8 January 2001

RADIO RADIO: We were chatting about Oscar contenders who are getting too little press on the show this Saturday, and Gary Oldman’s name came up. I said that he was dead after attacking DreamWorks and, supposedly, comparing the crew over there to Nazis. Soon, our screener was telling me that Doug Urbanski, a co-producer of The Contender and Gary Oldman’s business partner, was on the line. Eventually, he came on-air to dispute the claims that had been made about his and Gary’s statements. He also told us that he’d try to get Gary on the air this next weekend. I countered that I would love to get Rod Lurie on with Gary for a face-to-face. Urbanski said that they’d love it. And so, now I’m waiting. Will Gary come to KABC? If he does, will Rod take off time from lunch with Bob Redford to go toe-to-toe with him? Or will both men leave George and me alone to ponder the Oscar chances of Chocolat with Lasse Hallström? Anything could happen! Saturdays, 11 am PST, on KABC-790, L.A., and across the globe on kabc.com.

JUST WONDERING: If Hannibal is great, will we give Ridley Scott the kind of credit for a Gladiator/Hannibal one-year success that we’ve given Steven Soderbergh for his Erin Brockovich/Traffic double bill? It’s not the same calendar year, but the releases of Gladiator and Hannibal are actually close together than those of Erin and Traffic.

READER OF THE DAY: CJ writes -- "Agree with you about Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. If they would put a little more money into advertising, it can clear $100 mil domestically. I’m not a real big fan of subtitles -- hell, not a fan at all. But a friend convinced me I was being stupid and was missing a really good movie. So I go see it and she was right. It was the first time I ever paid to see a subtitled movie, and it was worth every dime. Now I had to convince my die-hard action friends that a movie with subtitles can still be good. I mean, we watch karate flicks all the time with subtitles. Well, I convinced them, and they enjoyed it to a degree. Anyhow, I really hope the movie reaches the $100 mil mark because it worth it."

And this from The Hook -- "I’m with you, Dave, on the failure of Sony to expand Tiger further than a puny 600 screens. Why not 1,000? Here they have a bona fide winner, a really great film, and they can’t seem to find the cojones to do themselves a favor. I saw Tiger in Houston, Texas, last weekend and the theater was full. It’s playing in exactly three theaters here, right now, to very steady business. A lot of people are staying away because they don’t want to deal with the crowds, having to get to the theater early to get a good seat, etc. And the film itself is fantastic. Oh, there may be a walkout here and there by a very few who can’t handle subtitles, but this movie holds you. It’s such an exhilarating, romantic, transporting ride that I think a lot of people who see it are simply amazed. I can’t wait to see it again myself. Sony is missing in action on this one, I’m afraid.

But Crouching Tiger isn’t the only film that people are dying to see. This came from Rhymes with Costner -- "Who is distributing Traffic? I live in Chicago and have been dying to see the movie. Even casual movie fans have been anxious to see it. It opened here on Friday on one screen in a small multiplex theater downtown and one screen in a small multiplex theater near north side. I don’t even want to try to get in because the crowds will be ridiculous. I am going to drive about 40 miles to a 30-screen multiplex in the suburbs where it is playing on just two screens. Why is this being treated like an art film? I have deliberately not read much about it because I like to be surprised, but I did see the miniseries on which it was based. It has a star cast and a plot like a crime drama. Is there political concern because it dumps on the "drug war"? I am just frustrated because of the way it is being handled."

And just to show, again, that it’s not all about the coasts, Not the Kid from South Park writes -- "Was blown away by Traffic. You were so right. There were parts where I just felt so OVERWHELMED by the scope of what was happening on screen. And god, the whole subplot with Douglas’s daughter was RIVETING... I was giggling with tension when he tells [Editor’s Note: Removed for Spoiler Value] to "get the f**k out of here." Magnificent.

"I counted 25 or so walkouts before the end of the film, during Douglas’s final speech. Its Friday gross was $4.5 or so, with expected $12-14 million. But I don’t see this even cracking $35 or so... it’s gonna dip like no other. And it’s a damn shame; why can’t masterpieces just MAKE MONEY and get audiences? It’s the number one thing I hate about Hollywood... sick of the Wonder Boys, Almost Famous, etc. just going under (with Oscar chances, too) because of crappy box office. But Traffic... my goodness. Congrats on your placing it #2 of the year; it deserves Best Picture, but there’s no way in hell it’s gettin it... or am I wrong?

"Reply back on its Oscar chances... I know it’ll get hefty nominations (no doubt Soderbergh will win Director... but is Picture foreseeable?)"

E ME: Well... reply back to him!