Friday, 2 March 2001

There are two major releases this weekend. One stars two of the world's biggest movie stars. The other stars a dog. And David Arquette. Not much of a fight.

In smaller releases, the mystery of the weekend is something called Carman The Champion, whose distributor, 8X Entertainment, claimed to Exhibitor Relations that it has 250 venues. Big news for a movie without a name bigger than Michael Nouri… well, not a name recognizable except for Michael Nouri.

Kasi Lemmons and Samuel L. Jackson's follow-up to Eve's Bayou, The Caveman's Valentine, gets a small start on 16 screens, hoping that magic will happen. On 4 screens, Hit & Runaway, a lightweight comedy with no names, short of New York Transit Cop turned actor John DiResta. The Brazilian Comedy, Me You Them, arrives on 2 screens. And The Gospel According To Philip K. Dick hits 2 screens.

There are two more exclusive releases that you will definitely hear more about. One is Series 7: The Contenders, a tough, funny, smart satire on reality television. Some people don't like this film. I loved it… more and more as I watched. It's like one of those running sketches on SCTV that really, really works. Perfect? No. But a terrific movie. The other exclusive is The Widow Of St. Pierre, from the great Patrice Leconte. The film stars Juliette Binoche, Daniel Auteuil and Emir Kusterica and tells the story of a couple driven slowly to distraction by the wife's compassion for a convict sentenced to death. I liked this movie a lot, though I don't quite place it on the towering pedestal that I place Leconte's The Hairdresser's Husband, Girl on the Bridge and Ridicule.

WEEKEND GUESSTIMATES

1. The Mexican - 2951 venues – new – $27.8 million
2. Hannibal - 3272 venues – off 40 percent – $9.5 million
3. Down To Earth - 2521 venues – off 40 percent – $6.7 million
4. See Spot Run - 2656 venues – new – $4.7 million
5. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - 1751 venues – off 30 percent – $4.6 million
6. Recess: School's Out - 2503 venues – off 40 percent – $4.2 million
7. Chocolat - 1857 venues – off 25 percent – $3.6 million
8. Traffic- 1617 venues – off 35 percent – $3.3 million
9. 3,000 Miles To Graceland - 2545 venues – off 55 percent – $3.2 million
10. Sweet November - 2037 venues – off 55 percent – $2.3 million

THE GOOD: I spent Thursday evening at the opening of The Robert Zemeckis Center For The Digital Arts at USC. Kindly, the assembly required no weekend guesstimates. Zemeckis kicked off the funding with $5 million. Steven Spielberg and George Lucas followed with gifts of $2 million apiece. David Geffen kicked in $1 million. Ron Howard and his family were good for $750,000. And E/R producer John Wells went for $500,000. And those were just the biggest dogs. Fox, Universal, Warner Bros. and Sony all gave gifts. CAA and William Morris too.

So, where is all this money going to? It seems that Zemeckis woke up one day and realized that USC was still an analog school in a brave new digital world. And so, the drive to take the school's TV/Film department digital began. And what they got is clearly the best university television complex in history. But that understates the story. The facility allows for production and post-production of celluloid and digital cinema using the most current technology.

And that technology was the focus of the press as Zemeckis, Spielberg and Lucas (as well as USC Dean Elizabeth Daley and AVID CEO David Krall) were asked question after question about the dangers of the digital cinema. Their responses were encouraging. The three were lined up in an order that seemed to reflect the level of their interest in digital. Lucas was on the heavy end, but openly called the idea of digital actors just another form of animation without batting an eye. When pressed, he even said that he feels that the director has to be right by the actors, occasionally even giving them a hug. That doesn't sound like the electron mad megalomaniac in the tower that is so often drawn these days. In fact, Lucas hung out and talked freely with anyone who happened by during the cocktail hour with an ease that was downright surprising… even if it had to reason to be. In the middle was Zemeckis, who told the story of how he realized the future had begun when he had a shot in his movie, Forrest Gump, whose method of production he didn't understand. He's changed that, though he, too, believes in storytelling first and effects second. Though many have beat on the film, I think that Zemeckis' work on What Lies Beneath is one of the most remarkable examples of using CG simply to tell the story, as he used CG shots in that film that extended the possibilities of camera work while not calling attention to themselves… except to nuts like me. Finally, there was Spielberg who, when prompted, once again affirmed his absolute commitment to "film running through a camera." But while he was committed to the traditional, he said he was completely open to the ideas of producers and directors who wanted to test the new media, pointing to DreamWorks' support of Antz and now, Shrek.

There was a lot of high profile action in the room, as the future (Tom Rothman) and past (Bill Mechanic) mingled with Jack Rapke, Steve Starkey, Gareth Wigans, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Tina & Nancy Sinatra, California Governor Gray Davis (who proclaimed this Robert Zemeckis Day in the state), John Wells, John Singleton and, of course, John Byner (though not necessarily in that order). Also present, in the highlight of the evening for me, was the USC Marching Band, complete with Zemeckis glasses for all, playing not only the USC theme, but music from Cast Away, Forrest Gump and Back to the Future… all inside the cramped TV studio. Cool.

There is little question that this facility will keep USC at the top of the list as THE university for film and television aspirants. Funding for the $25 million facility is still $5 million short and there were plenty of rooms marked "not yet named," so it's not too late for you to be a part of the family. One of the surprise big spenders was Stone/Manners, talent managers turned producers, who have hit it big lately with shows like Loveline and The Mole. So you, too, can be amongst the millionaires.

PAGE TWO: The Mexican & The Lack Of One In A Traffic Ad