Boxoffice-September.1997

"
Parallel Sons
An unlikely bond grows between a rural
white teenager {Gabriel Mick) and an escaped
urban-black convict (Laurence Mason). Murphy
Guyer, Graham Alex Johnson, Heather
Gottlieb and )osh Hopkins co-slar. John G.
Young directs and scripts; James Spione and
Nancy Larson produce. (Greycat, 10/10 NY)
Another much-moved film
Exploitips:
(CInevlsta first planned a March '96 bow, then
Creycat acquired It and targeted June and
then November of last year), "Parallel Sons"
might be most effectively marketed to gay
audiences through alternative media.
OCTOBER 17
Playing God
A surgeon ("Kalifornia's" David Duchovny)
is disbarred for operating while high. Hired by
a criminal ("Beautiful Girls'" Timothy Hutton)
as his "gunshot doctor"—to treat associates
who can't visit a hospital—the doctor falls for
the crook's moll ("Foxfire's" Angelina Jolie)
and must decide whether to continue his new
life or go straight. Andy Wilson directs; Mark
Haskell Smith scripts; Marc Abraham ("Sugar
Hill") and Laura Bickford produce for Touchstone.
(Buena Vista, 1 0/1 7 wide)
Exploitips: Buena Vista flirted with releasing
this in mid-May, when it would have
battled the similar-demo Andy Garcia starrer
"Night Falls on Manhattan." The talented
Duchovny Is a small-screen icon thanks to
Fox TV's "The X-Files, " but just as his wattage
wouldn't have outshown Carcia's then It
won't dim Pacino and Reeves' now. Unless
Buena Vista moves it again. It seems ordained
that "Playing Cod" won't cast down "Devil's
Advocate"—especially with Duchovny's
many SF fans opting for "Dark Empire" or...
Gattaca
In a future in which genetic engineering is
a prosperous and competitive business, a
young man ("Before Sunrise's" Ethan Hawke)
who is predestined to die in his early 30s
strives to change his fate. Originally titled
"The Eighth Day," this science-fiction film
also stars Uma Thurman ("Batman & Robin")
and Alan Arkin ("Mother Night"). Andrew
Niccol (scripter on Paramount's coming "The
Truman Show") makes his directing debut; the
"Matilda" trio of Danny DeVito, Stacey Sher
and Michael Shamberg produce for their Jersey
Films. (Columbia, 1 0/1 7 wide)
Expioitips:
"Cattaca" had been penciled
for March, but the studio had the Ford-Pitt
"The Devil's Own." Now this goes against
Paclno-Reeves, another unhappy prospect.
Still, one might expect part of the twenty- and
thirtysomething crowd (Hawke and
Thurman's strong suits) to prefer two young
actors to one young and one old. And an SF
entry usually performs well for at least the first
weekend, when genre fans turn out In abundance.
But which they might do for...
Dark Empire
Originally "Dark City" and a Fox project,
this futuristic thriller stars Rufus Sewell ("Cold
Comfort Farm") as a man who discovers he's
wanted for murders he can't remember. He
soon learns that his memories and his life as
he knows it (and those of other people's) are
artificial creations. William Hurt, Kiefer Sutherland
and Jennifer Connelly also star. Alex
Proyas ("The Crow") directs, and he scripts
with Lem Dobbs ("Kafka") and David Goyer
("The Crow: City of Angels"); Andrew Mason
produces. (New Line, 1 0/1 7 wide)
Exploitips: The SF crowd is dependable
and (for a sub-demo) big, but not big enough
to support two wide releases on the same
weekend. Expect this or "Cattaca" to move
again ("Dark Empire" moved from September
to August to here). If not, although one can't
discount "Cattaca's" star advantage and
datenight-friendly male/female teaming, the
"Dark Empire" makers' various "Crow" credits
could lend this greater genre authenticity.
Dean
British TV comedy-series superstar Rowan
Atkinson brings his Bean character to the
bigscreen in this screwball comedy. Mr. Bean
is a ne'er-do-well employee of a London museum;
to get rid of him, his associates pass him
off as an art expert to accompany the masterpiece
"Whistler's Mother" to an L.A. gallery.
Peter MacNicol and Harris Yulin (both
"Ghostbusters II"), Pamela Reed ("Kindergarten
Cop") and Burt Reynolds co-star. Mel
Smith ("The Tall Guy") directs; Richard Curtis
and Rowan Atkinson (both also "The Tall
Guy") script with Robin Driscoll; "French
Kiss" duo Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner produce
for their Working Title label with Peter Bennett-Jones.
(Cramercy, 10/1 7 wide)
Exploitips: /.//ceayac/c/e Chan ofcomedy—
world-famous elsewhere, virtually unknown
stateside—Atkinson wins a 3 1/2-star review
(see this issue) that calls "Bean " "an incredibly
entertaining piece of comic mayhem." U.S.
fans of his PBS series are likely ticketbuyers;
to pull neophytes (an early poster with Bean
stealing an O from the Hollywood sign should
grab comic audiences), highlight the hijinks.
Stage a Bean or Whistler's Mother lookallke
contest— or go for media attention with a
charity Whistler's Mother dunking throw.
Some art-house support could be siphoned by
Fox Searchlight's expanding "The Ice Storm,
though it's a drama (see August-issue Trailers).
DEVIL'S Advocate
,
Keanu Reeves stars as young, ambitious attorney Keym Lomax, who pins a
powerful New York law firm headed by the mysterious and charismatic John Milton
lAl Pacino). As Lomax is seduced by success, power and money, he realizes that
his colleaques' abilities are somewhat more—or less—than human Charlize
Theron ("tfial and Error"), Judith Ivey ("There Goes the Neighborhood ),
Croig
T Nelson ("I'm Not Rappaport"), ftuben Sontiago-Hudson,JeHrey Jones and
Delroy Undo (also "A Life Less Ordinary") co-star Taylor Hackford (
Dolores
Claiborne") directs; Jonathan Lemkin ("Demolition Man )
and Tony Gilroy (
The
Cutting Edge") script; Arnon Milchan (''A Time to Kill ),
Anne Kopelson and Arnold
Kopelson pEraser'") produce for Kopelson Prods. (Warner, 10/17)
Exploitips: With John Milton as a character, who might "Devil's Advocate" toll
for? It could toll for thee, as exhibitors booking it expect the month s onl^^ pairmg
of superstars to outpace all comers. Part "The Firm part Dr. Faustus, the hm
reportedly doesn't emphasize the diabolic, so this v^ I likely remain m the
fi^rortinged mainstream In which Hackford's Dolores Claiborne found critical.
if not as much audience ($25 mil.), iuccess—of course without those superstate.
Lilies
In this tale of love, betrayal and revenge, a
Catholic bishop is locked in a prison and forced
to watch the inmates stage a recreation of the
four-decade-old events of a gay love triangle
involving both the bishop and a confessor.
Brent Can/er, Marcel Sabourin and Aubert Pallascio
star. John Greyson ("Zero Patience") directs;
Michael Marc Bouchard adapts his play;
Anna Stratton, Robin Cass and Arnie Gelbart
[)r()du