s " 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
NOT ALL DIGITAL SOUND SYSTEMS ARE EQUAL "What separates SDDS from any other digital format is the spread of sound, especially music, giving a sense of scope and richness that no other format can match." BARRY SONNENFELD Director MEN IN BLACK Biggest Picture of 1 997 Hear the difference Sony Dynamic Digital Sounds :^^t»^^* . - 5 » " .* -.'. »*"'* • :i ^ •* .1 y » ^ ' ^ -* J 3 * * . J i » .» = » rYTr£tf!ii'ir'iihi
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