Boxoffice-Febuary.1998

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script; Chua Lam produces for longtime Chan
backer Golden Harvest. (New Line, 3/27)
Exploitips: Screened at ShowEast, this provides
the usual Chan blend of comedy and
action. But the $6 million acquisition (which
gives Nevi' Line all but Asian rights) boasts just
one jaw-dropping Chan-in-action sequence.
Despite the efforts ofMiramax and New Line,
Chan attracts a niche crowd stateside; expect
the usual Chan boxoffice results, in the 'teens.
Storefront Hitchcock
The alternative tunery of British
singer/songwriter Robyn Hitchcock is showcased
in this documentary concert film by
Jonathan Demme, who shot the film's footage
in a New York storefront setting with a live
audience. (Orion/MCM, 3/27 ltd)
Exploitips: Though famed for the likes of
"The Silence ofthe Lambs" and "Philadelphia, "
Demme in
1 984 made a highly regarded Talking
Heads concert film, "Stop Making Sense. "
That group was better known stateside than is
Hitchcock, but his fans are devoted. Rated
PC-13 (for one use of strong language).
Grease
In a 20th anniversary reissue, John Travolta,
Olivia Newton-John and classmates Stockard
Channing, Jeff Conaway and Didi Conn return
to the slick-backed and hot-rodded academe
of the '50s. Randal Kleiser directs; Bronte
Woodard adapts the J
im Jacobs/Warren Casey
Broadway version; Robert Stigwood and
Allan Carr produce. (Paramount, 3/27)
Expioitips: The studio had considered releasing
a "Pop-Up Video" version but went
with a straight re-release. ("Pop-Up Videos,"
in which explanatory "bubbles" of information
pop up onscreen, have become a programming
staple of MTV, owned by
Paramount parent Viacom.) Auds swarmed to
the "Star Wars" reissues, but Paramount'
"The Godfather" and Live's "Dirty Dancing"
indicate modest interest in such returns.
No Looking Back
As waitress Claudia ("A Smile Like Yours'"
Lauren Holly) helps her mother (BIythe Danner)
adjust to husband-less life and Claudia's
relationship with her live-in boyfriend ("The
Leading Man's" Jon Bon Jovi) is looking unpromising,
her old flame ("She's the One's"
Edward Burns, who also directs and scripts)
returns to town. Ted Hope, Michael Nozik
and Edward Burns produce for Good Machine.
(Cramercy, 3/27 ltd, 4/10 exp)
Exploitips: "The Brothers McMullen" and
"She's the One" were quality outings by
Burns, but the 3/27 frame is crowded for such
specialized fare, given that "The Butcher
Boy, " "B. Monkey, " "The Mighty" and "Wide
Awake" all plan some expansion on that date.
Two Giris and a Guy
Two women realize their lovers are the same
man; they plot revenge. Robert Downey Jr.,
Heather Graham ("Boc^ie Nights") and Natasha
Cregson Wagner ("Lost Highway") star. James
Toback (who helmed another Downey-asseductioneer
tale, "The Pick-Up Artist") directs
and scripts; Edward R. Pressman and Chris Hanley
produce. (Fox Searchlight, 3/27 ltd)
Exploitips: Controversy^: The MPAA gave
this a rating of NC- 1 7 (for a scene of explicit
sexuality), but Fox Searchlight is appealing.
Our Telluride critic (upcoming issue) ga ve this
two stars, saying Downey's "energetic performance"
is the only plus. Still, the sexy title and
the possible ratings flap could generate
boxoffice heat among twentysomethings.
Tempting Fate
This drama tells the story of a feminist
writer ("12 Monkeys'" Madeleine Stowe) who
with her husband (William Hurt) consults a
priest ("Hamlet's" Kenneth Branagh) about
marital troubles. Romantic complications
ensue. BIythe Danner and Neil Patrick Harris
co-star. Lesli Linka Clatter ("Now and Then")
directs; Rick Ramage scripts; Ted Field, Scott
Kroopf and Diane Nabatoff produce for Interscope.
(Cramercy, March 27 ltd, 4/24 wide)
Exploitips: More controversy^: Grievances
could come from the Catholic groups that
contested TV's "Nothing Sacred," given this
film's priest-wife imbroglio. Once a fall and
then January title, "Tempting Fate" now faces
tougher arthouse competition in a month
that's chockful of specialized fare. To maximize
turnout, emphasize the Branagh name.
A Price Above Rubies
A young Hasidic woman ("Jerry Maguire's"
Renee Zellweger) defies her husband (Glenn
Fitzgerald) and community when she takes a
job—and then falls in love with a Puerto Rican
artist ("Jason's Lyric's" Allen Payne). Christopher
Eccleston ("Jude") co-stars. Boaz Yakin
("Fresh") directs; John Penotti produces.
(Miramax, 3/27 NY/LA, 4/3 exp top 40)
Exploitips: Even more controversy: Director
Yakin, a former yeshiva student, had New
York filming disrupted by local Hasidim.
Yakin was quoted as saying, "That's nothing
compared to how p
— ed off they're going to
be when they see this film. " The conservative
Jewish sect, which also disapproves of the
cinema in general, certainly won't appreciate
the R rating (for sexuality and brief language)
for the project, originally called "A Price
Below Rubies. " Will ensuing controversy hinder
or help at the so-busy 3/27 weekend
boxoffice? Expect the latter, given the
Weinsteins' expertise with publicity.
Eden
A 1960s housewife ("Phantoms'" Joanna
Going) confined by marriage, the times and
disease starts to have out-of-body experiences.
Dylan Walsh ("Congo") and Sean Patrick
Flanery ("The Grass Harp") co-star.
Howard Goldberg directs and scripts; Harvey
Kahn produces. (Legacy, 3/27 ltd)
Exploitips: Most of the date's new arthouse
offerings appeal equally if not primarily to
females. Still, go with that strength here.
James Eliroy: Demon Dog of
American Crime Fiction
JamesEllroy, author of "L.A. Confidential,"
gives a tour of the dark underbelly of L.A. and
the dark underbelly of his personality as he
drives an old Cadillac convertible through the
City of Angels in this documentary by
Reinhard Judd. (First Run, 3/25 NY)
Exploitips: Although this is a 1993 work, it
could draw extra 1998 attention if the Curtis
Hanson film goes on to Oscar honors this
March. Probably not citably. City Voice
called this a "fiend-crammed, Byzantine tour
conducted by the relentless self-promoter,
former drunk, pantie sniffer and author of a
body of writing without parallel. "
MARCH UNDATED
IVIajor League 3
In a reworking of this minor-league film
franchise, Scott Bakula ("Lord of Illusions")
stars as a burned-out pitcher named Gus
who realizes it's time to hang up his glove.
When the owner of the Minnesota Twins
(series regular Corbin Bernsen) offers to
make him the manager of the Twins' Triple-
A team, Gus accepts—only to find a ragtag
bunch of misfits awaiting. Dennis Haysbert
and Takaaki Ishibashi sign up again as costars.
John Warren (who scripted "Naked in
New York") directs and scripts; James G.
Robinson produces for his Morgan Creek.
(Warner Bros., March undated)
Exploitips: "Major League" did decent
business, but part 2 tanked. Yet the March
dating could work, in that news from the
spring training camps could excite interest.
This lacks Tom Berenger and Charlie Sheen,
though, so expect a cap on final boxoffice.
Caria's Song
In this British romantic drama (in English
and subtitled Spanish), a chance encounter
leads George, a Glasgow bus driver ("The Full
Monty's" Robert Carlyle), to fall in love with
a Nicaraguan emigre (Oyanka Cabezas)
named Carla. Caria conceals a painful secret;
to unearth it, George accompanies her to her
homeland, where a disaffected ex-CIA operative
(Scott Glenn) acquaints him with American
atrocities. Ken Loach ("Land and
Freedom") directs; Paul Loverty scripts; Sally
Hibbin produces. (Shadow, March undated)
Exploitips: Our Cannes critic (Oct. '97
issue) gives this three stars, saying "Loach has
fashioned a moving, rhapsodic love story of
two people from vastly different worlds. Part
political thriller, part psychodrama, the film
boasts a superb performance by Carlyle.
I Tliink I Do
A screwball comedy with a modern twist
(the fussin' lovers are the same gender), "I
Think I Do" tells the story of two ex-college
roommates who remember each other as an
unrequited love and who meet five years
later at a wedding. Various expected and
unexpected sparks among various partiers
begin to fly. Alexis Arquette, Maddie Corman
and Guillermo Diaz star. Brian Sloan directs
and scripts; Lane Janger ("I Like It Like That")
prcxJuces. (Strand, March undated)
Exploitips: Filmmaker Sloan says he conceived
of his seven main characters as "a
sort of college version of the Island of Misfit
Toys from "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."
Though this might not play in Peoria,
"I Think I Do's" script was strong enough to
get Strand's Marcus Hu and Jon Cerrans to
guarantee distribution. Expect decent specialized
marks.
^B
16 BOXOI'TICE