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STEVE PERSALLAfter a spring and summer of discontent, moviegoers eager for onscreen quality and substance are hoping for more generous gleanings this fall from a manly crop of films.
Finally, the 2003 movie year is heading for a fall.
Things already have been going downhill. This year may turn out the most profitable and least nourishing crop of films ever, thanks to higher ticket prices and diminishing quality on the screen.
After too many forgettable spring and summer releases, here comes autumn, possibly made glorious only because an accelerated Academy Awards voting schedule may push a few contenders our way.
At least that's true in the best actor and supporting actor categories. Many of Hollywood's most popular male stars have high-profile projects due this fall. With only a few exceptions - Diane Lane in Under the Tuscan Sun, Uma Thurman in Kill Bill Vol. 1 and Cate Blanchett as Veronica Guerin among them - the fall movie season is soaked in testosterone.
The holiday stretch between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve will still feature some of 2003's grandest offerings: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Dec. 17), The Last Samurai (Dec. 5) and Cold Mountain (Dec. 25) among them.
Oscar voters are tired of being perceived as echoing the choices of award shows that precede the Academy Awards. Theirs will still be the final prizes of the season (awarded on Feb. 29, 2004), but most of the academy voting will be completed by the time Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild awards are handed out.
To be considered for Oscars, films still must open in New York and Los Angeles by Dec. 31. But with nomination ballots due sooner, studios realize that they need to release their prestige films earlier to generate the kind of critical and financial momentum that can influence Academy voters.
But that good news may prove frustrating to Tampa Bay area moviegoers, since it can be a while before some films make their way here.
For example, you'll probably see Anthony Hopkins chatting with Katie Couric on the Today show about The Human Stain around Sept. 26, when it makes its Oscar qualifying debut. Just don't expect to see what they're talking about until several weeks later. Why stretch out the opening dates? The longer a studio can sustain interest in a movie, the better its chances of receiving Oscar nominations.
Other movies are slated for limited releases, meaning they will debut in the top 10 or perhaps 20 U.S. movie markets. The Tampa Bay area ranks somewhere around No. 13, depending upon each studio's calculations. We may see Robert Downey Jr. in The Singing Detective when it opens in limited release Oct. 24, or we may have to wait a month. Other limited releases, such as Clint Eastwood's Mystic River, are planned to have wider openings just a week or two after their premieres.
As usual, many films are scheduled to open nationwide on a single date. But even that may change as studios move movies like chess pieces, to avoid being overshadowed by the competition or to cultivate a surprising awards contender. Or a studio may skip the hectic year-end market and delay a film until 2004.
With all this in mind, our fall movie preview notes which films are limited releases and includes the expansion date. We added one new touch: a separate list of platform releases opening first in New York and Los Angeles, with information about wider release dates when possible.
Maybe all the 2003 movie year needs to raise its reputation is a good fall.
Sept. 12
American Splendor - Comic book creator Harvey Pekar became a cult hero with a series of comics titled American Splendor that details his antisocial life. Those confessions of a humdrum mind have been turned into a critically acclaimed film starring Paul Giamatti (Confidence, Big Fat Liar) as Pekar.
Cabin Fever - This entire movie is a fixer-upper. College students vacation in woods infected with a flesh-eating virus. I've seen it, and I desperately want to forget it.
Matchstick Men - Nicolas Cage gets an entirely new series of tics to play as a hyperphobic con artist showing his daughter (Alison Lohman, White Oleander) the ropes. Directed by Ridley Scott (Gladiator, Thelma and Louise), co-starring Sam Rockwell (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind).
Once Upon a Time in Mexico - Now, this is the movie Robert Rodriguez (Spy Kids) should make 3-D. Antonio Banderas reprises his Desperado role as a Mexican gunslinger with an arsenal in a guitar case. Johnny Depp plays the CIA agent recruiting him to stop an assassination plot hatched by Willem Dafoe. Salma Hayek balances the hormone factor.
Sept. 19
Anything Else - Woody Allen will determine once and for all if his humor can survive in the 21st century. Allen wrote and directed this youthful romance starring Christina Ricci as a stunningly demanding woman and Jason Biggs (American Wedding) as the nebbish doing anything to please her. Previews look promising.
The Fighting Temptations - Cuba Gooding Jr. and Beyonce Knowles get religion in a feel-good movie about a church choir that is priming for the annual Gospel Explosion concert. They hope Whoopi Goldberg doesn't bring her Sister Act.
Secondhand Lions - Previews make this look like tasty cheese. Michael Caine competes with Robert Duvall's corn pone accent as the eccentric uncles of a boy (Haley Joel Osment) thrilled by their tall tales about buried treasure. Director Tim McCanlies uses special effects to make those yarns come to life.
Cold Creek Manor - Dennis Quaid and Sharon Stone move into a haunted country home that needs renovating. Call it The Money Pit and the Pendulum.
Underworld - Shakespeare never thought of this angle: Romeo and Juliet with vampires and werewolves. Kate Beckinsale sinks her teeth into the capillary - excuse me, Capulet - role while Scott Speedman wags his tail with affection.
Lost in Translation - Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson make an odd romantic couple in Tokyo. Directed by Sofia Coppola (The Virgin Suicides), so expect something more bittersweet than Caddyshack. (Limited release, wider on Sept. 26 and Oct. 3.)
Sept. 26
Duplex - Rent control in Manhattan makes a married couple (Ben Stiller, Drew Barrymore) contemplate murder in this dark comedy directed by Danny DeVito.
Under the Tuscan Sun - Oscar nominee Diane Lane (Unfaithful) plays novelist Frances Mayes discovering second chances in life and romance in Italy. Based on Mayes' bestseller.
The Rundown - Pro wrestler turned, um, actor the Rock is a mercenary in the Amazon jungle looking for a rich guy's son (Seann William Scott). Is that the Rock's cooking I smell?
Oct. 3
Out of Time - The police chief (Denzel Washington) of a coastal Florida town comes under suspicion in a double murder. Filmed on location last year in Cortez, Boca Grande and Miami.
The School of Rock - An elementary school battle of the bands turns it up to 11 when a rock guitarist (Jack Black of Tenacious D) impersonates a substitute teacher.
Oct. 8
Mystic River - Clint Eastwood directs a thriller about three lifelong friends (Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon) reunited by a murder. Winner of a special prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival. (Limited release, wider Oct. 15.)
Oct. 10
Intolerable Cruelty - The Coen brothers (Fargo; The Big Lebowski; O Brother, Where Art Thou?) are at it again. George Clooney stars as a vain divorce lawyer who falls in love with his client's wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones).
Kill Bill: Volume 1 - At last, we get another Quentin Tarantino movie. At least half of one. Tarantino couldn't bring himself to trim his 3-hour martial arts epic, so Miramax is releasing Vol. 1 now and Vol. 2 in February 2004. Uma Thurman plays a vengeful bride-warrior.
Good Boy! - Not many flicks for kids at this time of the year. Maybe a dog from outer space named Hubble will hold them over until The Cat in the Hat.
Oct. 17
Runaway Jury - John Grisham's bestselling novel about a rigged trial gets the Hollywood treatment. The all-star cast includes John Cusack, Dustin Hoffman, Gene Hackman and Rachel Weisz.
Veronica Guerin - The true story of a journalist exposing drug wars in Dublin offers a showcase for Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth, The Gift), who's never seen enough on screen. Colin Farrell co-stars.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - Tobe Hooper's seminal slasher flick is remade, begging the question: Who screams louder, Jessica Biel or Marilyn Burns in the original?
Oct. 24
Beyond Borders - Wars in Africa, Thailand and eastern Europe can't stop the romance between a socialite (Angelina Jolie) and a British relief worker (Clive Owen). At least he isn't an embedded journalist.
Scary Movie 3 - David Zucker hijacked the Wayans brothers' franchise and turned it into another Airplane! The cast looks like a lineup of VH-1 Music Awards presenters. Kevin Smith (Dogma, Clerks) had a hand in the script. And, yes, Zucker's Naked Gun star Leslie Nielsen shows up.
Gothika - A psychologist (Oscar winner Halle Berry) wakes up in a hospital accused of her husband's murder, which she can't remember. Penelope Cruz and Robert Downey Jr. co-star as an emotionally disturbed patient and doctor.
The Singing Detective - Downey also stars as a chronically ill crime novelist creating a private eye who moonlights in a dance band. From his hospital bed, the writer's life and inspiration - not to mention the painkillers - create a hellish delirium. (Limited release.)
Oct. 31
Alien: The Director's Cut - Hollywood knows that Halloween parties will make this particular Friday a slow box-office night. So, Fox is re-releasing a horror classic with extra footage before a home video date is set. Perhaps a little more of John Hurt's tummy ache and Sigourney Weaver's underwear, please.
In the Cut - Meg Ryan gets a little kinky as a lonely New Yorker finding Mr. Goodbar, a homicide detective (Mark Ruffalo). Directed by Jane Campion (The Piano), based on Susanna Moore's novel.
Nov. 1
Brother Bear - Disney's animation team in Orlando created most of this Ice Age adventure about a boy (voice of Joaquin Phoenix) magically transformed into a bear after his brother is killed by a grizzly. Let's hear 'em come up with a catchy song for that.
Nov. 5
The Matrix Revolutions - Maybe your doubts about The Matrix Reloaded will be quelled when the finale arrives. Neo (Keanu Reeves), Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) conclude their rage against the machines.
Nov. 7
Elf - Will Farrell is one of the funniest people alive because he'll do anything for a laugh. After streaking in Old School, he plays a human raised at the North Pole to be Santa's tallest elf. When he returns to his biological father (James Caan), the future of Christmas as we know it hangs in the balance.
Nov. 14
Looney Tunes: Back in Action - Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and the rest of the gang share the screen with flesh-and-blood actors in a Who Framed Roger Rabbit-style scenario. Brendan Fraser (George of the Jungle, Dudley Do-Right) leads the human contingent, cementing his status as Hollywood's most cartoonish actor.
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World - Russell Crowe goes the swashbuckler route as Capt. Lucky Jack Aubrey of HMS Surprise, chasing pirates as far as the movie's title takes him. Directed by Peter Weir (The Truman Show, Fearless).
Honey - Flashdance goes hip-hop. Jessica Alba (formerly TV's Dark Angel) plays a bartender and music store clerk who really wants to be a maniac on the dance floor. What a deja vu feeling.
Love Actually - The creators and several cast members of Four Weddings and a Funeral collaborate on another romantic ensemble piece. Hugh Grant headlines the cast as a playboy prime minister. (Limited release, wider Nov. 26.)
21 Grams - The lives of an author (Sean Penn), a grieving mother (Naomi Watts) and a former convict (Academy Award winner Benicio Del Toro) become entwined in a psychological drama from Amores Perros director Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu. (Limited release.)
Tupac: Resurrection - The rough life and violent death of rap music legend Tupac Shakur is revealed in this authorized biography. (Limited release.)
Nov. 21
Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat - Mike Myers plays the mischievous feline, wearing as much makeup as the Grinch; so we'll see if his humor shines through better than Jim Carrey's did. Preview trailers suggest more than just a rainy day is going on here: The kids (Dakota Fanning, Spencer Breslin) have a hot mom (Kelly Preston) and a neighbor (Alec Baldwin) who is flirting with her. I do not like it, Sam I am.
Radio - Cuba Gooding Jr. goes dramatic as a mentally challenged man whose relationship with a high school football coach (Ed Harris) touched a South Carolina town. Based on a true story, written by Mike Rich (The Rookie).
* * *
With the awards season bumped up a month, several films will be released early in New York and Los Angeles to qualify for Academy Awards consideration and (studios hope) build positive word of mouth and box office results. These films could arrive in Tampa Bay area theaters a few weeks later or not at all, depending upon critics, audiences and the risks studios want to take with distribution.
You'll be hearing a lot about these films on TV when they open in New York and Los Angeles; tentative dates of wider releases are included whenever possible.
Sept. 12
Dummy - Adrien Brody follows his Academy Award-winning role in The Pianist with an odd romantic comedy about a bashful ventriloquist.
Sept. 19
Casa de los Babys - Director John Sayles (Sunshine State) casts his astute eye toward six American women (including Maggie Gyllenhaal and Marcia Gay Harden) wading through the bureaucracy, trying to adopt South American children.
Sept. 26
The Human Stain - Anthony Hopkins stars as a respected college professor ruined by an affair with a younger woman (Nicole Kidman) and a 50-year-old secret. Based on Philip Roth's novel, the film features Gary Sinise as the author's famous creation, journalist Nathan Zuckerman.
My Life Without Me - A young, terminally ill mother (Sarah Polley, The Claim, Go) plans ahead for her child's life while squeezing the most from her own.
Oct. 3
The Station Agent - A man born with dwarfism lives in isolation until he meets an artist (Patricia Clarkson) and a hot dog vendor (Bobby Cannavale). Winner of three Sundance Film Festival awards.
Wonderland - A multiple murder leads detectives to suspect porn star John Holmes (Val Kilmer), nightclub owner Eddie Nash (Eric Bogosian) and an ex-con (Dylan McDermott). Based on one of Los Angeles' most notorious cases, an inspiration for a memorable scene in Boogie Nights.
The Event - Parker Posey (Best in Show) plays a New York district attorney investigating a series of mysterious deaths in the gay community.
Oct. 17
Sylvia - Gwyneth Paltrow makes another Oscar bid as suicidal novelist Sylvia Plath. Daniel Craig plays Plath's husband, British poet laureate Ted Hughes. (Wider releases Oct. 24 and 31.)
Oct. 31
Shattered Glass - Hot on the heels on the New York Times' Jayson Blair scandal comes a fact-based story of journalist Stephen Glass (Hayden Christensen), whose meteoric rise was the result of fabricated articles. (Wider release Nov. 14)
Nov. 7
Elephant - The Columbine High School massacre inspired director Gus Van Sant to create this minimalist look at causes of teen violence. Winner of three Cannes Film Festival awards.
Nov. 19
The Cooler - The unluckiest man in Las Vegas (William H. Macy) changes his karma by falling in love, and the casino boss (Alec Baldwin) who is using him doesn't like it.