April 4, 2003

You know how in some jobs you can coast through the ups and downs and just kind of go along to get along?  This is not one of those jobs.

Ironically, I had created more structure to the column back at roughcut.com so that I could coast at times.  But since TheHotButton.com, I have tried to get beyond that kind of structure and to deliver each column with a fresh focus. 

And so, since the post-Oscar blahs hit and hit hard, it has been a struggle.  I apologize to any of you who have been disappointed.  But with the exception of a column or two, it’s been a bit of a chore in the last couple of weeks.  After next week, I’ll be off for a week at the Bermuda Film Festival, where I hope to be revived by good films, good people and some real rest.  I expect to return with the zeal and passion that has defined this column for the last five-and-a-half years.

Noel Coward’s rule of “Next complain, Never explain” appeals to me.  But your loyalty deserves my honesty, about this as about everything about the movie world. 

CASTING TOM:  I have been a loyal fan of Thomas Jane over the years.  He’s a Baltimore guy.  I’m a Baltimore guy.  But more importantly, he’s a good actor and seems to be a good person.  But here’s the fly in the ointment… he’s not a movie star guy.  He is a strong actor, but he’s never, it seems, going to be a full-fledged movie star.  He could be in Polo ads or Abercrombie & Fitch spots or he could be the “Mary Richards” of a sitcom or the Anthony Edwards of a TV drama.  But he is not even a Matthew McConaughey, much less a Tom Cruise. 

He’s had his shots.  He was “The Man” in Deep Blue Sea.  He was Mickey Mantle on HBO’s 61*.  He was the cool “other guy” in Original Sin.  He had the male lead – the guy who Cameron Diaz abandons her single life for – in The Sweetest Thing.  And so far, no magic.  Good performances.  No magic. 

So now, Ain’t It Cool News reports that he will play the title character in the comic book adaptation of The Punisher for Artisan Entertainment.  Oy.  Can you say “Matt Salinger?” 

It’s all good and well to hope that the movie will make the man.  But Wesley Snipes was in a different place than Thomas Jane is before he made Blade.  Tobey Maguire was just right for a character that qualifies on of the most popular ever.  And Ben Affleck has a few $100 million-grossing leads under his belt. 

Put Thomas Jane in The Hulk and I say, “Wow… Ang Lee could make this guy a star!”  But Ang Lee is Ang Less and is spending more than $100 million.  The Punisher has first-time director Jonathan Hensleigh and a budget that is not likely to pass the $30 million mark. 

Now, it may turn out that Hensleigh is a natural born genius.  But it’s more likely that he will do a passable job with a veteran D.P. and that there will be too many close-ups and too many action sequences that are just a lot of quick cutting.  And with Thomas Jane as his very-human-scaled lead, he has to let the movie sell itself, which is a lot to ask of a third tier Marvel character. 

The problem with characters like The Punisher as film characters in the first place is that he is basically a bad ass with some big guns and a lot of attitude.  Blade, which was made on a similar budget, had the gimmick of vampirism, which allowed for a lot of stylish blood flow. 

This one is, sadly, probably a fool’s errand… right up there with Mortal Kombat: The Movie.  Or for those of you who can’t say “Matt Salinger,” the Cannon version of Captain America.

WEEKEND PREVIEW

This would be yet another good weekend for seeing art house movies.  In New York and Los Angeles, you have Nick Nolte in a film that should make him the Oscar nominee with the earliest released film in 2003.  (The film’s The Good Thief.  The director is the great Neil Jordan.) 

The Pianist and Spirited Away continue on more than 700 screens.  In just over 100 screens apiece, you can still see Bowling for Columbine or Bend It Like Beckham.  And in a few markets, you can check out the ugly genius of Irreversible, the mediocre curiosity of Spun, Duvall’s passion in Assassination Tango and Gilliam’s agony in Lost in La Mancha.

View from the Top is still on 1579 screens.  But there is a God.  It’s on 929 fewer screens than last weekend.

The wide releases should satisfy their niche audiences.  Teen girls will probably like What A Girl Wants.  Action lovers won’t squirm in Phone Booth.  And “urban” comedy lovers will enjoy DysFunKtional Family.  The only dead bomb amongst the newbies is Vin Diesel turd, A Man Apart.  They added a zillion titles to the film to ty to convince someone that it was just like Traffic.  But it’s more like Car Wreck.  (Or was that Boat Trip?)

WEEKEND GUESSTIMATES

1. What a Girl Wants – 2964 venues – new - $13.3 million
2. Phone Booth - 2481 venues – new - $11.4 million
3. Bringing Down the House - 2910 venues – off 34 percent - $8.2 million
4. Head of State – 2155 venues – off 40 percent - $8.1 million
5. A Man Apart - 2459 venues – new - $7.9 million
6. Basic - 2876 venues – off 47 percent - $6.1 million
7. The Core - 3019 venues – off 53 percent - $5.7 million
8. Chicago - 2395 venues – off 28 percent - $5.2 million
9. DysFunKtional Family - 602 venues – new - $4.3 million
10. Agent Cody Banks - 2331 venues – off 40 percent - $3.9 million
11. Piglet's Big Movie - 2021 venues – off 30 percent - $3.5 million
12. Dreamcatcher - 2360 venues – off 56 percent - $2.9 million

READER OF THE DAY:  THE ROUGE TAP writes: “I'm very glad to hear about Landmark going all digital. I had the chance to see Daredevil digitally a couple months ago and fell in love...with the designer of Jennifer Garner's costume, but also with digital projection. The picture was perfect, the sound perfect and I didn't have to worry about print problems or any of the other things the people working the theaters always manage to screw up (like that City Of God fiasco a previous ROTD brought up).

I think this is especially good for Landmark since they do show smaller films, which to this point would often have older prints or generally lower quality prints. Plus, often the more popular films play for quite a while there, not the one month and you're out situation at the multiplexes.”

IN A HUFF writes: “In theory, this sounds like a great idea.  However, is it going to kill the economy of making prints at all for independent theatres?  In looking at Landmark Theatres' web site, it's clear that they only have cinemas in major urban cities that make up the primary market for indy pictures.  If those theatres drive the market, then is the cost of making prints even worth it?

The reason I ask is this--living in Indianapolis, we've got two art theatres.  One's owned by AMC, and it usually gets the "indy films released by the studios" such as Spirited Away, The Hours, The Pianist, etc.  The other, Key Cinemas, is fully independent and gets the smaller stuff like Talk To Her, Love Liza, City Of God, and so forth, though usually a few months after they appear in NYC, LA, and Chicago.  My concern is that neither one brings in sizable audiences often--they have traffic, but nothing like a metroplex.  Would it be worth making a print so that one of these two houses could show a film that might make a thousand or two in ticket sales over its run?  The digital concept's nice, but in a way I'm concerned that the monopoly effect might hurt smaller markets where some of us still enjoy independent film.”

And THE LICKER made me laugh all too hard with this:  “We do have a variety of the McDonald's "Cheese & Tomato Toasted Cheese Sandwich" in America.  You just need to know the special places to go and the special phrasing of the order.  Go to a "diner" and order a "grilled cheese" sandwich. 

Good luck!”

E ME:  Every single letter re: American Idol felt that I was dead wrong about American Idol and the racial issue.  Hmmm…

What will you do this weekend?