It was no contest as The Game won the weekend box office race.
It was the only real contestant. With over $14 million at the box office,
it did more than four times as much as G.I. Jane, yet fitting
its labyrinthine plot, The Game disappointed. It was Douglas'
best opening since Basic Intinct's $15.1 million, but movies
had a longer theatrical life back then. It was the second best September
opening ever, after last year's The First Wives Club, but Goldie,
Bette and Diane did $18.9 million, 35 percent more than The Game.
Ultimately, The First Wives Club hit $100 million. The Game
won't come close. Especially with L.A. Confidential coming
in hot on its tail.
Speaking of L.A. Confidential, the first of this year's serious
Academy Awards contenders, it has three remarkable features. First,
with an Oscar in hand, Kevin Spacey now gets top billing for
playing the same kind of small character part he played when he was
billed fourth. Second, two Australians, who first became famous for
their work as gay men -- Guy Pierce in Priscilla, Queen of
the Desert, and Russell Crowe in The Sum Of Us --
are now going to be known as hard-bitten L.A. detectives from the '50s.
And third, Kim Basinger really can act. The degree of amazement
may not be in the order listed.
Sony's promoting Gattaca by running realistic print ads for genetic
engineering with a small Sony tag on the bottom. Those interested are
instructed to call 1-888-4-BEST-DNA. Don't dial quite yet. The number
wasn't working as of posting time. Seems that there has been some controversy
about the ads being too real and somehow insulting those of us who haven't
been genetically engineered. For my two cents, I wouldn't put my child's
DNA in the hands of a company that couldn't come up with a better name
for a movie than Gattaca.
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