22 BOXOFFICE — FEBRUARY TRAILERS Conflagration comes to Hollywood Things are going to get hot this month. Not only because February is the month of romance, or because its middle weekend finds distributors swakking audiences with a dozen-plus titles, thanks to Valentine's and Presidents' Days sharing a three-day. It's also because the bubbling war between volcano epics— Universal's "Dante's Peak" and Fox's "Volcano" (see "Volcano" illustration below) has gone molten. As this issue headed to press. Universal announced it was trying to finish "Dante's Peak" a month early for a Feb. 7 debut— three weeks before "Volcano" erupts. Fox's (at least initial) response was to leave its date unchanged. As befits such a magma quagmire, it's a fluid situation. In "Dante's Peak," Pierce Brosnan ("GoldenEye") is a vulcanologist studying seismic activity in a small Pacific Northwest town. Despite others' disbelief in his theories, he persuades the local mayor (Linda Hamilton] that their long-dormant mountain is about to exp ode. Roger Donaldson directs; Leslie Bohem scripts; Gale Anne Hurd and Joseph M. Singer produce. Exploitips: Donaldson ("White Sands," "The Getaway"! rebounded with "Species, " and Hurd (the "Terminator" series) has delivered before. Brosnan and "j"/"J2" heroine Hamilton are also known quantities, and so is Digital Domain ("True Lies, " "Apollo 13"), which contributes $8 million of special effects. Yet Fox's epic— which conflagrates Los Angeles, not rural tinytown — is grander scale, disaster-wise. The next move is Fox's; might it be to whoblinksfirst head to head? FEBRUARY? Absolute Power A master thief, Luttier Whitney (Clint Eastwood), witnesses a bizarre murder while burglarizing the Washington, D.C. mansion of a Capitol Hill powerbroker. The murderers, linked to the White House, learn that they've been seen, and they set about stalking the solitary witness—even as Whitney works behind the scenes to bring them down. Gene Hackman (who also starred in the Eastwood masterpiece "Unforgiven") portrays President Alan Richmond; Laura Linney ("Primal Fear") plays Kate Whitney. Scott Glenn, Dennis Haysbert, Judy Davis and Ed Harris co-star. Clint Eastwood directs, and he produces for Castle Rock with Karen Spiegel; William Goldman scripts, adapting the novel by David Baldacci. See this issue's cover stories. (Columbia, 2/7) Exploitips: fiefore Castle Rock entered its cool streak, Eastwood's "In the Line of Fire" was a big hit for the company, and it's likely hoping for second lightning with Eastwood back for another political thriller. Expect great numbers; alt other studios do, given they're waiting for 2/14. The Pest In this urban comedy, John Leguizamo ("William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet") portrays charming scam artist Pestario "The Pest" Vargas, who has an uncanny ability to transform himself into almost any sort of person: fast-talking Chinese delivery boy, unorthodox Orthodox rabbi, karaoke-singing Japanese businessman, over-the-top African in kente cloth. And his chameleonry comes in handy, because a crazy German named Gustav ("Ed Wood's" Jeffrey Jones) and the Mob (the Scottish mob, that is) are after him. Edoardo Ballerini and Freddy Rodriguez co-star for director Paul Miller. David Bar Katz and John Leguizamo script; Sid Sheinberg, Bill Sheinberg and Jon Sheinberg produce for their Bubble Factory. See our Sept. '96 issue Sneak Preview. (TriStar, 2/7) Exploitips: "The Pest" was mo ved off its la te-October date to winter release to avoid another TriStar comedy, "High School High. " If "The Pest" buzzes at the hoxoffice, it could vault Leguizamo into film-lead status, a la On the other hand, Urn Carrey. I cguizamo's early lead outing, "A I'yromaniac's Love Story," didn't pull. At the moment, emphasize the hijinks genre to maximize mainstream response. Rhyme & Reason This hip-hop documentary takes moviegoers behind the scenes in the rap music world and follows the development of the music from its early days in the South Bronx to its status as one of today's dominant forms. Ice-T, Heavy D, KRS-One, Nas, MC Eiht, Salt N Pepa and The Fugees (recent top MTV Europe award winner) appear; tunes from Tha Dogg Pound, Mack 10, Busta Rhymes and A Tribe Called Quest highlight the soundtrack. Peter Spirer directs; Chuck Block produces. (Miramax, 2/7 ltd.) Exploitips: A similar rap effort from Savoy came and went (like most Savoy releases); Miramax is likely to prove more savvy with its marketing. A radio station/record store tie-in is a given here, with Priority/Buzztone Records having been promoting the album and releasing singles since November. Expect a predominantly male youth demo in both urban and suburban locations. Catchline: "The ultimate backstage pass." Gridlock'd In this comedy, two performance artist/addicts named Stretch and Spoon try to go straight but find the bureaucratic system they're about to enter even more confusing than the lives they're trying to leave behind. Tim Roth, the late Tupac Shakur and Thandie Newton star. Actor Vondie Curtis-Hall makes his writing/directing debut in this Interscope/Polygram/DEF production. (Cramercy, 2/5) Exploitips: "Gridlock'd" will generate extra media attention and moviegoer consideration because of the presence of Shakjr, the rapper/actor ("Poetic Justice") murdered last year in Las Vegas. But urban and suburban youth demos will also be drawn by solid performers Roth and Newton. suburbia Twcntysomething slackers reexamine their lives when a former friend, now a rock star, returns home. Nicky Katt, Parker Posey ("Party Girl") and Steve Zahn ("That Thing You Do!") are the best known among the young ensemble cast. Richard Linklater ("Before Sunrise") directs; Eric Bogosian adapts his play; Anne Walker-McBay produces for Castle Rock. (Sony Classics, 2/7) Exploitips: Fans of Linklater's "Dazed and Confused" are the key target here (see review, this issue). Also citing the older Bogosian's "Talk Radio" could expand patron interest beyond the usual Cen-X suspects.
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