The Hot Button by David Poland

Friday, 29 August 1997

NEWS BY THE NUMBERS
10. Oldies But Goodies: I complain a lot that there aren't enough revival houses here in L.A., much less around the country. Here's the chance to make up for that. To celebrate their 75th anniversary, Warner Bros. is sponsoring week-long, big-screen showings of their 33 best films. The tour will start in the big cities, but the WB promises it will get to a 'burb near you. My suggested tag for the ads? "See, we aren't really as bad as 1997 made us look!"
9. Bobby's Back: Robert Downey Jr. was released from jail this week after serving his time, which was increased by three days to make up for his filming days and reduced by 69 days for good behavior. There are hundreds in the industry and probably millions in the real world hoping he won't be returning to the land of impaired judgment. I'm one of them, but I'm also very cynical about the likelihood of that happening. And the whole world is watching.
8. Drudge Goes Knowles: I guess Matt Drudge needs to find new territory now that the Paula Jones lawsuit has been thrown out of court. On Thursday night, he treaded on Harry Knowles' well-trodden turf by leaking some reaction to a screening of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, including some details about the plot itself. They didn't like it. They really, really didn't like it. Now, I will be on the look out for Harry's "spies" to break the next presidential scandal.
7. Err Or Air?: Steven Spielberg has purchased the rights to a yet-to-be-published biography of Charles Lindburgh. This will be Spielberg's fourth heavily-airborne film. The previous three? 1941, Always and Empire of the Sun. Be afraid, Steven. Be very afraid.
6. Reversal of the Week: The trades were running a story a few days ago that major female stars were being thrown out of the running for the female lead slot for the John Travolta flick, The General's Daughter, so his wife, Kelly Preston, could take the role. Now, Variety is reporting that she has passed on the role. Another case of superstaris whiplashis.
5. The House Of Oscar: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has always had a hard time making up its mind. Should the Oscars be held at the Shrine Auditorium or the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion? And the winner is (drumroll please!) Hollywood Boulevard! Yes, starting in 2001, the Academy Awards will grace the street where tourists are torn between the footprints at Mann's Chinese and Madonna's underwear at Frederick's of Hollywood Bra Museum. Classy place! The Oscars will have a permanent home in a theater that hasn't been built yet, right near Mann's. And good news! The subway may be ready by then, so nominees will be easily shuttled in and out since no one else in L.A. will be using mass transit in Hollywood at night.
4. Actors Need Not Apply: Universal is prepping a completely computer generated version of Frankenstein, but it's not a cartoon. They want it to be like a regular feature length movie. I think that they're about five years too early, but here's a wish of good luck. You'll need it.
3. A Price Before Rubes: Seagram chief CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr., relatively new owner of Universal Studios, told a media conference that the film industry should charge more for big-ticket movies. And of course, the rest of the industry should follow his lead. After all, Universal is next to last amongst majors in box office this year, with only Fox behind them. That's Fox, which has released only three films (Firestorm, Great Expectations and The Newton Boys) all year as not to get hit by the wake of their co-production, Titanic. And look how Titanic has suffered for its pricing policy! As Jack might say to Edgar, "Sell crazy elsewhere. Hollywood's already full up."
2. Goodbye to Tri: Tri-Star Pictures will soon be no more. In with The Natural, out with Godzilla, you proved one thing for sure. Three heads aren't better than one. Three corporations means 2,743 opinions.
1. Beware the Force of The Force: 20th Century Fox has finally announced they have secured the rights to distribute George Lucas' next three Star Wars' films. And perhaps even more significantly, the studio has taken the television rights to the most powerful sextuple-feature in any galaxy, even those far, far away. So, here is my question. With those TV rights worth at least $200 million, do you think Lucas, who financed the three films-to-come himself, is giving Fox those rights and distribution expenses alone as their profit for distributing the films? Is he even giving them that much?
READER OF THE DAY: From Larry D: "Of the 137 or so [Tri-Star] movies listed in the IMBD [Dave Note: Tri-Star claims more than 200 on the record], I have seen about 90 of them. The one that sticks out the most is The Hitcher with C. Thomas Howell, Rutger Hauer and Jennifer Jason Lee. It was just about the scariest movie I had ever seen."
From Brendon H: "Without a doubt, Short Circuit. The genius of Steve Guttenberg coupled with fine, overlooked supporting work by Fisher Stevens and G.W. Bailey. Number 5 is still alive!!!! (Of course this also happens to be the only Tri-Star film I can remember on my own)."

E ME: Thanks for the input. (Input, get it? Input!) The Hot Button hits Chicago next week, site of Mercury Rising. If you see a new movie this weekend, let me know what you thought.