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Cover story
Movie fans will have new baubles to divert them during the holidays, even though the largest box office draws bear the tag "Not to be opened before New Year's."
By STEVE PERSALL, Times Film Critic
© St. Petersburg Times, published November 28, 2002
Being naughty or nice doesn't matter. Hollywood will make most moviegoers wait until January before opening some of its best holiday gifts.
Sure, you will see celebrities on television plugging their new films and read about them by mid December. That's just showing off for end-of-the-year awards voters in Los Angeles and New York, where films must play in theaters for at least a week before Dec. 31 to qualify for the biggest prize, the Academy Awards.
The rest of America, with few exceptions, will wait while those films build word-of-mouth momentum (or dismissal) and early box office results. That is, unless you have some frequent flier miles to burn.
At least the film industry plans plenty of bright, shiny objects to occupy our attention until after New Year's Day: sequels, star vehicles and expensive epics poised to convince the world they are important. We may still be talking about some of them when spring's award season rolls around.
Chances are better, however, that several of the best films of 2002 won't grace local screens until 2003.
Here's a rundown of what to expect by then. As usual, all release dates are subject to change as studios adjust to critical and box office response.
Happy holidays.
Analyze That -- Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal reunite in a sequel to their 1999 hit, Analyze This. Mobster Paul Vitti (De Niro) gets out of prison and needs more help from his reluctant psychiatrist, Dr. Ben Sobel (Crystal), who could also use some time on the couch after his father's death.
Empire -- Crooks can still be serious movie business, too. John Leguizamo stars as a South Bronx "street pharmaceutical" dealer pushing a heroin blend named Empire. A chance to go straight means taking a job on Wall Street, where ethics and morality aren't that far removed from the mean streets.
Equilibrium -- Director Kurt Wimmer mixes elements of Fahrenheit 451 and THX 1138 in a futuristic drama at a time when emotions and art have been outlawed. Christian Bale plays a law enforcement officer with a change of heart and a plan to overthrow the system.
Star Trek: Nemesis -- Beam up again with the Next Generation crew of the Starship Enterprise. This mission takes Capt. Picard (Patrick Stewart) to the home planet of the Romulans, whom Trekkers recognize as the deadliest foes of the Federation. A peace treaty is in the works, but I wouldn't trust a Romulan any farther than I can photon torpedo one.
Maid in Manhattan -- Is the world ready for Ralph Fiennes as a romantic comedy hero after Schindler's List and The English Patient? Fiennes looks impressive in the preview trailers, playing a senatorial candidate in love with a hotel maid. The world is always ready for another Jennifer Lopez sighting; she plays the maid posing as a socialite to hold on to Sen. Charming.
The Hot Chick -- Since we're in the holiday spirit, we'll give Saturday Night Live escapee Rob Schneider one more chance to prove he's funny. This is one of those personality-switching routines everyone from Jim Carrey to Judge Reinhold has tried, with varied results. Schneider inherits the mind of a stuckup teenage girl. It may be an improvement.
Drumline -- This sounds like an interesting idea with a backbeat. Orlando Jones (The Time Machine, Evolution) stars as a band director at a Southern university looking for a new drummer. He finds one playing for spare change on the streets of Harlem. Nickelodeon star Nick Cannon plays Devon, who has a lot of adjusting to do. Maybe his new girlfriend (Zoe Saldana) can help.
Roger Dodger -- A cynical advertising executive (Campbell Scott) agrees to train his teen nephew (Jesse Eisenberg) in the art of seducing women. A big night cruising through Manhattan may teach both male egos a thing or two.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers -- Okay, stop panting and read. Hobbit heroes Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) continue their quest to destroy the supernatural ring that could -- oh, heck, if you want to see the movie, you know the story. Director Peter Jackson has a hard act to follow after The Fellowship of the Ring earned 13 Academy Award nominations and four Oscars.
Gangs of New York -- Director Martin Scorsese examines the roots of American organized crime in the 19th century. Leonardo DiCaprio plays an Irish immigrant whose father (Liam Neeson) is murdered by the dastardly leader of an Anglo-Saxon gang. The villain role goes to Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis, his first screen appearance in five years. It would have been four, but sensitivity and expensive tinkering after Sept. 11 postponed the original release date last winter.
Antwone Fisher -- If you don't already know the name, you will soon. The true story of a Navy recruit whose violent temper led to psychoanalysis and a redeemed life is powerful material. Newcomer Derek Luke is getting Oscar buzz in the title role. The movie also serves as the directing debut of a name you already know: two-time Oscar winner Denzel Washington, who co-stars as Fisher's psychiatrist.
Two Weeks Notice -- Sandra Bullock stars as a brilliant lawyer, so you know it's a comedy. Her boss (Hugh Grant) treats her like a servant, relying upon her to handle everything from his divorce to his wardrobe. Don't you suppose they secretly harbor romantic feelings for each other? Bet the farm that love will bloom when she decides to quit.
The Wild Thornberrys Movie -- The popular Nickelodeon series moves to the big screen. (Don't they all these days?) Eliza Thornberry (voice of Lacey Chabert) is sent to an African boarding school, where she learns to talk with the animals. Poachers are building an electrified fence to kill an elephant herd, so Eliza plans to stop them. Celebrity voices include Rupert Everett, Marisa Tomei, Alfre Woodard and Flea.
Rabbit-Proof Fence -- In the early 20th century, the Australian government held legal guardianship of Aborigines, separating "half-caste" children from their families. Three sisters escape to find their mother in Phillip Noyce's fascinating true-life drama, following a continent-wide fence built to keep rabbits from damaging agriculture.
Standing in the Shadows of Motown -- The Funk Brothers were the studio session players for nearly every Motown hit of the 1960s and 1970s. Don't feel bad if you never knew it. Berry Gordy was more interested in promoting Marvin Gaye, the Temptations and the Supremes than their backup band. This superb documentary reunites the surviving members for memories and a jam session with such contemporary artists as Joan Osborne, Chaka Khan, Montell Jordan and Bootsy Collins.
Catch Me If You Can -- Moviegoers can catch Leonardo DiCaprio twice within five days. He plays true-life con artist Frank Abagnale Jr., who posed as a variety of professionals -- doctor, airline pilot, etc. -- and cashed millions of dollars in bad checks along the way. Tom Hanks co-stars as the FBI agent on his trail in a film directed by Steven Spielberg. Think it has a chance at the box office?
Pinocchio -- This will either be a masterpiece or a mistake. Roberto Benigni (Life Is Beautiful) used his Academy Award-winning clout to remake the children's classic with himself in the title role. Not Geppetto, but the title role of a wooden boy who wants to become human. Isn't Benigni just a bit too old and much too limber to play timber?
The Lion King -- The circle of life just got bigger -- IMAX-size bigger. Disney's 1994 animated classic gets blown up to the large-screen format. The musical score by Elton John, Hans Zimmer and Lebo M. will sound great through an IMAX sound system. Compare the presentation in both Tampa IMAX venues, at Channelside Cinemas and the Museum of Science and Industry.
About Schmidt -- Jack Nicholson's performance as a road-tripping widower planning to stop his daughter's wedding is getting raves. Along the way, he communicates through letters with a 6-year-old Tanzanian boy he spends $22 per month to sponsor through a TV infomercial. Director Alexander Payne (Election, Citizen Ruth) has a way with quirky comedy and deep emotions.
25th Hour -- Spike Lee directed this tale of a convicted drug dealer (Edward Norton) spending his last day of freedom slumming with his buddies (Philip Seymour Hoffman, Barry Pepper). Lee reportedly includes the first cinematic references to the Sept. 11 attack on New York, which drew criticism from viewers after a sneak preview in the city. (Jan. 10)
Adaptation -- Brace yourself for another strange trip from the creators of Being John Malkovich. Charlie Kaufman and his brother Donald (who doesn't exist) are credited with a screenplay about a screenwriter named Charlie Kaufman (Nicolas Cage) and his brother Donald (also Cage), who doesn't exist. Meryl Streep plays the very real author Susan Orlean, whose book The Orchid Thief causes writer's block in the real Kaufmans when they try to adapt it for the movies. Only a twisted director like Spike Jonze can make sense of this. (Jan. 10)
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind -- George Clooney gets his first turn directing a movie from a screenplay by Charlie Kaufman (but not Donald). This is another loopy adaptation of the autobiography of Chuck Barris, inventor of The Gong Show and a self-purported assassin for the CIA. Sam Rockwell (The Green Mile) plays Barris, with small roles for Clooney's cronies Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon.
Chicago -- Bob Fosse's long-running Broadway musical makes the transition to the silver screen, with choreography by Ann Reinking. Renee Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones co-star as Roaring '20s flappers turning murder into fame with the assistance of a slick lawyer (Richard Gere).
The Hours -- What a cast: Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and Julianne Moore. Too bad they probably won't share any scenes. Kidman plays writer Virginia Woolf, whose novel Mrs. Dalloway influences two women in different centuries: a 1949 housewife (Moore, not far from her role in Far From Heaven) and a present-day friend (Streep) of an AIDS patient.
Pierce Brosnan using his license to act in Evelyn; a remake of Nicholas Nickleby with Nathan Lane and Jim Broadbent; The Guys, a dramatized tribute to New York firefighters who died after the Sept. 11 attacks; Jason Patric and Ray Liotta as homicide cops in Narc; John Cusack as the art teacher Max, whose prize pupil is young Adolf Hitler; Nicolas Cage's directorial debut in Sonny; The Pianist, a return to filmmaking (but not America) for director Roman Polanski; the Sundance Film Festival prizewinner Personal Velocity; and Michael Caine making another Oscar run as a lovestruck opium addict in Vietnam in The Quiet American.