Friday, 12 June 1998

WEEKEND PREVIEW
How will week two of The Truman Show end? For all the love that film is generating, including a strong showing of about $12 million Monday through Thursday, I still expect a drop, albeit a small one. Say 15 percent. That means a little under $27 million this weekend. That should be enough to fend off Harrison Ford in Six Days, Seven Nights. The poorly reviewed drama The Devil's Own opened with $18 million last spring, and the much-loved Air Force One opened with $37 million last summer. Box office resource Exhibitor Relations is guessing a $13.6 million opening, but I don't think Ford can open that low. I'll say $22 million for second place this weekend. I expect A Perfect Murder to continue pretty comfortably, dropping about 25 percent to $12.5 million and third. And I think Can't Hardly Wait will surprise people by opening around $11 million before anyone has a chance to figure out that this is no John Hughes movie. (That could be a good or bad thing. In this case, it's the negative of the two options.) Godzilla should take fourth place, holding steady in its current box office mediocrity, adding another $8 million to its monstrous coffers. In fifth, the race between holdovers Hope Floats and Deep Impact could get pretty tight. Hope should float a little higher as both films linger around $6 million. The Horse Whisperer should manage one more strong week with a little over $4 million. In the under-$3-million category, look for Bulworth, Titanic, I Got the Hook Up and newcomer Dirty Work to battle for slots eight through 10.

THE GOOD: Got to see The Mask of Zorro. Sony wasn't lying. It's a really fun film, perfect for the summer. It's a real movie movie. Oodles of style, a very charming movie star turn from Antonio Banderas, a star-making turn by Catherine Zeta Jones and the glorious growl of Anthony Hopkins keeping it all together. It's hard to imagine anyone not enjoying this one.

THE BAD: As if the return of "Fantasy Island" to TV wasn't scary enough, Sony just optioned the movie rights to the '70s series. Men In Black director Barry Sonnenfeld is executive producing the series, so maybe Sony hopes he'll make the movie. Will Smith in a white suit saying, "You know the difference between me and the little guy is that I make this look good!"

THE UGLY: Perhaps the most disgusting horror movie I've ever seen is being rolled out as a Midnight movie in selected cities this weekend. It's called The Beyond and is being re-released by Quentin Tarantino's Rolling Thunder films. I'm planning on doing a photo essay on the film as soon as we get the materials. It's the grossest! (WARNING: Every woman in the screening left the room.)

THE AMUSING: I must admit, it tickled me to find my "interview" with Godzilla quoted in my alma mater magazine, Entertainment Weekly, this week. Of course, the interview took place before the film was released. I'm talking to Big G's publicist now about whether we can chat about the reception the movie got. We'll see.

TWO BAD MOVIES EQUAL: Can't Hardly Wait + Dirty Work = Can't Hardly Work. Norm MacDonald stars in this really boring movie about a stand-up comic who can't get work after being fired from a major network comedy show, and then makes a really stupid movie directed by the guy who used to host "America's Funniest Home Videos." Co-stars Ethan Embry, who can't hardly calm down. Charlie Korsmo, who can't hadly get excited about acting while pulling down a 4.0 in astrophysics at M.I.T. Plus Chris Farley, Phil Hartman, John Candy, John Belushi and Freddie Prinze, who can't hardly believe this piece of crap is going to be their legacy.

JUST WONDERING: Why don't actresses in L.A. notice that beautiful actresses with moderate-sized busoms who don't get breast jobs (Catherine Zeta Jones, Sandra Bullock, Anne Heche, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Lopez, Meg Ryan, Kristen Scott Thomas and Mulan) seem to be becoming major movie stars while the actresses who silicone up (Hello, Demi! I know, You are the exception.) seem to end up naked and playing bimbos all the time?

BAD AD WATCH: Every day that Dirty Work gets closer to actually hitting theaters, there seems to be a little more Chris Farley in their ads. It probably wouldn't have happened if he were alive because his management would be going nuclear on MGM, threatening future projects for overusing Farley, who is basically in a cameo role. Gross.

READER OF THE DAY: Lots of terrific letters on babies at the movies. I chose Courtney S. to represent the lot: "At the AMC theatres in Lansing, Mich., there is a rule barring children under the age of 6 from all showings of PG-13 or R films after 6:00 p.m. I really think this is a policy all theaters should adopt. When Star Wars first came out in '77, my mom took me to see it even though I was only 2 1/2. Although I don't remember it, I made her read aloud the entire opening. After that though, I settled down and watched the movie. She had common sense enough to leave my 9-day-old brother at home with grandma and grandpa. And that's really all it is, common sense. People who take their babies to the movies are the same people that take toddlers to five-star restaurants and let them mash food into the tablecloths. Of course, if these people had any common sense, they'd realize the waste of money involved in paying seven or eight bucks for a movie they probably won't even get to watch all the way through!"

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E ME: Did you guys come to The X-Files cybercast and chat? If so, did you enjoy yourselves? Let me know.