Friday, 20 October 2000

WEEKEND PREVIEW

Looks like America is going to spend another weekend with the parents.

Fox and Warner Bros. are rolling out two of their big dogs, but unfortunately for the studios, the "dog" part seems to be following these films more closely than the "big." Last weekend's grist for the mill, Lost Souls and The Ladies Man already have fallen behind The Contender as the week progressed, with Ladies falling all the way down past Dr. T & The Women and The Exorcist. This weekend, the quality takes a step up...a small step. Word on Bedazzled is that the engine revs, but that it goes nowhere. And questions about Pay It Forward draw the kind of gentle, polite nods that are usually reserved for an ugly bride.

Meanwhile, you have one of the most devalued genres in the American movie world, the dubbed Jackie Chan movie, represented by what is often called the best of the Jackie Chan films, Drunken Master 2 aka The Legend of the Drunken Master.

When I saw, MVP: Most Valuable Primate on the release schedule...as a wide release...I wondered whether someone had mislabeled the release date for the last presidential debate. But, it seems Most Valuable Primate may actually inspire a human to an opinion of some kind, so I must have been wrong.

The only potential relief comes from the indie releases, which include an expansion of Spike Lee's controversial Bamboozled and the long, long, long awaited release of James Gray's The Yards. Plus, there is A Room For Romeo Brass.

This may be the first weekend I can remember where I haven't seen a single one of the new releases. Normally, I'd apologize, but in this case, I'm kind of grateful.

Box Office Extra can be found here after noon, e.s.t.

THE GOOD: It's been 31 years since Herbie the Love Bug hit the screen for Walt Disney Pictures. Since then, there have been three sequels and a series of remakes on The Disney Channel and even the popularizing of calling Herpes, The Love Bug. Back in the early '70s, not only did I love and cherish the original movie and its first sequel, but it was probably the first movie novelization I ever read. (I have since retired that pastime.) So, I was thrilled to see that Disney is going back into the Herbie business. The trick now is to give the project to a really smart young writer who can bring an honest edge to this time. People forget that was something edgy about a lot of those last '60s/early '70s Disney films. They weren't overtly sexual, but they all had a sexual edge. Men in loincloths, good looking nerds, women who dug cars...it was all there. Herbie can help revive the road movie, which was part of what the series was. Imagine John Cusack in the Dean Jones role and Cameron Diaz (who is unlikely to be in a remake for a while) in the Michelle Lee role with Phillip Seymour Hoffman in the Buddy Hackett role. Or even Mark Rufalo (of You Can Count on Me) and Teri Polo (of Meet the Parents) with Jack Black. This could be a very cool movie. And still be good, clean, PG-13 fun.

THE BAD: I kind of let Elizabeth Hurley off the hook yesterday (see today's ROTDs), but somehow, I am deeply offended by Dave Thomas, the founder and chairman of Wendy's, dumping his union membership so he can make more Wendy's ads on a non-union basis. At least Elizabeth Hurley has the honor to lie about knowing what she was doing and to try to make up for it with a big donation to the strike fund. According to a Wendy's rep Thomas, "has changed his position on this issue because, although he respects SAG's position, he also believes he has a greater responsibility to the 200,000 employees who work for Wendy's." Yeah, if he didn't do a new spot, his company would just fall apart. Or maybe he just wanted to be like McDonald's. That company has kept shooting spots throughout the strike.

THE UGLY: Why must the media blow everything anyone says so out of proportion? When John Travolta was promoting Battlefield Earth, he talked a lot about the sequel, as though he hadn't seen the movie in front of an audience...or more to the point, had to get out of the way of an audience as they walked out in droves. So, when he was asked about a sequel at a junket for Lucky Numbers, Travolta, ever the positive guy, responded, "Sure. Yeah." That's it! And those two words have led to flurry of abusive, mocking stories. Before Travolta was asked about the sequel, he was asked about the first Battlefield Earth and said, "The bottom line is that I feel really good about it. Here I was taking big chances, breaking a new genre." Suddenly that quote was stuck AFTER the "Sure. Yeah." quote, suggesting that he was elaborating. He wasn't.

I like abusing people as much as anyone. But headlines like, "Travolta Sets Sights on Battlefield Earth 2," are just untrue. And Travolta can't come out and deny them unless he wants to create another set of stories mocking the original film and his stardom. And I don't even think most of the journalists who have picked up on the story realize that it was blown up...they're just picking up wire copy. But to run with it suggests little, if any, editorial judgment in play.

RADIO RADIO: This weekend on KABC-790, we'll be focusing on this week's AFI Film Festival and we'll have tons of tickets to all the best movies and special events. Make sure to tune in, especially if you're in L.A. and want to attend a terrific festival. Saturday, 11am, on air in L.A. or at kabc.com.

GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY: You've read about them in The Hot Button...now you can get tickets to see them first...if you are in L.A. It's the 2000 AFI Film Festival and I'm going to give away one pair of tickets to Phillip Kaufman's great new film, Quills, the festival's closing night movie (10/25, 7pm) that I've been raving about for a month and a pair to Julien Schnabel's amazing sophomore feature, Before Night Falls, the best movie at the recent Toronto Film Festival (10/23, 7:30 pm). So, how will I pick the lucky winners? Hmmm..the first person who wants to go and who can tell me what Roses and Tulips have in common at this festival gets the tickets. And if you don't get them, make sure to tune into KABC... we'll have more there.

BAD AD WATCH: Universal Focus, where they seem to think that someone cares what David Ansen says (honestly, have you ever heard a friend say, "But, David Ansen said..."), has taken their obsession with his Newsweek review to extremes. First, their print advertising has become just one long reprint of Ansen's loving review. Then they pulled a cute one in the TV ads by running two quotes from Newsweek separated by someone else, as though there had been two different Newsweek reviews. Surreal. Billy Elliot may be the feel-good movie of a year that doesn't feel too well at the movies, but move along. There is such a thing a overselling. If ever there was a movie where the images do the work for the studio, this one is it.

READER OF THE DAY: The Ragin' J: "For Elizabeth Hurley, who has her own production company and is undoubtedly surrounded by both American and British assistant types, to blatantly cross picket lines and then plead ignorance is an example of the never-ending hubris she continues to exhibit. I don't care how "B"-list a celebrity she might be, arrogance is arrogance, plain and simple. The best thing SAG could do is kick this pompous pain in the a** out of the union and keep her from inflicting her non-existent talent upon the U.S. for all eternity. I'm all for Tim Robbins calling for her head on a platter, among other body parts. And if SAG excuses her for her "mistake" and allows her to coast because she flung $25,000 (not $100,000) into the Strike Fund, then they are pathetic and clearly "dazzled" by her stardom that was achieved simply because she was banging Hugh Grant. I've got a friend who's in the commercial branch of SAG and on strike, and basically her egregious behavior is akin to stomping all over him and his career. And that pisses me off more than anything. Boot the bi**h and teach all scabs a lesson.

Sorry about the profanity. But I am terribly, terribly vexed."

E ME: I guess you are. Wow! What body parts of Liz Hurley's would YOU like to see on a platter?