Boxoffice-September.1997

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Exploitips: Horror had gone from shock-
'em to schlock-'em before "Scream" ($105
mil. and counting) reinvigorated audience interest
in the genre and resuscitated Craven's
cachet. Thus five's wise move to give this a
"Presents" status, vvft/c/? the new distributor
hopes will support a wide release. The
hypability of the Englund/Hodder/Todd trio is
another factor that could give this a decent
competitive chance against Buena Vista's
same-date "American Werewolf" sequel.
Boogie Nights
Set in the porn world's '70s heyday, this
dark comedy follows a group of players hoping
to revamp the industry. Mark Wahlberg,
Julianne Moore, Burt Reynolds, Don Cheadle
and William H. Macy star. Paul Thomas Anderson
("Hard 8") directs and scripts; Larry
Gordon ("The Devil's Own") produces with
John Lyons, Lloyd Levin and JoAnne Sellar.
(New Line, 10/3 ltd, 10/10 wide)
Exploitips:
"Boogie Nights" (moved from
early, then late, summer) could draw extra
attention thanks to its sexy subject matter. But
exhibitors desiring wide Baby Boomer support
could hype the nostalgic '70s-era setting.
Fast, Cheap & Out of Control
Errol Morris, the director of "The Thin Blue
Line" and "A Brief History of Time," interweaves
four unique stories of quite different
characters—a robotics designer, a lion tamer,
a man who studies mole rats, and a topiary
gardener— in his latest documentary. Featuring
Dave Hoover, George Mendonca, Ray
Mendez and Rodney Brooks. Morris also produces.
(Sony Classics, 10/3 NY/LA)
Exploitips: In a three-star review, our Sundance
critic said this film is "less a classically
structured documentary than a strangely urgent
examination of what the human race is
becoming." This is art-house fare, though
Morris' social theorizing— that "humans are
on a path that could lead to us inventing
ourselves out of existence"— should interest
techies and non-techies alike.
OCTOBER 10
Seven Years in Tibet
Brad Pitt stars in this epic biopic that tells
the story of Austrian mountaineer Heinrich
Harrer, who was captured by the British in the
Himalayas during World War II but escaped
by foot into Tibet, where he was befriended
by the young Dalai Lama. David Thewlis
("The Island of Dr. Moreau") and B.D. Wong
("Father of the Bride") co-star. )ean-)acques
Annaud ("Wings of Courage") directs;. Becky
Johnston ("Bad Girls") scripts; lain Smith
("City of Joy") and John Williams produce for
Mandalay. (TriStar, 10/8 wide)
Exploitips: Pitt's luck is bedeviled: He
shepherded "The Devil's Own" only to see it
rewritten and perform poorly; his relationship
with fiancee Gwyneth Paltrow ends; nude
photos ofhim appear in Playgirl; and now the
SS background of the man he plays here
comes to light. In a subsequent meeting with
Jewish leader Simon Weisenthal, Harrer reportedly
implied he joined the infamous Nazi
corps as an athletic instructor in 1938 only
under pressure, but he didn't mention he
joined a Nazi teachers federation inpre-Hitler
1 933, when the group was still illegal. Annaud
can 't want to be regarded as a latter-day
Leni Riefenstahl, but his assertion he suspected
Harrer's past hardly helps matters.
Now, any Harrer claim of transformation
under the Dalai Lama's tutelage is unlikely to
pass public muster; call it "QBVII II." If the
problem snowballs larger toward release
date, look for distributor leadership.
Roclcet IVIan
When a member of the first manned mission
to Mars is injured during training, NASA
must call in the only possible replacement,
Fred Randall (Harland Williams), who for a
rocket scientist is no rocket scientist. Chaos
ensues as the team heads to Mars i n this fam ily
comedy. Jessica Lundy ("The Stupids"), William
Sadler ("Solo"), Shelley Duvall and Beau
Bridges co-star. Stuart Gillard ("Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles III") directs; Craig Mazin
and Greg Erb script; Roger Birnbaum produces
for Caravan. (Buena Vista, 1 0/1 wide)
Exploitips: if "C.l. lane" performs, exhibitors
might look more kindly on booking a film
made by Caravan (parent of such duds as
"Gone Fishin'," "Celtic Pride" and "The Rich
Man's Wife"). Even if that Demi Moore starrer
doesn't prevail, "Rocket Man" still has one
plus, in that it rules the studio family-film roost
until IO/24's "FairyTale." Although the Mars
Pathfinder mania is a bit dated, a comic link to
that popular event should help. Catchline:
"Remember the Mars Pathfinder mission,
when most everything went rights Now comes
'Rocket Man, ' where everything goes wrong.
Gang Related
Aka "Criminal Intent," this police drama
follows detectives ("Race the Sun's" James
Belushi and "Gridlock'd's" Tupac Shakur, in
his last role before his murder) who've framed
gang members to hide their own drug crimes
but now must set up an undercover DEA
agent. Leia Rochon ("The Chamber") and
Dennis Quaid also star. Jim Kouf (who wrote
"Operation Dumbo Drop" and the "Stakeout"
series) directs and scripts. (Orion, 10/10)
Exploitips: Expect urban and male-demo
support in some numbers. Shakur's previous,
the Ian. '97 "Cridlock'd," pulled just $5.5
million despite good reviews and the fact that
his death was then recent, and Belushi isn't
the draw he was in the late '80s. The drug
theme also has fallen into theatrical
disfavor, though it remains
a small-screen staple.
Napolean
This live-action film tracks
the adventures of a golden retriever
puppy (voiced by "The
Doctor's" Adam Wylie) that
slips into a hot-air balloon and
is carried to Australia's wilds.
Bronson Pinchot, Wendy
Makkena and David Ogden
Stiers also voice. Mario Andreacchio
directs, scripts (with
Mark Saltzman and producer
Michael Bourchier) and produces.
(Coldwyn, 10/10)
Exploitips: Any live-action
animal film must compete in
audience minds with the
lipsynched "Babe. " This film, two years on the
Coldwyn slate, is of the older variety. Still,
one can expect that a Coldwyn children 's film
would be different than a Disney children's
film; if so, critical response could help. But
"Napolean," newly moved from 8/8 in
MGM's new slating of its MGM/UA/Orion/
Coldwyn movies, now goes up against that
king of kids, Disney, and its "Rocket Man."
The House of Yes
When Marty ("Kicking and Screaming's"
Josh Hamilton) returns for his family's Thanksgiving
dinner, he brings his new fiancee (Tori
Spelling of TV's "Beverly Hills, 90210"). When
the electricity fails, the clan's dysfunctions take
turns for the worse. Parker Posey and Genevieve
Bujold co-star. Mark Waters directs and
adapts Wendy MacLeod's black-comedy play;
both of "Johns," Beau Flynn and Stefan Simchowitz
produce. (Miramax, 10/10 NY/LA)
Exploitips: in a 3 1/2-star review, our Sundance
critic said this "nefarious tale" of "family
secrets and closet skeletons" is both
"blisteringly funny" and "horrifyingly tragic.
Art-house exhibitors should highlight the
comedy to differentiate this from the more
dramatic "Cang Related" and "Deep Crimson."
Catchline: "Car wrecks... tabloid TV...
and now a family reunion. You want to look
away, butyoucan't. Enter'The House of Yes.'"
Deep Crimson
In this Mexiciin/French/Spanish co-production,
an aging mother (Regina Orozco) abandons
home and children to join with a
handsome philanderer (Daniel Gimenez
Cacho) on a crime spree. Marisa Paredes
co-stars. Arturo Ripstein ("The Queen of the
Night") directs; Paz Alicia Garciadiego
scripts; Miguel Necoechea and Paolo
Barbachano produce. (New Yorker, 1 0/8 NY)
Exploitips: Moved from 6/20, the Spanishlanguage
'Deep Crimson" won a four-star
review from our Toronto fest critic, who
called this "a lively and daring satirical horror/romance"
and says Ripstein, a former assistant
to filmmaker Luis Bunuel, "shows
some of Bunuel's talent for mixing a sacrilegious
sense of humor with prankish horror. "
Call this a "Scream" for the art-house set.