Next Up With ‘Private Ryan,’ ‘Truman’ Setting The Standard, Studios Make Final Assault On Oscars With Fall Film Lineup
The Battle Plan for fall movies is usually simple: Send in the serious reinforcements to replace the silly escapism. Pack some heavy drama for ammunition. Enlist the best actors and directors. Most of all, capture the gold from Oscar’s fortress.
This year, that mission is going to be tougher to carry out. Who knew two of the best movies of 1998 would go AWOL and open smack in the middle of summer? Normally, “The Truman Show” and “Saving Private Ryan” would have arrived sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The stupendous success of their early release has some of fall’s more promising movies running for cover.
“Pleasantville,” for example, is a “Truman”-esque fantasy about two teens trapped inside a black-and-white ‘50s sitcom. Will another television-inspired satire make audiences tune in or turn off?
And what about “The Thin Red Line,” the hotly anticipated World War II drama that marks the return of director Terrence Malick (“Days of Heaven”)? He hasn’t made a movie since 1978, and now he’s up against the expectations raised by Steven Spielberg’s masterful “Saving Private Ryan.” It’s enough to make the chances for the Dec. 25 opening of Malick’s film look as daunting as D-Day.
But maybe not. At this time last year, “Titanic” was just a postponed summer movie that looked like a disaster-in-the-making. Nobody had even heard of “Good Will Hunting” or “As Good as It Gets.” Although “Saving Private Ryan” seems to be the film to beat, especially come Academy Award time, there’s bound to be plenty of competition over the next few months.
You can’t call it a losing battle yet, not when there are two Meryl Streep movies, a DreamWorks cartoon about Moses, the big-screen return of Oprah Winfrey, a Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan reunion, and another “Star Trek” installment to come.
Still not excited? Well, there’s also Brad Pitt as death personified, Sandra Bullock as a witch, Matt Damon as a compulsive gambler, Michael Keaton as a snowman and Leonard DiCaprio — here’s a stretch — as a teen screen idol.
Get ready for an invasion. One-hundred and forty movies are expected to open in the next four months. Which ones will gain a box-office beachhead or at least be critical hits? Meet some of the contenders.
September
“Rounders,” Friday: Flush with his cinematic winning streak, Matt Damon moves to the world of underground high-stakes poker games in this drama co-starring Edward Norton (“The People vs. Larry Flynt”). Early money says Damon will bring in his devoted young fans, who’ll be thrilled if he loses his shirt, and Norton might cadge another Oscar nomination.
“Simon Birch,” Friday: The buzz is it’s unique. Not surprising, given that it’s inspired by John Irving’s “A Prayer for Owen Meany,” narrated by Jim Carrey and concerns a tiny, unusual boy who hits a foul ball with tragic consequences. First-time director Mark Steven Johnson also wrote the script; if it glows like lead actress Ashley Judd, his prayers will be answered.
“Permanent Midnight,” Sept. 16: There’s something about Ben Stiller that gets him cast in all kinds of movies. This one couldn’t be more of a departure from “There’s Something About Mary.” He’s a TV-sitcom writer with a heroin habit in a story based on the autobiography of a former “Alf” staffer. Elizabeth Hurley and Janeane Garofalo also star.
“One True Thing,” Sept. 19: Honestly, a pedigree for a women’s movie doesn’t get any better than this: Meryl Streep plays a dying mother, and Renee Zellweger is the daughter who comes home to make her peace in the movie version of former New York Times columnist Anna Quindlen’s novel. Get out the handkerchiefs and the Oscar nominations, female division.
“Ronin,” Sept. 25: If anyone can whip a tale of former Cold War warriors into shape, it’s legendary director John Frankenheimer (“The Manchurian Candidate”). Let’s hope he brings the same magic to this search for a mysterious briefcase. If not, there’s always the all-star international cast: Robert DeNiro, Stellan Skarsgard, Jean Reno, Jonathan Pryce and Natasha McElhone.
October
“What Dreams May Come,” Oct. 2: How’s this for romantic high concept? Robin Williams plays a family man killed in a car crash who searches for his dead wife (Annabella Sciorra) in the great beyond. Cuba Gooding Jr. is the angel who guides him. Sounds as if it has a “Ghost” of a chance.
“Antz,” Oct. 2: The first animated bug movie of the season boasts the voices of Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Sylvester Stallone and others. It’s no picnic for Allen’s nerdish drone ant when he falls for Stone’s princess ant. In previews, the anthropomorphized insects don’t look very appealing. Maybe they didn’t work out all the bugs.
“Practical Magic,” Oct. 9: Witchy women Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman are sisters trying to deal with their wacky aunts (Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing) and the family’s romantic curse.
“Beloved,” Oct. 16: Toni Morrison’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, about a woman who escapes slavery and is haunted by the child she murdered, comes to the screen. As star and producer, Oprah Winfrey teamed again with “Color Purple” co-star Danny Glover for a shoot that was emotionally and physically wrenching. Expect Oprah’s movie club to be just as successful as her book club.
“Pleasantville,” Oct. 16: Gary Ross, who wrote “Big” and “Dave,” makes his directing debut with a clever premise about a teen brother and sister (Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon) who are zapped into a black-and-white sitcom. The visuals should be a treat. For authenticity, Don Knotts of “The Andy Griffith Show” is part of the supporting cast, along with William H. Macy, Joan Allen and Jeff Daniels.
“Happiness,” Oct. 23: Controversial and a Cannes prize winner, this follow-up to “Welcome to the Dollhouse” by Todd Solondz deals with several themes. One of them is child molestation. No wonder it had a bumpy road to release. But unlike “Lolita,” this taboo-broaching movie is winning critical raves.
“Life Is Beautiful,” Oct. 23: Another Cannes favorite was Roberto Benigni’s surreal and moving concentration-camp comedy, which won over audiences with its warmth. A father (Benigni) tries to convince his young son that their imprisonment is merely a game. If an idea this outrageous works, Benigni could ride a wave of laughs and tears to an Oscar for best foreign film.
November
“Jack Frost,” Nov. 6: George Clooney got cold feet, so Michael Keaton took over as a dad who dies and comes back to life as a snowman. Kelly Preston is his wife. The gimmick had better be pretty good to avoid an icy reception.
“The Siege,” Nov. 6: Recent events have lent a terrible timeliness to director Ed Zwick’s political thriller about a terrorist attack on New York City that also threatens the civil rights of Arab Americans. Denzel Washington and Annette Bening join forces with Bruce Willis, who’ll finally get to work in a movie with meaningful explosions.
“Slam,” Nov. 6: Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize winner about an African-American poet whose art liberates him from the oppression of jail was made for $1 million. With Coolio and Busta Rhymes on the soundtrack, it could help poetry beat its bad rap.
“The Waterboy,” Nov. 6: Adam Sandler goes from dispensing thirst quenchers to sacking quarterbacks in a football comedy. “The Wedding Singer” must have boosted his image. Why else would Kathy Bates play his mother?
“Meet Joe Black,” Nov. 13: If looks could kill, Brad Pitt would be Dr. Kevorkian. In this takeoff on the 1934 film “Death Takes a Holiday,” Pitt actually is Death, who takes a field trip in human form and falls in love with the daughter of Anthony Hopkins. Rumors are floating about the movie’s long shooting schedule and inflated budget, but Pitt does have a lethal smile.
“Dancing at Lughnasa,” Nov. 13: Streep again, this time in the adaptation of a Tony-winning play about Irish sisters. It should be a minor gem. Plus, one more role with an accent and Streep gets a lifetime gift certificate at International House of Pancakes.
“A Bug’s Life,” Nov. 20: The second animated bug movie of the season comes from the Pixar whizzes behind “Toy Story.” In it, a young ant tries to save his colony from a greedy grasshopper with the help of a flea circus. Dave Foley, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, David Hyde Pierce and Kevin Spacey provide the voices for the lead bugs. It may be arriving late, but its characters are cute as a … “Babe: Pig in the City,” Nov. 25: Babe returns and helps farmer Hoggett out by going to a metropolis to bring home some bacon. Most sequels are disappointing, but this one could be hog heaven.
“Enemy of the State,” Nov. 25: Will Smith joins Gene Hackman and Jon Voight, playing an attorney who’s framed for murder and chased by renegade intelligence baddies. I spy a Smith movie that’s made for adults, too.
“Celebrity,” November: Leo’s back, and Woody’s got ‘em. DiCaprio has a small part in Allen’s latest, a musing on fame with a galaxy-busting cast: Winona Ryder, Kenneth Branagh, Vanessa Redgrave, Melanie Griffith and so on.
December
“Psycho,” a virtual copy of Hitchcock’s classic with Vince Vaughn and Anne Heche; “Star Trek: Insurrection,” giving Capt. Picard a love interest; “Mighty Joe Young,” about a big gorilla; “The Prince of Egypt,” Moses done with animation and songs; “You’ve Got Mail,” with the “Sleepless in Seattle” crew of Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan and director Nora Ephron; “A Civil Action,” with John Travolta as a lawyer who goes after two polluting companies; “Stepmom,” a funny, feisty weeper with Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon; and “The Thin Red Line,” a World War II film about the American campaign on Guadalcanal with Sean Penn, George Clooney, John Travolta, Bill Pullman and John Cusack.