidate for school outreach programs.
Men With Guns
In this Spanish-language drama, a naive
Central American physician ("Cronos'"
Frederico Luppi) learns the truth about his
country's political situation. Dan Rivera Gonzalez,
Damian Delgado, Damian Alcazar and
Tania Cruz co-star as troubled locals, and
Mandy Patinkin and Kathryn Grody as wellmeaning
but oblivious American tourists. John
Sayles directs and scripts; R. Paul Miller and
Maggie Renzi produce. (Sony Classics, 3/6)
Exploitips: Our Telluride reviewer (this
issue) gives this 3 1/2 stars, saying it has "a
potent sense" and boasts "affecting performances."
Rated R (for language and some
violent images) and filmed primarily in Spanish
and dialects, "Men With Cuns" will lack
the wider pulling power of Sayles' recent
"Lone Star. " Arthousers are the likeliest target
on this arthouse-heavy weekend, but Hispanic
filmgoers could help take up the slack.
Sonatine
Takeshi "Beat" Kitano writes, directs and
stars in this story of a hard-boiled gangster who,
although tiring of the yakuza way of life, takes
on one final battle. Aya Kokumai and Tetsu
Watanabe co-star. Masayuki Mori, Hisao
Nabeshima and Takio Yoshida produce. (Rolling
Thunder/Miramax, 3/6 NY/LA)
Exploitips: This was held from Apr. '97; the
1 998 date might work better, in that "Jackie
Brown" has reminded moviegoers of the
Quentin Tarantino name (Rolling Thunder is
his label). Emphasizing that connection could
help add the hip flick crowd to the action/martial
arts demo most likely to attend.
Love and Death on Long Island
This drama adapts the novel by Gilbert
Adair and tells the story of a stuffy British
writer (John Hurt) whose wife has died and
who is surprised, one night at the movies, to
find himself transfixed from there on by a male
screen idol (Jason Priestly). Fiona Loewi costars.
Richard Kwietniowski directs and
scripts; Steve Clark-Hall and Christopher
Zimmer produce. (CFP, 3/6 LA, 3/1 3 exp)
Exploitips: Our Telluride reviewer (this
issue) gives this three stars, saying the story
provides for "an intriguing cultural clash " and
that Priestly "amusingly spoofs his own teen
idol image." Rated PC-13 (for brief strong
language, thematic elements andsome sexual
content), it's unlikely to draw arthousers via
TV fave Priestly's name, so Hurt is the likely
sell. Held from late February.
Woo
MARCH 13
In this romantic comedy (rated R for sexual
content and language), a beautiful heartbreaker
("Set It Off's" Jada Pinkett) goes on a
blind date with a straight-laced attorney
("Booty Call's" Tommy Davidson). A wild
romp through Manhattan ensues. Pam Grier
("Jackie Brown"), Isaac Hayes, Duane Martin,
Dave Chappelle and LL Cool J co-star. Daisy
von Scherier Mayer (First Look's "Party Girl")
directs; David Clark Johnson ("Drop Squad")
scripts; Beth Hubbard and Michael Hubbard,
who paired for "You So Crazy," produce for
Gotham Entertainment; John Singleton
("Rosewood") executive produces with Howard
Hobson. (New Line, 3/13)
Exploitips: "Woo" (originally set for Sept.
'97 and then Jan. '98) isn't blessed with big
names, but it has the urban demo to itself for
the month's second half when the only real
demo competition is "Nightwatch, " a ftighter
that could draw black moviegoers.
Dead Man on Campus
In this MTV comedy (rated R for drug use,
language and crude sexual humor), two freshmen
a bit short on brains but long on resourcefulness
use some arcana to win good
grades. Tom Everett Scott ("That Thing You
Do!") and Mark-Paul Gosselaar star. Alan
Cohn (MTV's "The Real World" series) directs;
Michael Traeger and Michael White
script; Gale Anne Hurd produces for her Pacific
Western Prods. (Paramount, 3/1 3 wide)
Exploitips: Once tentatively slated for
8/29/97, this is the second MTV/Paramount
pairing. (The first was the $62 million-grossing
"Beavis and Butt-head Do America. ") The
rating intimates this is made in the shades for
the college crowd and passing-for-older high
schoolers. With most other openers trending
older, expect "The Man in the Iron Mask" to
present the most date competition.
The Man In the Iron Mask
In this adaptation of the classic Alexandre
Dumas mystery/adventure novel, Leonardo
DiCaprio ("Titanic") plays twins: One becomes
the King of France; the other is raised
by D'Artagnan ("The End of Violence's" Gabriel
Bryne), leader of the Three Musketeers
(John Malkovich, Jeremy Irons and Gerard
Depardieu). Randall Wallace (Oscar-nominated
for his "Braveheart" script) scripts and
makes his directing debut. (UA, 3/1 3 wide)
Exploitips: Book tie-ins and a highlighting
ofthe writer/director's "Braveheart" credit are