Sun screens
Hollywood executives are hoping new offerings will mean sunny days are here again. But they haven't forgotten the old favorites.
By STEVE PERSALL
Published May 25, 2006
Hollywood is feeling more heat than usual this summer after 2005's box office slump and two expensive presummer releases didn't sell as many tickets as expected.
The glass-half-full crowd points out that for seven consecutive weeks in March and April more tickets were sold than during the same period in 2005. But then Mission: Impossible III disappointed studio accountants, and Poseidon capsized.
Make no mistake: Hollywood is sweating out the next three months, traditionally the busiest box office season of any year. The industry was caught flat-footed last summer when the numbers were so low, at one point 10 percent below 2004. And that was with Star Wars, Batman and Harry Potter sequels plus Steven Spielberg on the ledger.
This summer the industry is banking on recovery with a slate largely lacking the built-in audiences of last summer's franchises. With the exception of an X-Men sequel, Superman Returns and Johnny Depp reviving Capt. Jack Sparrow, there isn't much that moviegoers have seen before. That's not usually a good thing; familiarity can be a great ticket seller.
Sure, some of it looks mildly familiar: remakes of The Omen and TV's Miami Vice, sequels to marginal successes, a new M. Night Shyamalan flick, star vehicles for a few actors undeserving of them, and more computer-animated adventures than any year should have, much less one season. In other words, summer movie business as usual, but the usual didn't work so well in 2005.
The flip side is that much of the summer's film slate is new territory and just might bring nice surprises. Certainly one is Robert Altman's lovely adaptation of A Prairie Home Companion June 9, which I have seen twice and will see again. Other promising films include Oliver Stone's World Trade Center (Aug. 9), the unique look of Richard Linklater's A Scanner Darkly (July 28) and the venomous humor of The Devil Wears Prada (June 30).
Speaking of venom, I encourage everyone to buy tickets for Snakes on a Plane (Aug. 18), just to thank the producers for using that title.
Here's a rundown of how you'll spend your time in theaters this summer. Or maybe you won't, and that's what worries Hollywood.
Release dates are subject to change according to studio paranoia.
OPENING FRIDAY
See reviews of X-Men: The Last Stand, The Aryan Couple, Les Enfant, Water, Wah-Wah and The Promise elsewhere in this issue.JUNE 2
The Break-Up: More like a rebound. Jennifer Aniston found comfort after divorcing Brad Pitt in the arms of Vince Vaughn, who co-starred with Pitt in last summer's Mr. and Mrs. Smith, which co-starred Angelina Jolie for whom Pitt left Aniston. Now Aniston and Vaughn play ex-lovers battling for control of the condo they share. The round-robin romance tournament continues if Vaughn deserts Aniston for co-star Ann-Margret.
Don't Come Knocking: Director Wim Wenders and writer-star Sam Shepard create a midlife crisis for a cowboy movie star abandoning the set to find a son he never knew. Tim Roth plays the bond insurance agent assigned to bring him back.
Kinky Boots: Inheriting his father's shoe factory means trouble for a man (Joel Edgerton) until a drag performer (Chiwetel Ejiofor) designs women's footwear for men.
JUNE 6
The Omen: Movies rarely debut on Tuesdays but Twentieth Century Fox couldn't resist the 6/6/06 date to release a remake of a satanic thriller. Liev Schreiber and Julia Stiles replace Gregory Peck and Lee Remick as parents of a devilish child. Be careful with that tricycle, kid.
JUNE 9
A Prairie Home Companion: The homespun values that director Robert Altman spoofed 30 years ago with Nashville are now embraced in a warm, wonderful adaptation of Garrison Keillor's radio show. A sparkling cast includes Oscar winners Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline plus nominees Woody Harrelson, Virginia Madsen, John C. Reilly and Lily Tomlin. Good enough to even inspire a fine performance by Lindsay Lohan.
Cars: Pixar goes NASCAR in this animated tale of race car Lightning McQueen (voice of Owen Wilson) learning the best way to reach Victory Lane with help from true-blue friends. Other voices include Paul Newman and Michael Keaton, but Larry the Cable Guy steals the show as dilapidated truck-bumpkin Tow Mater.
JUNE 16
Nacho Libre: A Mexican monk (Jack Black) swaps his robes for wrestling tights, joining the wildly popular Lucha Libre tour where masked grapplers are idolized. Directed and co-written by Jared Hess, seeking a tag team partner to his cult comedy, Napoleon Dynamite.
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift: Vin Diesel bailed after Part 1, Paul Walker parked after Part 2, so director Justin Lin (Better Luck Tomorrow, Annapolis) is down to Lucas Black. He plays a guy dodging a jail sentence by fleeing to Japan where there are new traffic laws to break.
Garfield's A Tale of Two Kitties: Was there some clamor for a sequel to Garfield that I didn't hear? Bill Murray skipped Charlie's Angels 2 but he will lend his voice again to a computer-animated cat mistaken for a royal feline in England. Breckin Meyer and Jennifer Love Hewitt co-star.The Lake House: Sandra Bullock plays a doctor exchanging love letters with an architect (Keanu Reeves) while they apparently live two years apart. It must have something to do with that Matrix thing.
JUNE 23
Click: The term "universal remote control" takes on new meaning when a family man (Adam Sandler) discovers he can stop, pause, rewind and fast-forward time with his TV clicker. Okay, maybe that explains The Lake House.
Waist Deep: A carjacking and kidnapping pushes a father (Tyrese Gibson) into criminal activities to save his son. Larenz Tate, Meagan Good and rap star the Game co-star.
JUNE 30
Superman Returns: Director Bryan Singer skipped completing his X-Men trilogy for a higher superhero calling. Newcomer Brandon Routh (rhymes with south) plays the Man of Steel, coming back to Earth after self-exile to what's left of Krypton. By that time, Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) has moved on with her life, and archenemy Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) hasn't.
The Devil Wears Prada: Lauren Weisberger's dishy novel comes to the screen, with Meryl Streep as a pushy fashion magazine editor taking a young woman (Anne Hathaway) under her wing. This is either brilliant counter-programming to Superman Returns by Twentieth Century Fox or box office suicide.JULY 7
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: Johnny Depp returns as boozy, woozy Capt. Jack Sparrow, the role that earned him an Academy Award nomination for Curse of the Black Pearl. Jack's back in hot water when ghostly Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) demands payment for a debt, in doubloons or blood. Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley reprise their roles. A third installment was filmed simultaneously for release next summer.
Wordplay: Tampa's word wizard Merl Reagle is featured in a documentary about the enduring appeal of crossword puzzles. Former President Bill Clinton and comedian Jon Stewart are among the hooked celebrities testifying.
JULY 14
You, Me and Dupree: Call it The Best Man Who Came to Dinner. Owen Wilson plays a moocher moving in with his best friend (Matt Dillon) and his bride (Kate Hudson) soon after they say "I do."
Pulse: Wes Craven (Red Eye, the Scream trilogy) co-wrote this remake of 2001's Japanese horror hit, Kairo. Kristen Bell (TV's Veronica Mars) is the most recognizable victim-to-be of supernatural cellular telephone calls: "Can you kill me now? Good."Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man: Musicians pay tribute in Lian Lunson's documentary to the legendary singer, songwriter, poet and underground icon. The guest list includes U2, Nick Cave, Beth Orton and Rufus Wainwright.
JULY 21
Lady in the Water: Billed as a bedtime story by M. Night Shyamalan, a 10-minute sequence shown at the ShoWest convention in March nearly put theater owners to sleep. Paul Giamatti plays a lonely custodian who discovers a sea nymph (Bryce Dallas Howard) in a swimming pool. It doesn't require a sixth sense to know this will be a tough sell.
Monster House: Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis co-produced this animated adventure featuring latchkey children convinced the dwelling down the street is haunted. Celebrity voices include Steve Buscemi, Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite), Jason Lee and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Clerks II: The further misadventures of Dante (Brian O'Halloran) and Randal (Jeff Anderson), the convenience store clerks who profanely launched Kevin Smith's career 12 years ago. They're moving up in the world with new jobs at Mooby's, a fast- food theme restaurant. Yes, Jay and Silent Bob will be nonpaying customers.
My Super Ex-Girlfriend: Mere mortal (Luke Wilson) dumps his superhero girlfriend (Uma Thurman), who unleashes her powers to make his new romance miserable. Somebody please call Joey Greco from Cheaters.
JULY 28
Miami Vice: Michael Mann revives the 1980s television series with Colin Farrell as Detective Sonny Crockett and Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx as Detective Ricardo Tubbs. Mann reportedly ditched the pastel color scheme and skipped the leisure suits for a darker tone, something like his Collateral, his previous collaboration with Foxx. No word on whether the alligator returns, but Edward James Olmos turned down reprising his TV role.
A Scanner Darkly: Richard Linklater brings back his rotoscope animation trick from Waking Life and this time has a story to match the unique "painted reality" technique. Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, Woody Harrelson and Robert Downey Jr. star in a paranoid thriller from the pen of novelist Philip K. Dick.
Little Miss Sunshine: This Sundance Film Festival favorite features an ultra-dysfunctional family on a cross country trip to a children's beauty pageant. Crammed into a Volkswagen bus are Steve Carell, Greg Kinnear, Alan Arkin and Toni Collette.
Barnyard: The 427th computer animation movie of 2006 arrives in theaters. Well, that's an exaggeration, but we're still getting too much of a good thing. Kevin James voices Otis the cow, riding herd on his irresponsible barnyard pals while the farmer's away. The Nickelodeon production banner identifies the target audience.
I Could Never Be Your Woman: Michelle Pfeiffer plays a single mother falling in love with a younger man (Paul Rudd). Sounds like standard Oxygen channel material until you know Tracey Ullman plays Mother Nature getting in their way.
John Tucker Must Die: A high school Casanova (Jesse Metcalfe) is set up for heartbreak by three girls he jilted. The title is only teenybopper hyperbole. I think.
AUG. 4
The Ant Bully: More proof too many computer-animated movies are being made: They're starting to rip off each other's ideas. This one concerns a colony of ants (or is that Antz?) capturing the kid who keeps wrecking their nests. The obligatory celebrity voices include Nicolas Cage, Julia Roberts, Paul Giamatti and Meryl Streep.
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby: According to the Internet Movie Database, producers pitched this to Sony Pictures Entertainment in only six words: "Will Ferrell as a NASCAR driver." What else can you say?
The U.S. vs. John Lennon: The late musician's transformation from Beatle to antiwar activist - and the U.S. government interest that attracted - are the subject of David Leaf and John Scheinfeld's documentary.
Fearless: Martial arts star Jet Li stars in a biography of Huo Yuan Jia, founder of the Jin Wu Sports Federation. Li reportedly declared this will be his last martial arts movie.
The Night Listener: Robin Williams turns serious again as a late-night radio talk show host investigating the sexual abuse claims of a frequent caller (Rory Culkin) selling what may be a bogus autobiography to publishers.
AUG. 9
World Trade Center: Oliver Stone dramatizes the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on New York, but don't expect any conspiracy theories. Instead, he focuses on two Port Authority officers (Nicolas Cage, Michael Pena) trapped in the World Trade Center rubble, and the last two survivors rescued from ground zero.
AUG. 11
Accepted: A teenage wheeler-dealer (Justin Long) cons his way into college. Risky business, indeed.
Half Nelson: Another Sundance favorite, this one starring Ryan Gosling (The Notebook) as a high school teacher and wrestling coach addicted to crack. A student (Anthony Mackie) leads him toward rehabilitation.
Step Up: Juvenile delinquent (Channing Tatum) does community service at a performing arts school he vandalized, where he learns the error of his ways through the power of dance. Antonio Banderas not included.
Zoom: Tim Allen in tights is promised as he whips budding superheroes into shape at a private academy. Sounds less than Incredibles and lower than Sky High.AUG. 18
Snakes on a Plane: Yesssssss! The title alone makes this a must-see. Samuel L. Jackson deals with the crisis that has captivated Internet movie buffs for months. Their grass roots support encouraged the filmmakers to reshape the movie for an R rating just so Jackson can spout a particularly profane line of dialogue. Go to Google and take a left.
The Illusionist: Edward Norton hasn't been seen on screen in a while, since he wore that silver mask in Kingdom of Heaven. He plays a magician in Vienna in the year 1900, casting a spell on a beautiful woman (Jessica Biel).
In the Land of Women: A heartbroken writer (Adam Brody) returns to care for his sick grandmother and falls in love with the multigenerational women living across the street. Meg Ryan and Ginnifer Goodwin co-star.
AUG. 25
Beerfest: The Broken Lizard comedy troupe (Super Troopers, Club Dread) visit German for Oktoberfest and get involved with a clandestine competition along the lines of Fight Club with beer.Idlewild: Set in Prohibition-era Philadelphia, this musical starring the Grammy winning duo OutKast (Andre Benjamin, Antwan A. Patton) was planned for release months ago. They play a speakeasy owner and piano player contending with a mob takeover.
How to Eat Fried Worms: Dealing with a bully leads to an unusual dare for a fifth-grader and a reminder to shop for school supplies. Based on the book by Thomas Rockwell.
Invincible: Mark Wahlberg stars in the fact- based story of Vince Papale, a bartender who answers an open tryout for the Philadelphia Eagles and makes the team. Possibly the only player Eagles fans never booed.
DOA: Dead or Alive: Darn, we almost made it through summer without a movie based on a video game. Maybe next year.
Material Girls: Sister act Hilary and Haylie Duff play enormously wealthy children coping with the sudden loss of their fortune. Are you paying attention, Olsen twins?
SEPT. 1
The Wicker Man: Director Neil LaBute (Your Friends and Neighbors) remakes a creepy 1973 British thriller based on Anthony Shaffer's novel. Nicolas Cage stars as a sheriff investigating the girl's disappearance from a pagan village.
Crank: A poisoned professional killer (Jason Statham, The Transporter) can stay alive by keeping his heart rate above a certain level. Kind of like the bus in Speed.Crossover: A high school basketball phenom (Wesley Jonathan) wants to attend pre-medical school but a crafty sports agent (Wayne Brady) has other plans. UCLA or NBA; that is the question.
Idiocracy: Writer-director Mike Judge (Office Space) foresees a future so dumbed-down that a below-average American (Luke Wilson) hibernating for a millennium can wake up and be the smartest person alive, perhaps even president.
Steve Persall can be reached at (727) 893-8365 or persall@sptimes.com.