5-6 February 2000

7. Reindeer Games - Another push from a Christmas release, though this one isn't suffering as much from anto-Leoism. On the other hand, what are they doing with a title like Reindeer Games in the middle of the spring, even if the film is not Christmas heavy? Ben Affleck, Charlize Theron, Gary Sinise and Donal Logue all under John Frankenheimer's watchful eye should kick some serious ass. And maybe it will. Maybe it will be the movie to set the tone for next spring.

8. What Planet Are You From? - An air of trouble has followed this movie despite no real specific problems. The cast is great. Mike Nichols is a master and has enjoyed one great spring hit (The Birdcage) followed by one great spring flop (the brilliant, underseen, underrated Primary Colors) and here he comes again, this time with Garry "The Litigious" Shandling in tow. Expectations are low, so the potential of a surprise hit that actually excites audiences is high. Unless it sucks. The greatest news here is that Shandling isn't being put up against his buddy Warren Beatty, whose Town and Country continues to be punted by New Line from release date to release date.

9. The Next Best Thing - Madonna acts! Rupert Everett is gay again! Could this be magic? It seems like a strong spring film with the one concern that Madonna still hasn't led a strong box office picture and that everyone seems much more interested in what movie Rupert is going to team up with Julia Roberts on next. The film seems eerily reflective of Paramount's Halle Berry spring miss, Losing Isaiah, except with a woman who thinks she is black in the lead. Maybe this one will be more fun. I hope so. I love director John Schlesinger and I hope this adds to his prestigious list of work.

10. Drowning Mona - Danny DeVito and Bette Midler helped build the Disney empire as we know it with Ruthless People 14 long years ago. A lot of water has gone under the bridge, but they are back together in this film and no one seems to care. Maybe there is a generation of moviegoers who have forgotten how funny Ruthless People was as the Z.A.Z. team has spread out to less fun films. Or perhaps people remember another Ruthless alumnus' movie, Enid Is Sleeping and are afraid to pay money to go through that similar plotline again.

11. Mission To Mars - This is a big one, but can it hunt? DePalma and a cast of actors (not movie stars) get to Mars first. This film is exactly the kind of movie where a spring release is a serious gamble. Yes, there is room for a massive opening and a big run, á la The Matrix. And at the same time, if audiences don't love it, the film has no chance of getting the extra $50 million in inertia spending that a big movie can get in the summer for just having great effects. And on top of that, The Matrix, because of its spring release, underperformed, by my estimates, by $50 - $100 million at the box office as compared to what it would have done mid-summer. This one is going to be worth watching.

12. Erin Brockovich - A small movie with a huge star and a director who can seem to do no wrong with the "in-crowd" these days. But what does all that mean at the box office? I just don't know. Let's hope that it works better at the box office for Universal than Out of Sight did, above and beyond Julia's payday. This is a movie that could change the landscape of the business that is show with a strong performance. The clock is ticking.

13. The Road to El Dorado - An animated delight from DreamWorks, forever bending the rules by bringing out their big animated gun in Spring, not Summer. This is not analogous to the WB dumps of The King and I dreck of last year. This is a real animated contender. Yet, one of the great box office values that Disney gets out of its summer releases is the weekend day box office, which is massive for them all summer long with the kids out of school and returning to their movies over and over again. How will a very good animated movie do without that weekday business after the first week of school trips and holiday access? Good question.

All and all, this looks to be a fascinating spring. There has never been, in my memory at least, nearly as much to consider and look at as the months go by. So much so that in a soft Academy year, the holdovers may not even get their traditional play. And, of course, summer starts this year with U-571 on April 21…it just keeps getting earlier.

READER OF THE DAY: And this from the Amazing Amy: "Not a lot of people know that...The seven states where cranberries are grown are: Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Washington, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Maine.

In Japan, the term "Batman" is derogatory – implying that a person is two-faced – both mouse and bird.

In the U.S., 20% of teenage girls become pregnant within one month after becoming sexually active.

Garrett Brown, who invented the Steadicam, has a production company that makes radio and television commercials.

The substance most closely resembling a universal solvent is good ol’ H2O.

There is a simple flight simulator program within Microsoft Excel 97. You can get to it thusly, if you have access to said software: · Open Excel · Press Control-G (goto) · Enter in X97:L97 · Press Tab once · Click on the graph button (the bar graph looking thing on the toolbar that starts up the chart wizard), pressing control shift at the same time · Use the mouse to 'fly' around.

It’s funny to me that you mentioned the Michael Bay thing. Yesterday, my other pal, David, rented the DVD of Armageddon, which had Michael Bay’s outtakes reel, or something to that effect. It featured things like Billy Bob Thornton lapsing into Karl from Sling Blade, etc. etc. It also had this guy Tom Stearns, a friend of David’s, who was in the movie, in an outtake after he had made a little error, inducing him to say, "F*** me naked with a spoon." We’re so proud!

Anyway, many of the comments by the actors and crew indicated in so many words that working with Michael Bay was an overwhelming, exhausting, and often-confusing experience. It sure looked like they had a good time on that set, though!"

E-ME: How many of these spring movies do you think will hit? And which ones do you just think their studios are dumping?