A Long, Hot Summer
'Jurassic Park,' 'Batman' sequels lead pack of potential blockbusters
By Bryan Lark
Daily Film Editor
Ever since "Jaws" attacked the shores of American cinema in June of 1975, summer has been about one thing and one thing only - money. Each summer, big-budget Hollywood spectacles are expected to show the studios the money for 15 weeks between Memorial Day and Labor Day, money that spells relief for the studios that spend the rest of the year either churning out crap or vying for Oscar nominations. This summer is no different.
With "Volcano" opening on Friday as the first official summer-event movie and "Titanic" taking the title as the most expensive movie ever, 1997 looks to have one hot summer on its hands. Here's a prediction of the 11 blockbusters and other potential hits that will generate the most heat in the coming months.
"The Lost World: Jurassic Park" - Following up the all-time international box office champ isn't an easy job, but Steven Spielberg's opus will definitely blow the competition away with Jeff Goldblum and some new dinosaurs along for the ride.
"Batman and Robin" - This is another no-brainer. High-profile sequels always mean profit, and it doesn't get much more high-profile than the abundant talent, sex appeal and Bat-nipples of George Clooney, Chris O'Donnell, Uma Thurman, Alicia Silverstone, Vivica Fox and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
"Men In Black" - With stars like Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones and a director like Barry Sonnenfeld ("Get Shorty"), this sci-fi satire about two men in black ridding the Earth of pesky aliens is brewing up as much good buzz as it is anticipatory heat. Welcome to Earth, part deux.
"Titanic" - James Cameron's $180 million epic starring Bill Paxton, Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio is already huge; but it needs to be gigantic to overcome all the odds against it, namely the problem-plagued production and the unsurprising conclusion - it sinks, people!
"Conspiracy Theory" - Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts finally team up in this self-explanatory romantic comedy-thriller about a paranoid cabbie and a skeptic lawyer. Try to guess which one is which and/or which one is prettier.
"Speed 2: Cruise Control" - Ditto that sequel remark. Sandra Bullock may go down in history as the highest-grossing female action star ever as she dumps Keanu overboard for hunky EMS guy Jason Patric.
"Hercules" - Disney returns to old, happy, money-making form with this light-hearted animated spectacle about a hero and his mythical friends.
"Air Force One" - Harrison Ford plays the president and Glenn Close his V.P. while Gary Oldman hijacks the fabled aircraft. This should wield its executive privileges over the other hijacking thrillers. Speaking of ...
"ConAir" - No, not about hair dryers, it's about prisoners John Malkovich and Ving Rhames, who hijack a plane, much to the dismay of U.S. Marshal John Cusack and about-to-be-paroled Nicolas Cage.
"Contact" - Aliens phone Jodie Foster's home, but only Matthew McConaughey believes her in this Carl Sagan-written tale also starring Angela Bassett and James Woods.
"The Fifth Element" - This dark-horse candidate from Luc Besson is a futuristic thriller that owes as much to "Blade Runner" as it does to the Muppets. This time, Bruce Willis is a paranoid cabbie, Chris Tucker his sidekick and Oldman - again - his nemesis.
Possible sleepers include: "My Best Friend's Wedding," with a red-headed, very "Pretty Woman" Julia Roberts; Kurt Russell's "Breakdown," which has the most riveting trailer in recent memory; Meg Ryan and Matthew Broderick get obsessive in "Addicted To Love"; Billy Crystal and Robin Williams go on a paternal goose chase in "Father's Day"; and Martin Lawrence and Tim Robbins have "Nothing to Lose."
Very hot, indeed.
Holy Fourth Batman Movie: George Clooney and Chris O'Donnell play dress-up.
Julia Roberts saves Mel Gibson in "Conspiracy Theory."
04-22-97
HOME| NEWS| EDITORIAL| ARTS| SPORTS| CLASSIFIED| ARCHIVES|
©1997 The Michigan Daily