Boxoffice-June.1991

iness magazkM of the motion Ipture industry June 1991, $3.95 

Billy Crystal 

The Urban Comedian 

Heads Out West 

In 

City Slickers 

Computer Marketplace 

The Latest Hardware 

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The Village East: 

City Cinemas Marries 

Past and Present 

in New York City

1 

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Response No, 1

The business magazine of the motion picture industry 

JUNE. 1991 VOL. 127 NO. 6 

.\// utii iruuif ttj diitufb. sdrfiif ff(l^sum. 

-Ciforgt's BraqiK* 

ON THE COVER 

Billy Crystal stars in "City Slickers." a "com- 

Ing-of-middle-age" story about three buddies 

who )Oin a modern-day dude ranch to venture 

on a cattle drive and act like real cowboys. 

The Columbia Pictures film is scheduled (or 

a June release. (See cover story, page 14) 

FEATURES 

Cover photo by Bruce McBroom 

REVIEWS—Following page

SELL MORE TICKETS 

Introducing Teleticke^ 

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-irS FULLY COMPUTERIZED 

Callers reserve their movie from a 

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terminal located at the theater. 

It's that easy and that fast. 

IS THE BASIC EQUIPMENT EXPENSIVE 

-NO, IT CAN EVEN BE FREE! 

Teleticket absorbs the bulk of the cost - 

and for qualifying theaters, the cost 

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TeleTicket provides the necessary 

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Teleticket ATM machine dispenses pre-purchased 

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• WHO PAYS FOR THE SERVICE? 

-THE CUSTOMER, NOT YOU. 

The caller pays a minimal booking fee 

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You receive the full amount of the 

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Sales receipts are wired to the 

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25% 

20% 

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A summary of the average Teleticket 

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MONTH 1 MONTH 2 MONTH 3 MONTH 4

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icket 

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Ftesponserto. 1

Production Notes 

It Martin Scorsese ever wins the Oscar 

which continues to elude him, it may very 

well be tor a Universal Pictures release. 

The acclaimed producer-director has just 

signed an exclusive, six-year production 

deal with the studio, which no doubt 

earned some points with the tilmmaker for 

its steadfast handling of "The Last Temptation 

of Christ." Aside from two previous 

commitments to other studios — including 

"Age of Innocence" for 20th Century Fox 

— Scorsese will turn out nothing but Universal 

product for the next six years, including 

the upcoming "Cape Fear" — due this 

fall — and "Mad Dog and Glory," a drama 

about the unlikely bond between a loan 

shark and a lonely cop (both films star 

Scorsese's long-time ally Robert De Niro, 

with Bill Murray also reportedly interested 

in the latter). "Age of Innocence," a romantic-comedy 

starring Daniel Day Lewis, is 

set to go into production early next year. 

In a surprising turn of events, screenwriter 

Joe Eszterhas has rejoined Caroico 

Pictures' "Basic Instinct" as executive producer. 

Eszterhas, who departed from the 

production last August after a disagreement 

with director Paul Verhoeven over what 

direction his script would take, decided to 

come back on board after receiving a copy 

of the shooting script and finding that only 

a few minor changes had been made. 

Eszterhas' spec script brought him a record 

$3 million from Caroico last year, but when 

Verhoeven joined the project both Eszterhas 

and producer Irwin Winkler departed. 

The psychological thriller, which 

stars Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone, 

began shooting in San Francisco April 8 

despite protests by members of the gay 

community, who believe that the story of a 

detective's obsessive love for a bisexual 

murder suspect promotes stereotypes 

about homosexuals and lesbians. 

Sandollar Prods., the production company 

co-owned by singer Dolly Parton, has 

announced a new slate of films. The company, 

previously responsible for the features 

"Cross Anatomy" and "jacknife" — in 

addition to the Oscar-winning AIDS documentary 

"Common Threads: Stories From 

the Quilt" — will soon begin production on 

a remake of the I 950 comedy "Father of 

the Bride," with Steve Martin, Diane 

Keaton and Martin Short starring (Buena 

Vista distributes). Parton will also star in her 

own feature, titled "Straight Talk," which is 

a comedy about a receptionist who inadvertently 

becomes a hit talk show host in 

Chicago. Sandollar productions awaiting 

release this year include Disney's "True 

Identity" and Fox's "Shining Through." 

The major production-distribution relationship 

between Morgan Creek Prods. 

and Warner Bros, has become a little 

clearer. Beginning with the much-anticipated 

release of "Robin Hood: Prince of 

Thieves" this June, Warner Bros, will have 

exclusive distribution rights to up to 25 

Morgan Creek films over the next three 

years (the deal excludes "Major League II," 

which is in development at Paramount). 

Upcoming Warner/Morgan Creek ventures 

include "Freejack," the futuristic actioner 

starring Emilio Estevez, Mick Jagger and 

Anthony Hopkins; and "White Sands," a 

thriller from director Roger Donaldson 

("No Way Out"). 

Personnel 

The latest incarnation of Cannon Pictures 

has entered a new stage with the 

signing of Jere Henshaw as production 

chief. FHenshaw, who most recently produced 

the Don Johnson-Mickey Rourke 

actioner "Harley Davidson and the Marlboro 

Man" for MGM-Pathe, is 

industry vet. 

an 18-year 

with Paula Silver now on 

With a growing roster of upcoming films, 

Columbia Pictures Entertainment has created 

separate marketing divisions for Columbia 

Pictures and Tri-Star Pictures. 

Buffy Shutt, who has been earning acclaim 

as the overall chief of Columbia's marketing, 

will now serve as president of marketing 

for Tri-Star, 

board as president of marketing for Columbia. 

Shutt will report to Tri-Star chairman 

Mike Medavoy, and Silver will report to 

Columbia chairman Frank Price. 

Dana Laufer has been named manager 

of publicity for New Line Cinema Corporation, 

and will oversee corporate publicity 

and New York press events. 

Acquisitions 

Samuel Coldwyn: "City of Hope," the 

latest drama from indie champ John Sayles 

("Eight Men Out," "Matewan"). The film, 

which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival, 

is about family and political struggles 

in a blue-collar New jersey town. Vincent 

Spano, Tony Lo Bianco, joe Morton and 

Sayles himself star; a late summer/early fall 

release is planned. 

Hemdale: "Complex World," a wild 

comedy about a rock club threatened by 

both terrorists and bikers. First-timer James 

Wolpaw writes and directs; FHemdale plans 

to release the film this summer. 

Triton Pictures: "Twenty-One," a British 

comedy which was a stand-out at this 

year's Sundance Film Festival. Starring 

Patsy Kensit ("Absolute Beginners," "Lethal 

Weapon 2") as a bright young woman who 

recalls her amorous exploits while speaking 

directly to the camera, the film is directed 

by Don Boyd, and produced by 

Morgan Mason and )ohn FHardy ("sex, lies 

and videotape"). Triton will release the film 

before the end of the year. 

EDITOR AND ASSOCIATE 

PUBLISHER 

Harley W. Lond 

MANAGING EDITOR 

Tom Matttiews 

SENIOR EDITOR 

Jeff Schwager 

ASSOCIATE EDITOR 

Marilyn Moss 

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS 

Jotin Allen 

Bruce Austin 

David H. Ctiadderdon 

Tony Francis 

Karen Kreps 

Fern Siegel 

Mort Wax (International News) 

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT 

Claire Dolan 

CORRESPONDENTS 

BALTIMORE: Kale Savage, 301-367.4964: BOSTON Guy Livingston, 

6t7.7e2-3266: CHARLOTTE Charles Leonard, 704-333-0444: CIN- 

CINNATI: Tony Rutheilord, 304.525-3837: CLEVELAND Elaine Fned, 

216-991-3797: DALLAS MableGuinan: Mary Crump, 214-821-9811; 

DULUTH/TWIN CITIES: Roy Wirtzleld, 218-722-7503, FLORIDA: Lois 

Baumel, 407-588-6786; HOUSTON: Ted Roggen, 713-789-6216: MIL- 

WAUKEE Walter L Meyer, 414-692-2753; MINNEAPOLIS ST PAUL: 

Bryan Olson, 612-870^285, NEW ORLEANS Wendeslaus Schulz. 

504-282-0127, NORTH DAKOTA: David Forth, 701-943-2476: ORE- 

GON: Bob Rusk, 503-861-3185; PHILADELPHIA 

Maurie Orodenkei, 

215-567-4748; RALEIGH Raymond Lowery, 901-787-0928: SAN 

ANTONIO: William R Bums, 512-223^913, x704, TOLEDO Anna 

Kline, 419-531-4623; CANADA Maxre McBean, 463-249«)39, 

DUBUN Doug Payne, Dublin, Ireland [ +353] 402-35543 

FOUNDER 

Ben Stilyen 

PUBLISHER 

Bob Dietmeier 

(312) 338-7007 

NATIONAL ADVERTISING DIRECTOR 

Robert M, Vale 

(213) 465-1186 

ADVERTISING CONSULTANT 

Morris Sctilozman 

(816) 942-5877 

BUSINESS MANAGER 

Dan Johnson 

(312) 338-7007 

CIRCULATION DIRECTOR 

Ctiuck Taylor 

(312) 922-9326 

OFFICES 

Editorial and Publishing Headquarters: 

1800 N Highland Ave,, Suite 710. Hollywood, 

CA 90028-4526 (213) 465-1186, FAX: 

(213) 465-5049 

Corporate: Mailing Address: P,0. Box 

25485, Chicago, IL 60625 (312) 338-7007 

PRINTED WITH 

© SOY INK 

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(312) 922-9326 

^The 

Audit 

Bureau 

6 BOXOFFICE

I 

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HOLLYWOOD REPORT 

Goldie Hawn 

"The Mrs." Goldie Hawn 

stars in this thriller about a 

woman who comes to realize 

that her murdered husband 

had a secret lite she could 

have never imagined. John 

Heard ("Awakenings") costars, 

with Damian Harris 

("The Rachel Papers") directing 

and Mary Agnes 

Donoghue ("Beaches") doing 

the script. A Buena Vista release. 

"The Playboys" Oscar-nominee 

Annette Bening ("The 

Critters") stars in this drama 

about an Irish woman fighting 

for independence in 1959. 

Aidan Quinn also stars. Gillies 

MacKinnon is directing from a 

script by Shane Connaughton 

("My Left Foot") and Kerry 

Crabbe. A Samuel Goldwyn 

Co. release. 

"Machine Gun Kelly" Sympathy 

is supposed to be generated 

in this unconventional 

gangster yarn about the mobster 

who was never convicted 

of robbing a bank and never 

killed anyone. Starring William 

Baldwin ("Backdraft"), 

the film reportedly will focus 

on Kelly's love life. Marek 

Kanievska ("Less Than Zero") 

directs; Mike Werb and Anna 

Hamilton Phelan ("Gorillas in 

the Mist") write the script; and 

legendary B-movie king Sam 

Arkoff produces. A Columbia 

Pictures release. 

"Mo Money" Damon 

Wayans, expected to make a 

big splash in the upcoming 'The 

Last Boy Scout," writes and stars 

this action comedy about a 

in 

con man attempting to go 

straight but caught up in an 

ever-escalating final sting. Peter 

MacDonald directs. A Columbia 


"Storyville" Mark Frost, 

who co-created "Twin Peaks" 

but was overshadowed by his 

partner, David Lynch, makes 

his feature directorial debut 

with this murder mystery 

about a young New Orleans 

lawyer driven to expose the 

crimes of a powerful Louisiana 

family. James Spader 

("True Colors") and Jason 

Robards star; Frost also wrote 

the script. A 20th Century Fox 

release. 

"Prime Suspect" Set in England 

of the late '30s, this 

thriller is about a crooked divorce 

detective who finds 

himself the leading suspect 

when his wife turns up dead. 

Patrick Bergin ("Sleeping With 

the Enemy") and Laura San 

Around") 

Giacomo ("Once 

star; Simon Moore writes and 

directs. A Columbia Pictures 

release. 

"This Is My Life" Julie Kavner, 

best known as "Rhoda's" 

kid sister on the TV series, as 

the voice of Marge Simpson, 

and as a top character actress 

in films like "Radio Days," 

"Hannah and Her Sisters" and 

"Awakenings," becomes a 

lead actress in this bittersweet 

comedy based on Meg 

Wolitzer's novel. The story is 

about two young girls coping 

with a famous mother who is 

more familiar to them over the 

TV than she is at home. 

Samantha Mathis ("Pump Up 

the Volume") plays one of the 

daughters. Novelist/screenwriter 

Nora Ephron ("When 

Harry Met Sally," "My Blue 

Heaven") makes her directorial 

debut. A 20th Century Fox 

release. 

"Memoirs of an Invisible 

Man" Years have been spent 

trying to start production on 

this latest variation on the 

H.G. Wells classic (anyone 

remember one of the most 

recent, "The Man Who 

Wasn't There," with Steve 

Guttenberg?). This one is a 

comedy starring Chevy 

Chase as a Wall Street analyst 

who loses himself following 

a lab accident. Daryl 

Hannah and Sam Neill ("The 

Hunt For Red October") also 

star; John Carpenter, riding a 

string of flops including 

"Prince of Darkness" and 

"They Live," directs. A 

Warner Bros, release. 

"Past Midnight" Independent 

production house 

CineTel Films is responsible 

for this psychological thriller 

about a social worker who 

makes the mistake of 

befriending a client charged 

with a gruesome murder. Rutger 

Hauer, Natasha Richardson 

and Clancy Brown star; 

Jan Eliasberg directs. A New 

Line Cinema release. 

"Lloyd of London" Keenan 

Ivory Wayans ("In Living 

Color") writes, directs and 

stars in this comedy-mystery 

about a Washington, D.C., 

cop who joins forces with 

Scotland Yard to solve a series 

of killings and bank robberies. 

Hmm, wasn't one of the "Beverly 

Hills Cop" sequels supposed 

to take place in 

London? A LJniversal Pictures 

release. 

"Beethoven" The perpetually 

put-upon Charles Grodin 

figures to sulk some more 

when he plays an aging Yuppie 

suddenly saddled with a 

rambunctious St. Bernard in 

this new comedy from Ivan 

Reitman ("Kindergarten Cop," 

"Twins"). Reitman produces, 

while Steve Rash ("Queens 

Logic," "The Buddy HolJy 

Story") directs. A LJniversal 


"House Party II" The hiphop 

hit from last year earns a 

sequel, which finds rappers 

Kid 'N Play moving their bad 

selves to college for more fun 

and music. Doug McHenry 

and George Jackson ("New 

Jack City") produce, with Paris 

BarcJay directing. A New Line 

Cinema release. 

"Necessary Roughness" 

"Quantum Leap" star Scott 

Bakula makes his leading 

feature debut in this comedy 

about a college football 

team attempting to clean up 

its act. Hector Elizondo 

("Pretty Woman") and Robert 

Loggia also star; Bakula 

plays the team's unlikely 34- 

year-old quarterback. Stan 

Dragoti ("Mr. Mom," "She's 

Out of Control") directs from 

a script by Rick Natkin and 

Dave Fuller ("The Taking of 

Beverly Hills"). Mace Neufeld 

and Robert Rehme 

("Flight of the Intruder") are 

the producers. A Paramount 


Diane Keaton 

"Father of the Bride" The 

1 950 Vincent Minnelli classic 

is getting remade, this time 

starring Steve Martin and 

Diane Keaton as the parents 

overseeingtheirdaughter's increasingly 

frantic wedding. 

Martin Short also stars as a 

hauty minister. The husbandand-wife 

team of Charles 

Shyer and Nancy Meyers 

("Baby Boom," "Irreconcilable 

Differences") are behind this 

one. A Buena Vista release. 

"The Player" Director Robert 

Altman, who enjoyed critical 

success with "Vincent and 

Theo," returns with this dark 

Hollywood comedy about a 

studio production chief who 

strangles a writer and gets off 

scot-free. Given Altman's relationship 

with the film industry 

over the years, the vitriol 

should flow fast and furious in 

this filmed adaptation of Michael 

Tolkin's novel. Tim 

Robbins will star. An Avenue 


Updates 

The long-delayed Tom Selleck 

baseball comedy, "Tokyo 

Diamond," has replaced director 

Peter Markle with Fred 

Schepisi ("The Russia House," 

"Roxanne"). 

"JFK," Oliver Stone's investigative 

drama about the 

Kennedy assasination, has assembled 

a curious supporting 

cast to act beside star Kevin 

Costner. Also appearing in the 

film, in roles ranging from costar 

to cameo, are Jack 

Lemmon, Walter Matthau, 

Joe Pesci, Gary Oldman (as 

Lee Harvey Oswald), Sissy 

Spacek, Angela Lansbury, 

John Candy and John 

Larroquette. 

8 BOXOFFICE

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Response No 5

) 

TRAILERS 

June Releases 

As is always the case this time of year, 

the majors will be juggling their summer 

schedules up until the last minute in order 

to position their films as best they can. Most 

of the following is subject to change. 

The Rocketeer 

Disney, which earned praise for its 

counter-programming release of 

"Dead Poets Society" a couple of summers 

ago, tries a new tact this season: 

an escapist superhero actioner starring 

someone you've never heard of. Unwilling, 

we assume, to pay the high 

prices of today's stars, the studio has 

Alan Arkin, 

Paul Sorvino, and Timothy 

Dalton ("License to Kill") as the 

villain. |oe lohnston, who was something 

of a nobody himself until his 

sleeper triumph with "Honey, I Shrunk 

the Kids," directs. Judging from the 

trailer, he has done so with sumptuous 

visual flair. A Buena Vista release. 

(6/21) 

Jungle Fever 

Spike Lee should make this summer 

just a little hotter with the release of 

this racial drama inspired by the explosive 

Bensonhurst incident. The 

story is set in a tense New York bor- 

Sciorra ("The Hard Way") star, along 

with Lee's regular ensemble. A Universal 

Pictures release. (6/7) 

selected newcomer Bill Campbell to 

star in this period crime-fighting melodrama, 

hoping he will rocket to stardom. 

He plays a scientist in the '30s 

who reluctantly becomes a fighter of 

injustice, aided by a backpack which 

allows him to fly. 

Supporting Campbell are Jennifer 

Connelly ("Career Opportunities"), 

Billy Bathgate 

A high-powered team is behind this 

adaptation of E.L. Doctorow's 

bestselling novel. Dustin Hoffman 

and director Robert Benton, who each 

earned Oscars on "Kramer vs. Kramer," 

have reunited for this period 

gangland tale of an orphaned boy's 

gradual corruption by his "adopted" 

father, Dutch Schultz. Nicole Kidman 

(whose husband, Tom Cruise, was 

Hoffman's brother in "Rain Man") coough, 

and it tells the tale of an interracial 

romance between an African- 

American man and an Italian- 

American woman. Wesley Snipes 

("New Jack City") and Annabella 

stars, along with Bruce Willis and 

newcomer Loren Dean. Playwright 

Tom Stoppard ("Rosencrantz and 

Guildenstern Are Dead") wrote the 

screenplay. A Buena Vista release. 

(6/28) 

(Continued page 12) 

Also in June 

"Everybody's Fine" Marcello Mastroianni stars in the new film from director Giuseppe Tornatore ("Cinema Paradiso"), a 

haunting, bittersweet tale of an aging patriarch and his attempts to reunite his scattered family for one final celebration. As 

he travels across Italy, his trip becomes an investigation into the often disappointing lives of his five children, ultimately 

culminating in the realization that he cannot shape their destinies any more than he could his own. A Miramax Films 

release. 

"Straight Out of Brooklyn" Nineteen-year-old writer-director-producer-actor Matty Rich was driven to make a film about 

the joys and agonies of his boyhood on the streets of Brooklyn, and he turned to the community for financial help to meet 

his meager budget. The result is a rough-edged, insightful look at Brooklyn's Red Hook housing project which won a Special 

Jury Award at this years Sundance Film Festival. A Samuel Coldwyn release. 

"Drop Dead Fred" Phoebe Cates stars as a woman whose imaginary childhood friend "Drop Dead Fred" returns to help 

her recapture her dreams. With Carrie Fisher, Marsha Mason and Tim Matheson. A New Line Cinema release. 

"Taikin' Dirty After Dark" This comedy stars an ensemble of unknowns and tells the story of a day in 

Central L.A. comedy club. Written and directed by Topper Carew. A New Line Cinema release. (6/21 

the life of a South 

10 BOXOFFICE

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Response tvlo 9 

OSRAM

Robin Hood: Prince of 

Thieves 

This is supposed to be the film to 

beat this summer which, based on the 

performances of the "sure things" from 

the past few seasons, may be more of 

a curse than a blessing. Oscar champ 

Kevin Costner stars as the noble 

scoundrel of Sherwood Forest, whose 

credo of taking from the rich to give to 

the poor has made him one of fiction's 

most enduring figures. Starring opposite 

Costner are Morgan Freeman, 

Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Christian 

Slater, and the smoothly evil Alan 

Rickman ("Die Hard," "Quigley Down 

Under") as Hood's adversary. 

A large-scale swashbuckler of the 

Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear 

Los Angeles cop Frank Drebbin is back on the case, generating sight gags, bad 

puns and overall stupid behavior in his efforts to expose a corrupt government 

energy policy. Leslie Nielsen once again stars, along with Priscilla Presley, O.). 

Simpson, George Kennedy, and Robert Goulet. David Zucker and Pat Proft wrote 

the script, with Zucker directing. A Paramount Pictures release. (6/28) 

first order, the film is directed by Kevin 

Reynolds, who worked with the fledgling 

Costner on 1984's "Fandango," 

saw his small, allegorical script for 

"Red Dawn" turned into a botched 

actioner by )ohn Milius the same year, 

and then had his acclaimed "The 

Beast" buried by the post-David 

Puttnam Columbia. The guy clearly 

deserves a break, and this will no 

doubt be it. A Warner Bros, release. 

(6/1 4) 

Rivalry") and Garry Marshall ("Pretty 

Woman"). Michael Hoffman, who 

made the overlooked "Some Girls," 

Shattered 

In this erotic thriller, Tom Berenger 

stars as a wealthy real estate developer 

Soapdish 

Daytime TV gets the once-over in 

this satire that features an impressive 

ensemble cast: Carrie Fisher, Cathy 

Moriarty ("Raging Bull"), Sally Field, 

Kevin Kline, Robert Downey jr., 

Whoopi Goldberg and Elisabeth Shue 

("Cocktail"). Also featured in the cast 

are two vintage comedy directors who 

dabble in acting: Carl Reiner ("Sibling 

directs from a script by Andrew Bergman 

("The Freshman") and Robert 

Harling ("Steel Magnolias"). A Paramount 


left with amnesia after an auto accident. 

Struggling to regain his identity 

with he help of his wife (Greta 

Scacchi), his business partner (Corbin 

Bernson) and a private investigator 

(Bob Hoskins), he becomes embroiled 

in a taut, chilling mystery. Joanne 

Whalley-Kilmer co-stars as the resident 

femme fatale, and German auteur 

Wolfgang Petersen ("Das Boot") 

directs. An MGM/UA release. (6/14) 

12 BOXOFFICE

Tie your entire 

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State-of-the-art 

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o'»- JTed to their c.--- - y^gn a""/Z" convenience oi - 

tTckeling. c^f'^1 out 

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over 

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response I

COVER STORY 

Billy Crystal Goes West in "City Slickers" 

Riding the Range with the Urban Comedian 

Marilyn Moss 

Associate Editor 

vou THINK that Billy Crystal only likes 

IFto tell jokes, "City Slickers" may change 

the way you view him. His latest film, 

which he "invented" and executive produced, 

may be funny to the bone, but it also 

reveals Crystal's more thoughtful, if not 

entirely serious, side. In "City Slickers," 

Crystal is joined by Bruno Kirby ("When 

Harry Met Sally" and "The Freshman") 

and Daniel Stern (the wonderful narrator of 

"The Wonder Years") as three friends who 

share an adventurous vacation and find 

themselves confronting some personal crises 

along the way. 

As New York City radio ad salesman 

Mitch Robbins, Crystal plays a family man 

just celebrating his 39th birthday and doing 

some hard looking at his life. He doesn't 

much like what he sees. And since he and his 

best buddies-Phil Berquist (Stern), a henpecked 

grocer; and Ed Furillo (Kirby), a 

sporting goods store owner with a macho 

attitude-like to take adventurous vacations, 

the three men decide to 

take leave of their 

families and go searching for their lost 

youths. They wind up on a Southwestern 

dude ranch where they plan to venture on a 

cattle drive and act like real cowboys. 

What these three men run into is a lot 

more than laughs. They face some lifethreatening 

experiences and come away 

from the ranch with a new vantage point on 

their lives as well as their friendship. In a 

very short time. Mitch learns a few things 

from a crusty old cattle driver named Curly 

(played by Jack Palance), and, more to the 

point, he finds himself getting attached to a 

little heifer named Norman, who's guaranteed 

to walk away with the heart of anyone 

who sees this film. Norman, along with his 

herd-the cattle, that is-becomes the metaphorical 

heart and soul of "City Slickers." 

Speaking with Boxoffice, Crystal makes it 

clear that "City Slickers" is a movie whose 

subject is "bringing in your herd," which 

translates into learning what is important in 

life. 

First things first. And so. Crystal talks 

about Norman, the little heifer who practically 

steals the show. Actually, he says, 

there were 20 Normans on the set during 

filming. With the Humane Society at the 

shoot, and given a crucial scene where 

Crystal rescues little Norman from a raging 

river, more than one calf was needed to play 

Norman. It was allowed that each one be in 

the water only five minutes, or one take, 

"whichever came first." According to Crystal, 

"He'sa very special little guy, and it was 

almost like having a cattle call (excuse the 

pun] to find him." Crystal and director Ron 

Underwood looked at many calves but 

didn't find them all as appealing as they 

wanted. "It's like this Hollywood story," 

says Crystal. "Off in the corner was this 

little Bambi. and he's a Jersey calf, fawnlike, 

and they're rare to find." 

In an earlier scene. Crystal actually delivers 

Norman when he's born. The scene 

required three takes, and so a number of 

pregnant heifers had to be found. "It's a 

remarkable scene in the film," he says, "and 

one of my favorites that I ' ve ever had to do." 

After this experience, he adds, he stopped 

eating veal. "I never ate much meat anyway. 

After you see what they do to these poor 

little animals, in particular these little guys, 

it's a shame what happens to veal." 

According to Crystal, it was important 

that the herd of cattle in the film, and especially 

Norman, become important characters 

for the audience, just as they were for 

the actors. "We spent eight weeks with 

them," he explains, "and after awhile you 

really get to know all their little idiosyncracies 

and their moods. I had to train with the 

Normans. We had great trainers, great 

wranglers. Before we would shoot, I made 

a point of riding out with the cowboys and 

\\ ith the herd. I took my regular turn before 

we did any of those [herding or wrangling] 

sequences. You really get to understand 

those animals. I felt like a real cowboy." 

The initial story of "City Slickers" 

evolved one night when Crystal was watching 

a television show about taking fantasy 

vacations. "I always keep a pad nearby," he 

says. "I made notes, and that night I wrote 

up a story called 'City Slickers.' The title 

just came to me...everything...I got a good 

way in. I wanted to write a story also about 

friendship, and how friends don't really 

trust friendship sometimes, and how much 

weight a friendship can bear, and the secrets 

that even best friends can keep from each 

other, and how it's okay to trust friends with 

information. I think that came through in 

the film." After Crystal got doun the basics 

of the story, screenwriters Babaloo Mandel 

and Lowell Ganz (who co-wrote the com- 

"Splash" and "Parenthood") were 

edy hits 

brought in to fashion a script. The three of 

them mapped out the entire story, "then 

Babaloo and Lowell went off and wrote a 

first draft, and when they came back that 

was it, and we stayed together everyday 

until we started shooting." 

Casting Jack Palance in the crucial role 

of Curly was an idea that came to Crystal 

early on in the writing process, when he, 

Mandel and Ganz were acting out the roles 

as they wrote them. Speaking of Palance 

now. Crystal seems as much the starstruck 

fan as the Hollywood celebrity. "We wrote 

and rewrote together and we all took turns 

being Jack in the room. 'Shane' was the 

very first movie I ever saw, and there he 

comes, and I'm acting with him [Palance], 

and I love our relationship in the picture. It's 

very thrilling and satisfying. 

"He was all we wanted [for the part of 

Curly). I've been accused of being a sentimental 

slob sometimes, and there he [Pal- 

14 Boxoffice

Crystal with Bruno Kirtoy, 'Norman" and Daniel Stern 

ancc) is, big as life, movie star, acting with 

me. being real, being funny, asking me. 

'Gee. was that giMKl' What would you like 

here.'' He couldn't do enough He's also a 

sentimental guy. I hope he's happy with 

(the film), because he's sensational in it. 

And our relationship is some of the best 

stuff in the lllni. Without Curly being my 

Yoda and pointmg me in the right direction. 

..well, 

he's the motor for the picture. 

He comes m at a perfect time m the picture: 

the audience doesn't quite know what's 

going to happen. It's a sensational feeling 

to work with him. and to work w iih anyone 

whose been in movies as long as he's been. 

I think that inside this man who's always 

played bad guys is someone who really 

wanted to be the good guy." 

The film is also, as Crystal likes it) put it. 

a coming-of-middle-age story. "My work 

has always been tinged with seriousness." 

he e.xplains. "I didn't want this to be just a 

funny romp on the prairie. People come 

away from this film feeling very moved a 

number of limes. The story is relatable. and 

if the movie didn't have that weight, it 

would still be wonderfully funny. But what 

makes it a really fine movie is the weight 

that it has. ..without sitting on it. The audience 

might be expecting something llulfier 

than they get in this film, and I think that's 

great (because they'll get something more). 

"I wanted to make a funny version of 

'Deliverance.' What Lowell and Babaloo 

came in with was 'Deliverance' and 

'Bambi.' The added element that we had 

was this calf, which I think is a great invention. 

The caring for your own. Again, it goes 

back to bringing in your herd. Norman is the 

symbol for all of that. 

As Executive Producer of "City Slickers," 

Crystal was responsible for hiring director 

Ron Underwood, whose only 

previous film was the highly regarded 

"Tremors," "We couldn't really find anyone 

" 

'Tremors' and did and was very moved. For 

a small amount of money he made this 

quirky science fiction film. No one would 

ha\e done as good a job as Rondid |on "City 

Slickers"]. This was the most collaborative 

relationship I've ever had in a film. Underw(x)d 

embraced my role in the picture. I 

"/ Han ted to write a 

story. ..about friendship and 

how it's okay to trust friends 

with 

information. 

asked him at the beginning how he felt 

about my being a strong voice in the film, 

and he said. 'Great! I love to collaborate. 

He's a very special guy. and I think he did 

a great job with the picture. And it doesn't 

hurt that Dean Semlcr (who just won the 

Oscar for "Dances with Wolves'] shot it," 

" 

' 

Filming "City Slickers on liKation in the 

rugged terrain of northern New Mexico and 

southwestern Colorado, wasn't always 

easy-going. "It was a rough movie because 

of the physical nature of the picture. Ron 

kept saying, 'It's got to be real.' and I kept 

saying. 'I want the rapids to be real. I love 

'Deli\erance.' I thought the way that was 

shot was sensational. So I said, 'I want that 

harshness; I want it real.' You gel a director 

like Ron and a cinematographer like Dean, 

and 45 degree rapids, and a great stunt 

coordinator... I did stuff in this I never 

thought I would do." 

rilimately. Crystal fecK that this is the 

first film he's been in that he's put his own 

stamp on. "This i> my sision from start to 

finish and it's W percent of what I want. It's 

e\ cry thing I could imagine a movie to be. 

It's about finding yourself and growing up. 

And it's not a movie just for men. Our 

highest test scores are with women. These 

are guys talking about themscKes and how 

they want to be better for relationships. 

How they know they're failing. I think 

that's much more human than anything 

else. This isn't a (male j bonding movie. It's 

a discovery movie." 

While Cry stal is now \s riling and prtxlucing 

a scries for HBO, w hich he calls "a very 

involved psychiatric comedy about the 

relationship between a psychiatrist and his 

doctor." and while he then plans to do a 

movie called ".Mr. Saturday Night." which 

he's written w ith "Slickers" Can/ and Mandel— 

that he'll probably direct—for now. 

his eyes are on ""City Slickers." 'There's a 

Peter Pan Syndrome that a lot of men have 

that's in the film, ôu find your youth in 

your kids, or in the youth within you. Just 

because you can't run as fast as you used to 

or can't jump as high, or you don't ha\e the 

wind you once had. it doesn't mean that you 

stop thinking like a child— in a good way. 

This movie w as a child's dream, a kid w anting 

to be a cowboy. And if I still didn't have 

that contact with the child, there wouldn't 

have been a "City Slickers.' " 

IH 

to direct, and I even thought of doing it 

myself, because I had created it from 

scratch, knew the writing and knew the 

picture. But it w as huge for a first undertaking. 

"Then," he goes on, "I was asked to see 

Three city slickers bnnging in their herd 

.lunc, 1991 15

THEATRE PROFILE 

City Cinemas' Village East: 

A Marriage of Past and Present 

The present; An East Village artistic-eye view of the Village 

East 

WHAT 

By Fern Siegel 

HAPPENS WHEN 3 high-powered 

exhibition company spies 

a Yiddish landmark? For residents 

of New York's East Village, the 

best of both worlds. City Cinemas of 

Manhattan stylishly revamped the 45- 

year-old Yiddish Arts Theatre into a seven 

screen multi-plex, providing the 

neighborhood with its first commercial 

theatre since the demise of the legendary 

St. Marks Cinema. At the same time, 

City Cinemas restored the architectural 

majesty of the famed "Jewish Rialto" to 

its former 1926 glory. 

"V^'e were very careful to work within 

the guidelines issued by the Landmarks 

Commission," explains Ralph Donnelly, 

executive vice president of City Cinemas. 

"The theatre has a great history 

and both the company and our architects, 

Averitt Associates, considered the 

project a labor of love." In fact, the estimated 

$8 million construction took 

nearly two years to complete, utilizing 

archival photos to recapture the splendor 

of a bygone age. 

Why select an area noted mainly for 

ofF-off Broadway theaters, ethnic restaurants 

and second-hand shops? "Our 

studies clearly showed this to be the 

growth area for the city," Donnelly says, 

"what the Upper Vêst Side was 15 years 

ago," Anyone doubting his optimism 

should consider the boxoffice 

receipts 

the week of February 22, when the Village 

East (Second Avenue & 12th 

Street) debuted: "Scenes From A Mall" 

netted $46,000, Andy Warhol's "Superstar" 

$11,000, "The Field" $73,000, "Mr. 

and Mrs. Bridge" $85,000, and "The 

Sleazy Uncle," an Italian import, earned 

a cool $6,000. 

To secure a strong and eclectic client 

base, City Cinemas' new seven-plex features 

first nm, independent and foreign 

films. But the biggest draw to the Village 

East may be its venerable history and 

lavish architectural detail. These 

theatres are singular sensations— literally 

carved out of every conceivable nook 

and cranny in the building. "It was a 

puzzle to keep the main auditorium 

intact," admits architect John Averitt, 

"but I think we've done justice to the 

original structure while re-establishing 

the excitement that was once associated 

with going to the cinema." 

Believe it. Not many 500 seat movie 

auditoriums are topped by a 40-foot 

dome boasting a giant Star of David and 

sumptuous chandelier. The pink, azure 

and gold ceiling sports an ornate Moorish 

design. The old boxes and the original 

proscenium arches remain, both repainted 

and draped with heavy burgundy-colored 

curtains. There is a 200 seat 

theatre below-ground in the orchestra 

pit, where Eastern European musicians 

once played for the greats of the Yiddish 

stage. Two more 200 seat theatres are 

tucked into the backstage and flyspace 

areas. In addition, a 175 seater was built 

out of space that doubled as storage 

rooms, and an intimate 75 seat theatre 

was constructed in the vault beneath 

the sidewalk. 

A custom designed, diagonally patterned 

carpet—resplendent in gold, 

blue, red and grey—is evident throughout 

the entire complex. And, in the lobby 

of the theatre, City Cinemas has 

mounted a wall display of memorabilia 

salvaged from the Yiddish Arts 

Theatre. 

"Our theatres are different because 

they have class," grins Herb Millman, 

vice president of theatre operations. 

"After all, they used to be called 'movie 

palaces.' As a kid the glamour associated 

with the cinema made a deep and 

lasting impression on me." Today, City 

Cinema employees don tuxedos and, 

after 6:00 p.m., are required to wear 

white gloves. "Going to the movies was 

a real event and we hope to recreate 

that here," 

In fact, the Village East seven-plex 

has parlayed a massive restoration effort 

into a state-of-the art projection, 

sound and computerized ticketing movie 

emporium. The boxoffice ticketing 

system allows the public to purchase 

(amtmued p 18) 


WHEN IT COMES TO 

TELEPHONE TICKET SALES. 

EVERYONE'S GOT 

OUR NUMBER. 

uiimmui^; 

CALL333-FILM 

Y)ur what wlicrc and \\ hen 

iiuide to the movies. 

mmsm 

(ALL777-FILM 

Y)ur what where and when 

euide to the movies. 

IL.«aiii£. 

EB 

1 

UMlMlUmiJimii^^ 

CALL444-FILM 

Youv \v hat where and \\ lien 

izuide to the movies. 

lUillliUiliinill 

CALL888-FILM 

Your what where and w lien T/^\ /lol-Hr^n/^ 

IVlUVlCPUI IC 

New York Los Angeles San Francisco Miami 

Boston 

Dallas/Ft. Worth 

Response No 12

I1 

. 

. 

Village East 

(continued friim p 16) 

advance tickets for specific performances 

on specific dates, curtailing the 

congestion on city streets. Additionally, 

each theatre is equipped wath Dolby SR 

The past: A restored Moorish-design box... 

(Spectral Recording) processors and 

JBL speaker systems. 

But Village East's comfort claim to 

fame rests in its Irwin Meteor seating. 

"The seats are 21 inches to 22 inches in 

width, which is wider than conventional 

seating," Millman adds. "The rows of 

seats are spaced further apart than normal 

to provide ample leg room, thus we 

have proudly dubbed them 'business 

class seating.' " 

And it's 

not just Ralph Donnelly and 

Herb Millman who wax rhapsodic about 

the Village East. Both maintain that the 

theatre has added a new legitimacy to 

the area, a claim substantiated by area 

business. "Any time there's life on the 

Avenue it helps everyone," says Abe 

Lebewohl, owner of the popular Second 

Avenue Deli. "I refer to this neighborhood 

as 'a nice girl with a bad reputation.' 

Now the area is booming — psychologically 

and economically—and the 

cinema is part of that effort." 

It's also part of an enduring theatrical 

tradition. The famed Yiddish Arts 

Theatre, which opened its doors on 

November 18, 1926 with Avrom Goldfadn's 

"The Ten Commandments" was 

noted for showcasing the works of Sholom 

"Fiddler on the Roof Aleichem. 

Though one of 20 such theatres, it was 

the only one built expressly for Yiddish 

productions, surviving until 1950. 

And, while its rivals were torn down 

or converted to other uses, the Yiddish 

Arts Theatre stood fast. It endured several 

incarnations—The Molly Picon, 

The Phoenix, The Gaiety, The Eden, 

and the Entermedia. Enroute, it staged 

some of Broadway's later hits— 

"Grease," "The Best Little Whorehouse 

in Texas" and "Oh Calcutta." It even 

enjoyed status as a movie set. Woody 

Allen's "New York Stories," "The Fan" 

and "The Night They Raided Minskys" 

all shot sequences here. 

Not surprisingly, Ralph Donnelly says 

he feels "stronger about this movie 

house than anything else we have. It's 

...and stairway highlight the interior. 

lovely to restore a stnicture. Our philosophy 

is to create theatres with their own 

distinct New York character. This one 

turns me on," he grins broadly, "and I 

hope it 

turns on thousands of others." ^ 

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18 BOXOFFICE 

Response No 8

Cinema Management Software 

Conley, Canitano & Assoc, Inc. has announced a completely integrated Cinema 

Management system called CineMaster. This computerized system addresses 

the needs of theater operators of all sizes. The systems modules include: 

Box Office Interface to Pacer, Theatron & Manual Ticketing Systems 

Concession Interface to Manual/Automated Systems 

Film Booking 

Advertising 

Retainage 

Accounting Systems (G/L, A/P, A/R, Payroll) 

Versions are available for most super-mini computers, IBM-PC's and Unix based 

computer systems. Pricing is based on number of screens owned. 

For more information contact: 

Conley, Canitano & Assoc, Inc. 

25201 Chagrin Blvd., Suite 390 

Beachwood, Ohio 44122 

(216) 831-6240 

Ken Conley 

C *lncMasteL_ 

Response No 14

COMPUTERS IN EXHIBITION 

Computer-Automation for the '90s 

IT 

By Patricia Kirk 

MAY NOT BE too far in 

the future that 

movie theatres will be totally self-sufficient, 

with computers running the entire 

show: boxoffice. concessions and presentations. 

At least that's where the latest automation 

technology seems to be heading, 

based on a Boxoffice survey of the computer 

industry. 

Currently, there's a long list of computer 

firms standing in line to help theatre 

owners automate their boxoffice, concession 

and accounting operations. One innovative 

computer company, in fact, has 

jumped into the technical theatre operations 

arena with a system that could help bring a 

totally automated future a little closer to the 

present. 

Teirace Entertainment Systems, Inc.'s 

Encore III system operates like a smooth 

symphony orchestra. With the touch of a 

finger to the computer monitor's screen, a 

theatre manager can set the house action 

into motion: the lights dim, the curtain rises 

and the movie begins. Encore's easy to 

follow menus allow the theatre operator to 

quickly schedule the start, intermission and 

exit times for up to four features, with four 

trailers per feature, for a total of eight show- 

Terrace Entertainment's Touch Screen System 

ings per day. The system also performs 

self-diagnostics, monitors and stores information 

about maintenance functions, and 

prints a maintenance schedule of work that 

needs to be done to assure top performance. 

This is the first of two articles examining 

the state-of-the art of computer system 

hardware and software for the exhibition 

industry. Because of the large installed 

base of stand-alone PCs in exhibition, a 

forthcoming installment will take a look 

at some truly useful software geared to 

IBM-compatible computers. 

And if anything goes wrong, according 

to system developer and president James 

Terrace Ward, an optional telephone paging 

communication system notifies the projectionist 

or manager of the problem; provides 

instructions on how to fix it; and, when 

down time is involved, autoinatically adjusts 

show schedules. 

Another option is an LED display 

board in the lobby that announces auditorium 

numbers, feature titles and showtimes. 

Because the display is integrated into the 

system, it automatically adjusts start times 

when a show deviates from the advertised 

schedule. 

With modem telecommunication capability, 

the system can be operated, programmed, 

or monitored from the home 

office or any other theatre site. Envisioning 

a theatre of the future that practically runs 

itself. Ward says, "A two- or three-plex 

could easily be handled by one person and 

a five-plex by two people. I'm not trying to 

eliminate any jobs," he adds. "It's just the 

state of the art." 

Encore III is currently in its final stages 

of development and should be available for 

sale by late summer or early fall, according 

to Ward. Terrace, which is located in Palm 

Desert, Calif., is test driving the system at 

Metropolitan Theatres Corp.'s Courtyard 

Cinema in Palm Springs. 

Better 

customer service, aimed at taking 

the hassle out of going to the 

movies, is the focus of many new 

theatre automation products. Betting on the 

idea that some people are willing to pay 

extra for better service, C. A.T.S. US A, Inc., 

an international company with U.S. service 

centers in New York and Colorado, has 

developed Teleticket, an enhancement for 

its computerized boxoffice management 

system which gives movie-goers the opportunity 

to reserve theatre tickets over the 

phone for a nominal fee. 

According to Israel 

Greidinger, director of C.A.T.S., the 

company picks up any credit card fees as 

well as the cost of sophisticated telecommunications 

equipment and automated transaction 

machines (ATM) that accept credit 

and bank-debit cards, effectively providing 

a service that costs the theatre operator 

nothing. C. A.T.S. collects 75 cents per 

ticket from patrons using the service. 

AMC and Mann Theatres in Los Angeles 

both are using the C. A.T.S. system. 

Mark McDonald, assistant division operations 

manager of AMC. says "We're very 

happy with the system; it makes movie 

going easier for some customers. Customers 

feel better when they know they have 

tickets waiting for them before driving to a 

show. And anything that's good for our 

customers, makes good business sense for 

us." 

Callers use a touch-tone phone to navigate 

an audio menu to choose the movie 

time and theatre location. Tickets, which 

are reserved on a credit card at the time of 

the call, can be picked up at an ATM 

mounted on the theatre wall or from the 

cashier at a will-call window or boxoffice. 

The customer has the option of paying with 

a credit or bank-debit card. And the system 

An AMC Automated Transaction Machine 

works. For the opening of "The Godfather, 

Part III" in Los Angeles, some people went 

back to their cars and reserved tickets over 

their car phones when they saw the lines at 

the theatre, Greidinger said. 


Customer Convenience and Service 

Are the Watchwords tor the New Generation of 

Hardware and Software 

Theulron 

Dala Systems. Inc.. also is 

CDnccrncd with making it easier tii 

purchase movie tickets. The Umi. located 

in Seal Beach. Calit.. has added the 

"cashier-less" boxoffice to its offering of 

computerized theatre management products, 

according to Terr) Pedersen. executive 

vice president for product 

development. Movie theatre patrons will 

have the option of purchasing tickets in 

advance at portable kiosks kâted in convenient 

locations, such as local shopping 

centers and malls, or at self-service 

boxoffice machines mounted on the wall of 

a theatre. 

"This will allow people to purchase 

tickets anv time of the day." noted Pedersen. 

adding that such devices feature easy to use 

touch screens and accept credit cards. The 

cashier-less boxoffice is linked by phone to 

the main theatre management system to 

expedite accounting activities and ensure 

that the house is not over sold. RC Theatres 

of Capital Industries in New Jersey . which 

installed the devices in .May. became 

among the first to add this enhancement to 

its theatre management system. 

Pacer Corp. is also adding a telephone 

reservation feature to its theatre management 

system. According to Alan Zelt. vice 

MerchanTec s Inslapprove Verification System 

president sales, mtnie patrons will not be 

charged for the service, but theatre owners 

will pay for the unattended "vvili-call" machines. 

Located in Bothell. Washington. Pacer 

is also working on a software package that 

will allow patrons to charge concessions on 

their credit cards. Noting that this is an area 

in w hich theatre ow ners can see an immediate 

increase in revenues, Zcit said that 

Pacer's sy stem differs from similar systems 

in that credit card approvals can be handled 

in seconds, thus increasing concession 

sales. 

This capability is being provided by 

MerchanTec International, of .Atlanta, (ia.. 

which offers an "off-line" database, called 

Instapprove. which is updated nightly via 

satellite and offers faster processing time 

than more traditional telephone call based 

systems. .According to Barbara Sapersiein. 

marketing communication manager for 

MerchanTec. integration of this credit card 

approval system with Pacer's theatre automation 

system will also allow operators to 

do POS updates and send electronic mail to 

other facilities instantly. The system also 

captures all of a day's credit-card transactions, 

balances them and automatically 

transn)its charges to merchant processing 

centers for settlement. .An instant check approval 

system is also being added. 

"We're being a little more deliberate in 

our approach to make sure that all the loopholes 

arc covered." Zelt said, noting that the 

system is currently in the test stage, but 

should he available nationwide later this 

V ear. 

Operators of smaller theatres, 

who are 

not using an automated boxoffice system, 

can purchase Instapprove as a "stand-alone " 

system. It can also be integrated into other 

management automation systems, according 

to Saperstein. who noted that 

MerchanTec provides installation, support 

and training services. A system option also 

allows background music and video services 

offered by leading vendors to be delivered 

to theatres by satellite. 

Celercx Corp.. of Redmond. Wash., also 

offers an off-line system that instantly approves 

both credit cards and checks, according 

to Colleen Ries. account support 

representative for Celerex. Because the 

systeiTi's data base is updated daily over 

phone lines, there is no need to purchase a 

Cinema Computer 

satellite dish. 

One of the leaders in providing multipoint 

sales of tickets is 

Systems, of Germany. European movie 

goers have long favored the convenience of 

buying advance (and in many cases reserved 

I tickets for movies, and CCS' s latest 

installation, for the Berlin International 

Film F-estival. highlights this capability. 

The decentralized (preiselling for the festival 

took place through 19 remote "workstations" 

located at three places several 

miles apart. The workstations were linked 

V ia modem through rented lines to the host 

computer system at the central office. 

computer sy stem designers hav e 

Other 

devised ways to move people 

through the concession stand faster, 

increasing revenues for operators while 

keeping the customer happy. In-Touch 

rechnologies'sboxoffice management system, 

which handles the usual gamut of ticketing, 

scheduling, reporting and concession 

functions, also offers an additional chance 

to make a concession sale, w hile sav ing the 

customer time and money, notes JayMaller. 

president of the New York firm. The 

company's easy to use touch-screen 

boxoffice system produces a w ider ticket to 

provide space for printing pre-sold concession 

packages--say two large cokes and a 

large popcorn. The specials, which offer a 

discount for purchasing concessions in advance, 

are advertised on posters mounted 

In-Touch Technologies Managemeni System 

where customers wait in line. "Everyone 

wants to go to the concession stand at during 

the 10 to 15 minute period just in advance 

of the movie." noted Mailer. The 

concept is to serve more customers during 

June, 1991 21

1 

COMPUTERS 

«/ 

this short period of time, he explained, adding 

that the system also has credit-card authorization 

capabilities. 

Concession Master, offered by Di-An 

Controls, Inc., of Brocicton, Mass.. also has 

features aimed at improving service at the 

concession stand. The system currently allows 

the theatre operator to assign each 

product a certain key on the concession 

terminal, which increases the attendant's 

speed in ringing up sales. The product and 

price also is displayed for the customer. 

And the firm is in the process of adding 

instant credit and bank-debit card features 

to the system, according to Robert Kodis, 

president, who noted that Concession Master 

is available as an add-on to the firm's 

boxoffice system. Movie Master, or as 

standalone unit. 

For 

theatre ow ners with humbler computer 

requirements. there is a group of 

computer firms standing by. ready to 

meet those needs. WinterTek. Inc.. of 

Cleveland. Ohio, offers a software package 

that customizes a standard accounting system 

to meet the special needs of a theatre 

business. According to Russell Wintner, 

a 

"WinterTek's software package is designed 

to fill the gaps in traditional accounting 

systems, enhancing off-the-shelf account- 

Celerex's Off-line Approval System 

ing software with features specific to film 

accounting. The system, for example, calculates 

film remittances and creates and 

maintains a database of everything played 

and paid for future analysis. The administrative 

package, designed for exhibitors 

with eight to 150 screens, produces 

boxoffice reports that can be sent over the 

phone 10 the home office, and interfaced to 

a general ledger system. 

Diversified Management Services, Inc.. 

of St. Louis. Mo., is also targeting small to 

mid-range exhibitors with an off-the-shelf 

boxoffice. concession and accounting 

package that can be modified according to 

the needs of individual theatre owners. 

Debbie Wiles, customer representative for 

DMS. noted that, for example, not all theatres 

require the same type of detailed reporting. 

"Some people may use it like a cashier 

system: keeping the money straight may be 

the most important thing. 

Owners of larger 

operations may want to know more information," 

she said, adding that the DMS 

system can collect marketing information, 

such as how inclement weather can affect 

boxoffice sales. 

Hammersly Technology Partners of 

San Francisco. Calif., specializes in custom 

applications software development. Hammersly 

developed a scheduling and payroll 

system for Syufy Enterprises of California 

that automated employee scheduling. The 

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22 Boxoffice 

Response No 3

. 

1 

firm also is developing u L-ompuieh/ed 

lime-card system that requires employees 

to use a password to log in. "Syut\ didn't 

want to buy something off the shelf and 

modify it. That's like busing the cake and 

then adding raisins." said Kate Mammersis 

chief executive officer, nouns; that her firm 

Oi-An Control's Movie/Exhibition System 

can handle a broad range of applications, 

from payroll and accounting to advertising 

and marketing. 

For operators who want to upgrade 

their systems without replacing all their 

present computer hardw are. McAllister AsstKiales 

of Reading. .Mass.. offers an interactive 

business softw are s\ stem designed to 

run w ith a wide range of hardw are systems. 

Applications include: sales data, payroll, 

co-op advertising, booking and accounting. 

Cinemark U.S. A of Dallas. Texas, had 

the in-house expertise to de\elop its own 

computer s> stem. With 1.^2 theatres in 20 

stales, what the company needed to get 

Hill A&Es ArtSofI System 

from an outside vendor. acci>rding to Phillip 

Wood, who headed the computer project, 

was an efficient communications system 

for mo\ing information from liKalion to 

location. He found that capability with 

HyperACCESS/5, a communications software 

package, developed by Hilgraeve of 

Monroe. Mich., that compresses data files 

to speed telephone transmissions. "We're 

able to set the computers when we leave in 

the evening and the data is here when we 

get in the next morning." said Wood. Additionally, 

he noted that H\per.\C'CESS/5 

detects errors on the phone line and will go 

on to the next call automatically. 

Another 

special need that some computer 

companies are starting to deal 

w Ith IS marketing. A unique component 

of the theatre automation system offered 

b\ CCAi Cinema .Management 

Systems of Beachwood. Ohio, helps exhibitors 

decide how to get the most bang for 

iheir advertising bucks. The Cine.Mastcr 

ssstem. in addition to providing boxoffice 

and concession interlaces, offers complete 

audit reporting and analysis of advertising 

campaigns; has an advertising retainage 

feature: and provides information about 

ads. inch by inch, day by day. according to 

Ken Conley. executive vice president. 

"The advertising system provides the home 

office vv Ith the capability for belter management 

by showing how advertising dollars 

are being spent." Conley said. 

Hill A & E Systems of Guilford. Conn., 

is another computer firm that feels the theatre 

industry could use some help in the 

marketing arena. Hill currently offers a 

system that provides comprehensive marketing 

information and strategies geared to 

the performing arts. .Although thecompanv 

doesn't yet offer a system specifically designed 

for theatre applications. Robert 

Friend, vice president of sales and marketing, 

feels that creative movie theatre operators 

could profit fnmi system applications 

currently used by performing arts organizations. 

Hill's ArtSoft. a computerized 

boxoffice ticketing system that also collects 

demographic information about each patron, 

creates a database that enables a theatre 

to target its programs to specific 

audience segments. "It would be interesting 

to see an innovative theatre operator take 

advantage of what we offer." Friend commented, 

adding that "theatre owners can 

make an educated guess about which market 

their audience is coming from, but they 

really don't know for sure. If they could 

capture information about who is using 

their theatre, it would help in choosing 

where to put advertising." he explained. 

This information, he contended, could help 

eliminate the 

"crap shoot" of movie industry 

marketing. Theatre owners (and the studios) 

would be able to more precisely target 

their wares. 

"So many things are being missed because 

pertinent marketing information isn't 

being gathered. '" Friend continued. "It has 

to be done at the point of sale--at the 

boxolTice--when you have people's attention." 

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Response No 2 

June, 1991 23

COMPUTER BUYING GUIDE 

CCAi Cinema Management Systems 

25201 Chagrin Blvd.. Suik- .WO 

Beachwood. OH 44122 

Kenneth L. Conley, Exec. VP 

216-831-6240 

CineMasler management software modules. 

CF Software Unlimited 

2328 Murphy Drive #2 

Lawrence, KS 66046 

Kelly A. Farrar, Jr. 

913-749-0490 

Software. 

C.A.T.S. USA, Inc. 

7535 East Hampden Avenue, Suite 501 

Denver, CO 80231 

Israel Greidinger, President 

303-752-8181 

Complete systems, including TeleTickel telephone 

reser\'ation systems. 

Celerex Corp. 

14833 N.E. 87th Street 

Redmond, WA 98052-3485 

Thomas Coccione, VP Sales and Marketing 

206-869-7200 

Fax:206-869-7231 

Off-line credit card and check verification 

systems. 

Circuit Management Software 

9402 Mirage 

Westminster, CA 92683 

Kurt RuotT 

714-898-0310 

Sofhi'are. 

Cinema Computer Systems 

Graf-Adolf-Strase 108 

4000 Dusseldorf I 

W. Germany 

Thomas O. Hilmer, Marketing/Sales 

49-0211-365791 

Fax:49-0211-161705 

Complete systems. 

Hammersly Technology Partners 

250 Montgomery St., Suite 710 

San Francisco, CA 94104 

Laura Kingsbury, Marketing Assistant 

415-956-1300 

Fax:415-956-4260 

Consultants, including computer payroll and 

scheduling programs. 

Hill A&E Systems 

37 Soundview Rd. 

Guilford, CT 06437 

Bob Friend, VP Sales and Marketing 

203-453-1718 

Specializes in ticketing systems for the 

entertainment industn: 

Hilgraeve 

Genesis Ccnlre/1 1 1 Conant Ave., Suite A 

Monroe, MI 48161 

Robin Shepherd, Public Relations Counsel 

313-243-0576 

Fax:313-243-0645 

Telecommunications software. 

In-Touch Technologies 

140 W. 22nd Street 

New York, NY 10011-2420 

Jay Mailer, President 

212-366-4306 

Fax:212-366-4669 

Complete systems, including touch screen 

Intelligent Box Office System. 

Interact Computer Systems 

P.O.Box 15084 

Asheville,NC 28813 

William A. Rhodes III, President 

Steve Powers, Programmer 

704-254-9876 

Computer hardware and software. 

Omniterm Data Technology 

6 1 .Ad\ ancc Road 

Toronto, Ontario M8Z 2S6 

E.S. (Ed) Coman, President 

416-234-5544 


Pacer Corp. 

2210Canyon Park Blvd. 

Bothell.WA 98021 

Alan Zelt, VP Sales 

Gary Brown, Market Development Manager 

206-481-7200 

Fax:206-485-6169 

Complete systems, including Dataticket II system 

and Showtimes telephone information system. 

Reeltime 

5440 W. Waveland 

Chicago, IL 60641 

Jerry Greenwood 

312-545-1447 

Software: computerized theatre schedules. 

Tangent Associates Inc. 

P.O.Box 49-2054 

Fort Lauderdale, FL 33349-2054 

Steve Weiss, President 

305-792-3429 

Management consulting, software. 

Terrace Entertainment Systems, Inc. 

P.O. Box 2003 

Palm Desert, CA 92261-2003 

James Terrace Ward, President 

619-568-3704 

Fax:619-568-0139 

Encore III touch screen based theatre automation 

system. 

Theatre Systems 

P.O.B. 1195 

Green Cove Springs, FL 32043 

John Hoover, General Manager 

904-284-4267 

Software. 

Diversified Management Services Inc. 

301 Sovereign Street Ste. 101 

St. Louis, MO 63011 

Debbie Higgs, President 

314-227-4855 

Bo.xoffice, concessions and accounting systems. 

Di-An Controls Inc. 

16 Jonathan Drive 

Brockton, MA 02401 

Robert D. Kodis, President 

508-559-8000 

Fax: 508-559-8658 


McAllister Associates Inc. 

274 Main Street #301 

Reading, MA 01867 

Richard A. McAllister, President 

6 1 7-942-0700 

Theatre management systems. 

MerchanTec International 

335(J Peachtree Road N.E. Suite 1000 

Atlanta, GA 30327 

Barbara Saperstein, Marketing Communication 

Manager 

404-240-2866 

Off-line credit card and check verification 

systems. 

Theatron Data Systems Inc. 

P.O. Box 4442 

Seal Beach, CA 90240 

Richard HolTman, CEO 

213-434-9947 

Complete systems, including the Infinity' ticketing 

system. 

WinterTek Inc. 

5915 Landerbrook Dr.#200 

Cleveland, OH 44124 

Russell Wintner 

216-461-9403 

Software, including Exhibitor Toolbox. 

24 BOXOFFICE

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^

SOUND ADVICE 

SPECTRAL RECORDING 

SOUNDTRACK COMPATIBILITY 

By Norm Schneider 

President 

Smart Theatre Systems 

TECHNOLOGY 

IS RACING ahead in all 

fields of electronics. New products, 

processes, and practices appear so frequently 

that it is almost a full time job to 

keep up with developments. The one area 

of motion picture presentation that has 

changed most in the past few years is cinema 

sound. With five different (or proposed) 

digital formats in development, we 

may see another change that will affect the 

theatre owner and patron in the near future. 

Premium home VCR and laser disc equipment 

already have a form of digital sound 

and the cinema soundtrack appears to be 

heading that way also. 

At this moment in cinema history we 

have something that, //; my opinion, is almost 

as good as digital. At the offset of this 

article it should be clear that I am a supporter 

of the Spectral Recording (SR) process 

developed by Dolby Labs a few years 

ago for the studio and production industry, 

and applied to film soundtracks about two 

years ago. This new process pushes the 

limits of the optical analog soundtrack well 

beyond anything that has yet been accomplished, 

but has the handling ease of any 

standard optical soundtrack. There is a 

strong argument to be made that the sound 

quality captured on the SR soundtrack exceeds 

the fidelity capability of a majority of 

cinema sound systems playing daily around 

the world. There is a problem though; only 

a small percentage of cinemas are properly 

equipped to play the SR soundtrack. 

In conversations with theatre owners I 

was surprised to find that a large number do 

not know what Spectral Recording is and 

why it is different from standard stereo 

sound. I learned that some sound engineers 

have been called to their client's cinemas 

for a service call because someone thought 

that the sound system sounded strange, only 

to discover that the print had an SR 

soundtrack. There have been articles and 

industry discussions on the compatibility of 

SR prints and standard SVA stereo prints. 

The differences are still "fuzzy" for many. 

1 hope this article will shine a little light on 

the subject and how it affects your cinema 

presentation. 

In the beginning Spectral Recording 

soundtracks were issued on a separate invenroiy 

print that could be requested by 

theatres equipped for the SR process. Everyone 

else got the standard optical stereo 

print. Having two different prints is expensive 

for film producers and causes headaches 

in distribution. The practice of 

separate inventory was replaced recently 

by the sini'le inventory print. That is, if a 

soundtrack was recorded in SR. all prints 

were encoded with SR sound, and all thea- 

The differences in 

compatibility between 

standard stereo sound and 

SR stereo are minor; the 

benefits of SR , however, 

are major: a new degree of 

realism in theatrical sound 

presentations. 

Ires got SR prints, whether they were properly 

equipped to play them or not. 

The Spectral Recording process is not a 

"hype and jive" promotional gimmick that 

Hollywood is sometimes famous for. There 

are some real technical differences between 

SR and regular stereo in the processing of 

the sound during the encoding of the 

soundtrack. The decoding process in the 

theatre sound system must be complementary 

in order to bring the sound back to its 

original condition. The encoding/decoding 

process overcomes the inherent limitations 

of storing sound on an optical media. Decoding 

SR material involves special noise 

reduction cards in the sound system that can 

be switched into the 

system when an SR 

print is played. Dolby offers several noise 

reduction cards and an adapter for Spectral 

Recording playback, the most common 

card being the Cat. #280. The system is 

patented by Dolby Labs, but there are alternatives. 

Let's pause for a moment to discuss the 

technical differences between the standard 

stereo optical soundtrack and an SR 

soundtrack. In standard stereo, each channel 

of the original sound material in the 

studio is broken into four frequency bands 

of material that are independently compressed 

about lOdB before being placed on 

the optical soundtrack. In your theatre, 

noise reduction circuits in the stereo processor 

expand each of the bands about 10 dB 

so the sound is restored to its original condition. 

In the process the limited dynamics 

of the optical soundtrack are enhanced and 

the noise reduced for a much better sounding 

stereo presentation. Without the encoding/decoding 

scheme applied to the stereo 

soundtrack the results would harken back to 

the days of pre-stereo, with marginal sound 

quality due to the physical limitations of the 

optical soundtrack. 

The processing of the sound for the Spectral 

Recording process is much more severe. 

Five fixed frequency bands and five 

"floating" bands in the playback chain trap 

noise for an extremely quiet playback. The 

dynamics are increased and more high frequency 

sounds can be put on the film without 

fear of recorder overload. The 

compression and expansion of SR 

soundtracks is about 25 dB. That's a lot of 

compression. Without a complementary 

expansion process in the theatre, background 

sounds appear louder. Street noises, 

wind, and special effects may equal the 

dialogue level, producing an unnatural balance. 

The five frequency bands on the SR 

soundtrack are in different places than the 

four bands of the standard stereo print. An 

SR print may appear to sound brighter due 

to its ability to handle more high frequency 

material. 

With the relativelv small number of the- 

26 BOXOFFICE

aires equipped for SR. dtH.'s that mean everyone 

not using SR playback equipment is 

playing the soundtrack the wrong way' 

Thai's not necessarily the case. There /i a 

physical compatibility between the two formats. 

When the solar cell m your projector 

soundhead picks up the light modulation 

from the film soundtrack, it convens the 

light to electrical impulses that are amplified 

and sent to the stage speaker! s). That 

part of the process is consistent w ith every 

optical soundtrack since 

1929. The differences 

lie in the way the electrical signal is 

priKcssed by the sound system: due to the 

differences in the sound compression between 

the two formats, there will be some 

perceived, though minor, alterations of the 

sound during playback. The sound will not 

come back to its original state if the wrong 

decoding prix'css is used. The term "accuracy 

of playback " refers to how well the 

decoding circuitry restores the encoded 

sound material. 

Since few people have a direct reference 

to an original studio master recording, if the 

playback in the theatre is subjectiv ely pleasing, 

without gross error, then the sound is 

satisfactory and people are gratified. In 

other words, aside from a few sound anomalies 

( mentioned abo\ e I. SR played back on 

a non-SR sy stem will sound just t me. How 

ever, if you have an opportunity to hear a 

well recorded SR print in a well equipped 

SR theatre, on a well maintained SR sound 

system, it is a real treat 1 The improved 

dy namics and total lack of noise of SR adds 

another degree of realism to the presentation. 

If an SR print is totally compatible, why 

go to the expense and effort of adding additional 

adapters and noise reduction cards to 

your lO-plex? The reason is that the prints 

are not totally compatible! To get the benefits 

of SR. you must decode the tracks in 

the same manner as they were encoded. If 

there were not real benefits of equipping for 

this format ( such as increased dy namics and 

more high frequency material ). there would 

be no justification for the SR print to exist. 

Hollywood offers this format to help keep 

our industry "out front" with a quality film 

presentation. 

Earlier in this article I mentioned that 

there is an alternative to using the Dolby 

Cat. #280 noise reduction cards for SR play - 

back. Another manufacturer offers a low 

cost Cop\Ctii 2S0 that emulates some of 

the characteristics of the SR soundtrack 

playback The CopxCut 2S0 does not use 

the patented process of the Dolby product, 

although the cards are physically and electrically 

interchangeable. A third manufacturer 

of stereo equipment has a type of SR 

scheme decoding built into their sound 

package. I learned that another "clone" of 

SR decoding will be available from a fourth 

supplier in late spring. The choices will 

soon be many. .Although the technical approaches 

are different, they all are designed 

to "tame" the SR soundtrack. 

It may be a long, long time before any of 

the proposed digital processes become a 

dominant format. "Realistically." a knowledgeable 

industry leader told me. 'if all the 

top grossing, first run theatres installed digital 

sound, it would only represent about 

five per cent of the total cinemas. Ninety 

five percent would still want and use standard 

optical soundtracks. " Those who speculate 

that SR soundtracks are an interim 

media until digital is standardized may be 

surprised. The benefits of outstanding 

sound quality are now available to any cinema 

that wants to equip for the format ^ 

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Response No 33 Response No 35 

.lune, 1991 27

THE NUMBERS PAGE 

Top Twenty Boxoffice Performers

SHORT TAKES 

Paramount's Passport 

Promotion 

In

a chain that owned and operated 200 

video stores from Chicago to Washington, 

D.C. 

New Line for RCA/Columbia 

Pictures Home Video 

RCA/Columl3ia Pictures Home Video 

has entered into a three year exclusive 

deal to distribute New Line Home 

Video's product. 

The deal, which was 

believed to have cost RCA/CPHV in the 

neighborhood of $40 million, will include 

such films as the hit "Teenage 

Mutant Ninja Turtles II; The Secret of the 

Ooze," "Suburban Commandos" and 

"My Own Private Idaho." The agreement 

also allows New Line to use 

RCA/CPHV as international theatrical 

and home video distributor for a limited 

number of titles. In the past, New Line 

product had been distributed by a variety 

of companies (including RCA/CPHV) 

on a per title basis. 

"Ghost" Slays "Die 

Hard 2" 

Paramount Home Video's "Ghost" has 

chalked up more than 640,000 offers, 

making it the top-selling rental priced 

videocassette in industry history. Even 

with a hefty $99.95 tag, "Ghost" was 

able to easily outdistance the old recordholder, 

"Die Hard 2," which has sold 

510,000 units. At $63 wholesale, the 

tape should bring Paramount in the 

neighborhood of $41 million. 

Watch to Win 

Video dealers and distributors will 

have a chance to win a week-long action/adventure 

vacation for two at Walt 

Disney World courtesy of Buena Vista 

Home Video's "Watch to Win Action/Adventure 

Sweepstakes." The promotion 

will 

be launched with the )uly 

release of "Run" and "Shipwrecked." 

From April 15 through July 2, dealers 

and distributors will receive screening 

copies of the films and must answer two 

trivia questions about each to be entered 

in the sweepstakes. In addition to the 

grand prize vacation, ten Miyata mountain 

bikes and 100 sweatshirts will be 

awarded. 

Top Ten 

L. A. -based Video Pipeline Inc. has 

come up with a new monthly preview 

service for smaller video retailers called 

"Top Ten Video Previews." The service. 

available by subscription, will feature 

clips from the top new films available 

each month. The segments will all be 

pre-screened for nudity, obscenity and 

excessive violence. 

File This Under 

"Greed, Pt.2" 

Last month we reported that some 

video companies were toying with the 

idea of limited-play tapes for the rental 

market. Now it's official: the so-called 

"Showcase Cassettes" will be test-marketed 

in the Sacramento area on four "A" 

titles this month. The first film in question 

is Paramount's "Almost an Angel," 

scheduled to hit the stores on June 27, 

followed by RCA/Columbia's "Look 

Who's Talking 11" on July 3, Nelson's 

"Misery" on )uly 1 1 and LIVE's "Queens 

Logic" on August 15. The Showcase 

Cassette, which will cost retailers substantially 

less than regular cassettes, is 

designed to automatically erase after 25 

plays, which will be marked off by a 

built-in counter. The lower price will let 

retailers buy more copies of hot new 

titles when demand is greatest, while the 

counter will let stores charge by the play 

rather than the day. This means more 

money in everyone's pocket except the 

consumer's. 

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Response No 37 Response No. 39 

30 BOXOFFICE

NATIONAL NEWS 

Executive Movement at 

Paramount, Orion and 

MGM 

Spring provet) an active season tor executive 

shut'tlingat the studios, as Paramount, 

Orion and MCM-Pathe all announced new 

leaders in March and April. First came the 

major shakeup that rumbled through Paramount 

Pictures in late March, as Frank 

Mancuso, who had been the company's 

chairman since 198-4, abruptly departed 

irom the studio. This lollowed the surprise 

installation ol veteran producer and executive 

Stanley lal'fe as president ol Paramount 

Communications, a move which 

made laffe Mancuso's boss. While Paramount 

initially issued a statement that 

Mancuso had left the studio on Iriendly 

terms, Mancuso tiled a $45 million law suit 

just two days later, claiming that the hiring 

of lafte had been done behind his back and 

that he had actually been illegally tired, 

jafle, who with partner Sherry Lansing produced 

"Fatal Attraction," "Black Rain" and 

"The Accused," had formerly held executive 

positions with Paramount and Columbia, 

and directed the 1 983 feature "Without 

a Trace." His hiring is considered to be a 

major step in Paramount's radical drive to 

put the studio on a more sound financial 

track. 

Meanwhile, financially troubled Orion 

Pictures, in an effort to cut its $509 million 

debt, restructured its top management a 

week later, effectively stripping co-founders 

Eric Plaskow and Arthur Krim of control 

of the company. Taking over command of 

day to day operations is former Executive 

Vice President William Bernstein, who will 

now be president and CEO. The move 

was precipitated by majority shareholder 

lohn Kluge, whose Metromedia Co. 

pledged a "long-term commitment" to the 

ailing studio. Shortly after the changes 

were made Orion filed a declaration with 

the SEC, slating that Metromedia no longer 

planned to sell its 70 per cent slake in the 

company. Despite the $100 million plus 

success in recent months of Oscar-winning 

"Dances With Wolves" and "The Silence of 

the Lambs," Orion has been unable to 

make much of a deni in its debt, and 

resorted to selling "The Addams Family," to 

Paramount for $21 million. 

Finally, Ciancarlo Parreiti, the highrolling 

financier whose $1 .3 billion leveraged 

buyout of MCM/UA rocked 

Hollywood last October, has stepped aside 

as chairman and CEO of MGM-Paihe 

Communications, with veteran producer/executive 

Alan Ladd, jr. assuming 

his titles and duties. The troubled studio 

also received a $145 million bank loan 

which should lead to a dismissal of a bankruptcy 

action filed by creditors who were 

owed approximately $1 5 million. Parretti 

also gave up the chairman and CEO titles 

of MCM-Pathe's parent company, Pathe 

Communications, where he was replaced 

by his close friend Cesare De Michelis, a 

little known Italian academic. While 

Parretti and his European affiliates still own 

about 80 per cent of MCM-Pathe, it is 

believed that Ladd, who previously had the 

title of co-chairman, will now have final 

Caroico in Technicolor 

U.K. based Carllun Communications 

spent $14 million to obtain a 3 per cent 

stake in Caroico, it was announced in late 

March. Carlton, the parent company of 

Technicolor Inc., reportedly paid $13.50 

per share for over one million shares of 

Caroico, an amazing 69 per cent more than 

its current $8 per share general trading 

price. In exchange, Caroico agreed to a 

seven year exclusive pact for Technicolor 

to process all its film and television product 

in North America and other territories. 

Canal Plus, a French company, has also 

authority in running the studio. In a prepared 

statement, Ladd said that MGM 

would Ix- "going forward with ,\n aggressive 

release schedule over the next lew 

months," and the company announced that 

the previously-delayed "Thelma and Louise," 

starring Susan Sarandon and Ceena 

Davis, was set to open on May 24. 

recently upped its stake in Caroico from 5 

per cent to 5.9 per cent, while RCS Video, 

an Italian media and publishing company, 

signed a non-binding letter of intent to 

invest approximately $90 million in Caroico. 

While Caroico denies it is experiencing 

any kind of cash flow problem, rumors 

have been circulating that the production 

budget on the company's major summer 

release, "Terminator 2", has zoomed to as 

much as $100 million. 

NATO and Studios 

Join Forces 

The National Association of Theatre 

Owners (NATO) and four of the major 

studios-Disney, 20th Century Fox, Paramount 

and Universal--announced in mid- 

March thai they have agreed to jointly 

create and fund a North American public 

awareness campaign in hopes of increasing 

movie attendance. 

Marketing and advertising 

executives from the four studios 

were scheduled to meet with NATO officials 

in laic April to discuss the exact nature 

of the program. Among the issues to be 

hammered out were whether they should 

target infrequent moviegoers or non-moviegoers, 

anci whether the campaign should 

be promotion or advertising oriented. The 

plan was seen as one way of counteracting 

the ongoing decline in theatrical attendance, 

which in 1990 fell off 7 per cent 

from 1989. 

Ninja Turtles 

Are Everywhere 

Setting a new, all-time record. "Teenage 

Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the 

Ooze, became the first film ever to open 

on more than 3,000 screens on March 22. 

"Turtles H" opened a week before the Easter 

holiday weekend, in hopes of giving the 

film extra exposure to kids out of school for 

springvacation, and it opened huge, taking 

in over $54 million in its first two weeks of 

release. The original "Teenage Mutant 

Ninja Turtles" opened on Easter weekend 

in 1 990, and was one of the year's biggest 

boxoffice surprises. The previous record 

holder lor opening on the most screens was 

another sequel to a surprise hit, 

Paramount's "'Crocodile' Dundee II," 

whl( h opened on 2837 screens in 1988. 

Boxoffice, Production 

Boom In First Quarter 

March marked the tounh consecutive 

month domestic boxoffice reached an alltime 

comparable monthly high, with ticket 

sales up 1 1 per cent over last year ($56.7 

million in 1991 to 54.7 million in 1990) 

and revenue up 1 7 per cent ($278 million 

to $254.5 million). Among the films leading 

the pack were "The Silence of the 

Lambs," "Sleeping With the Enemy" and 

"The Doors." Production, both by studios 

and independents, was also up in the first 

quarter. Studio production rose by 1 2 per 

cent, while the indies had a 25 per cent 

increase over last year. In all, 86 English 

language films had started filming by the 

end of March, as compared lo 72 in the 

same period of 1990. 

Disney's "The Rocketeer" 

Goes to Pizza Hut 

VV.ill lJisiK-\ SdidiDs.iiui Pizza Hut have 

announced a multi-million dollar national 

cross-promotion campaign for the studio's 

summer release "The Rocketeer." The promotion, 

which is one of the largest ever 

entered into by a restaurant chain, marks 

the first time that 7,000-strong Pizza Hut 

chain has been involved in a major summer 

cross-promotion. It will include national 

print and broadcast campaigns, a 

sweepstakes, point-of-purchase displays, 

premium giveaways and 50 million freestanding 

inserts in Sunday newspapers. 

Disney has also promised to back the film 

with the studio's largest TV advertising 

budget to date, a record previously believed 

to be in the neighborhood of $10 

million, spent on "Dick Tracy." M & 

M/Mars has also committed to a cross-promotion 

for "The Rocketeer," and both campaigns 

are expected to launch on the film's 

release dale, June 21. Directed by joe 

Johnston ("Honey I Shrunk the Kids") and 

based on the comic book superhero, "The 

Rocketeer" reportedly had a $35 million 

production budget. 

Correction 

In our April National News, we incorrectly 

stated that Loews Theatres had 

posted a loss. Contrary to that statement, 

Loews has not posted a loss; Loews has not. 

and does not now, operate at a loss. We 

are sorry for any confusion this may have 

caused. 

June, 1991 31

WE'D LIKE TO 

REMIND YOU 

THAT THE 

UNCENSORED 

CONTENT 

OF THIS 

MAGAZINE 

IS MADE 

POSSIBLE 

BY THE 

CONSTITUTION 

OF THE 

UNITED STATES. 

THE 

CONSTITUTION 

The words wt live b\ 

'lo Icam more .ibout tlic Constitmion write L\--^ 

sittmion. WJiihtiij^^Mi, DC. ;o;ao- Tlie Coimni 

Comcil 

EASTERN NEWS 

BOSTON 

Extensive repairs are being made to the 

Opera House on Washington Street, the 

former Saxon Theatre, which was initially 

operated by Sack Theatres before it was sold 

to U.S. Cinemas and later to Loews. The 

board of the Opera House of Boston voted 

to proceed with a plan to fix mechanical and 

safety problems and to continue work on the 

theatre's complete restoration. In its heyday, 

the Saxon Theatre presented road show and 

first run films. It was originally the B,F, Keith 

vaudeville and motion picture theatre, a Boston 

landmark. 

LIVINGSTON, N.J. 

The opening of its Colony Theatre in this 

city marks Movie Entertainment, Inc's entrance 

into motion picture exhibition. Formerly 

operated by United Artists as a single 

screen theatre, the Colony saw a May opening 

as a tri-plex house. Total seating capacity 

for all three screens is approximately 500 

seats. Features include hi-back, rocker, recliner 

chairs with cup-holder on the armrests, 

stereo surround sound utilizing ceiling speakers 

as well as a computerized boxoffice and 

refreshment stand pads (this last feature uses 

the "In Touch" option of having concession 

advance sales along with tickets at the window). 

Complex to launch a State-wide program 

called "Meadowlands ROCK-90" (Reaching 

Out for Concert Kids in the 90s), Created by 

the Meadowlands, ROCK-90 is a safety/educational 

program aimed at young concertgoers 

and their parents. In conjunction with 

the program, Loews Theatres launched a 

Public Service Announcement featuring Bon 

Jovi on all their 113 New lersey screens May 

1st. The 60 second spot comments on the 

need for responsible concert-going. 

PHILADELPHIA, PA 

Philadelphia Variety Club presented a special 

benefit performance of the 1991 String 

Band "Show of Shows" at Philadelphia Civic 

Center, Also, lanus Productions, Inc, of suburban 

Plymouth Meeting, Pa produced a 

promotional film trailer at the Variety Club 

Camp for Handicapped Children for the Variety 

Club's Wishing Well campaign and to be 

shown at all the area film housed. The trailer 

included a pitch by Monty Hall, which was 

shot in the lobby of a United Artists theatre 

where Hall was joined by six handicapped 

children. 

MIDWEST NEWS 

Oliver's Stoiy 

Oliver 

is one of the lucky ones. 

He was one of six dogs we rescued 

before they could be sold to a major 

dog dealer for experimentation. 

The interstate transportation of lost and 

stolen dogs destined for laboratories is a 

nightmare for these animals— many of them 

beloved companions— even before the experiments 

begin. It is estimated that UX1.000 dogs 

per year make the journey to dog dealers and 

experimenters. 

Since 1980. People for the Ethical TVcatment 

of Animals has become this nation's most effective 

and hard-hitting organization when it 

comes to exposing and stopping animal cruelty, 

especially in laboratories. 

Suffering animals need knowledgeable and 

assertive fighters on their side— they're not all 

as lucky as Oliver 

For additional information on how you can 

help, write: PETA. P.O. Box 42516. Washington. 

DC 20015. or call (202) 726-0156. 

NEW YORK, N.Y. 

The new Loews Village Theatre VII at Third 

Avenue and 1 1th Street in Manhattan opened 

in May, At a cost of $17,3 million, the Village 

Theatre VII is the first in a series of three new 

Loews complexes in Manhattan The house 

features a total seating capacity of 2100 and 

offers state-of-the-art equipment (including 

luxurious seats equipped with cup holders, 

Dolby Stereo in all seven auditoriums and 

70mm capabilities). Also, the theatre is the 

first and only THX sound presentation in Manhattan 

and the country's first multi-story, seven 

level cinema. Along with its seven screens, 

there are five concession stands and twelve 

escalators as well as an elevator and total 

accessibility for the handicapped 

Variety's Children's Charity in this city 

raised $2,018,503 in April during its annual 

telethon broadcast live from the Winter Carden. 

Performers for the event included Penn 

and Teller, Debbie Gibson, Buster Poindexter, 

Bob McCrath and Julie Budd, Funds from 

Variety are dispersed to several New York 

area organizations, including those for underprivileged 

children, kids with cancer, newborns 

with need, children with AIDS, children 

with facial deformities and more. 

SECAUCUS, N.J. 

Loews Theatres will team up with rock singer 

Ion Bon )ovi and the Meadowlands Sports 

CLEVELAND, OHIO 

Columbia Films, operating under the name 

of Triumph Releasing Corporation, |ust left 

this city to move to Chicago, It was the last of 

the film distribution organizations remaining in 

Cleveland, Fifteen employees working under 

manager Dave Spero are now without jobs. 

The 71-year old Coventry Theatre, closed 

since 1988, will reopen and be managed by 

Morry ZyrI and building contractor Charles 

Zuchowski, owner of the property. According 

to Zyrl, who recently lost his lease at the 

Colony Theatre, the theatre will be renamed 

The Centrum and will be divided into a threescreen 

complex The largest screen, with 500- 

600 seats, will be named the Roxanne T, 

Mueller Theatre, in honor of the Plain Dealer's 

late film critic, 

Zyrl plans to program first 

run, commercial movies, art and foreign films, 

and some revivals, 

Al Saluan has taken over the Colony 

Theatre and plans a five screen cinema He 

hopes to keep the giant screen that made the 

Colony a Cleveland showplace Shelly Silverman 

will remain as manager Saluan also 

owns the Lake, Mapletown and Fairview 

theatres, 

MINNEAPOLIS, MN 

The first drive-in to open in the 1991 season, 

the 65-Hi in Blain, MN, (north Minneapo- 


lis metro) opened April 5 with "King Ralph" 

double-billed with "Kindergarten Cop " The 

65 Hi, op>ened in I%5, is the last drive-in on 

the Minneapolis side ol the metro The 

theatre is op)erated by Irving Brav erman The 

Maple Leaf and Vali Hi dnve-ins opened April 

12 

Two rural theatres are using the telephone 

as a means of promotion and service to their 

customers The Mill i in Milbank, SD has a 

toll free 800 line from outside its local calling 

area, while the owner of the Vogue Theatre 

in Sandstone. M N takes calls at his home 

when not at the theatre Both numljers are 

given in the theatres' advertising 

II I I > 

TAKE STOCK! 

Pacer Style Tickets 

IMMEDIATE SHIPPING 

"The Unbelievable Truth," distntjuted by 

Miramax, opened April 12 at Cineplex Odeons 

Ridge Square i The booking, however 

was unusual, since the theatre recently be 

came a $ 1 50 second run house The distributor 

allowed Cineplex to play the film for this 

price, even though it was a first run Twin 

Cities exclusive The IcKal press made note of 

this bargain, yet display ads did not mention 

the discounted price 

General Cinema has established a "Movie 

Information Line" that Twin Cities moviegoers 

may call (564-5700) for GCC films and 

showtimes 24 hours a day Information on 

the "Line" is obtained by making a series ol 

commands on the callers touch-tone telephone 

CCCs recording offers a breakdown 

of the "Top 10" movies playing along with 

films and showtimes for each theatre 

The Cooper Theatre in this town is still tor 

sale since General Mills withdrew its plan to 

demolish it and build a restaurant in its place 

The planning department of St Louis Park 

was ready to deny a building permit in any 

event, since the restaurant plan did not allow 

for the required 2 10 parking spaces As earlier 

reported, the theatre closed lanuary 31 of 

this year 

The fate of the Minnesota Film Board is 

now being questioned, as Governor Arne 

Carlsons budget trims suggest that the Board 

be weaned off state funding over the next 

two years so that it will eventually be selfsufficient 

Since the Film Board has had success 

luring filmmakers to use Minnesota locations. 

It may be able to find funding via the 

business community New Lines "Drop Dead 

Fred," scheduled for release this month, was 

filmed in the Twin Cities 

SOUTHERN NEWS 

NEW ORLEANS, LA 

Robert Brunei ol the Downtown lev 

Theatre has been named head of the Entertainment 

District Task Force, which is trying to 

develop an entertainment district in the area

containing the |oy, State, Saenger and Orpheum 

theatres. At present, the )oy is still a 

tri-plex; the Saenger presents Broadway roadshows; 

while the Orpheum (owned by the 

New Orleans Symphony) presents concerts. 

The State is currently vacant except for special 

events. All were formerly movie houses. 

ON THE MOVE 

Carl Ferrazza, Vice President of Promotion 

and Field Activities for Orion Pictures, has 

retired this past month after 46 years in the 

motion picture industry, Ferrazza joined 

Orion in 1984, supervising the studio's network 

of field representatives and regional 

advertising/publicity/promotion agencies. 

Ann Damato has been named creative 

executive of Lightstorm Entertainment, lames 

Cameron's independent production company 

headed by Larry Kasanoff, Previously, 

Damato collaborated with Kasanoff at Vestron 

Pictures and will now assist in developing 

Lightstorm's burgeoning slate of features and 

forging relations with creative talent. 

Bonnie Solow has been named Vice President 

of Creative Affairs, East Coast at Samuel 

Coldwyn Company. Solow still mines all areas 

of the New York creative community for new 

projects, material and talent, thus adding to 

Coldwyn's expanding development and production 

slate. Solow, most recently, was creative 

director and editor-in-chief at Harper 

Audio, a division of HarperCollins Publishers, 

Inc. 

AMC Entertainment, Inc. has promoted 

Terry Rennack, an 11-year veteran with the 

company, to the position of Manager, Marketing 

Services. Rennack will now expand his 

current support role to be responsible for the 

maintenance of AMC's database, where he 

will administer corporate marketing pro- 

TICKETS AND 

COMPUTER SYSTEM STOCK 

SHIPPED WHEN PROMISED 

PRINTED AS SPECIFIED 

CONTACT DAVE KOTAREK 

Weldon, Williams & Lick 

P.O. Box 168 

SINCE 189S 

Ft. Smith, Ark. 72902 

SINCE 1898 

501/783-4113 FAX 501/783-7050 

Response No 46 

PRESENTING THE FANTASTIC 4 

XR171 

ANTI-STATIC 

nun yellowing 

pearlesceni surface

— 

— 

^^r 

ws 

CITY SLICKERS 

Starring Billy Crystal, Bruno Kirby, Daniel Stem, Jack Palance, 

Helen Slater and Patncia Wcltig 

Produced by Irby Smith Directed by Ron UndenvoiHi Written 

by Lowell Ganz and Bahaloo Mandel 

A Columbia Pictures release Comedy/drama, rated PG-13 

Running time 109 minutes Screening date 4 '22/91 

Forget funny, forget mildly funny. "City Slickers" is really 

funny and really touching It's a comedy whose intentions are 

anything but skin-deep, and Billy Crystal, from whose original 

story this film evolved, has achieved a fully-realized comedy 

that, beneath its humorous cover, has some serious intentions 

in mind This film is a successful balance of corny one-liners, 

extended metaphors and heavily-weighted jabs at being middle-aged 

and being worried about it "City Slickers" also pays 

homage to the Hollywood western, a genre whose form no 

doubt has seduced many a city-folk— those who dream about 

being John Wayne (or in this case. Jack Palance) riding the 

range. Crystal is one of these folk, only he has done something 

about his dream 

— 

OUT FOR JUSTICE 

Starring Steven Seagal, William Forsythe, Jerry Orbach and Jo 

Campa 

Produced by Steven Seagal and Arnold Kopelson Directed by 

John Flynn Written by David Lee Henry 

A Warner Brothers release Action, rated R Running time IN 

mm. Screening date. 4/17

hand at romance, as Gino woos back his estranged wife (Jo 

Campa) just moments before a handful of Richie's pals crash 

through the window. Of course it's all just filler for the big 

showdown between our hero and villain, but there's never any 

suspense about what the outcome of that battle will be: Richie, 

after all, is a coked-out, overweight madman; Gino's a great 

guy who loves his kid, saves a stray puppy and has a black-belt 

for good measure. 

Calling Seagal's performance leaden is like calling a tree 

wooden. Squinting is his idea of a facial expression (perhaps 

he's trying to make out his cue cards), and he delivers lines as 

if his tongue were dipped in cement. But physically he's a 

wonder, and he gives the movie's fight scenes a heart-thumping 

power that momentarily makes you forget his remedial 

acting. As Richie, Forsythe (Flat Top from "Dick Tracy") 

fares far better, exploding with the manic intensity of a genuine 

psychopath. 

David Lee Henry's script is little more than a hodge-podge 

of Clint Eastwood and Chuck Norris-inspired cliches, while 

director John Flynn manages to keep up with the action if not 

inspire his actors. And that, after all, is what "Out For Justice" 

is all about: a slam-bang phantasmagoria of blood and guts 

that will have audiences cheering its violence and ignoring its 

laughable dialogue and performances on its way to making 

Seagal an even bigger star. 

Rated R for violence, language and nudity. Jeff Schwager 

MORTAL THOUGHTS 

Starring Derm Moore, Glenne Headly. Bruce Wilhs and Harvey 

Keitel 

Produced by John Fiedler and Mark Tarhv Directed by Alan 

Rudolph Written by William Reilly and Claude Kcrx'cn 

A Columbia Pictures release Thriller, rated R Running time: 

104 min Screening date April 5 

Combine Hollywood's hottest couple and one of America's 

most interesting independent filmmakers, and what do you 

get? Not much, if the screenplay they're given to work with is 

a confusing collection of genre conventions rehashed in an 

unconvincing fashion. That's the case with "Mortal 

Thoughts," an only intermittently effective thriller directed 

by Alan Rudolph and starring Demi Moore (who also coproduced) 

and Bruce Willis. 

— 

Frustrated with Jimmy's violent, destructive behavior, 

Joyce often talks of doing away with her husband, even going 

so far as to mix poison in with his sugar; Jimmy's about to 

drink a cup of coffee filled with the lethal mixture when Cynthia 

comes to the rescue, knocking the coffee and sugar bowl 

off the table. Still, Cynthia tells the cops, she didn't take her 

friend seriously until Jimmy turned up in the back of the 

beauty shop van with a slit throat. Then, she says, she had no 

choice but to help Joyce dump the body and cover up the 

crime. 

This not-so-thrilling thriller enjoyed a large marketing 

campaign and faired an okay $6,068,000 at 963 screens 

nationwide. By its second weekend it dropped almost 50 

percent. 

Part of the trouble with the film is its structure, which 

shows us everything from Cynthia's point of view. As her story 

progresses, one of the detectives (Harvey Keitel) begins to 

question whether Cynthia is telling the truth, implying that 

she might be more involved in the murder than she's letting 

on. This puts the audience in the thorny position of wondering 

how much of what we've seen is true, a question that's never 

adequately answered. 

As Cynthia and Jimmy, real life wife and husband Moore 

and Willis turn in strong, convincing performances. Moore is 

sincere and measured as a woman whose actions and motives 

are always in doubt, while Willis has enough animal magnetism 

to allow us to imderstand how Joyce was attracted to him 

despite his brutal tendencies. But it's Headly who steals the 

show, brilliantly swaying between the extremes of victim and 

murderer and slipping unsteadily into insanity; one second 

her expression has a waifish sadness, and the next there's a 

ruthless glimmer in her eyes. 

As with his low-budget efforts "Trouble in Mind" and "The 

Modems," director Rudolph (who replaced co-writer Kerven 

just prior to shooting) gives the film a stylish visual look and 

establishes an effective pace, once again employing an atmospheric 

score by Mark Isham to great effect. But despite all the 

talent in front of and behind the camera, "Mortal Thoughts" 

still rings false; Rudolph and company simply can't save the 

script from its own contrivances. 

Rated R for violence and language. Jeff Schwager 

— 

OSCAR 

Starring Sylvester Stallone. Peter Riegert, Omella Muti, Tim 

Curry, Kirk Douglas and Mansa Tomei- 

Produced by Leslie Belzberg Directed by John Landis Written 

by Michael Barrie and Jim Mulholland. Based on the play by 

Claude Magnier 

A Touchstone Pictures release Comedy, rated PC Running 

time: 109 min Screening date: 4/18/91 

John Landis has been known to take risks in his films. Add 

to his list of risks directing Sylvester Stallone as a leading man 

in a dialogue-driven farce that copies the screwball comedies 

of the 1930s. Surprisingly, the gamble pays off— it should net 

Sly another fortune and increase Landis' status as a director 

who can tackle a variety of cinematic concepts. 

Too bad, because there's the germ of a truly intriguing film 

here. The script, credited to William Reilly and Claude Kerven, 

touches on several interesting and important subjects, 

including friendship, loyalty and the plight of abused women. 

But Reilly and Kerven never seem quite sure what kind of film 

they want to write, and the result is an unsteady cross 

between "Beaches" and "Body Heat." 

The film begins in a police station, where Cynthia Kellogg 

(Moore) is offering voluntary testimony to a pair of police 

officers. In flashback, we meet her best friend and boss, Joyce 

Urbanski (Glenne Headly), who owns the beauty parlor where 

Cynthia works. We also meet Joyce's husband Jimmy (Willis), 

an abusive lout who's more interested in drugs, gambling and 

getting into Cynthia's pants than he is in finding a job or 

settling down with Joyce. 

Stallone's move into the mainstream of screwball 

comedy lacked much sparkle in its luster. Its Brst 

weekend saw a mediocre take of $5,091,000 at 1388 

screens. 

Trim and well-groomed, Stallone plays Angelo "Snaps" Provolone 

(yes, as in the big cheese), a notorious bootlegger who 

is summoned to his dying father's bed and forced to promise 

the old man that he'll renounce his criminal activities. Here 

Stallone is as thick-tongued as ever, but his timing is on target 

and when audiences laugh at his repartee it won't be out of 

embarrassment. 

Michael Barrie and Jim Mulholland's lively dialogue spot- 

R-34 BOXOFFICE

lights the talents of a score of Hollywood legends who pop up 

throughout the picture with broad routines that will please 

people of all persuasions It's easy to recognize Don Ameche 

as the family priest, but less obvious are Kirk Douglas in a 

cameo as the dying father and Yvonne DeCarlo as Snaps' Aunt 

Rosa 

The funniest supporting roles are played by Tim Curry, as 

the arch linguist who gets to make Snaps sound cultured; and 

Martin Ferrero and Harp.' Shearer as the immigrant tailors 

who outfit him for a meeting with legitimate bankers Snaps 

struggles hopelessly to rchne his dim-witted henchman 

(Chass Palminteri) along with his wise-cracking sidekick ( Peter 

Riegert) who makes a sarcastic, running commcntarj' 

throughout the film 

The film ambles along at a lively pace, its plot filled with 

mistaken identities and missed rendezvous. (Even though the 

story takes place during the Depression, many of its jokes play 

on modem cultural references familiar to young movie-goers.) 

Thanks to a stuttcnng informant (Eddie Bracken), neither the 

Feds nor the mob really believe that Snaps will go straight. 

Of course, the film's title is awfully self-congratulatory (Oscar, 

the character, doesn't materialize until the last scene). 

Nevertheless, it deserves credit for, among other things, its 

wonderful Clamation sequence which accompanies an aria by 

Rossini during the opening titles. 

Rated PC, "Oscar" will play to a very broad audience. 

Karen Kreps 

A KISS BEFORE DYING 

Slamng S\att Dillon, Sean Young and Max Von Sydow 

Produced by Robert Lawrence Written for the screen and 

directed by James Dearden 

A Universal release Drama, rated R Running time .95 min 

Screening date 4/22/91 

The first—as well as the last—seven minutes of "A Kiss 

Before Dying" have the kind of surprise sang-froid gore that 

will curdle your blood and congeal your popcorn butter 

Unfortunately, the remainder of this pseudo-noirish matinee 

flick is mournful, dismal and gloomy (cat-eyes required here) 

in an affected and exaggerated manner. Also, it is more chockful 

of chuckles (unintendedly so) than loaded writh choking 

suspense. 

Right after Matl's surcthrart took a dive in this him, 

his "Kiss" took a di\r at thr hoxotht r, opening uith a 

middlin' $4,348,000 at close to 2,H00 screens. 

Badly satirizing our society's unscrupulous materialism and 

careerism, this post-Yuppy era movie tells the story of Jonathan 

Corliss (Matt Dillon), a well-groomed, bug-eyed monster 

who does away with his girlfriend only then to take up with 

her twin sister (Sean Young), a damsel-in-distress who, ironically, 

doesn't seem to know she is in any trouble We can all 

take it from there: just how long will it be before this dullminded 

female catches on She has an inkling that her sister 

— 

was murdered, and the rest of this film focuses on her relationship 

with the monster a la Dillon. 

In his adaptation of Ira Levin's excellent novel, Dearden has 

tried to skew the character of Jonathan Corliss to match the 

unscrupulous career woman played by Glenn Close in "Fatal 

Attraction" (which Dearden penned) In "Kiss," Corliss is 

Close's counterpan, an unscmpulous and dangerous career 

man who is a threat to anyone 

Yet audiences will get very little from this film, and it 

should prove to be a fatal boxoffice attraction instead. This 

stop.' is neither entertaining nor consciousness-raising (a good 

lesson in Yuppyism, perhaps:") Nor is it even hair-raising 

Instead it is a confused maze of plot twists that go nowhere 

and characters who are more irritating than interesting 

Rated R for violence, language and sexual situations.— 

Allen Spear 

THE MARRYING MAN 

Starrmg Kim Basmgcr, Alec Balduni, Robert Uiggia. Elisabeth 

Shue, Paul Reiser, Fisher Stevens and Arniand Assanie 

Produced by David Pcmiut Directed by Jerry Rees. Written by 

Neil Simon 

A Hollywood Pictures Release Comedy, rated R Running time 

115 mm Screening date 4/12/91 

If June is the marrying month, then "The Marr>'ing Man" is 

June to the limit The man and woman in this not so believable 

farce marry four times— and given their penchant for disorganized 

affections— four times is four times too many The 

problem with this film is not its stor\' so much as its actors 

While Neil Simon's script is sillyncss incarnate, there is no 

reason why it wouldn't have worked if it had been fleshed out 

with a marrying man and woman of some substance Kim 

Basinger and Alec Baldwin, however, are not that couple. 

Their appeal here translates to supercilious sexuality— and 

this just isn't enough. 

Baldwin is Charlie Pearl, a handsome playboy and heir to a 

toothpaste fortune He's just become engaged to Adele (Elisabeth 

Shue), the daughter of movie mogul Lew Homer (Robert 

Loggia, who huffs and puffs a bit too much here) While Homer 

doesn't quite trust Charlie with his daughter, nevertheless 

Charlie seems to be genuinely in love with Adele Then, while 

on his way to a bachelor party in Las Vegas with his friends 

(two of whom are a funny Paul Reiser and an even funnier 

Fisher Stevens), Charlie gets a look at singer Vicki Anderson 

(Kim Basinger). While Charlie may love Adele, he doesn't 

really find her that sexually attractive Yet he doesn't know 

this is true until he meets Vicki. Vicki is all sex appeal and 

Charlie can't help but want Vicki (literally) all over the place 

Unfortunately, just as the two of them take their first sexual 

" 

romp, in walks "Bugsy Seigcl (Armand Assante), Vicki's erstwhile 

boyfriend, who, even though he's about about to dump 

her, feels humiliated At the same time, he wants Vicki to be 

taken care of financially. So, practically at gunpoint, he 

coerces Charlie and Vicki into marrying 

Yet this is only marriage number one—and there are three 

more to come. Bugsy Siegel, as well as movie mogul Lew Homer, 

are out of the picture soon enough, and Vicki and Charlie 

are left to themselves to botch their relationship at least several 

more times Sometimes they just don't agree on things 

very much; and sometimes the old sexual spark simply flies 

out the window when they settle into a marriage of disharmony. 

Whatever the reason, sex keeps reuniting them (and here 

sex is ultimately supposed to translate into love). 

The problem with Vicki and Charlie is Baldwin and Basinger's 

inability to be little other than cardboard figures. They 

try to be funny—they tr\' to be up to snuff to Simon—but they 

just don't make it. While Baldwin sits near the edge of funnyness, 

Basinger never emerges from her persona as a sexualized 

object. While the script itself pegs her this way, as an 

actress she also appears to bank on it. Put together (pun 

intended), Basinger and Baldwin are pretty to look at yet lack 

the warmth that translates into great Neil Simon. 

Rated R for mild sexual situations Marilyn Moss 

— 

June, 1991 R-35

— 

THE FIVE HEARTBEATS 

Starring Robert Townsend, Michael Wright, Leon, Harry ]. 

Lennix, Tico Wells, Diahann Carroll, Harold Nicholas, Chuck Patterson, 

Hawthorne James and John Canada Terrell 

Produced by Loretha C Jones Directed by Robert Townsend. 

Written by Robert Townsend and Keenen Ivory Wayans 

A Twentieth Century Fox release Drama, rated R Running 

time: 122 min Screening date March 21, 1991 

In his first film as writer-director, comedian Robert Townsend 

parodied the pHght of black actors in Hollywood, painting 

out that their main opportunities for employment came in 

portraying pimps and drug dealers. With his follow-up, "The 

Five Heartbeats," Townsend has tried to right that wrong, 

supplying a variety of roles for blacks; unfortunately, his 

script (co-written with Keenen Ivory Wayans) is so hackneyed 

that few will ever get to see these more positive role models. 

"The Five Heartbeats" follows the career of a fictitious 

vocal group of that name, from early talent competitions to 

superstardom. The Heartbeats line up as follows; Townsend 

plays Duck, their resident genius songwriter; Michael Wright 

is Eddie, the excessive lead singer; (one-named) Leon is J.T., 

Duck's womanizing brother; Harry J. Lennix is Dresser, who 

choreographs their dance-steps; and Tico Wells is Choirboy, 

the son of a minister. There's also Chuck Patterson as their 

manager Jimmy, Diahann Carroll as his wife; Harold Nicholas 

as a dancer who helps them out; John Canada Terrell as 

"Flash," the singer who takes over when Eddie goes too far; 

and Hawthorne James as Big Red, a greedy record executive. 

With all these characters playing substantial roles, there's 

little time for individual development, and the film plays like 

a greatest hits medley of their lives. There's no depth, and no 

real dramatic structure; from scene to scene, it's hard to tell 

how much time has passed And the characters, though they 

collectively cover a broad spectrum of human behavior, still 

come off individually as cliches: Duck is sensitive, Eddie has a 

compulsive-addictive personality, and so on; we're presented 

with their dominant character trait, and that's it—there's no 

development. 

Nor is there much of the goofy humor that made "Hollywood 

Shuffle" so endearing: the film's only truly hilarious 

moments come wtih a running gag involving The Five Horsemen, 

an all-white group that rips off the Heartbeats' songs. 

The best moments in the film come during the musical numbers, 

which actually manage to replicate the vitality of the 

Motown songs that inspired the film. 

Otherwise, "The Five Heartbeats" plays like a bad TV 

movie, or a parody of rocumentaries in which Townsend 

inexplicably forgot to include any jokes. He'll do better in the 

future if he sticks with the comedic talent that made him 

semi-famous in the first place. 

Rated R for language. Jeff Schwager 

SPARTACUS 

Starring Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, 

Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov, Tony Curtis and John Gavin 

Produced by Kirk Douglas and Edward Lewis Directed by 

Stanley Kubrick Written by Dalton Tnimbo Based on the novel 

by Howard Fast Reconstructed and Restored by Robert Harris 

Reconstruction and Restoration Produced by James C Katz Editorial 

Consultant: Robert Lawrence 

A Universal release Drama, rated PG-13 Running time 197 

min 

, 

including intermission Screening date: 4/18/91- 

Theoretically, the story of "Spartacus" the gladiator who 

led a doomed revolt of Roman slaves against the Empire and 

was crucified for his trouble, should be one immense downer, 

yet this classic sword-and-sandal epic from 1960, written by a 

blacklisted screenwriter and based on a novel by a blacklisted 

author, manages to be poignant and uplifting without shirking 

from its ultimate tragedy. 

With a voiceover assuring us that slavery no longer exists 

and that Christianity was solely responsible for the demise of 

the evil empire that was Rome, our story opens as the slave 

Spartacus hamstrings a guard with his bare teeth. It looks like 

our hero is going to die of starvation when all of a sudden 

Batiatus (Ustinov) drafts Spartacus into gladiatorial school 

where he leams to fight, to bathe, and against all odds, to 

love. 

The snails and oysters replete, this restored spectacle 

proved that they don't make them like they used to. 

Kubrick's epic saw a regal opening boxofSce of $23,041 

at four big-city theatres. 

The object of Spartacus' affections is the slave Varinia 

(Simmons). Yet when the Roman general Crassus (Olivier) 

and his entourage come to the gladiatorial school for a private 

match, Crassus becomes obsessed with Varinia even as Spartacus 

fights for his life in the arena below. Cras,sus purchases 

Varinia, and when Spartacus leams that he'll never see her 

again, he immediately becomes so incensed that he slays his 

overseers and proceeds to lead thousands of ex-slaves against 

the might of the Roman legions. 

This film, with its much-vaunted spectacle — portrayed by a 

cast of over ten thousand—manages to be as much a character 

study as an epic, as much an allegory as a history lesson. 

Director Kubrick trains the camera tightly on his actors and 

for the most part delegates the spectacle of the tale to the 

background. Even during the scenes of mass exodus, Kubrick 

picks out several characters and follows them, personalizing 

both their joys and trials. The overall effect is 

not unlike that 

of the films of Sergei Eisenstein, a mini-movie, as it were, 

within a movie. 

The acting here is perhaps the best the cinema of the period 

had to offer. In marked contrast to the cool portrayals of 

today's action epics, Douglas plays Spartacus broadly, as a 

simple, eloquent man equally as capable of tenderness as he is 

of savagery. Ustinov's oily, opportunistic Batiatus provides the 

film with black humor, while Laughton's pragmatic, cynical 

senator Gracchus becomes the doomed hero of the political 

intrigue inherent in the tale. 

Profiting most from the restored footage is Olivier's performance. 

Although he claimed to be just a technician, Olivier 

brings great depth and passion — phis a few instances of unexpected 

humor— to his portrait of the consummate Roman soldier: 

an especially difficult feat when you consider that during 

the course of the story his character not only tries to seduce 

the poet-slave Antoninus (Curtis, in one of the scenes initially 

cut and now restored), but also, toward the end, Varinia herself 

In another restored scene, Olivier presents the defeated 

Laughton with a list of those who had been disloyal to the 

Roman Empire during the crisis of the slave revolt. Olivier's 

Crassus is the personification of men— democratic men—who 

would give up their freedom for the illusion of security and 

order, and as such it's his character, as much as that of Douglas' 

Spartacus, that personifies the political allegory that permeates 

this film. 

Douglas, in his producer's hat, couldn't have been unaware 

of the script's references to the McCarthyism of the fifties, 

and surely that must have been part of his motivation when he 

R-36 BOXOFFICE

insisted that blacklisted screenwriter Trumbo's name appear 

in the screen credits 

"Spartacus," while it may show its age in certain respects, 

has many of the qualities today's filmgoers like in their big 

summer epics a big, sweepmg stors' with lots of spectacle and 

action But it also has something most of today's films don't 

have, and that's a script that depends on language as much as 

on visuals Films the size and scope of "Spartacus" will probably 

never be made again—they would be simply too expensive—but 

in the final analysis it's the little things that spectacle 

can't capture that make this film worthy of revival Characters 

you care about in films who have something to say 

they'll be in style long after today's c:urrent revolving-door 

crop of talent has gone the way of the dinosaurs 

Rated PG-13 for violence and mature situations—Arthur 

Byron Cover 

REUNION 

Starring jason Robards, Chnstien Anhohi, Samuel West, Francoise 

Fabtan arid Maureen Kerivin 

Produced hy Anne Frarjcois Directed by Jerry Schatzberg 

Screenplay by Harold Pinter Based on the novel by Fred Lfhlman 

A Castle Hill Productions release Drama, rated PG-13 Running 

time 105 mm Screening date 4/20/90 

"Reunion" should prove to be an example of what happens 

to a film when funds are lacking to promote its good name 

This film is a stunning meditation on the relationship between 

two teenage boys—one Jewish, one not — in 1932 Germany 

whose friendship is destroyed as Hitler comes to power. 

In subject alone, "Reunion" is a powerful film, since issues 

of the Holocaust never cease to absorb us. 

— 

And with Harold 

Pinter's intelligent, provocative script, this film soars past any 

other recent study (and there are many) of Hitler's pre-war 

Germany. Yet, while "Reunion" is an artful film, it may very 

well be relegated only to a short art house nm. Ironically, 

while a small film such as "Driving Miss Daisy" became large 

to the extent of the money poured into its marketing campaign, 

"Reunion "— a story large in spirit — may remain small 

only because it lacks a large pocket of money to bolster it 

around the country. 

Jason Robards is Henry' (or Hans Strauss), a successful 

American attorney who now—after having been sent to America 

by his parents 55 years ago and after having averted his 

eyes to anything German for all this time— returns to this 

country of his boyhood to find the friend he lost After searching 

out and locating some of his family's possessions still held 

in storage, Henr>''s memories of his boyhood in Germany 

come flooding back. Flashbacks then become the body of the 

film. 

The young Hans (Christien Anhold) and his friend, Konradin 

(Samuel West)—both 16—became close confidants after 

striking up a friendship at the g\'mnasium they attended in 

Stuttgart. Yet this was 1932, and while Hans' Jewishness 

seemed not to matter to the aristocratic Konradin, eventually 

the politics and the horror of anti-semitism became apocalyptic 

for both boys' lives Finally, Konradin had to tell Hans that, 

given his mother's hatred for Jews, he had to fight for even,' 

minute he spent with Hans In turn, Hans' parents decided to 

send him to New York as a way to save his life And what 

occurs prior to this sad turn of events makes for a poignant 

and intimate view of how these close friends discovered each 

other only to lose each other in the end 

Robards. as the older Henn,' who returns to his past, elegantly 

gives his stor>' over to Anhold for most of the him I lans 

is first a boy, then a man, who bears the pain not only of 

having lost his fnend but also his youth when his life in Germany 

was cut short In returning to this country' now so foreign 

to him, he discovers the fate of his lost friend In the 

process he discovers that Hitler's atrocities still scar this country 

The beauty of this film rests with how well Pinter's script 

embodies issues of loyalty, ambivalence and loss There is not 

a melodramatic nor a manipulative turn to be found in "Reunion" 

Rather, Pinter and Schatzberg opt for subtlety and quiet 

encounters This is a small film that heads for the heart of 

anyone's youth 

Rated PG-13 for subject matter. Marilyn Moss 

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES 

SlaiTing Frank Wlialcy, Jennifer Connelly, Barry Corhin, Jahn 

M Jacksim, Noble Willingham. William Forsyihe, Jenny O'Hara, 

Dermot Mulroncy and Kicran Mulroney 

Produced hy John Hughes and A Hunt Lowry. Directed hy 

Bryan Gordon Written by John Hughes 

A Universal Pictures release Comedy, rated PG-13 Running 

time 81 mm Screening date 3/26/91 

More than any other filmmaker of our time (or any era), 

John Hughes has been able to tap into the minds and pockets 

of the lucrative teen scene. Not only have his films scored at 

the boxoffice; they have also captured the essence of teenage 

life—the fears and the victories that we all remember Some 

audiences will always carrv' around pieces of Hughes' "The 

Breakfast Club"; five kids from different worlds thrown 

together in Saturday morning detention, each to change the 

life of the others. 

With "Career Opportunities" the edge has dulled: points 

once perceptive have now been reduced to formulaic gags 

When a 21 -year old ne'er do-well (seemingly patterned after 

advertising liar Joe Isuzu) is forced to choose employment at 

the local Target department store or move out of his parents' 

comfy digs, he opts for the former. Yet, after a hilarious quickcut 

interview session with Target ubermensch John Candy, 

both momentum and film go downhill. 

Encountering his immediate boss (William Forsythe), a 

hard workin', hard lovin', Harley-drivin' kind of guy who 

imparts his wisdom ("clean from the outside aisles in"), the 

boss then goes home and locks Jim in for the night To recapture 

another Hughes moment, Whatley is captured at the 

door— eyes bugged out and mouth open a la Macauley Culkin 

in "Home Alone"—when he realizes it's Target Alone. 

A trail of gags follow, all to emphasize Jim's chameleon-like 

persona In a key routine, roller-skating through the main 

aisles, Jim discovers Josie McClellan (Jennifer Connelly), 

who has awakened in Sleeping Beauty fashion from her ladies' 

room slumber. He might as well have met a stranger 

fitting 

because, although they practically grew up next door, they're 

from different classes As they become acquainted, they grow 

closer—sharing their individual teenage angst Then Crash! 

Just as the film begins to tread some new ground, it is interrupted 

by two bungling, murderous thieves (the brothers Mulroney) 

who choose that particular moment to outfit themselves 

at Target. Sound familiar? 

Hughes' insidious contempt for the upper classes is carried 

on here by Gordon, who directs Connelly's poor-little-rich-gir) 

to a simpish end Although film has long raised the proletariat 

to the stature of hero, this stature has rested with actions or 

beliefs rather than with the parents one was bom to. Hughes 

seems caught up in our '90s backlash of '80s values. But Ij'nching 

innocents cenainly makes no point. 

As could have been predicted, Jim Dodge realizes his fantasies 

and is therefore no longer a liar Hughes cannot do the 

same. With "Career Opportunities" he isn't able to differentiate 

between fantasy and reality. John Hughes' films may 

always be saleable to teen audiences, but the mild chemistr\' 

between Whatley and Connelly isn't going to help this one. 

Rated PG-13 for sexual innuendo —Man Florence 

— 

June, 1991 R-37

— 

— 

TRULY, MADLY, DEEPLY 

Starring Juliet Stevenson, Alan Rickman, Bill Paterson and 

Michael Maloney. 

Produced by Robert Cooper. Written and Directed by Anthony 

Minghella. 

A Samuel Goldwyn Company release. Drama, not rated Running 

time: 107 minutes. Screening date: 4/3/91 

This smart British import is a quiet, adult love story that 

while it will hardly break records or break hearts will nevertheless 

leave its audiences with a few good moments of 

warm recognition. Director Anthony Minghella has paced his 

film slowly, allowing us a long draw— perhaps for some, a 

long sigh—before we can really come to identify or feel simpatico 

with the characters in this story. This feels burdensome 

during the first half of "Truly, Madly, Deeply," yet by the 

film's conclusion this pacing also serves to allow us a deeper 

relationship with these characters simply because we've been 

with them for so long. 

Juliet Stevenson is Nina, a woman—thirtysomething— still 

grieving over the death of her lover, Jamie (Alan Rickman). 

She has other suitors but is oblivious to anything other than 

her own grief We see her talking to her therapist, we see her 

going through the motions of her job, and more than anything 

we see her learning to cope with the loneliness of living in her 

now empty flat that still bears all the paraphernalia of Jamie's 

life. Nina just cannot bear to think of anyone but Jamie 

better put, she cannot bear to think of anyone other than 

herself and her grief for the lost Jamie, It is here that— still 

within the film's first half— there are problems feeling interested 

in Nina's malaise. This is not because it's difficult to 

identify with her situation; it's because Nina is so closed off 

behind her grief that she isn't terribly interesting to us. 

Enter Jaime, the lost lover. One day Nina sits playing the 

piano and, turning around, finds Jaime sitting behind her playing 

his cello. Is he imagined? Is this the British equivalent 

of last year's "Ghost?" Some of both. Metaphorically—even 

psychologically—speaking, Nina has manifested her lover's 

ghost as a way to come to terms with his death. For the next 

several weeks Jaime and Nina take up residence in their 

lost love affair. He is real enough to fill the emotional gap in 

her life. 

Yet as time passes, Nina makes her transition and moves 

toward the future. In this way Jaime becomes more a burden 

than a blessing. His life— their life together— exists in the past 

tense soon enough as Nina meets another man and, after a 

good deal of conflict, realizes that it's time for her to move on 

with her life. It is only now, after touching her love for her 

husband, thus being able to respond to love that is waiting for 

her, that Nina becomes full-blown enough to hold our interest. 

In her quiet way—in the quiet way of this film— Nina's transition 

is heartwarming and "Truly, Madly, Deeply" becomes 

at last a film that leaves its imprint. Its story is not unique, yet 

its means of telling this story is quite moving. 

Not rated, not offensive. Marilyn Moss 

EATING 

Starring Nelly Alard, Frances Bergen, Mary Crosby, Lisa Richards 

and Gwen Welles. 

Produced by Judith Wolinsky Written and directed by Henry 

Jaglom 

A Rainbow release Comedy, rated R Running time: 110 mm 

Screening date: 4/3/91 

Watching Henry Jaglom's new film, "Eating," is like going 

to a meeting of Overeaters Anonymous. This very serious 

comedy has a few good laughs, but for the most part it is a 

depressing exploration of cultural neurosis. 

A more polished production than Jaglom's earlier work, 

"Eating" still 

has the jumbled quality of home movies. Not a 

single man appears before the camera, but men figure prominently 

in the psyches of the 38 women who do grace the 

screen and assemble in a sprawling Victorian house to celebrate 

the birthdays of three of them: Kate (Mary Crosby, 

daughter of Bing Crosby), age 30, Helene (Lisa Richards), age 

40 and Sadie (Marlena GioviJ, age 50. 

The episodic story takes place in a single day. There's not 

much in the way of a plot, other than Helene's being told that 

her husband has been having an affair. But there're lots of 

talking heads. The women offer both one-liners and heart-felt 

opinions on such issues as modem romance, marriage, abortion 

and sibling rivalry. They seem to share an enthusiasm for 

New Age gimmicks such as the Tarot and crystals—which 

Jaglom broadly satirizes. But more than anything else, their 

issue is food. 

When the birthday cake is cut and pieces are being passed 

around, not one woman will take a bite. This is duly recorded 

by Martine (Nelly Alard), Helene's Parisian houseguest, who's 

making a documentary for French television on what she 

describes as "Southern California Behavior." 

An actor's director, Jaglom gets has cast to improvise as 

each actor attempts to work through intimate issues about 

food and the literal and figurative forms of hunger, nourishment 

and fulfillment. In the editing room, he puts these 

lengthy female monologues through a figurative food processor. 

He cuts so quickly from one woman to another that it 

my frustrate some viewers who might want to hear out the 

original speaker. The effect of all this editing is that the 

women blur, and the implication is that every woman is fearful 

that she is too big and obsessed with changing her appearance. 

Of the large ensemble, only Frances Bergen stands out. 

As Helene's mother, she dramatizes how attitudes are passed 

from generation to generation. 

Because of its subject matter, "Eating" will probably find a 

broader audience than Jaglom's earlier films ("Always," "New 

Year's Day" and "Someone to Love"). It is apt to evoke a 

strong reaction in audiences, as it touches on some very sensitive 

points. From overeaters to anorexics, women are bound to 

see much in this film that is fainiliar. If it were not presented 

with so much candor, humor and affection, it might spark 

riots. 

Rated R for partial nudity and for language. 

— 

Karen Kreps 

BLOOD AND CONCRETE — A LOVE 

STORY 

Starring Billy Zane, Jennifer Beals and Darren McGavin. 

Produced by Richard LaBne Written by Jeffrey Reiner and 

Richard LaBrie Directed by Jeffrey Reiner 

An IRS Media release Comedy-drama, rated R Running 

time: 99 min Screening date: 4/23/91 

"Blood and Concrete" is a screwball comedy for the 90s, an 

utterly whacked-out romp through Los Angeles where antihero 

meets villain and rock music meets the straight and narrow. 

Woven through all this craziness are some great performances 

and a story that, while faithful in spirit to B pictures of 

the 50s, brings an original blast to the scenario. Reiner's direction 

is more than fresh; it's masterfully original. This is a film 

that is sitting on the edge of mainstream theatrics but knocking 

hard to get in. 

In the seediest streets of Hollywood there is a mythical drug 

floating around: it's called "LBD" ("Libido" of course), and it's 

an aphrodisiac that everybody wants. Thugs make a living oflf 

of it and rock musicians and their babes pop it without knowing 

why, except that it makes them feel good. Into this maze 

of selling and pushing walks Joey Turk (Billy Zane), a smalltime 

car thief who wants little other than to give up crime and 

high tail it out of town. But Joey, for the moment, is bleeding 

after being stabbed by another small-time hood named Mort. 

Taking refuge at a cemetery, Joey meets Mona (Jennifer 

Beals), a suicidal cabaret singer who takes him back to her 

apartment and cleans his wounds. Sleeping on her sofa during 

the night, Joey is seduced by Mona and thus begins a love 

affair that has more dips and bends then an LA. side street. 

Joey is in trouble, and it's not just his love bites. It seems 

that the thuggiest gangster-boss in Hollywood, the dim-witted 

Spuntz (Nicholas Worth), wants the LbD and thinks that 

Joey's got it. So, along with his psychotic sidekick/lover-dude, 

Bart (Mark Pellegrino), Spuntz terrorizes Joey into spilling the 

beans about the wanted "Libido." Joey is saved now and then 

from Spuntz—or at least given a moment to breathe—because 

R-38 BOXOFFICE

" 

so 

Hank 

the equally loony, hard-boiled (what else?) detective, 

Dick (Darren McGavin) is after Spuntz— well, just because 

Spuntz has eluded him all these years 

So, Joey thinks he's going to find out the whereabouts of the 

"Libido that he can make his fortune and get out of town 

with Mona But mostly what Joey does in this film is spend his 

time trv'ing to stay alive Ever>'where he turns someone is 

kidnapping him or taking a pot shot at his handsome puss And 

this is pretty much the way things proceed in Blood and 

Concrete." Joey manages finally to outwit the nit-wits (but 

only, of course^ because they're silly enough to outwit each 

other), and at the end of the film he and Mona take off for 

Vegas with a lot of loot 

The great moments in this film— and there are plenty of 

them— evolve from a script that is genuinely inspired Funny 

is the bottom line here, and these characters know how to be 

funny at even,' turn; Billy Zane is a stand-out as straight man 

here Like all good characters should in a screwball, these 

funny people keep coming back (or. coming up) on us until we 

get to the point where we don't ever want them to leave. 

Rated R for slight nudity and violence, and for language.— 

Marilyn Moss 

— 

Story type key: (Ac) Action: (Ad) Adventure: (An) Animated: (C) 

Comedy. (D) Drama: (DM) Drama witti Music: (Doc) Documentary: 

(H) Horror. (M) Musical: (My) Mystery, (SF) Science Fiction: 

(Sus) Suspense: (W) Western 

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BRIGHT ANGEL 

Stani}-.-^ 1 1, ">:,,! Mulrnney, Lib Taylor, Sam Shepard, Burt 

Young, Bill Pullman and Valerie Pemne 

Produced by Paige Simpson Directed by Michael Fields 

Written 

by Richard Ford 

A Hemdale release Drama, rated R Running time: 94 mm 

Screening date April 9 

As a big fan of the Richard Ford short stories on which 

"Bright Angel" is based, I desperately wanted the film to succeed, 

but, alas, it was just not to be. What worked wonderfully 

on the printed page has somehow fallen completely flat on 

the screen: the characters seem anificial, the dialogue too 

literar\' and the plot downright dull 

This is all the more disappointing because the screenplay 

was written by Ford himself It picks up where two of the 

stories from his collection "Rock Springs" left off, following 

the adventures of a teenager (Dermot Mulroney) who heads 

off in search of his mother ( Valerie Perrine ) after she and the 

boy's father (Sam Shepard) have a violent falling out. Along 

the way he takes up with a ninaway girl (Lili Taylor) who 

wants to spring her brother from prison, and the pair ends up 

involved with a couple of dangerous criminals (Burt Young 

and Bill Pullman). 

By far the best part of the film is the opening sequence, in 

which Shepard and Mulroney go duck hunting, have a fatherson 

talk and finally go home to find Perrine with another man. 

With that intense confrontation the film reaches its early 

peak, as Shepard explodes with rage and threatens the man 

with a gun. From there on out the plot gets more and more 

convoluted, with Ford adding character after character rather 

than developing the ones he already has. 

Shepard's performance is utterly convincing: there's an 

unstated anguish he gives to his part that keeps you hoping 

he'll turn up again after the opening, but he never does Mulroney 

does his best with an underdeveloped role, and he and 

Shepard make for a believable father and son Taylor has the 

hardest time of it, playing a character shaped by her eccentricities; 

she's a cartoon version of a free-spirited young woman, 

and she never comes to life As for Young, Pullman and especially 

Perrine. they're all wasted in parts that barely utilize 

their talents. 

Director Michael Fields has a fine feel for the outdoors of 

the new west—there are some gorgeous landscapes and beautifully 

muted skies—but he has no sense of pace or direction, 

and the film meanders along to its inconclusive conclusion 

Afterwards, all we're left with is the occasional grace of Ford's 

dialogtie and the lingering power of Shepard's performance. If 

Ford had written the script about Shepard's character, we 

would have had a far more compelling film 

Rated R for language, violence and brief nudity. Jeff 

Schwager

1 

Teasers 

Seasons of release in some cases are estimates, 

based on when the film went into 

production and the nature of the movie 

(star-driven actioners traditionally open in 

the summer, etc ); more accurate release 

dates will be published as they are made 

available by distributors Dates in italics at 

the end of each entry indicate the issue of 

Boxoffce in which the film was profiled in 

the Hollywood Report column 

Buena Vista 

Aladdin (Anim) '92 

Dir John Musker, Ron Clements ("The Little Mermaid") 

Beauty and the Beast (Anim) 

92 

Blame It On the Bellboy (C) 

Dudley Moore (S 91) 

Evita (Mus) 

Madonna, Dir: Glenn Cordon Caron ("Clean and 

Sober') (5 91) 

The Last Days of Eden (The Stand) (D) 

Sean Connery, Lorraine Bracco Dir )ohn McTiernan 

("The Hunt For Red October") (4 91) 

The Mrs. (D) 

ColdieHawn (4'9V 

Newsies (DMus) 

Dir Kenny Ortega ("Dirty Dancing"), ^4/97; 

Noises Off (C) 

Carol Burnett, Michael Caine, )ohn Ritter Dir: Peter 

Bogdanovich ( "Texasville"), 

Paradise (D) 

Don lohnson. Melanie Griffith. ^4/97; 

Columbia 

Dracula(H) 

Winona Ryder Dir Francis Ford Coppola ("The Codfather 

Part III"). (5 97; 

Machine Gun Kelly (D) '92 

William Baldwin Dir: Marek Kanievska ("Less Than 

Zero") 76/97; 

Mo Money (AcC) '92 

Damon Wayons (6 91) 

Prime Suspect (The Other Woman) (D)Late 91 

Patrick Bergin. Laura San Ciacomo (b ^ J) 

Stephen King's Sleepwalker (H) Late '9 

Conundrum (D) 

MGIVI-Pathe 

Sally Field (-1 91) 

Criminals (Returning Napoleon/Troublemakers/Over 

My Dead Body) (C) 

lohn Candy, Sean Young, |im Belushi, lamie Lee Curtis 

Dir Eugene Levy ( "SCTV") (8 90) 

Crisscross (D) 

Fall 

Coldie Hawn Dir: Chris Menges ("A World Apart"), 

770 90) 

Rush (D) Winter '91 

Jennifer jason Leigh. 

The Vagrant (Thr) 

^5/97; 

New Line 

Aces: Iron Eagle ill (Ac) 

Lou Cossett Ir 

The Dark Wind (D) 

Lou Diamond Phillips, Dir: Errol Morris ("Thin Blue 

Line") (12 90) 

London Kills Me (D) 

Steven Mackintosh, Emer McCourt, Dir: Hanif Kureishi 

42 BoxomcE 

My Own Private Idaho (CD) 

River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves Dir Gus Van Sant 

("Drugstore Cowboy") 7-7 9 1) 

Ruben and Ed (C) 

Crispin Clover, Howard Hesseman, 

Serious Money (C) 

Leo Rossi 

Orion 

The Dark Half (Thr) 

Fall 

Timothy Hutton, Amy Madigan Dir: George Romero 

("Night of the Living Dead") (I 91) 

Little Man Tate (D) 

lodie Foster, Dianne Wiest. Dir; )odie Foster. (10/90) 

Missing Pieces (C) 

Fall 

Fall 

Eric Idle, Robert Wuhl Dir Leonard Stern ("Get 

Smart") (J -91) 

Mystery Dale (CD) 

Fall 

Ethan Hawke (1'91) 

RoboCop 3 (Ac) Summer '91 

Robert Burke, Nancy Allen Dir: Fred Dekker ("The 

Monster Squad") 

Shadows and Fog (C) Fall/Winter '91 

Woody Allen, Madonna, Mia Farrow, lohn Malkovich. 

lodie Foster (291) 

There Goes My Baby (D) 

Fall 

Dermot Mulroney, jill Schoelen Dir Floyd Mutrux 

("American Hot Wax") 77 7/90; 

Paramount 

The Addams Family (C) Winter '91 

Raul lulia, Anjelica Huston (1'9I) 

Body Parts (Thr) 

left Fahey (-1 91) 

Frankie and Johnny (CD) 

Summer 

Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeitfer Dir Garry Marshall ("Pretty 

Woman") 7-7 91) 

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered 

Country (SF) Summer '92 

William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy Dir: Nicholas Meyer 

("The Wrath of Khan"), (5/91) 

Tri-Star 

Bartholomew Vs. Neff (C) Winter '91 

Sylvester Stallone, lohn Candy Dir 

lohn Hughes ("Uncle 

Buck") 

Basic Instinct (Thr) 

Michael Douglas Dir: Paul Verhoeven ("Total Recall") 

City of Joy (D) 

Patrick Swayze Dir: Roland loffe ("Fat Man and Little 

Boy") 7-7 97; 

Hook (F) Fall/Winter '91 

Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Dir: Steven Spielberg, 

(12 90) 

Universal Soldier (Ac) 

Dolph Lundgren, lean-Claude Van Damme Dir: Andrew 

Davis ("The Package"). 

20th Century Fox 

Alien III (Ac) Winter '91 

Sigourney Weaver, Dir: David Fincher, ^J/97; 

Barton Fink (C) 

Fall 

lohn Turturro, lohn Goodman Dir 

Crossing") (8 90) 

Fern Gully: The Last Rain 

loel Coen ("Miller's 

Forest (Anin) Winter '91 

(-1 91) 

For the Boys (CD) 

Winter'91 

Bette Midler, lames Caan, Dir: Mark Rydell ("The 

Rose") (J 91) 

Grand Canyon (CD) Winter '91 

Steve Martin, Kevin Kline Dir Lawrence Kasdan ("The 

Big Chill") 7-*'97; 

Jack the Bear (CD) 

Winter'91 

Danny DeVito Dir: Marshal Herskovitz ("Ihirtysomething") 

(3 91) 

My Cousin Vinny (C) 

loe Pesci Dir lonathan Lynn. (4/91) 

Naked Lunch (D) 

Peter Weller, Ian Holm, Dir: David Cronenberg ("Dead 

Ringers") 7-7 91) 

Prelude to a Kiss (CD) 

Alec Baldwin, Meg Ryan Dir: Norman Rene ("Longtime 

Companion") 

Shining Through (D) Winter '91 

Melanie Cnttith, Michael Douglas. Dir: David Seltzer 

("Punchline') (1 91) 

This Is My Life (C) 

lulie Kavner, Samantha Mathis Dir Nora Ephron (6/ 

91) 

Universal 

An American Tail II: Fievel Goes 

West (Anim) 

Winter'91 

(4 91) 

Army of Darkness (H) Winter '91 

Dir Sam Raimi ("Darkman") 

Beethoven (C) 

Charles Crodin Dir. Steve Rash ("Queens Logic"). (6/ 

91) 

Cape Fear (Thr) Winter '91 

Robert DeNiro. Nick Nolle Dir Martin Scorsese 

CCoodfellas) (2 91) 

Lloyd of London (C) 

Keenan Ivory Wayans Dir Keenan Ivory Wayans. 

Tokyo Diamond (C) 

Winter '91/'92 

Tom Selleck, Dir Fred Schepisi ("The Russia House ") 

(I 91) 

Free-Jack (Ac) 

Warner Bros. 

Emilio Estevez, Mick lagger, Dir: Geoff Murphy ("Young 

Guns 2") 7-7 9(7 

Final Analysis (Thr) 

Richard Gere, Kim Basinger Dir Phil loanou ("State of 

Grace") (5 91) 

JFK(D) 

Kevin Costner Dir: Oliver Stone ("The Doors"). (5/ 

91 '91) 

The Last Boy Scout (Ac) Winter '91 

Bruce Willis, Keenan Ivory Wayans. Dir: Tony Scott 

("Days of Thunder") (2 91) 

The Mambo Kings (D) 

Armand Assante, .Antonio Banderas. 

Meeting Venus (D) 

Winter'91 

Glenn Close Dir Islvan Szabo ( "Mephisto"). (70/90; 

Memoirs of an Invisible Man (C) 

Chevy Chase, Daryl Hannah Dir 

lohn Carpenter ("Halloween") 

Other People's Money (CD) 

Summer 

Danny DeVito Dir Norman lewison ("Moonstruck"). 

7;.' 90; 

Ricochet (Ac) 

'92 

Denzel Washington, )ohn Lithgow. Dir: Russell Mulcahey 

("Highlander"). (6/97; 

Singles (CD) 

Campbell Scott, Bridget Fonda Dir Cameron Crowe 

("Say Anything"). (4/91)

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04/ 19« 04/21 Totol Through • 04/21 Distributor

The following I'ilms are tentatively scheduled 

tor release durinfi the summer months. 

The distributors, however, cannot stress 

sironfily enough that these dales and titles are 

suhiect to change. 

HOT SHOTS 

"Airpl.ini'l" partner |im Abrnh.ims returns to 

simiLir ground with ihis s(X)()l ol military 

h.irclware movies. Charlie Sheen. Gary Elwcs 

and George C. Scoll star. A 20th Century Fox 

THE SUPER 

Oscar-winner )oe Pesci, who has been 

dancing nimbly between drama 

("CoodFellas") and comedy ("Home Alone"), 

keeps things light with this spool alxjut a slum 

lorn torcecl to live in his own tenement. Rod 

[ ).)niel ("K-9"l directs; Sam Simon ("The Simpsons") 

and Nora Ephron ("My Blue Heaven") 

do the script. A 20lh Century Fox release. 

WELCOME TO BUZZSAW 

Wtirn M.illluw Hroderick finds himself 

sir.inded in a dismal logging town, his plight 

only becomes worse when his wallet containing 

a phone number worth $60 million disappears. 

Francis Veber ("Three Fugitives") 

(iireds A Universal Pictures release. 

PROBLEM CHILD II 

The surprise hit ot last summer spins off a 

(juick sequel, this one finding the devil tot 

from the first film acciuiring an ally in the form 

of a younger sister, lohn RItler, jack Warden 

and little Michael Oliver return. A Universal 


ROVER DANCERFIELD 

Rodney Dangcrfield provides the voice and 

the script for this animated feature about a Las 

Vegas clog suddenly forced to fend for himself 

on the streets. A Warner Bros, release. (7/26) 

ERASERHEAD 

David Lynch's unbearably bi/arre tirst feature 

gets a rerelease, and those who know him 

only from the relatively tame "Twin Peaks" are 

in tor a shock. This 1978, black and white 

drama about a man, a woman, a mutant baby, 

,1 little dancing woman in a radiator, and foul 

poultry must be seen to be believed. A 

Miramax release. 

BILL AND TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE 

II 

The San Dimas lime-travellers from the 

sleeper hit of a few years ago return, this time 

banished to Hell and replaced on earth by 

Newcomer lohn Singleton writes and directs 

this drama about life as a young black 

man on the streets of South Central Los Angelook-alike 

evil robots! Keanu Keeves, Alex 

Winter and George Carlin return. An Orion 


CURLY SUE 

lohn Hughes returns to directing for the first 

time since "Uncle Buck" with his bittersweet 

street comedy abtjut a driller and his young 

daughter who "sting" a rich attorne\ l.inies 

Belushi stars, as docs Kelly Lynch ("Drugstore 

Cowboy") A Warner Bros, release. 

TRUE IDENTITY 

Indepentlent lilmmaker Charles Lane 

("Sidewalk Stories") goes big time with this 

social satire about a olack man forced to pose 

as a Caucasian in order to elude a vindictive 

hood. While white, he learns first-hand the 

benefits of being light-skinned. British comic 

Lenny Henry stars. A Buena Visla release. 

(8/2) 

THE DOCTOR 

William Hurl stars in this medical melodrama 

about a doctor who finds shortcomings 

when he finds himself on the other side of the 

stethoscope as a cancer patient. Hurt's "Children 

of a Lesser God" director Randa Haines 

directs; Christine Lahti co-stars. A Buena Visla 

release. (8/23) 

BOYZ N THE HOOD 

les. Larry Fishburne, rapper Ice Cube, and 

Cuba Gooding star. A Columbia Pictures release, 

(7/12) 

DOUBLE IMPACT 

Martial arts star lean-Claude Van Damme 

plays identical twins in this actioner about 

two brothers — one raised in Hong Kong, the 

other in Beverly Hills — who team up to take 

on the Chinese Mafia to avenge the murder of 

their parents. A Columbia Pictures release. 

(R/9) 

DELIRIOUS 

Soap operas are spoofed again in this fantasy 

aDout a soap writer who bumps his head 

and awakens inside the fictional TV world he 

has created. )ohn Candy stars, along with 

Emma Samms and Mariel Hemingway. Tom 

Mankiewicz ("Dragnet") directs. An MGM- 

Pathe release. 

HARIEY DAVIDSON AND THE MARL- 

BORO MAN 

In the near future, two rowdy bikers team 

up to save their favorite bar. Don Johnson and 

Mickey Rourke star, under the direction of 

Simon Wincer ("Quiglcy Down Under"). An 

MCJM-Pathe release. 

A GNOME NAMED NORM 

The top/)3uddy genre gets a new twist with 

this action-comedy about a cop teamed up 

with a gnome to retrieve a magical energ\ 

stone. Anthony Michael Hall ("Tne Breakfast 

Club") stars; Stan Winston ("Pumpkinhcad'i 

direc Is. 

A New Line Cinema release. 

STEPKIDS 

The issue of divorce and how it impacts 

teenagers is examined in this dramatic comedy 

starring Griffin Dunne, Margaret Whitlon, 

David Sirailhern and Hillary Wolf, loan 

Micklin Silver ("Crossing Delancy") directs. A 

New Line Cinema release. 

DON'T TELL MOM THE BABYSITTER'S 

DEAD 

A leenagcd girl throws a huge parly when 

her parents leave her at home for the week 

end, but she ends up having to assume an 

adult idonlilv when her babysitter keels over 

Christine Applegale ("Married. ..With Chil 

dren") stars; Steven R. Herek ("Bill and Ted-- 

Excellent Adventure") directs. A Warner Bros 


ROBOCOP 3 

A kinder, gentler RoboCop is 

promised in 

this second sequel, which finds tne mechanical 

lawman trying to protect a neighborhood 

from destruction. Robert Burke takes over the 

role originated by Peter Weller. Fred Dekker 

("The Monster Squad") directs. An Orion Pictures 

release. 

LAME DUCKS 

A trio of goollialls ends up charged with 

saving a failing ballet company. John Turturro 

("Miller's Crossing"), Mel Smith and Bob Nelson 

star; Dennis Dugan ("Problem Child") 

directs. A Paramount Pictures release. (8/2) 

BODY PARTS 

Summer thrills can be found in this melodrama 

about a psychologist who finds himseli 

being controlled by the arm surgically implanted 

onto his body, leff Fahey, Brad Dourif 

and Lindsay Duncan star. A Paramount Pictures 


BINGO! 

The family animal pic is skewered in this 

snotty comedy about an intelligent dog and 

its search for the perfect human masters. 

Cindy Williams and David Rasche star; Matthew 

Robbins ("Batteries Not Included") directs. 

A Tri-Star Pictures release. (8/16) 

June, 1991 45

BOX(

I MM 

JULY 

AUGUST 

FEATURE CHART — JUNE 1991 

SEPTEMBER 

OCTOBER 

0. Dunn Hofmw lAcoK 

^ (^ RoMnSoKon 

Otlmanon. Ann 712 

raluwUI. Mv) lUiniMn Ti/nw On 

lUrm T/\i 

Tm MhUv. C. lanny Heny Or Oiaries 

Lane 8/2 

IIM Otdw. 0. WMkam Hi«t Or Randa 

Maxes t 23 

Buena Vista 

(818) 567-5030 

1 • Dx Hood. L»iy (oNum 7/12 

i ftim. F Joitn Htvo Lonant 

ceo 0> RkWO Oonno 7/19 

Man le IM Blue Lagoea. 

Mna 

JovOvKh Brian Arouse 

OmMI lnfM. Ac jMn Claude Van 

Oamne 8/9 

lUe Fat OlOMt. F Peter Berg Brian 

W>nmer D> W Richier 

Tko Pilaco ol TMot. BarDra Slreism 

Nn 0" NM JoiUr 

MfkM*. Jwt N«K« Oir Diva] 

Miramax/ 

Prestige 

(212) 941-3800 

M.C Or HH Hanky 7/12 

Tin Rlfkn. 

Barbara HersXay 

Man Rogrs 

idturtu Ciw»m««. C Hulk Hogan 

Cnnstopher Lloyd. Shelly Ouvaii 

Coolidge 

Rom. Laura Oern Oir Martha 

Tho Dart Wliidi. M¥S Lou Diamond 

Phillips FfM Wo'D Dir Errol Morns 

RootftMo Propholo. C Jonn Cusack Adam 

Horowitz 

SlopkMt. CD. Gnkn Durvie. Margaret 

Whitton 

New Line 

Cinema 

(212) 239-8880 

lord Mvlin Snort. Cnarm Grodm 

TiTi iiHliil Umriiin II. C 

inu Rmvm ami Winief 

3. Ac 

Car M. Wlwra An Yen?. C. Divm) 

Johansen John McGiniey 

Lma FMd. D. PG 13 Michelle Pleiller 

Dir Jonathan Kaplan 

Orion 

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Christie P35 protector, new rxjtor. bells. Ijearings. 

includes arms & 3*< lens, nxjrra cell. $1250 00 Call 

(619) 672-0762. leave message 

LARGEST SELECTION current and obsolete pans 

Century. Weslar. Simplex. Westrex. Cinemeccanica. 

Prevost, Kinoton. Tokiwa. Crown. Breoken. B4H. 

Bauer Mirrors, slit lens, protection lenses, splicers. 

Xervan bulbs, carbons— what do you need'' Catalog 

(Dealers and Exporters welcome, ship anywhere Inter- 

FL 33138 

national Cinema. 6750 NE 4th Ct . 

Ptxxie (305) 756-0699. Fax (305) 758-2036. telex 

522071 

WELL MAINTAINED equipment sell all or pieces 

Includes 2 Xerxxi lamphouse w integral power supply 

model 1000—35, 6 partially used Xenon bulbs 3 Km- 

Iron Xenon lamphouse model L- 1 1 00-3 w rectifier 

rixxlel R-2804 Goldberg rewind table w accessor. 2 

Simplex model E-7 protectors w lens. 2 portable Kalan 

Victor model 75-fifteen sound 16mm protectors. 

Bell & Howell Filmosound 185 16mm protectors, seats. 

film, etc Pnced to sell' (508) 664-2700 

WESTAR XENON BULBS. Warranty, Factory Fresh- 

1CXX)W $362. 1600W $450. 2000W $475, 2500W 

$547, 3000W $575, 4000W $985 Surplus lampslimited 

supplies-900W1000W $295. 2CKX)W $350. 

2S00W $390, 4200W $795 Exports welcome, ship 

anywhere International Cinema. 6750 NE 4th Court. 

Miami. FL 33138 Phone (305) 756-0699 Fax 

(305) 758-2036 

THEATRES WANTED 

THEATRES WANTED: East. m-962-4675 

In Michigan call 1-313-928-9390 

THEATRE SEATS FOR SALE: Approx 600 Haywood 

Wakefiek) seats Self risers Extra dean Thick 

backs with extra seat covers $25 00 each Call ( 405 

842-0122 or (405) 948-7467 

SEAT BACK COVERS: Most labncs in stock Cy 

Young. Inc Call 1-800-729-2610 to match tabnc 

" 

ALL AMERICAN SEATING by the EXPERTS' Used 

seats ol quality Various makes American Bodilorm 

and Stellars from $12 50 to $32 50 Irwins from 

$12 50 10 $30 00 Heywood S Massey rockers from 

$25 00 Full rebuilding available New Hussey chairs 

from $70 00 All types theatre protection and sourx] 

equipment New and used We ship and install all 

makes Try us' We sell no Junk' TANKERSLEY 

ENTERPRISES BOX 36009 DENVER. CO 80236 

Phone 303-980-8265* 

GOOD USED SEATING-lrwin Citations Irom $25 

American Stellars from $20 Wakefield rockers Irom 

$35 Massey rockers from $25 American Desk rockers 

from $40 Massey Polans from $15 Springs for 

Massey and Wakefield rockers $ 1 2 Complete theatre 

equipment available International Cinema Equipment 

Co. 6750 NE 4th Court, Miami, FL 33138 Phone 

(305) 756-0699 Fax (305) 758-2136 

MICRO-FM"' Stereo radio sound systems, static free 

call or wnle Audio Visual Systems. 320 St Louis Ave . 

Woonsocket. Rl 02895 (401) 767-2080 

CLEARANCE SALE: 12 Cinemeccanica X4000 lamphouses. 

6 Eprad Slarlel stereo systems. 1 Kintek stereo 

channel system. 12 original Century pedestals. 2 

Christie AW5 platters. 20 Automaticket machines, and 

plenty more Buy-Sell-Trade Cinema Equipment. Inc . 

(305) 594-0570 Fax (305) 592-6970 

35 mm PROJECTOR SALE: New Simplex PR1003 

XL Picture Head S3995 New Simplex PR 1 1 4 Picture 

EQUIPMENT WANTED 

OLD TUBE-TYPE equipment such as amps, speakers 

drivers, horns, etc from Western Electric. Westrex. 

Langevin. Jensen. Altec. JBL. Tannoy. Mcintosh. Marantz. 

etc C^ll Audio City at (818) 701-5633, or write 

to Audio City. PO Box 802, Northridge. CA 91328- 

0802 

THEATRE REMODELING 

FOR TWINNING THEATRES call or write Friddel Construction, 

Inc . 402 Green River Drive. Montgomery. TX 

77358 (409) 588-2667 

WE CAN MULTIPLEX your theatre, make it took fantastic, 

and your profits will soar No one does it lor less 

Muliplex Construction Corp Call (708) 293-1401 

w 5 Star Sound Head & Slim Jim Pedestal, list 

$1 1,800. our price $9450 Used Pr Simplex XL's w 

RCA Soundheads, Opt 

Mag Interlock Screening Room 

System. 16

exniEiicar 

COOIDOX' 

Affordable software NOW ttiat will: 

• Calculate film rental 

• Keep complete settlement 

histories 

• Allow detailed analysis of film 

costs and buying performance 

• Detail and analyze sales 

• Provide easy input of all box 

office and deposit detail 

• Provide cash management 

EXHIBITOR TOOLBOXTM will fit In any small to 

medium circuit wfiether computerized already 

or not. Best of all, It's written by industry 

Insiders who understand your business. 

LUinCeRTeK, inc. 

TOOLS FOR THE BUSItÊSS PROFESSIONAL 

5915 Landerbrook Drive Suite 200 

Cleveland, Otilo 44124 

(216) 461-9403 

^ STEREO 

PROCESSOR 

Select a stereo processor of proven 

design at an affordable price. 

Features Include 

• Left, Center, Risht, Surround and 

Bass Extension 

• Full Equalization 

• Time Delay 

• Slide Out Cards for Easy Service 

Options Include 

• Front-Surround Model 

• Stereo Syntfiesizer 

• Slit Lens Correction 

Call or write us for technical 

specifications and a brochure. 

^^ incernacionai Cinema 

eauiDmenc company inc 

6750 N E 4th Court, Miami, FL 33138 U S.A 

Phone (305) 756-0699, Fax (305) 758-2036 

Telex 522071 Int Cinema Mia 

50 BOXOFFICE 

Response No, 53 

. 

Business Phone ( J. Dept. B 

THEATRE MANAGEMENT I 

FREE CASSETTE TAPE Gives details on "How to 

Become a Successful Theatre Manager " Order your Ad Index 

tree tape today! EXEC-U-TAPES, PO Box 9306-B, 

Waterbury, CT 06724. Include $1 GO P/H. 

Automaticket 33 

CATS. U.S A., Inc 4, 5 

Cinema Supply Company 50 

CInemaster 19 

SERVICES 

Crest Sales USA 50 

Entertainment Data, Inc 

C3 

Eprad, Inc 

C2 

PREVIOUSLY OWNED equipment available; National Exec-U-Tapes 50 

Cinema Supply can provide your equipment needs We Hadden Theatre Supply Co 27 

will also liquidate your surplus theatre and concession Hanovia 

C4 

equipment. We have clean Automaticket model 

Hurley Screen 33 

MGEIvl-3 in stock! Contact Gene Krull, (913) 492- 

International Cinema Equipment 50 

0966, National Cinema Supply, 8220 Nieman Road, 

In-Touch Technologies, Ltd 9 

Lenexa, KS 66214. 

JBL Professional 7 

Joe Hornstein, Inc 33 

Kneisley Electric Co., The 30 

f^cAllister Associates, Inc 30 

MISCELLANEOUS 

National Ticket Co 33 

WANTED: MOVIE POSTERS, 

Osram Sales Corp 11 

lobbies, stills, etc Will 

buy any sized collection The 

Pacer Corp 13 

Paper Chase, 4073 La 

Vista Road, Tucker, GA 30084 Phone 1-800-433- Pike Productions, Inc 23 

0025. 

Promophone, Inc 17 

Smart Theatre Systems 18 

Soundfold International 22 

FILMS WANTED 

Technikote Corp 34 

Terrace Entertainment Systems, Inc 27 

NEED TO BUY vintage 35mm intermission reels and Weldon, Williams & Lick 34 

snack bar ads lor nostalgic Drive-ln theatre Call Greg Willmlng Reams Animation, Inc 25 

at (503) 734-3175. 

Wintertek, Inc 50 

CREST SALES USA— MOTION PICTURE EQUIPMENT 

Complete Sales — Service 

AUTHORIZED DISTRIBUTOR FOR MANY MANUFACTURERS 

Ed Cernotek 

1900 South Central Expressway f^ 

2l756r7894 

^14-565-7894 

Dallas, TX 75215 

U^^J 

Response No 55 

complete line of . . . 

Concession, Snack Bar and Janitorial Supplies 

plus Projection and theatre equipment also parts 

For The Best In Service. . .Give Us a Call 

CINKMA Sl'PPI.V COMPANY. IXC. 

PC BOX 148, MILLERSBURG. PA. 17061 

TELEPHONE: (717) 692-4744 OR 800-437-5505 

Response No. 57 

FREE! 

A 

YOURS FREE 

am 

UDIO TA PE 

FULL DETAILS 

For Today's 

Theatre 

HOW TO BE 

Manaoar 

A SUCCESSFUL 

THEATRE MANAGER! 

~N0- 

NOIE Ti|>elsFKE

For more 

Reader Service 

:5MaaW^ order Form

0,^ S 

ENTERTAINMENT DATA, INC. 

"Access a world ot intomution." 

WEEKLY RELEASE SCHEDULE 

OVERNIGHT GROSSES 

ON-LINE DATA BASE 

EDIINTERNATIONAL 

CUSTOM RESEARCH 

ENTERTAINMENT DATA, INC. "331 N. MAPLE DRIVE "BEVERLY HILLS, CA 90210 

• 

•213 271 2105 

• 

LOS ANGELES SAN FRANCISCO • DALLAS CHICAGO WASHINGTON, DC. "NEW YORK ATLANTA lACKSONVILLE LONDON 

Response No 70

You Don't Become A Classic 

OvemMi 

o become the best in any fie 

years of dedication and com 

And in 

a technolgy-based inc 

theater lighting, it's no diffe 

performance means costK 

downtime 

can cut into your profit margins. Y 

Eighty -Five Years of l.eadenhij' 

Specialty Lighting Technology 

partner who's been there, and who 

time after time. 

Hanov ia has withstoo 

of time longer than any other U.S. 1 

facturer. We've been manufacturing 

specialty lamps in the United 

States for over 85 years. In fact, wc 

pioneered the xenon light source 

which has become the industry 

standard for 

theater applications 

throughout the w orld. 

When you buy Hanovia theater 

know you're 

getting 

the \ery best 

Photo 0^ Hamid Llovd |'I894- 1971) tt' FPG Inlernational 

that 

money can 

buv. Because 

Hanovia bulbsconsistentKpro\ide absolute image 

clarity and color integrity, over the entire lite 

i,u Best Bulbs, Backed By The Best 

Sen-ire \Varratir\' In The Inrlnstn 

ofthe bulb, along with first-rate light uniformity 

and exceptional arc stability, in o/one-free bulbs 

ranging from .SOO 

watts to 7kw. Union-made, and backed by the 

best ser\ice warranty in the industry. So when 

you're ready to make a commitment to your 

theater business, turn to the "real" classic. Turn 

to HanoN'ia." 

Call us today at 

Response No. 80 

1(800) 22 XENON. 

=11\!DV1R 

100 Chestnut street 

Newark, N J 07105 

Phone: (201)589-4300 

Fax:(201)589-4430 

A Subsidiary of ARC. International.

Boxoffice-June.1991

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