Well, it’s been an exciting day and it’s only half over. Things started out with Jack Valenti proclaiming, amongst many other things, that you, the people who see more than six movies a year (six is the average), are the very people that drive the domestic movie business these days, the key to annual increases in overall box office and number of tickets sold. But more on Jack will have to wait for my ShoWest feature, which will run next week.
Also on hold will be my analysis of the surprisingly strong Sony reel of 1998 product. After seeing the new campaign for The Mask of Zorro, I now believe that it can be a mega-hit. That is, if the whole movie is as intense as the reconceived trailer from Sony that puts the heart ahead of the sword. Sony’s attempt to bring back the musical, Dance With Me, could catch on with a sexy cast and a soundtrack that is likely to be a major crossover hit. Ian McKellan‘s performance in Apt Pupil looks to be every bit as powerful as touts on the Ain’t It Cool Web site have made it out to be. And, a still unnamed dramatic comedy from Mrs. Doubtfire writer/director, Chris Columbus, looks like a sure bet to grab 1998 Oscar nods for Susan Sarandon and Julia Roberts. But, wait! I’m getting distracted. I’ll cover all this in depth next week. There’s another movie that I’m anxious to tell you about.
Godzilla.
Sony rolled out about 10 minutes of the film for the very first time in public. We saw his three-toed feet, his lanky lizard-like legs and his tyrannosaurus-like snout. But not the whole face or the whole body. The Big G stayed out of view as he moved between the buildings of Manhattan. And, it turns out, that’s the concept of this film. A scientist with a background in genetic anomalies caused by radiation, Matthew Broderick, rambles on about a 17 percent increase in size in creatures he discovered in Chernobyl, not noticing that he is explaining this while standing in a half-block long footprint. In Manhattan, the ground mysteriously shakes so hard that taxis bounce six inches of the ground with each thump. Cameraman Hank Azaria and fabulous babe, Maria Pitillo, go slack-jawed when Godzilla happens by. Azaria grabs his video camera, makes his move and ends up in a direct confrontation with Big Green’s foot. I won’t tell you what happens here, but it’s a great moment for the audience. New York is evacuated. Then Broderick, who is now trailing the monster, figures it out. Godzilla loves Manhattan because the buildings are so tall that he can hide there. He, Azaria, Pitillo and others head back onto the island to handle their little lizard problem. Kind of like a bigger, badder Jurassic Park. Explosions ensue.
On the down side, there is no White House-blowing-up money shot. Madison Square Garden is toast, but it’s not the same. And even after 10 minutes, you begin to realize that the whole Godzilla thing is kind of one-joke. But the writing by producer Dean Devlin and director Roland Emmerich keep things fun. Much like Larry Kasdan in his work with George Lucas (The Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Ark), these guys understand what real people would say and think in the worst of circumstances, which always makes the audience laugh.
Just a quick note on the lead-in to the product reel. Ben Stein, who played Ferris Bueller’s teacher, chides Matthew Broderick by saying, “You’ve been on my case for 15 years!” And Sony took the opportunity to smack the other majors, who are not at ShoWest this year, with a promise to “beat the crap out of Fox … give Minnie and Mickey the bone … (and) make much more money than Sumner,” referring to Sumner Redstone over at Viacom, which owns Paramount. The jibes may have been a bit too hip for this room, but they were funny. Especially coming out of the mouths of Leslie Neilsen and Robert Goulet. But you’ll have to wait to hear more about them next week. Oh yeah. Vanna White hosted. (I’m such a tease.)
Until tomorrow,
David

Be Sociable, Share!

• 
•