THURSDAY, JUNE 7, 2001

''Pearl Harbor'' holds off ``Shrek'' at box office

By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - After suffering a heavy artillery attack from critics, the World War Two epic romance ''Pearl Harbor'' clung to the No. 1 spot at the North American weekend box office, barely holding off the hit cartoon ``Shrek,'' according to studio estimates issued Sunday.

``Pearl Harbor,'' released by Walt Disney Co.'s Touchstone Pictures, grossed about $30 million for the Friday-to-Sunday period, followed by ``Shrek'' (DreamWorks) with $28.4 million and the new Rob Schneider comedy ``The Animal'' (Columbia) with $19.8 million.

After 10 days in release, ``Pearl Harbor'' has pulled in $119.3 million, having cost a reported $140 million to produce. The Michael Bay-directed film passed the century mark on Saturday, its ninth day and a company record for Disney, surpassing the 10-day record of both ``Toy Story 2'' (1999) and ''The Lion King'' (1994).

The wartime drama, which stars Ben Affleck and Kate Beckinsale, lost 49 percent of its audience from the equivalent three days of the Memorial Day holiday last weekend. While the fall seems steep, it was actually less than the 53 percent drops for previous Memorial Day holiday openers ``The Lost World: Jurassic Park'' (1997) and ``Mission: Impossible 2'' (2000), said Disney distribution president Chuck Viane.

Despite such attacks as ``Snore-a! Snore-a! Snore-a!'' from the Wall Street Journal, audiences appeared more forgiving. Almost three-quarters of viewers said they would definitely recommend it, Viane said. The film would obviously reach $200 million, he said, but he declined to give a more exact estimate.

``SHREK'' ROARS

By contrast ``Shrek,'' a fairy tale spoof about a green ogre's quest for love, fell just 33 percent. It has grossed $148.6 million after 17 days in wide release, and is tracking better than Disney's ``The Lion King,'' which holds the cartoon record with $313 million.

Industry observers expect the new film to reach $270 million, about what ``Lion King'' had earned before Disney pulled it from theaters early and re-released it a few months later with a different marketing campaign. DreamWorks distribution president Jim Tharp said his closely held company was considering a similar strategy, but had not made up its mind.

The weekend following a four-day holiday is usually a quiet one at movie theaters. But this weekend, the top 12 films grossed $122.7 million, up 27 percent from the year-ago period.

``The Animal,'' in which Schneider plays a wannabe cop who receives animal organ transplants, played fairly broadly, perhaps helped by the co-starring role of ``Survivor'' contestant Colleen Haskell. The comedy cost $22 million to make. Columbia Pictures is a unit of Sony Corp.

The top 10 contained two other new entries: Australian director Baz Luhrmann's musical extravaganza ``Moulin Rouge'' (Fox) at No. 4 with $14.2 million, and the Martin Lawrence-Danny DeVito crime caper ``What's the Worst That Could Happen?'' (MGM) at No. 5 with $13.3 million.

``MOULIN ROUGE'' GETS SECOND WIND

``Moulin Rouge,'' set in the 1899 Paris nightclub of the same name, stars Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor. It had been playing to sellout crowds in one theater each in New York and Los Angeles for the previous two weekends in order to build buzz. It ranked No. 22 last weekend.

Luhrmann's knack for reaching young females with such previous films as ``Strictly Ballroom'' and ``Romeo + Juliet,'' did not desert him this time. The film's audience was 69 percent under 30 years of age, and 62 percent female, said Fox distribution president Bruce Snyder.

The film's sophisticated story meant that it performed better in cities than in small towns and blue-collar locations, Snyder said. Again, some critics were a little perplexed by the film, but Snyder said almost three quarters of viewers rated it ''excellent'' or ``very good.'' Twentieth Century Fox, which has not had a hit since last year's ``Cast Away,'' is a unit of Fox Entertainment Group Inc.

A song from the movie's soundtrack, a remake of LaBelle's ''Lady Marmalade'' performed by the female superstar quartet of Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya and Pink, is the No. 1 single in the United States and the top video on MTV.

After 17 days in release, the film has grossed $14.9 million.

``What's The Worst That Could Happen?'', a comedy based on a novel by Donald E. Westlake, pulled in Lawrence's core fan base of African-Americans. A spokeswoman for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. said the studio was happy with the opening.

New releases next weekend include director Ivan Reitman's comedy ``Evolution'' and the John Travolta crime thriller ''Swordfish.'' REUTERS

The top movies in North America -- June 1-3

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Following are the final data for the top 10 movies at the North American box office during the June 1-3 weekend, according to studio figures released Monday by Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.

Film Three-day Cumulative

Title Gross Gross

1. Pearl Harbor .......... $29,558,276

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $118,853,439

2. Shrek .......... $28,172,869

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $148,361,421

2. The Animal .......... $19,610,520

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $19,610,520

3. Moulin Rouge .......... $13,718,306

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $14,394,913

5. What's The Worst That Could Happen? .......... $13,049,114

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $13,049,114

6. The Mummy Returns .......... $7,753,680

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $181,181,185

7. A Knight's Tale .......... $3,417,394

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $49,423,047

8. Bridget Jones's Diary .......... $2,014,889

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $65,358,871

9. Angel Eyes .......... $1,888,660

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $21,715,354

10. Memento .......... $1,090,562

BOX OFFICE SO FAR:  $16,051,557

Reuters/Variety REUTERS

John L.:  Three movies debuted this week to pretty respectable business considering the competition.  The Animal is the big surprise of the week showing that Rob Schneider may be on the cusp of getting the big $20 million payday if his next film opens as well as this one.  Moulin Rouge opened about on the level I thought it would and probably a little lower than the movie studio wanted it to.  I would say that the publicity over Nicole Kidman's personal life and the fact that the "Lady Marmalade" song went to number one the week the movie went wide.  More on that movie later in my full review.  The real disappointment comes with the Martin Lawrence/Danny Devito movie.  It opened pretty low, but that had to do more with a weak premise that was never established in the previews.  Lots of stuff to cover once again in this busy time of year including a brief look at the MTV 2001 Movie Awards.

Some might think that the success of The Animal this week is a fluke, but not really.  It is an example of great marketing for a movie that could have gone straight to video if it came out 3 years ago.  Two years ago, Rob Schneider made a great comedy called "Deuce Bigelow Male Gigolo." That movie was a success so they thought maybe he could carry another film and not just do 3 second cameo bits in Adam Sandler vehicles saying "you can do it."  However, there needed to be a catch to garner some pre publicity.  Enter Colleen Haskell, also known as "America's Sweetheart" from "Survivor."  Colleen was the cute chick by default on that popular reality show and for some reason attracted the casting director for Animal.  Survivor is the most popular show on television and Haskell's appearance can help those who are curious to see if this girl can be as good in a scripted form as she was when she wrote all of her own material.  Once the casting was finalized, then the plot and premise had to be sold to the public.  Animal is about  a wannabe cop, Marvin (Schneider) who gets in a car accident and to save his life is rebuilt with animal parts.  Amazingly he starts taking on the characteristics of the animals that now inhabit his body.  He swims like a dolphin, runs like a cheetah, and has an increased sex drive.  The preview shows many of these bits and in their quick bursts, look pretty funny.  Surprisingly, the trailers never tell you that Colleen from "Survivor" also costars in the film.  She is in the clips for a few seconds, but you would never know who she was unless you knew who she was.  The main advertising shied away from focusing on that fact.  It all revolves around getting Rob over, not the game show loser.  It was not expected that this movie would be appreciated by the critics.  In fact, it was pretty critic proof.  The average fan of goofy high concept comedies will see this regardless and accept the strangeness it presents.  However, there was on critic who seemed to think that The Animal was "another winner."  His name was David Manning, film critic for the Ridgefield Press in southwestern Connecticut.  Manning liked this year's "A Knight's Tale," and last year's "Hollow Man" and "Vertical Limit."  Manning seemed to have a thing for Sony made movies.  That was a little weird, but could have been a coincidence.  Some others did some checking and it turned out that David Manning does not exist.  Sony Pictures made him up to help hype their films.  This is the scandal of the week that put the Robert Blake case on page 7 of the paper.  Oh, the horror, Sony faked a critic blurb.  Fake comments have been used before for irreverent comedies, but it was clear that someone was joking.   The Manning controversy was problematic because it was promoted as being real which is sort of unfair.  This is a silly event that makes Sony look real dumb.  There are hundreds of low level small town newspaper critics around the country that would be willing to put their name on a movie and say it was good.  Especially those radio movie critics who have yet to give a negative review.  All Sony had to do was ask one of them to hype the film.  I am more of a conspiracist and think that this was done to increase the awareness of the film and some of the other ones that were given positive Manning statements.  Knight's Tale was not doing that well, but now it is in the news again and might make people a little more curious to see it and see if the fictional Manning was right.  Vertical Limit and Hollow Man are all on video and their rentals or sales can go up due to the mentions they are getting.  Animal opened up big this week without any real critic support, but it has been in the news more than Pearl Harbor and Shrek combined.  The movie only cost $22 million to make and should make at least $60 million when it is all said and done.  David Manning does exist.  He is an ad executive for Sony Pictures using a pseudonym.  The conflict of interest is the only crime here. 

MOULIN ROUGE - FULL REVIEW IN FUGE

Once upon a time there was a writer.  He was a lover, not a fighter.  Christian was chosen to be his name.  Finding true love above all else was his game.  One day an Argentinian fell through his roof.  Christian was surprised, sure that this was a goof.   In comes Toulouse to make a proposition.  It is decreed that Christian shall compose a musical composition.  A spectacular spectacular is to be presented at the Moulin Rouge in due time.  To miss this show would certainly be a crime.  As Christian enters through the Windmill doors, he sees what looks like a room full of whores.  The show is full of song and visual extravagant style.  It has "Cats" beat by a mile.  The music is new to Christian, but old to us.  The use of modern songs has caused quite the fuss.  As Christian lives this show, in drops Satine to the flo'.  Love at first site is what men feel when Satine appears on the scene.  To say she is not hot would be plain mean.  Satine's song of choice, "Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend" is number one on the juke.  The plan was to be singing the song to the Duke.  However, Christian is mistaken for the Duke not so bright.  Looks like Satine and Christian will be together tonight.  To say anymore would be giving too much away.  Who will get the girl this day, the Duke or the Writer?  Who will fight for her?  And if it is necessary, who is willing to lay down their life?  The potential husband or the pasty wife?   Moulin Rouge is full of dance and song.  To say that it is a completely successful experience would be wrong.  The movie stars Ewan McGregor as Christian and Nicole Kidman as Satine.  They fall in love despite the interference of The Duke (Richard Roxburgh) who is very mean. There are those who say that there is too much song.  I would say that they would be wrong.  Moulin brings back the cinematic musical thrill.  After seeing this film, there seems to be life in this genre still. Sting, Madonna, Nirvana, Elton, and Queen are some of the artists whose music appears on screen.  The best use of classic songs is the love medley between Christian and Satine.  That musical moment was quite keen.  My favorite character was that of Zidler (Jim Broadbent)  the one in charge of the Moulin jams.  Even he stands out in a sea full of cancan gams.  John Leguizamo shows up as the dwarfish Toulouse Latrec.  JL seems to be channeling his "Spawn" Clown character who was full of dreck.  He is a weak point of the film since most of the time he is trying to keep from falling.  His performance is hurt by this and is nearly appalling.  However, most of the actors in the film are quite good especially McGregor when he sings.  He is quite believable in a world where they have called some who croon kings.  His performance helps mask the somewhat lacking one of Kidman and her very pasty face.  Kidman is not a great singer, but she does look pretty good in lace.  The problem with her is that she is not allowed to be herself.  Nicole is always supposed to put her Australian accent on the shelf.  So, what happens here and in most of her movie parts is that she spends all day trying not to sound like and Aussie instead of focusing on the musical arts.  She over enunciates, and has a tendency to overact.  It seems that it would be hard for the other actors to properly react to her wide mouth and abrasive attack.  She sings about diamonds, love, and the end of time, and after a while you may wish she had played a mime.  Her look is good and she is a pleasant vision on the silver screen.  And I don't think anyone else could have played the part of Satine.  Her chemistry with McGregor is "adequate to freeze young Skywalker" as Darth Vader once said.  But when it is over, it doesn't really matter if either one of them end up dead.  Moulin is not a movie for everyone to see.  You will either hate it or leave with much glee.  You have to accept that the music sung in the movie is out of the proper era of salaciousness and grime.  Since in 1899 I don't think they were singing about being a virgin and being touched for the very first time. The movie is visually interesting enough to recommend to the masses.  But to many the film would seem to move as slow as molasses.  I would have enjoyed showing up at the Moulin Rouge at the end of the 19th century during the Summer of love.  With my wacky side I believe I would have fit in perfectly like a glove.  See the movie in the theater and buy the pretty decent soundtrack.  The musical is still an interesting form of entertainment that after watching this film, deserves to make a comeback.  Final Review:  3 stars out of 5; 6 1/2 out of 10; B; thumbs up.  Moulin Rouge is not everyone's brand of tea, but if you give it a chance it could be your cup.  

Martin Lawrence seems to play just two characters in movies, the cop or the con man.  Last year he was a cop, and this year he plays a con man/thief in What's the Worst That Could Happen.  Lawrence plays Kevin Caffery who tries to rob Danny Devito of his valuables.  In the process of the botched robbery, Devito takes Lawrence's good luck ring and the rest of the movie is Lawrence trying to get it back and show up Devito.  This movie did not open as well as "Big Momma's House" last year because this movie's premise was not as clear cut as the cross dressing hit of 2000.  The movie is based on a Donald Westlake novel which seems to not have helped in the publicity of the film.  Devito used to be a big star, but is now doing more producing, like "Erin Brockovich" instead of acting.  This role of the rich guy who is a jerk has been done before in the great "Ruthless People."  John Leguizamo shows up again as Lawrence's partner in crime.  He is having a good week at the box office with him being in 2 of the top 5 movies.  It looks like this movie may not make a profit for the studio because it just seems to not have any energy or original thought. Lawrence is still doing the same characters he did on his FOX television series.  Devito is still basically doing Louie DePalma, and Leguizamo can't get past being a pest.  Movies make money and get better responses when they offer something different.  How about have Lawrence as the rich guy with an attitude, and Devito as a thief trying to get one last big score.  Leguizamo could play the cop who tries to stop them both from getting away from cheating the other.  If these guys keep playing the same people over and over again, then no one will see their new movies and just watch their better older ones.  Martin is right on the edge of a big payday in Hollywood.  This may set him back a bit, but one more hit like Big Momma's House and he will be up in the $15 million range of salaries.  Maybe a "Bad Boys 2" is not such a bad idea.  Will Smith is looking for a hit and Lawrence could glom off Smith's pay to get more money.  Leguizamo is talented in a way, but he still has trouble finding roles that show his comedic talent.  He can be a good dramatic actor as well as shown in "Carlito's Way," but it is hard for people to take him seriously.  The worst that could happen is that these guys stop getting scripts left on their doorstep and will have to reinvent themselves a bit. Devito realizes this and is producing more than acting.  Lawrence and Leguizamo need to stop working for the man and become "da man."  But please, try to come up with something more interesting than a cop or thief.  

REST OF THE TOP 10 IN 10:

1.    Pearl Harbor is a hit at the box office and will shut up all of those who said it might fail after the reviews were not glowing.

2.    If you look at Pearl Harbor as just a docudrama and not a full historical account, then it was quite entertaining.

3.    Shrek will soon be the highest grossing movie in Dreamworks history.

4.    It also looks like Shrek will probably do better than Disney's animated film about Atlantis if early reviews are any indication.

5.     Even though Mummy Returns is a big hit, I don't expect a direct sequel to be made in the future.

6.    Here is another Rachel Weisz pic of the week for you Mummy fans:

7.    Knight's Tale was caught up in the David Manning fake review controversy, but it will still probably make less than "The Animal."

8.    I heard David Manning thought Bridget Jones' Diary really sucked and was Renee Zellweger's worst role since "Empire Records."

9.    David Manning thought that Angel Eyes would have been better if it had more poopy jokes.

10.    If you look closely on Guy Pearce's left wrist in Memento it says "David Manning is not to be trusted because he is a tool."

MTV 2001 MOVIE AWARDS - REVIEW

MTV had their movie award special and it was once again pretty good.  Here are some highlights were Zhang Ziyi speaking english for the first time on television.  She was so cute it just made me swoon.  She won best fight scene from "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" when she beat up everyone in the restaurant.  The other big moment was Shannon Elizabeth's see through top.  Hoo ha.  I think I saw more on MTV than I did in her bedroom scene in "American Pie."  Jimmy Fallon and Kirsten Dunst were good as hosts but should stick to their other jobs.  Fallon wants to be Adam Sandler so badly and it has annoyed me for years with his Sandler type antics on Saturday Night Live.  I highly enjoyed the segment where the real Sandler chastised him for goofing on him all the time with his impression.  I have been a fan of Dunst since her vampire days, and she is growing up quite nicely.  Jim Carrey made a fool of himself when he gave his acceptance speech for winning best villain, telepathically.  A good premise that seemed wanting for good material.  His bit as the beared stoner biker from a while back was his best bit.  The Ladies of Moulin Rouge "Lady Marmalade" number was entertaining.  I still think Mya looks the best among Pink, Lil' Kim, and Christina Aguilera.  Would have been interesting if they had Patti LaBelle come out and do a line from the song at the end.  Here are the list of winners of the 2001 MTV Movie Awards:

Next week we have Swordfish and Evolution trying to reach the top of the box office heap.  I will have full reviews of both of those films.  Swordfish has Halle Berry's breasts and Evolution has big loogies.  I wonder which will win out.  Bye for now.