The Hot Button by David Poland

SHOWEST - DAY FOUR

The final day of ShoWest was a lot more relaxed than usual because the award ceremony was moved to Day Two. As a result, today was all about lunch with Miramax and an evening with Disney. Now, the Disney event is always a sure winner, so that was something we all could look forward to. The morning actually started for me with a run over to the Trade Fair, to pick up a true movie breakfast (a hot dog, a Diet Pepsi and some popcorn) and, more importantly, my very own "South Park" lamp. The lamp was Paramount's premium and it was easily the most popular studio gift of the week.

Miramax's lunch offered no stars, a brief intro from two Miramax execs (Harvey Weinstein left Vegas as soon as his muse, Little Gwynnie, did.) and a very long product reel. As interesting as what was on the reel was what wasn't on it. Namely, Kevin Smith's Dogma, David Cronenberg's eXistenZ, the Sundance hit, Guinevere and the hugely successful Japanese animé, The Princess Mononoke. Where were they? Beats me. But among these titles, only Dogma, which was once expected to be the studio's 1998 major Oscar® contender, was completely missing. Smith & co. report on their Website and on Ain't It Cool News that things are going great and that test screenings are glorious. So, why is Miramax keeping the star-loaded religious comedy away from exhibitors' eyes? I don't know that either.

What I do know is what I saw. Keep in mind that these comments are based only on the two minutes or so of each film that I saw today, unless otherwise noted. The Diane Lane-starrer, A Walk on the Moon, looks like it could be wonderful the way that Living Out Loud was wonderful. Or it could suck. Buzz from Sundance went both ways on this. My main question is why having sex with Viggo Mortensen now seems to be the most popular way for screen heroines to enlighten themselves these days. Likewise, the Lasse Hallström version of John Irving's The Cider House Rules looks like it could be special or especially irritating. Of course, the poster that Miramax had in the ballroom was a giant photo of Charlize Theron and no one else from the film. That would be great, except the female lead is the third lead in the film. If they are planning on selling this thing on her face, we have a problem.

The best looking film of the lot was a Brit comedy called An Ideal Husband, starring the non-Brit Julianne Moore, the great Rupert Everett, Cate Blanchett, Minnie Driver and Jeremy Northam. Moore's character drives the story about people and their images and how easily they are both shattered. The other Jeremy Northam film for Miramax is the pick-up from Sundance, Happy, Texas, which got strong buzz after its Monday night screening and got a terrific reaction from the crowd. Though the tease didn't quite get the gentle rhythm of the film, it also avoided giving away some of the best plot surprises in the film. Good job.

I was confused when another Sundance film, Hideous Kinky, was said to be "from Jane Campion." But it wasn't Hideous Kinky. It was just Kate Winslet in exactly the same outfit that she wore throughout Hideous Kinky, now dressed for Campion's Holy Smoke. Maybe Kate just decided that she only wants to make films that allow her to wear Indian garb. In the meantime, we once again had to accept Harvey Keitel's sexual power over young women. Ouch. Also hard to believe was the "This year's The Full Monty" tag from Roger Ebert on The Castle. He must have seen a different movie than the one they showed two minutes of. It looks like it may be good, but there was nothing that hit you on the head even as much as last year's Waking Ned Devine did.

Tough stuff was in evidence in three of Miramax's films. The first was Twin Dragons, featuring Jackie Chan as twins, that was likely shot for the Hong Kong market and was just recently picked up by Miramax. In fact, so recently that it didn't even make Miramax's book of movies that they distributed at ShoWest. In Too Deep, starring Omar Epps and LL Cool J (he seems to have given up on being called Todd Masters) is essentially Donnie Blacks-co, with Epps going "in too deep" as an undercover operative in drug dealer Cool J's world. Boring! The third thriller is The Yards, with Mark Wahlberg as an unaware member of an underworld family who finds out too much for his own good. Some exhibitors like this one, but I will have to reserve any judgment until I see the whole film.

Teen tough guy Kevin Williamson puts Katie Holmes up against Helen Mirren in the horror version of Nine to Five, Killing Mrs. Tingle. The most memorable moments are Katie Holmes ripping off her shirt to expose (gulp!) an undershirt and some cheesy CG arrow shots. Sure, it smells like teen spirit and cash, but I can't tell you whether it will actually be good. Heather Graham, the walking wet dream of many men a little too old for "Dawson's Creek," gets her chance to shine as "the" star of Committed, a relationship comedy that requires Heather to be crazy in love. I don't think so. Again, Miramax is selling (in the poster) Heather in leather pants, not the movie. Seems like they know they don't have much there.

Also a little desperate sounding was the promo for Mansfield Park, which suggests that this is "the novel Jane Austin prized above even Emma and Sense and Sensibility." Who cares? How is the movie? Can't really tell from this trailer. Another question mark was Outside Providence, the movie made from Peter Farrelly's first novel. I read and really liked the novel (Farrelly's second novel, The Comedy Writer, is the must-read for aspiring writers), but this coming-of-age story is a difficult tonal trick to pull off. With Alec Baldwin in the secondary role of dad (he looks a lot like Hollywood Reporter publisher Bob Dowling in the role), the trailer doesn't focus on the main character, the Farrelly semi-autobiographical Timothy Dunphy. So, another cypher.

There was no footage (since they haven't started shooting) for Scream 3, but two other important films for Miramax are left. The first is Billy Bob Thornton's writer/director follow-up to his Oscar®-winning Sling Blade. It's called Daddy and Them and it is the source of the slightly bizarre blonde/white hair that Billy Bob's been sporting for the last while. The comedy is broad and clearly way over-the-top and probably needs to be seen in its complete context to be "gotten." In other words, I didn't get it today. But I wouldn't bet against Thornton until I saw more. The other major film is one that Harvery Weinstein told me at the SAG Awards was his best guess at what Miramax's major Oscar® film for will be next year. 50 Violins is the true story of a South Harlem music teacher and how the music changes the lives of her students and herself. Looks like a sure bet art film. It's hard to tell if it will become a wide-audience favorite, but it seems possible. This is Wes Craven's first legit shot at getting out of the horror business and he hopes this film will make Scream 3 his last slash. Could be.

The second event of the day and the final event of the convention was Disney's evening with Tarzan. (Here's where I do that scream, but you can't hear me, can you?) Basically, Disney showed us nearly the entire film, in various states of completion. Good movie. Very good movie. The songs, by Phil Collins, are more commercial and memorable than any from a Disney film since The Lion King. The wacky sidekicks, voiced by Rosie O'Donnell and Daniel Benzali, are the most memorable since TLK. The animation style is the freshest of any non-computer-generated animation since TLK. So, is this film going to be, as some international exhibitors who peeked at the film before today are guessing, bigger than TLK. No. I don't think so. It just doesn't have that truly extraordinary magic that marked the amazing Beauty and the Beast/Aladdin/TLK run. But it will be the biggest hit since TLK. And the best. It hits all the right notes along the road and does manage to feel fresh, both visually and musically.

That musical freshness comes from Phil Collins and he was here as the film ended when he and his band performed three of the songs from the film. All three sound like hits. "You'll Be in My Heart" will be the first release, hitting radio on April 5. After the three Tarzan tunes, Collins & co. ran through about a dozen of Phil's greatest hits. The crowd was crazed. Eventually, the security allowed hundreds to rush up to the stage so it felt like a real concert. And Collins rocked. Literally.

The dinner party afterwards was, as usual, Disney elegant. Live animals were all over the place, from a lion to a tiger to a bare snake, draped over a lovely lady. The food was terrific. The mood was relaxed. And the film was well enough received that tension was non-existent.

There was some talk today about whether Fox should or should not have focused so exclusively on Star Wars in their presentation the night before. Disney reminded us how single-focus programming really works. But Disney did what Fox and Lucasfilm wouldn't -- they showed their film. Obviously, I think, showing the entire Star Wars: Episode One -- The Phantom Menace just wasn't an option. But a serious live band may have been nice. And more than just one showing of the trailer, which simultaneously appeared on the Star Wars official Website, would have satisfied a lot of people even more than just one showing of the great and rich trailer. But I don't think we have to sweat it for Lucasfilm and Fox. All will be well.

This weekend, the ShoWest wrap-up. Sorry there is no Box Office Extra this week, but I just didn't get the time to get the screen counts. All the regular features will return next week, along with a live chat next Wednesday afternoon with shock king John Waters. See you then.

READER OF THE DAY: Taiwan Steve on ways Hollywood might "honor" Stanley Kubrick: "1. Warner Bros decides to remake The Shining, in order to pay respects to this film master. You know, just like Universal remade Psycho to pay respects to Alfred Hitchcock. So, who's the best choice to direct it? Of course it's Gus Van Sant again! He can remake this film shot by Stanley's original shot, only this time it's in black and white. And don't forget to hire Kevin Williamson to write the scripts, and that way, the studio can put the names of Stephen King, Kevin Williamson and Stanley Kubrick together, make the biggest force of attraction to movie-goers.

"2. Disney opens another theme park somewhere in Asia, and the theme park is based on Stanley Kubrick's great movies. Disney's Imagineers create A Clockwork Orange zone, where tourists will be treated just like the way they were in the movie, and Mickey Mouse will encourage and welcome everyone at the exit door. If you love the battle scenes of Saving Private Ryan, be sure to visit the Full Metal Jacket area. You're gonna be boomed, even shot by your lunatic tourist guide due to working too long under Disney's hypocrite label.

"3. One of the Las Vegas rich guys suddenly constructs a casino-hotel 'HAL,' themed by Stanley Kubrick's famous work, 2001: A Space Odyssey. In this casino-hotel, computers never work and always go down. Each checked-in hotel guest may be locked in their room or struggle with a leak in the air vent, and they will get into trouble with any electronic equipment run by computers. In that case, you won't pay any attention to how much money you spend, that's why this casino-hotel can make money quicker than people thought."

E ME: Interesting ideas. The horror. The horror. And what do you think happened to Dogma? And do you care-ma?