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(07/25/02 8:23pm)
PARK CITY, Utah -- HBO and Showtime are going indie. The premium-cable channels have emerged as important nurturers of independent film, securing a major presence at the Sundance Film Festival. \nBoth cable networks have become regular providers of films at Sundance, the nation's main indie-movie showcase. Premium cable has its most high profile slate yet at this year's festival, with three of the event's 18 premiere slots going to HBO or Showtime films. \nThe festival opened last week with HBO's "The Laramie Project,'' directed by Moises Kaufman from his play. Sundance's centerpiece premiere, marking the festival's midpoint, is director Mira Nair's "Hysterical Blindness,'' another HBO film, which screens Wednesday. \nShowtime premiered its urban drama, "Our America,'' at Sundance this past weekend. And HBO has a film in the dramatic competition, "Real Women Have Curves,'' from first-time director Patricia Cardosa. \nIndependent film in the United States is geared largely toward release in theaters. But these cable-produced projects mirror the edgy personal films that have been a staple for decades on television overseas, notably on England's Channel Four. Such filmmakers as Stephen Frears and Mike Leigh cut their teeth making independent-spirited movies for British television. \nColin Callendar, president of HBO Films, said cable TV has become a friendlier outlet for some types of independent film in an age when the theatrical market is dominated by big studio action flicks and comedies. \nAll three of HBO's Sundance entries are "films that either were unlikely to have been made as theatrical films or were unlikely to have survived the really brutal theatrical marketplace,'' Callendar said. "They'd have had trouble finding an audience in theaters, but there is no question they will find their audience on HBO.'' \n"The Laramie Project'' features a huge ensemble cast in a chronicle based on the journey Kaufman's theater troupe took to Laramie, Wyo., to examine the community where gay student Matthew Shepard was fatally beaten and lashed to a fence. It premieres on HBO in March. \nThe comic drama "Real Women Have Curves'' follows a young Mexican-American woman stuck between her own dreams of college and the family and cultural expectations of her manipulative mother. \n"Hysterical Blindness'' stars Uma Thurman, Juliette Lewis and Gena Rowlands in the story of two women anxiously pursuing romance in 1980s New Jersey. \nHBO expects to debut "Hysterical Blindness'' and "Real Women Have Curves'' in the second half of the year. \nBased on a true story, "Our America'' is the story of two ghetto teens in Chicago and a National Public Radio producer who collaborate to create stirring radio documentaries about the landscape of violence in which the boys live. Showtime expects to air "Our America'' in July. \n"Showtime and HBO in a way have become the biggest independent film production companies,'' said Jerry Offsay, Showtime's president of programming. "Studios focus on the big roller-coaster-ride action films. The little films can get left on the sidelines.'' \nHBO and Showtime also have become big buyers of finished films, scouring Sundance and other festivals for independent projects to air exclusively on their networks. \nShowtime picked up last year's Sundance dramatic competition winner, "The Believer,'' planning to air it this March, along with Alison Anders' "Things Behind the Sun,'' one of last year's Sundance premieres. \n"The independent arena has always been a theatrical arena on one level,'' said Sundance festival co-director Geoffrey Gilmore. "But the fact is the production and programming leadership at companies like HBO and Showtime have really decided this is a vein that very much fits for them.''
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
LOS ANGELES -- On a night when Sidney Poitier described how different Hollywood was 53 years ago, the Academy Awards showcased how different as Halle Berry and Denzel Washington joined Poitier as the only black actors to win Oscars for lead roles.\nBerry won Sunday for her part as a death-row widow in "Monster's Ball," and Washington won for "Training Day," in which he dropped his nice-guy persona to play a flamboyantly corrupt cop.\n"I'll always be chasing you, Sidney," Washington said. "I'll always be following in your footsteps. There's nothing I would rather do. God bless you."\nTheir awards were the emotional high points of an evening that included several remembrances for victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The final award for best picture, normally the show's main event, seemed anticlimactic by comparison when "A Beautiful Mind" was announced the winner.\nWith four Oscars, "A Beautiful Mind" dominated the main categories, earning Ron Howard the directing prize, Jennifer Connelly the supporting-actress trophy and Akiva Goldsman the award for adapted screenplay.\nAlso with four Oscars was the fantasy epic "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," which had led with 13 nominations. It won for best score, cinematography, visual effects and makeup.\nBerry sobbed and gasped when she took the stage and launched into a joyful three-minute speech. She cited black actresses who had helped open doors for minorities in Hollywood, including Lena Horne, Diahann Carroll and Dorothy Dandridge, whom Berry played in an Emmy-winning performance in "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge."\n"It's a great night. I never thought it would be possible in my lifetime," Berry said backstage. "I hope this means that they won't see our color. I think that's what makes us so unique. I think that maybe now we'll start to be judged on our merit and our work."\nPoitier, who won best actor for 1963's "Lilies of the Field," earned standing ovations from both the Oscar audience and from reporters backstage when he entered the press room to answer questions. After a series of clips highlighting his career, Poitier delivered an elegant speech thanking "visionary American filmmakers" such as Joseph Mankiewicz, Darryl Zanuck, Stanley Kramer and Norman Jewison.\nHe also paid tribute to black performers of the past.\n"I accept this award in memory of all the African-American actors and actresses who went before me in the difficult years," Poitier said. "On whose shoulders I was privileged to stand to see where I might go."\nRussell Crowe, star of "A Beautiful Mind" and best-actor winner last year for "Gladiator," lost his bid for back-to-back Oscars. Crowe played math genius John Nash in his decades-long struggle with schizophrenia.\n"We wouldn't be here if it weren't for Russell Crowe," Howard's producing partner, Brian Grazer, said as he accepted the best-picture Oscar. "His amazing dedication, work ethic and artistry have gotten us here."\nGrazer also thanked Nash and wife Alicia, played by Connelly, for inspiring a movie that "has given so many a greater understanding of the vagaries of the mind. ... I hope in some way our movie helps to improve the way we feel about and treat the mentally ill."\nThe film's producers fended off criticism during the Oscar campaign for having omitted some aspects of Nash's life, including a child born out of wedlock, the couple's divorce and remarriage and anti-Semitic remarks Nash said were made while suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. Howard and Goldsman said some details were changed to make the film more dramatic or avoid detracting from the story.\nAnother tale of mental impairment, "Iris," earned the supporting-actor Oscar for Jim Broadbent, who played John Bayley, the befuddled but doting husband of Alzheimer's-afflicted writer Iris Murdoch. Broadbent thanked Bayley for allowing "us to plunder and I'm sure misrepresent his life with Iris."\nAt four hours, 23 minutes, it was the longest Oscar show ever, topping the previous record-holder two years ago by 14 minutes.\n"Shrek," the hip twist on cartoon fairy tales that featured the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz, won the first-ever Oscar for animated feature film.\nAfter 15 Oscar losses over the years for song or score, Randy Newman finally won for best song, "If I Didn't Have You," from "Monsters, Inc."\n"I don't want your pity," Newman wisecracked, adding that he was thankful for having "so many chances to be humiliated over the years."\nThe surprise foreign film award winner was Bosnia's "No Man's Land," writer-director Danis Tanovic's satiric story of a Bosnian soldier and a Serbian soldier stuck together in a trench. France's "Amelie," which had five nominations, was expected to win.\nViewers were treated to a standup routine by past Oscar winner Woody Allen, who introduced a tribute to films shot in New York City as a way to mark the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center.\nWhen the academy called to invite him, Allen joked he thought officials wanted his Oscars back. "I panicked because the pawnshop has been out of business for ages. I had no way of retrieving anything," Allen said.\nThe tribute was made by filmmaker Nora Ephron. It began with the opening of Allen's "Manhattan" and included clips from "Taxi Driver," "Working Girl," "Tootsie," "The French Connection," "The Apartment," "On the Waterfront" and other films.\nLater, in introducing the annual retrospective of the Hollywood notables who died in the past year, Kevin Spacey asked everyone to rise for a moment of silence "for every single American hero who gave his or her life on Sept. 11"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
LOS ANGELES -- "Spider-Man" has leaped from comic book to record book, becoming the first movie to hit $100 million in its first weekend. \nThe live-action adaptation starring Tobey Maguire as the Marvel Comics web-slinger shattered box-office records with a $114 million debut, surpassing the previous best of $90.3 million taken in by "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'' during its first three days last fall. \nWith $39.3 million on Friday and $43.7 million on Saturday, director Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man'' also beat the single-day record of $33.5 million set by "Harry Potter'' in its second day, according to studio figures Sunday. \n"Not in our wildest expectations or dreams" did the filmmakers anticipate such demand for "Spider-Man," said Amy Pascal, head of Sony's Columbia Pictures, which released the film. The studio would have been thrilled with a debut in the $70 million to $80 million range, she said. \nPlaying in 3,615 theaters, "Spider-Man'' averaged $31,535 per location, a new high for films opening in 3,000 or more cinemas, running about $7,000 ahead of the old record held by "Harry Potter.'' "Spider-Man'' also was the fastest movie to reach $100 million, passing "Harry Potter'' and "Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace,'' which both took five days to climb to $105 million. \n"I don't think there's a distribution record in history that hasn't been shattered," said Jeff Blake, Sony president of worldwide marketing and distribution. "That $100 million opening weekend has always been sort of a great white whale of the movie business. To have 'Spider-Man' capture it is just thrilling."\nWith few big films opening this past weekend or next, "Spider-Man'' has a fairly wide-open field until the new "Star Wars'' film opens May 16. \nThis past weekend brought two other modest debuts. "Deuces Wild,'' a street-gang drama starring Matt Dillon, opened at No. 7 with $2.7 million, averaging a weak $1,824 in 1,480 theaters. \nWoody Allen's comedy "Hollywood Ending'' tied for 10th place, grossing $2.2 million in 765 theaters for a $2,876 average. \nOverall, the top 12 movies grossed $153.3 million, up 54 percent from the same weekend last year, when "The Mummy Returns'' debuted. "Spider-Man'' accounted for nearly three-fourths of revenues among the top 12 films. \nUbiquitous marketing, an audience built up through 40 years of comic readership, solid action and visual effects and a tale of an ordinary, misfit youth helped draw an across-the-board audience to "Spider-Man.'' The crowds were split about 50-50 between men and women and viewers older and younger than 25, Blake said. \n"It is a very universal story everybody can relate to,'' Pascal said. "He's a completely misunderstood guy that nobody recognizes and who just wants to do good. He's not a hero from planet Krypton. He's all of us.'' \nThe success of "Spider-Man'' bodes well for Hollywood's overall summer, which is crowded with marquee titles including new "Star Wars,'' "Men in Black,'' "Austin Powers,'' "Stuart Little'' and "Spy Kids'' movies. \n"Spider-Man'' also sets a benchmark few films will be able to rival. \n"This sets a new gold standard by which the rest of the summer blockbusters are going to be judged,'' said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "Everybody's going to have to try and live up to Spider-Man.'' \nEstimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.
(06/16/02 11:40pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>LOS ANGELES -- "Scooby-Doo,'' where are you? Well on top of the weekend box office. The big-screen update of the Hanna-Barbera cartoon, starring Matthew Lillard, Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Linda Cardellini and a computer-animated Great Dane, took in $56.4 million to debut as the No. 1 film, according to industry estimates Sunday.
"The weekend really went to the dogs," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "In these trying times, what could be more escapist than 'Scooby-Doo,' which is so fun and lighthearted?"
Matt Damon's "The Bourne Identity,'' a spy thriller about a deadly amnesiac agent, opened in second place with $27.5 million.
"Windtalkers,'' starring Nicolas Cage and Adam Beach in a drama about Navajo Indian codetalkers in World War II, premiered in third.
The espionage tale of Damon's buddy Ben Affleck, "The Sum of All Fears," slipped to fourth place after two weekends as the top film.
"Scooby-Doo" was one of Hollywood's few successes in adapting a TV cartoon to the big screen. "The Flintstones" did well, but the prequel "The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas" was a commercial dud.
Other recent cartoon adaptations flopped, including "Josie and the Pussycat" and "The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle."
"Scooby-Doo is a character that obviously reaches a much wider audience than most cartoons," said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros., which released "Scooby-Doo.'' "The audience was Scooby fans from 8 to 80. We had kids, we had adults. We had everybody.''
Weekend Box Office Results
1. "Scooby-Doo," $56.4 million. 2. "The Bourne Identity," $27.5 million. 3. "Windtalkers," $14.5 million. 4. "The Sum of All Fears," $13.5 million. 5. "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood," $9.8 million. 6. "Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones," $9.2 million. 7. "Spider-Man," $7.4 million. 8. "Bad Company," $6.1 million. 9. "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron," $5.5 million. 10. "Undercover Brother," $4.6 million.
(04/19/02 4:36am)
LOS ANGELES -- So many summer movies, so many question marks. \nIs The Rock actor enough to carry "The Scorpion King" without the digitally grafted insect body he wore in "The Mummy Returns"? \nWill surfing the web as "Spider-Man," another half-human, half-bug, make an action hero out of Tobey Maguire? \nHave the people who bring you Austin Powers found a film title that won't prompt counter-measures by the people who bring you James Bond? \nAnd will the people who brought you "Little Nicky" be burned in effigy for daring a remake of Frank Capra's "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town"? \nIf audiences can buy nice guy Denzel Washington as a bad cop in "Training Day," can they buy nice guy Tom Hanks as a hit man in "Road to Perdition"? \nMight movie marquees collapse under the heft of Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise's names on "Minority Report"? \nAnd the big question: "Attack of the Clones"? \nFans have heaped scorn on the B-movie title of "Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones," a film expected to follow its four predecessors as Hollywood's blockbuster hit of the summer. \nRick McCallum, producing partner of "Star Wars" creator George Lucas, said fans initially derided most of the series' chapter tags. They eventually embrace the titles as befitting the story lines, he said. \nThe latest chapter brings back Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Natalie Portman as Padme Amidala, the story picking up 10 years after the action of "Phantom Menace." The main cast addition is Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker -- the future Darth Vader.\nBefore Anakin jumps back into action May 16, Hollywood already will have delivered two powerhouse offerings, "The Scorpion King" and "Spider-Man." \nA spinoff of "The Mummy" franchise, "Scorpion King" debuts more than a month before Memorial Day, once the traditional start of the movie industry's busy summer season. It stars pro wrestler The Rock as the warrior he originated in last summer's smash "The Mummy Returns." \nTwo weeks later comes franchise-in-the-making "Spider-Man," starring Maguire as comic-book hero Peter Parker, transformed into the agile crime-fighter after he's bitten by a mutant spider. Willem Dafoe plays the villainous Green Goblin, and Kirsten Dunst is girl-next-door Mary Jane Watson. \nBesides "Star Wars," summer sequels include Michael J. Fox's return as the voice of the beloved rodent in "Stuart Little 2"; "Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams," with the family that spies together facing rival junior agents; Mike Myers' latest romp as Austin Powers, the swinging spy with rotten teeth; and "Men in Black II," with director Barry Sonnenfeld reuniting Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones.
(04/01/02 4:31am)
LOS ANGELES -- Movie-goers were on full alert for "Panic Room."\nStarring Jodie Foster and Forest Whitaker, the thriller about a mother and daughter hiding from burglars in their home's fortress-like sanctuary took in $30.2 million to debut as the top weekend film, according to studio estimates Sunday.\nAmong other new films, Dennis Quaid's "The Rookie" had the strongest debut, opening in third place with $15.8 million. Quaid stars in the real-life story of Jim Morris, a science teacher in his mid-30s who finally achieved his life's goal of pitching in the major leagues.\nThe science-fiction tale "Clockstoppers," about a teen with a watch that can halt time, premiered in fifth place with $10.1 million. The movie was directed by Jonathan Frakes, who plays Will Riker in the "Star Trek" franchise.\nDanny DeVito's black comedy "Death to Smoochy," starring Robin Williams as a deposed children's show host seeking vengeance against his replacement (Edward Norton), tanked with just $4.3 million, coming in at No. 7.\nThe animated "Ice Age" became the first movie released this year to top $100 million. The film remained in the No. 2 spot for the second straight weekend with a weekend gross of $18.6 million, putting its 17-day total at $117.3 million.\n"Blade II," last weekend's No. 1 movie, fell to fourth place with $13.2 million, a steep 59 percent drop from opening weekend. The film has grossed $54.9 million in 10 days.\nCashing in on its best-picture win at the Academy Awards, "A Beautiful Mind" expanded to 1,560 theaters, up 105, and took in $4 million. Its total rose to $161 million.\n"The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" joined "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" as the only movies released in 2001 to hit the $300 million mark.\nThe top 12 films grossed $114.4 million, up 39 percent from the same weekend a year ago and continuing a run of unusually strong weekends in March.\n"This was the third weekend in a row with a movie opening over $30 million. That would be good news in the summer, let alone March," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "I think it's a strong indication of how big the summer's going to be."\nMovie receipts this year are running 13 to 14 percent ahead of 2001, when Hollywood posted record revenue of $8.4 billion domestically. Like last summer, this year's busy season is crowded with potential hits, including the new "Star Wars" and "Austin Powers" movies, "Spider-Man," "Men in Black 2," "Stuart Little 2," Tom Hanks' "The Road to Perdition" and Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise's "Minority Report."\n"Panic Room," directed by David Fincher ("Fight Club," "Seven"), drew an even mix of men and women and a good split between older and younger adults, said Jeff Blake, president of worldwide marketing and distribution for Sony, which released the film. About 60 percent of the audience was 25 and older, Blake said.\n"I think it really was a full-meal movie that appealed pretty equally all around, with a concept everybody can relate to," Blake said. "It's also Jodie Foster. She brings tremendous credibility."\nPlaying in 3,053 theaters, "Panic Room" averaged a healthy $9,892 a cinema, compared to $6,292 in 2,511 movie houses for "The Rookie," $3,976 at 2,540 sites for "Clockstoppers" and just $1,980 in 2,164 locations for "Death to Smoochy."\n"Smoochy" distributor Warner Bros. was "disappointed in the results, but at least we have positive word of mouth from those that attended," said Dan Fellman, head of distribution. "It's a dark comedy, and there are movies of this nature that started off slow but held on well week after week."\nEstimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.\n1. "Panic Room," $30.2 million.\n2. "Ice Age," $18.6 million.\n3. "The Rookie," $15.8 million.\n4. "Blade II," $13.2 million.\n5. "Clockstoppers," $10.1 million.\n6. "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," $6.1 million.\n7. "Deathy to Smoochy," $4.3 million.\n8. "A Beautiful Mind," $4 million.\n9. "We Were Soldiers," $3.53 million.\n10. "Showtime," $3.5 million.
(08/30/01 5:21am)
LOS ANGELES -- Lions Gate Films doesn't go looking for movies that will peeve and perturb. But the independent distributor has had its share of hot-potato films in its short history. \n Among them, the satirical serial-killer flick "American Psycho," the angels-run-amok comedy "Dogma," and now "O," a grim examination of teen violence that is based on Shakespeare\'s "Othello." \n Lions Gate stepped in to release "Dogma" and "O" after original distributor Miramax bowed out. \nDisney-owned Miramax came under fire from Roman Catholics who viewed "Dogma" as an assault on their church. And with its uncompromising tone, which preserves the Shakespearean violence of "Othello," "O" became too touchy for Miramax in light of the Columbine school massacre and other school tragedies. The movie finished shooting in spring 1999, just before Columbine. \n As one of Hollywood's biggest independent distributors, with no major corporate owner, Lions Gate felt comfortable buying both movies. "Dogma" became its top-grossing movie, with $30.4 million domestically, while the distributor plans to give "O" a fairly wide release in 1,500 theaters. \n "I do think that it's the relative corporate structure of Lions Gate vs. some of our studio competitors that allows us to produce or acquire certain films that others might stay away from," said Tom Ortenberg, head of Lions Gate Films, a division of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. "We do not go looking for controversy when we're thinking about what movies to distribute, but we certainly are not the sort of company that shies away from it." \n Other Lions Gate releases in its four-year history include the dark character studies "Affliction," "Gods and Monsters" and "Shadow of the Vampire," and the Mexican "Amores Perros," which features horrific depictions of dog fights. \n "Since Lions Gate has no one to answer to other than themselves, they must feel unfettered in a way that perhaps other distribution companies don't," said "O" director Tim Blake Nelson. "That allows them to grab hold of a movie like 'Amores Perros' or 'Affliction' or 'O,' without having to worry they're going to be removed from their jobs." \n Lions Gate has just acquired another sobering film directed by Nelson, "The Grey Zone," about Jews who aided the Nazis in the Holocaust. Other provocative releases include "Bully," the story of a teen who brutalizes classmates; "Lost and Delirious," about a lesbian love affair at a boarding school; and the upcoming "Liam," a gritty tale of Irish poverty from director Stephen Frears. \n Nelson and "Dogma" director Kevin Smith hold no bitterness against Miramax, saying they were glad the company was willing and able to sell off the films to a good distributor. \n "'Dogma' landed in a good place," said Smith, who's back with Miramax for his latest movie, "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back." \n Smith, who made his name with Miramax when the company bought his low-budget feature "Clerks" in 1994, said Lions Gate has become Hollywood's premiere buyer of independent films since Miramax began focusing on in-house productions. \n "They're absolutely where Miramax was back in '94, '95, '96," Smith said. "Who's out there to pick up the American and foreign independent films anymore? Where's the great acquisition companies? Right now, it looks like Lions Gate is the major game in town." \n Lions Gate Entertainment was formed in 1997 by investment banker Frank Giustra, who cobbled the company together from the purchase of Canadian film company Cinepix, Mandalay Television and a British Columbia movie studio. Last year, Lions Gate bought Trimark Pictures, giving it a film library of about 1,000 titles plus its own distribution system for home video. \n The company and fellow indie distributor Artisan Entertainment have been in talks for a possible merger. \n Nearly all of Lions Gate's releases have been finished films bought on the open market. The company now plans to evenly divide its releases between acquisitions and its own self-produced films. \n Beginning with "O," Lions Gate also plans one fairly wide release every quarter. It plans a big release this fall for "The Wash," a comedy starring Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, and next spring for "Frailty," a thriller with Matthew McConaughey and Bill Paxton that marks Paxton's directing debut.