Monday, 22 November 1999

WEEKEND REVIEW

The firepower of Bond, James Bond, proved unstoppable once again. With an estimated $37.2 million start, The World Is Not Enough won the weekend going away. But one really has to wonder about MGM's conversations with the press in response. First, the studio said that the movie "overcame the franchise's traditional pockets of resistance in the American heartland, where movies with English accents are treated with suspicion." HUH? You mean those resistant pockets that held back the last two Bonds to $25.1 million and $26.2 million starts? Then, MGM's Larry Gleason told Reuters "What makes Bond pictures work is the action." That one is close enough to rational to argue with. Clearly, audiences go to Bond with expectations of action, sex appeal and puns. And those expectations fuel openings. But "what makes Bond pictures work" is style and I would still argue that the overemphasis on action in this film, which had a more interesting, more complex story, won't help in the long run. But make no mistake, with next weekend's 5-day Thanksgiving bonanza still to come, this film seems sure to be the most successful Bond ever domestically, perhaps the first to pass $150 million domestic.

And Sleepy Hollow shouldn't be lost in the weekend love-in. The film's estimated $30.5 million start may well stay over the $30 million mark, with a conservative $8.5 million Sunday estimate, marking the first time two films have ever opened to over $30 million in the same 3-day weekend and only the tenth and eleventh film to ever open over $30 million in a November. But even more powerful is the company that Sleepy Hollow keeps. Of the other ten films, four are sequels (Bond, Star Trek: First Contact, Home Alone 2 and Ace Ventura 2) and two were Disney Thanksgiving releases (A Bug's Life and 101 Dalmatians). Of the four originals, Ransom had Mel Gibson, The Waterboy had an ascendant Adam Sandler and Interview With A Vampire had Pitt & Cruise (or is that Cruise & Pitt?). The only film that is truly analogous to Sleepy Hollow is Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula. A classic story with lots of style and a director that audiences had enough faith in to show up in droves. Sadly, Coppola's attempt to follow up Dracula with a musical live-action Pinocchio became a brutal non-starter. Ironically, Coppola is Exec Producer of Sleepy Hollow, probably because he once was involved in some sort of underlying production rights.

In any case, this opening should remind Hollywood just what Burton is capable of from a business standpoint. And with due respect to the talents of current Superman screenwriter Bill Wisher, if Warner Bros. is smart, they will reconsider their choice to shelve Burton's vision of Superman Lives. If anyone needs any further examples of the difference between a developed project and the work of a visionary, look to Sleepy Hollow vs. End of Days. One will make money. The other will make a lot of money and bring prestige to a studio.

The third member of this weekend's power trio isn't Pokemon, which fell more than 57 percent to an estimated $13.3 million, but Toy Story 2, which managed to gross $302,000 in one theater. Yes, one theater. You can say it now, Mr. Brewington...WOW! True, the ticket prices at the Disney co-owned El Capitan theater in Los Angeles are inflated thanks to a 20-minute live show that starts every screening, but still, the figure is massive. The Waterboy's $39.4 million non-summer record opening could be threatened next weekend. And that's just for the three-days.

One number crunching friend says that anything less than $50 million over five days for TS2 or End of Days should be considered a failure. Seems a little tough considering that A Bug's Life set a new Thanksgiving opening record last year with $46.1 million over five days, following 1997's record $36 million Thanksgiving weekend start for Flubber. Toy Story 2 may indeed pass $50 million over 5 days next week, but for End of Days to do the same, there would have to be two straight weekends with two $30 million 3-days openers, the first ever having taken place this weekend. That's asking too much. Last Thanksgiving, A Bug's Life had to compete on the big stage only with Rugrats and Enemy of the State, both of which had opened a week earlier. This year, it's four big movies. If End of Days beats Enemy of the State's $26 million five-day from last year by $5 million or more, I will say that it opened well.

Sorry if that was a bit more box office analysis than you wanted today, but there won't be a Box Office Extra this week due to the holiday, so I'm coughing up some early info.

As for the rest of this weekend, the two powerful openers hurt the holdovers pretty much across the board. Besides the Pokemon fall, which was pretty much expected by the studio, though not enjoyed, The Bone Collector, Dogma and The Insider took harder hits this weekend than you would expect. Anywhere But Here and The Bachelor held up better than one might have expected, perhaps because they were the only alternatives for young women not looking for action. (Insert your own joke here.) Also of note was the successful expansion of Being John Malkovich, which will actually make less this weekend than it did last weekend, but didn't fall like the holders of last weekend's 8 - 10 slots. That said, The Sixth Sense could sneak up and beat BJM for the Ten Spot when the final numbers are tallied. I still doubt that a near-$20-million gross for BJM will be enough to get it into the Oscar race for Best Picture given that it's such a hip film, but who knows? In some ways, it has a better shot at Best Picture than it does for Best director (which is no reflection on Spike Jonze's skills, but on the competition among directors, who nominate their own, this year.) Go figure.

THE GOOD: Okay. I know that there will be some people writing this week about their disappointment over The Green Mile. Let me make it simple. They are out of their freaking minds. Yes, the film is about 20 minutes too long. The segments that bracket the main story, á la Saving Private Ryan, are not completely unnecessary, but are definitely too long. There are individual shots that go on too long. There is a scene of a truck driving that adds 45 seconds too much all on its own. That said, all 20 minutes I would cut came in the first act of the film. And now that I'm done with the negative, try this on for size:

The Green Mile is absolutely the movie to beat for Best Picture this year. If there is a film that even comes close to being the emotional experience that The Green Mile is -- exactly the kind that the Academy eats with a spoon -- I haven't seen it and I'm not sure where it will come from. In a field that looks to be The Green Mile, American Beauty, The Insider and you-pick-two-from Anna and the King, Angela's Ashes, The Hurricane, Man On The Moon and The Talented Mr. Ripley (there could well be an indie surprise like BJM or Boys Don't Cry), The Green Mile will, I suspect, be unbeatable.

Tom Hanks will probably be nominated for Best Actor on the wave of the film. It is very good work. He should not win for this movie.

Michael Clarke Duncan will win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for The Green Mile, despite an incredibly competitive field. It is not a real "performance," but the man sweats charisma like you've never seen on screen before. (Kudos for Harry Knowles for being the first person to completely fall in love with this guy.) Duncan and Hillary Swank will be this year's "great stories."

Frank Darabont will be nominated for writing and directing. Richard Francis-Bruce will be nominated for editing despite the excessive length because besides those cuts, which are clearly Darabont's indulgences, his cutting is exquisite. David Tattersall will get a nomination for cinematography as will Thomas Newman for the score. Count art direction/set decoration, costumes and sound in too. That's 10 nominations, which unless that mouse is an effect and not an animal wrangler's work, is all The Green Mile will really qualify for. (Could Patricia Clarkson get a Supporting Actress nod for a tiny role in The Green Mile after she got stiffed for High Art last year? I don't think so. But...)

This is a terrific movie. This is an old-fashioned movie. This will be the biggest grossing film of the holiday season. It's a better film than The Shawshank Redemption. I imagine I'll write some more about it before it comes out, but there's not a whole lot more that I want to say before you see it for yourself. If you hate sentimental films, you will hate this. I wiped away tears through much of the third act. Forget L.A. Forget N.Y. Forget the anti-hype. It's not the kind of movie that Entertainment Weekly thinks is changing the face of film (Wednesday's rant will focus on that silly bit of cover fluff). It's just the kind of film that America will love.

THE BAD: Seems like the Grim Reaper is working overtime this week in the arts. The great writer Paul Bowles passed away on Thursday at 88 years of age. In an odd personal coincidence, I caught a rebroadcast of "Inside The Actors Studio" with John Hurt, who came to American attention in a TV movie called "The Naked Civil Servant" based on the autobiography of Quentin Crisp. The coincidence is that Crisp passed away this weekend at the age of 90. Crisp called himself "The Stately Homo of England" and was on tour with his one man show An Evening With Quentin Crisp. On tour at 90. It seemed that once Crisp became a gay icon, he never stopped working. I used to see him all the time on the streets of New York and a trip to the market by Crisp seemed to have as much drama as anyone else's stage performance. Both men lived to a ripe age, so the loss is not quite the same as some of the tragic exits noted last week. But both men were giants in their arenas and very real losses to the world of discourse. They will be missed.

THE UGLY: I am shocked to say that I was not thrilled by Liberty Heights. I am a huge fan of all of the Barry Levinson "Baltimore movies" and was looking forward to this one with enormous anticipation. Adding to that sense was the fact that everyone who saw the film seemed enchanted, so saying that it was the best of the series (Diner, Tim Men, Avalon and this). I wish I felt the same way. The movie certainly isn't ugly. But my sense of disappointment is.

What is my problem with the film? Well, in short (a rare commodity with me), the film never engages the conflicts it sets up. Diner had real conflict up the ying yang. There was a rocky marriage. There was the troubled young Kevin Bacon character, the Mickey Rourke character was in real trouble and on an on. Avalon was so specifically about the transition of generations and the troubles and joys that come from it that it was in eternal conflict. And Tin Men, which I'm not sure really counts as part of the group, is a clever comedic conceit that is borne of the conflict between the Dreyfuss and DeVito characters and their outrageous egos. Liberty Heights purports to be about the conflict of ethnicity. It is set up all over the place. But when push comes to shove, none of the dangerous conflicts really ever collide. The best Levinson analogy I can use is from Avalon. If the family cut the turkey (aka toy-key) and the brother stayed for dinner even after complaining about the disrespect of cutting the bird before the entire family was assembled, that would be Liberty Heights. Life may not explain itself to those who watch it every time. But this is drama. And Levinson seems to have held himself back for some reason. Perhaps the ugliness of simply judging everyone around you based on labels first satisfied his sense of story. Not mine. If people fear "race mixing," you better damned well mix the races and see what happens in the dramatic narrative. If a rich snob deems to be with a poor man, they could each feel a million things, but they had better feel something greater than personal pain kept to themselves. That's what I got from Liberty Heights. That's what I felt from a filmmaker who has made me feel so much over the years. Ugly for me. Maybe not so ugly for you.

RADIO RADIO: Next weekend, I'll be in Chicago, so George will pretty much be hosting the KABC show alone. But if you missed the show this week, you missed a great conversation with David Lynch, director of The Straight Story and so many other great films. Besides all that, what a good guy. It was a real pleasure to have him in studio and he made it very easy to talk with him, on and off air. The show is on every Saturday at 10a PT. And you can tune in on the 'Net at kabc.com.

HAPPY TRAILERS TO YOU: I saw the trailer for Isn't She Great? this week. What is wrong with this movie? It looks like an incredibly fun, silly, kitschy 90-minute party that I can't wait to get to. Nathan Lane and Bette Midler seem like the hyperactive dream team. I guess I'm wrong. A late January release date is always a bad sign. Last year, Universal, Isn't She Great?'s distributor, brought us Virus about then. Hey, it may be a car wreck, but it looks like fun. Which may just go to prove that the looks of trailers can be extremely deceiving.

READER OF THE DAY: Dear David Poland,

I read with keen interest your article about the strange WWW site known as andylives.org.

As the creator and keeper of The Andy Kaufman Home Page, I couldn't be more displeased with this site. The Andy Kaufman Home Page has been live on the Internet since October 3, 1995, and although I'm happy to see other Web sites devoted to keeping Andy's memory alive, I strongly believe that the andylives.org site is a sham and an insult to Andy Kaufman.

Having said that, I hope you'll find the time to visit my site located at: http://andykaufman.jvlnet.com.

By the way, it is hosted by an Internet Service Provider (JVLNET) based out of Janesville, Wisconsin. The company is owned by Bob Kerman. Bob is Rick Kerman's brother. Rick is married to Andy's baby sister, Carol.

Please note, in the past year I've worked closely with Bill Zehme as he wrote the only authorized biography of Andy Kaufman, "Lost in the Funhouse: The Life and Mind of Andy Kaufman." Bill's book will be available at the end of this month, and it is fascinating.

I think I've successfully built an Internet shrine to Andy's short and extraordinary life and to see other WWW sites steal blatantly from mine -- not to mention trash Andy's memory causes me great sadness.

Brian Momchilov

E ME: The more "AndyLives" posters show up, the more clear it is that Universal is the source of the financing for the venture in Blair Witch-like misdirectional promotion. Let's hear about the movies, folks! What have you seen, what have you felt, what have you remembered?