THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, May 27, 1995 TAG: 9505260051
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 204 lines
SWORD FIGHTING AND smooching! Batman and Robin! Indian maid and Indian cupboard! Two pigs! Kevin Costner in deep water! Tom Hanks in outer space! Sly Stallone in the future! Julia Roberts and Mortal Kombat!
Put them all together, plus much, much more, and you have the summer movies of 1995.
Bring along extra money for popcorn.
Hollywood is betting billions, many billions, that this is not just going to be a big movie summer. According to their soothsayers, not the naysayers, it is going to be the biggest movie summer in history.
It had better be. So far, 1995 has been dismal, with shockingly few big hits (the exceptions are ``Dumb and Dumber'' and ``Legends of the Fall''). Hollywood is planning to make a big, big comeback this summer. The expectations had better pan out. If not, you're going to hear about a lot of movie moguls jumping into their hot tubs - and sinking. Traditionally, 40 percent of each year's movie bucks are made in the summer.
Seldom have the hopes been so high. Advance word is that the movies are going to be not only big, but varied, with something for everyone.
The business people within the industry hope to top last summer's all-time record of $2 billion. They also hope that the moola will be spread among more films this time out. Last summer, two films, ``Forrest Gump'' and ``The Lion King,'' took in $300 million each.
There are five sequels this summer, which is less than usual. There is a notable return to historical, swashbuckling actioners with ``First Knight'' joining the already released ``Braveheart'' and ``Rob Rob.''
The risks are big. ``Waterworld,'' with a price tag of $175 million, will be the most expensive movie ever released. In fact, there will be six movies that cost more than $70 million each to produce. If they flop, they'll flop big.
We're betting ``Batman Forever!'' will be No. 1 and ``Pocahontas'' will be second.
Here's an advance look at summer's screens. All dates are subject to change because the studios are still manipulating and trying to get their big risks out of each other's way. There are only so many weekends, and so many theaters, though.
It's going to be a hot summer.
June 2
``The Bridges of Madison County'' - The Robert James Waller romance has been on the bestseller list almost longer than the Bible, making this a known title. The casting, though, is odd. It pits a man of few words against the woman with all those accents. Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep! Will the chemistry be there?
``Fluke'' - A doggie romance involving humans. Matthew Modine dies and is reincarnated as a pooch. He wants to get reunited with wife Nancy Travis, but new boyfriend Eric Stoltz creates complications. Is it a fluke, or what?
June 9
``Congo'' - Michael Crichton's books often are turned into hit movies, but is this one just monkey business - or big business? Humans seek a lost city of gold in the jungle, but the gorillas are not friendly, not even by Kong standards. The special effects will either save it or ho-hum it.
June 16
``Batman Forever'' - This is the lone sure bet of the lot. Batman is younger and lighter. Tim Burton's dark imagery is gone, and so is Michael Keaton. The replacement is Val Kilmer. Robin arrives, played by Chris O'Donnell, all decked out in a muscle suit. Nicole Kidman is Bruce Wayne's new psychiatrist, but she has eyes mostly for Batman. Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones are the new villains. Get in line.
June 23
``Pocahontas'' - Virginia history gets another working over as the Indian maid falls for Capt. John Smith. It also has tunes by Alan Menken and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. But can a Disney animation film be a hit with no talking animals? Plan a trip to Jamestown afterward to get the real scoop.
June 30
``Apollo 13'' - They're saying it's a sure hit, but have they noticed that no reality-based film about the space program has ever taken off? That includes ``The Right Stuff,'' which critics praised endlessly, and the expensively produced James Michener TV miniseries ``Space.'' Can Tom Hanks' popularity sell this one? Directed by Ron Howard, the cast includes Gary Sinise, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton and Ed Harris.
``Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie'' - The new villain is Ivan Ooze, a big mess of gelatin. Will it be as cheaply produced as is suspected? Will it spark new debates about violence for kiddies? The producers see visions of Ninja Turtles in their cash register - for at least one weekend.
``Judge Dredd'' - Sylvester Stallone goes to the 22nd century to play the British comic book lawman. The supporting cast includes Armand Assante, Jurgen Prochnow, Max Von Sydow and Diane Lane.
July 7
``First Knight'' - Who is Julia Ormond anyway, and why are they insisting that she's a movie star? Even if she did set Brad Pitt and all his brothers to itching mightily in ``Legends of the Fall,'' she'll never erase my memories of Ava Gardner's Queen Guinevere. It's that story again, this time told from the viewpoint of Lancelot, played by Richard Gere. Sean Connery is King Arthur. It's directed by the same guy who directed ``Airplane!'' and ``Naked Gun.'' Are we supposed to keep a straight face?
``Species'' - A wild, female thing is loose - and she's lonely. She's also from outer space. H.R. Giger, the guy who designed ``Alien,'' created her. It's the same question we used to ponder back when those carnival shows visited town. Do we care enough to pay for a peek?
July 14
``The Indian in the Cupboard'' - It's a children's fantasy about a toy cowboy and Indian that magically come to life. It's adapted from Lynne Reid Banks' novel by the screenwriter who wrote ``E.T.''
``Nine Months'' - Hugh Grant makes his big Hollywood studio premiere in this comedy, playing an expectant dad who hadn't been expecting anything. It's directed by Chris Columbus.
``Under Siege 2: Dark Territory'' - After a bus and a subway, it's time for a train. Eric Bogosian, who was so scary in his one-man shows off-Broadway, is the villain who hijacks a train in the mountains. He plans to nuke the entire Eastern seaboard. It's time to call Steven Seagal.
July 19
``Dead Presidents'' - The Hughes Brothers, who directed ``Menace II Society,'' direct this heist film, set in the '60s. A Vietnam vet and his buddies try to hold up an armored car. The presidents are on the bills.
July 21
``Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home'' - An oil slick is the villain as Willy and his family are separated and need to be reunited. The whales are mostly animatronic in this one.
``To Die For'' - Nicole Kidman (Does she EVER go home to Tom?) stars in this satire of television written by Buck Henry. Gus Van Sant, who last directed the infamous ``Even Cowgirls Get the Blues,'' directs.
July 28
``Clueless'' - Alicia Silverstone, winner of the MTV Award as most desirable babe of the year, plays a Beverly Hills princess.
``Dangerous Minds'' - Michelle Pfeiffer plays an inner-city school teacher who used to be a Marine. It's called an ``inspirational story.''
``Dr. Jekyll and Mrs. Hyde'' - Gender-switching stuff that would mystify Robert Louis Stevenson. Tim Daly of TV's ``Wings'' takes a swig of the secret formula and turns into Sean Young. Could be confusing.
``Operation Dumbo Drop'' - From Disney, a Vietnam comedy about an elephant? Well, we said it would be a varied summer. Ray Liotta and Danny Glover star as guys who have to transport this elephant to a remote village.
``A Walk in the Clouds'' - Keanu Reeves tries to slow down and get romantic. He plays a young soldier who pretends to be a young woman's husband in Napa Valley. It's directed by Alfonso Arau, who steamed things up with ``Like Water for Chocolate,'' but will this one be too tame?
``Waterworld'' - How bad could it be anyway? With all the stories about the set sinking, the costs and the director resigning, we might just have to see it to find out. The most expensive movie ever made stars Kevin Costner as a half-fish. Dennis Hopper is leader of the evil pirates.
August 4
``Arabian Knight'' - An animated film from the creator of ``Who Framed Roger Rabbit?'' Long delayed, it features the voices of the late Vincent Price and Donald Pleasence.
``Babe, the Gallant Pig'' - This one is about a pig who competes in a sheepdog competition. It is not to be confused with either ``Babe,'' which was about Babe Ruth or ``Gordy,'' which was about a talking pig.
``Something to Talk About'' - Julia Roberts and Dennis Quaid in a marital comedy, directed by Lasse Hallstrom.
``Hellraiser IV'' - Pinhead returns. Why not just rent the old movies? Better still, why not rent a pincushion?
``The Tenderfoot'' - Daniel Stern, who was always getting beat up by a kid in ``Home Alone,'' is accused of murder and hides out with a group of Boy Scouts. Maybe the murder rap would be preferable.
``Virtuosity'' - Denzel Washington stars as a cop trying to capture a supercriminal who has escaped from a computer. Russel Crowe, the Australian star of ``The Sum of Us'' and ``The Quick and the Dead,'' has the role of the villain.
``Wild Bill'' - Western fans, here's your chance. Jeff Bridges plays Wild Bill Hickock and Ellen Barkin plays Calamity Jane, directed by Walter Hill. Round 'em up!
August 11
``The Amazing Panda Adventure'' - Ryan Slater, Christian's little brother, saves a panda from poachers in the Chinese Himalayas.
``Fair Game'' - Cindy Crawford, THAT model, makes her movie debut as a Miami lawyer who has been marked for death by ex-KGB agents. William Baldwin wants to save her, and who wouldn't? The KGB won't make any friends with this one.
``Hackers'' - A bunch of kids who are too smart for their own good uncover computer data they don't need to know. Another cyber-thriller.
``Jane Eyre'' - Franco Zeffirelli churns out his version of the Charlotte Bronte classic. William Hurt stars.
``Mall Rats'' - From the creator of ``Clerks.'' Will their mouths be as filthy this time? A trip to the mall, directed by Kevin Smith and starring Shannen Doherty (she's baaaack!).
August 18
``Empire'' - A record store in Atlantic City is the setting for this slacker comedy.
``Mortal Kombat'' - Based on the video game, it's a high-tech fantasy. But look at what a big dud all the other movies based on video games turned out to be.
August 25
``Beyond Rangoon'' - An epic starring Patricia Arquette and Frances McDormand as sisters whose vacation in the Far East turns dangerous.
``Desperado'' - Antonio Banderas stars as a musician who can shoot bullets around corners. Quentin Tarantino (why doesn't he stay BEHIND the camera?) co-stars.
``Lords of Illusion'' - Scott Bakula, as a private eye, investigates a magician and finds mystic horror from novelist-director Clive Barker
``Steal Big, Steal Little'' - A comedy from the director of ``The Fugitive.'' Andy Garcia plays good-bad twins fighting over a billion dollar inheritance. Alan Arkin co-stars. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
Walt Disney Pictures: "Pocahontas"
Universal City Studios: "Apollo 13"
Paramount Pictures: "Congo"
Universal City Studios: "Waterworld"
by CNB