11/20/05 - Oz titles finally kudos-worthy
 
Local pix topping B.O., drawing rave reviews - By MICHAELA BOLAND

SYDNEY -- The Aussie box office may be in a funk, but Australian films are bucking the trend and being embraced by auds and crix for the first time in several years.

The local buzz should make for lively affairs at this week's Australian Film Institute Awards and Independent Film Awards.

Homegrown frightener "Wolf Creek" topped the B.O. last week, dropping just 30% in its second weekend, with more than A$3 million ($2.2 million) total B.O. "Look Both Ways," a small drama about a man coming to terms with a terminal illness, has been playing for 25 weeks and has earned $1.9 million. Likewise, "The Oyster Farmer" remains in limited release after 15 weeks in which it has grossed $1.8 million.

While the totals for the latter two pics appears small, distrib Dendy testifies as to their profitability. Company co-topper Richard Peyton says both have fared as well as could have been hoped.

And unlike the numerous atrocious comedies that turned auds off Aussie films and triggered a re-think of how pics are financed, it's possible these dramas will notch some foreign sales.

"Little Fish," helmer Rowan Woods' drama about a recovered heroin addict (Cate Blanchett) trying to stay straight, has earned $2.4 million in 10 weeks and topped the nomination list for the AFI Awards, awarded in Melbourne Nov. 26.

Pic's distrib, Mark Gooder from Icon Films Australia, says "Little Fish" is on track to earn $2.5 million, but a picture award at the AFIs could result in a gross above $3 million.

"The Proposition," director John Hillcoat's searing frontier Western penned by pop rocker Nick Cave, topped the nomination list for the Indie Awards, an upstart "people's choice" kudos popular with the industry in Sydney, held Nov. 23.

Given the tough subject matter -- a trio of criminal brothers forced to turn on each other -- "The Proposition" did well to reap $1.3 million in six weeks and is still playing on 44 screens.

These five pics have monopolized the nominations for both kudoscasts, and most categories are good contests, unlike last year when "Somersault" collected all 13 AFI awards and dominated at the IF Awards. Gooder says this year's kudos are, far more interesting. "There are some categories where you could have an argument about who is the worthiest," he says.

Organizers brought in veteran legit producer and music promoter Paul Dainty to produce the AFI event.

He secured Russell Crowe as host, leading web Nine as broadcaster, L'Oreal as key sponsor and News Limited newspapers as media partner. In 2004, there was no host to speak of, nor was there a broadcast.

The awards have also moved from a theater to an invitation-only dinner for 800 at Melbourne's Central City Studios. Dainty told Variety, "the event is light years from what it was last year."

While grosses for Aussie films are languishing well below other domestic hits of a few years ago ("Lantana" made $7 million in 2001, "The Man Who Sued God" grossed $6 million in 2001 and "Crackerjack" took $5.5 million in 2003), distribs are confident those days will return.

Richard Peyton says the market is burning through pics faster now, but "another good A$10 million film will come along."

11/20/05 - Boxing bio back in ring
 
'Cinderella' getting re-release to beef up kudos chances - By GABRIEL SNYDER

 After "Cinderella Man" failed to get box office traction when it was released in June, Universal went through a particularly public round of self-flagellation over its release date. Shortly after the film bowed, producer Brian Grazer told the N.Y. Times, "I look at each season as a living organism, and I don't think the season of summer is compatible with a movie of this type."

Amid all the second guessing, a fall re-release -- when auds would presumably be more interested in dramas -- was discussed.

Well, as promised, "Cinderella Man" is back to fight in theaters another day.

The film began a limited five-screen run at theaters in L.A., Gotham and Toronto, with ads touting the Depression-era tale starring Russell Crowe and Renee Zellweger as Ron Howard's "most personal and deeply felt" film.

But rather than attempting a box office do-over, U execs characterize the release as part of a long-planned kudos push.

"We talked about it long before last summer," says U marketing prexy Adam Fogelson, "when we talked about releasing a film that we thought deserved Academy attention."

He says U did the same thing for "Erin Brockovich" and "Seabiscuit," both of which were nominated for the best picture Oscar.

While Academy voters will have a final chance to see the pic on a bigscreen -- rather than one of the tiny screening rooms playing "Cinderella Man" and countless other contenders through February -- U will also release the pic on DVD on Dec. 6.

"The DVD window is where we will capture a whole bunch of eyeballs that we didn't get while the movie was out in theaters," Fogelson says.

11/14/05 - Biz's blurry vision blasted
 
Goldman laments film industry - By DAVID S. COHEN

 "I don't understand movies these days."

It's a common lament among moviegoers but carries special weight coming from the mouth of scribe William Goldman.

Goldman's message to writers gathered at the Los Angeles Convention Center over the weekend was sharp and clear: If his famous formulation "Nobody knows anything" was true 30 years ago, it's even more true today.

"I think movies are worse now. This has been a terrible year," said Goldman. "I'm hoping the rest of the year will be better, but they're giving us, essentially, shit."

Speaking for the second year in a row at the Screenwriting Expo, Goldman told the gathered screenwriters, mostly tyros, "It's a spooky time. We've all read these articles this year, saying (business is down) because of DVDs, or these other things. I think it's because the movies suck." Movies have become so expensive, he said, that the pressure is much greater than it used to be. "There are a few sequels you know are going to do business, but everything else is such a crapshoot."

In the afternoon session, Goldman and David Koepp traded thoughts about how the business has changed.

Wary of wide openings

Goldman pointed to wide openings and the declining importance of word of mouth as factors in the decline of screen stories.

"When a movie went into lots of theaters, which "Butch Cassidy" did after 12 weeks, they'd say, 'I hear it's good, let's go see it.' The first weekend didn't used to matter.

"They don't need quality (today) as much as they did (then)," he continued. "They used to have to have a movie that people wanted to go see."

Goldman called "Jaws" the "most important movie of our time, because it made so much money so fast the studios realized that's the business they should be in. And we're still in the special effects business. We're still feeling the effects 30 years on."

Koepp observed that stars' personalities have begun to overshadow their films over the last 10 years. "That didn't used to be the case. Today we have much too much access to them."

Goldman complained, for example, that his opinion of "Cinderella Man" was colored by bad publicity around Russell Crowe's behavior. He said the same was true for "War of the Worlds."

"I didn't think for a second that Tom Cruise was a guy working on the docks in New Jersey. I thought he was a nut Scientologist who insulted Brooke Shields and yelled at Matt Lauer." "I believe the movie is the star," said Koepp. "I've been saying it for years. But they don't think so."

Screenwriting Expo 4 featured a trade show, seminars and panels with industry pros. Sponsors estimated attendance at around 3,900 -- a slight uptick vs. last year.

Pic punched up $8.5 million at 3,250 playdates, lifting BVI's two-week offshore cume to $16 million. Best performance came in a Japanese launch with $1.8 million at 250, 15% better than "Million Dollar Baby."

Its French debut was solid but not spectacular with $1.1 million at 385 sites, lagging "Million Dollar Baby" but ahead of "A Beautiful Mind." Similarly, the South Korean launch of $1 million at 150 trailed "Million Dollar Baby" but doubled "A Beautiful Mind."

"Cinderella Man" posted decent holds in major markets with U.K. results off 20% to $780,000 at 391 engagements, Italy down 30% to $675,000 at 400, Spain off 35% to $650,000 at 275 and Mexico edging down just 5% to $642,00 at 300. And Russia opened well with $360,000, quadrupling the "Million Dollar Baby" aunch.

Russell Crowe-starrer, which grossed a lukewarm $61.6 million domestically, opens next weekend in Australia. ...

Overseas auds lukewarm on 'Cinderella' -- Boxing pic a disappointment in Germany By DAVE MCNARY

Three months after a lukewarm domestic run, "Cinderella Man" has launched moderately in foreign territories with $6.3 million in its first five days in 11 markets.

Early foreign results for the Depression-era boxing pic underscore the tricky turf trod by distribs in marketing American-themed pics aimed at adults. "Cinderella Man" has attracted intense scrutiny in the aftermath of a $62 million Stateside run for Universal that fell short of expectations.

Ron Howard's drama -- which has received strong critical response -- generated decent coin in the U.K., Spain, Italy and Mexico but turned into a disappointment in Germany. Since Miramax co-financed "Man," BVI's handling foreign distribution and has revved up promo campaigns targeted at each market.

The foreign push has generally downplayed pic's historic aspects of boxer James Braddock's riches-to-rags-to-riches story.

The foreign launch of "Cinderella Man" also marks the arrival of the first major awards season hopeful into international markets after a summer full of action tentpoles and family fare. As such, exhibitors are hoping that "Man" will show long legs in coming weeks by appealing to the same audiences that made "Million Dollar Baby" a success earlier this year with $115 million in offshore grosses.

"Cinderella Man" performed best in the U.K., punching up $1.4 million in its first five days. Exhibitors cite less-than-positive buzz, Russell Crowe's non-attendance at the U.K. preem and an "overly American schmaltzy feel" as reasons for the moderate initial response.

Italian audiences weren't knocked out by "Cinderella Man," bringing in only $1.2 million but exhibitors took heart from solid weekday numbers. A Roman booker notes that femme patrons may be unenthusiastic but he's holding out hope.

"We should wait before we judge it because word of mouth is bound to be good, people love the film when they see it, it is very emotional, and I don't think it will sustain a drop this weekend," the booker adds.

Spanish five-day "Cinderella Man" returns of $1.2 million were comparable to the launch of "Million Dollar Baby," which went on to gross an impressive $15.3 million in that market. Given the stellar reviews for "Man," bookers were disappointed it took in slightly over half the launch of "Brothers Grimm."

But in Germany, "Cinderella Man" opened feebly in sixth place with one exhibitor opining it was "too American and too sentimental" for Teuton audiences. Pic will probably not even crack the $1 million mark in Germany; by comparison, "Million Dollar Baby" grossed $4.25 million thanks to its best picture Oscar and controversy surrounding its right-to-die themes.

" 'Cinderella Man' is more of a classic underdog tale that is very familiar to people," a German booker says.

Overall biz of the Sept. 9-11 frame was respectable amid cooler weather in Europe. France rose 19%, Germany saw a 15% hike, Italy gained 10% and the U.K. was up 6% while Spain edged down 2%.

Warner's quirky but sturdy "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" easily won the weekend, thanks to first-place finishes in its Japanese bow and in Australia in its soph sesh, where its $3.2 million easily topped the combined grosses of the next four -- "Stealth," "Wedding Crashers," "Red Eye" and "Fever Pitch."

Holdover biz for "Charlie" remained remarkably strong in France as sales jumped 3% in its ninth week. With a French cume of nearly $25 million, pic's considered an unqualified success due to crossover appeal; one exhib says Franco fascination with the film stems from its portrayal of children as overindulged by their parents.

The family fave's totaled $157.2 million overseas as of Sept. 12, including a stunning $66 million from Blighty after seven weeks.

Despite being near the end of its run, UIP's "Madagascar" stayed solid with a $7.5 million weekend -- enough to cross the $300 million milestone in foreign grosses. Italian moviegoers, who had shunned other late-summer launches, have strongly supported the CGI toon within its first two weeks with grosses already topping UIP's "War of the Worlds."

"It is beautiful to see these results," one Italo booker opines of "Madagascar." "We did not expect it."

Sony's "Bewitched" continued to conjure up moderate returns offshore with foreign cume topping $42 million to push worldwide grosses past $103 million. The Nicole Kidman starrer won back-to-back frames in Germany with a middling $3.4 million cume; exhibitors opine the pic provided light entertainment for a broad range of moviegoers.

Comedy dominated in Blighty where Sony's Brit launch of "The Longest Yard" scored a victory, edging UIP's soph sesh of "The 40-Year-old Virgin." Exhibitors were impressed since American football lacks a big U.K. following and sports movies usually don't perform well.

"Virgin" slipped just 15% in its second frame, due to good word of mouth, catchy title and popularity of adult-themed comedies. Pic looks set to end up with $11 million in the U.K. -- solid biz considering it's toplined by relative unknown Steve Carell.

In France, launches of a pair of comedies propelled biz as Jim Jarmusch's "Broken Flowers" and local entry "Ma vie en l'air" took the top spots. Bookers say "Flowers" hefty $2.1 million take on 229 screens reflects helmer's popularity here, as well as Gauls' love of Bill Murray.

In Spain, bookers were enthused over the performance of local drama "Princesses," which has cumed $2.17 million in its first two weeks.

Pic, directed by Fernando Leon de Aranoa, centers on friendship and love in the world of prostitution.

"The movie is having an amazing word to mouth -- something that just hadn't happened to a local movie for many months," one Spanish exhibitor says.

(Ed Meza in Berlin, Sheri Jennings in Rome, Liza Klaussmann in Paris, Archie Thomas in London and Esther De Prado in Madrid contributed to this report.)

No Cinderella story is complete without a happy ending. But a happy ending has eluded "Cinderella Man" here at home.

Ron Howard's boxing drama opened the weekend of June 3 to favorable reviews and a respectable, if unspectacular, $18 million. But it ran out of steam, grossing just $62 million for its U.S. distrib, Universal.

But in the next few weeks, "Cinderella Man" will get a new lease on life.

Buena Vista Intl., handling the overseas campaign thanks to a co-financing deal between U and Miramax, will relaunch the movie from Mexico City to Tokyo. BVI also is giving the movie a marketing makeover, customized to capitalize on the cultural differences of its disparate global aud.

BVI isn't starting from scratch. The studio is relying on some of U's advertising materials, including a four-piece standee of boxer Jim Braddock surrounded by his adoring children.

But the sales pitch is different. In most countries, the emphasis on the Great Depression is gone. In its place is an accent on the love story of the boxer and his wife, played by Russell Crowe and Renee Zellwegger, both bankable stars abroad.

In Japan, "Cinderella Man" has a new trailer and one-sheet, positioning the movie as an uplifting family drama. In France, it's being treated as an existentialist boxing picture.

The one-sheets vary significantly from market to market, as do the titles. In Germany, "Cinderella Man" is called "Das Comeback." In Latin America, it's called "El luchador" (The Fighter). In France it has an arty title all but untranslatable into English ("From the Shadow to the Light"), with a tagline that sounds like something out of Camus: "Vivre. Survivre."

"Cinderella Man's" lackluster run in U.S. theaters has given rise to all sorts of conflicting theories among box office pundits. But marketing is a fluky science, and it's generally not conducive to pat explanations.

One line is that "Cinderella Man" shouldn't have been released June 3, which made it an early bellwether for a frustrating summer. That theory got some credence in this week's Time magazine, where Universal Studios prexy Ron Meyer said in an interview that the date was a disadvantage.

The Rusell Crowe telephone-hurling incident didn't help either.

Whatever the source of its problems, "Cinderella Man" will have a fresh start abroad largely because BVI is flouting what seems to be the conventional wisdom of summer blockbusters: that they should be sold like fast food in a single, homogenous day-and-date marketing campaign.

BVI's campaign begins with a series of events to build word of mouth in major cities and at film festivals. As BVI senior veep Nic Crawley told me, "The best and most effective way to market this film was to screen it."

Implicit in that strategy is a tacit understanding that the world doesn't talk about Hollywood movies the same way that Hollywood does.

The 2005 summer movie season will be remembered, in part, as a season of doomsday proclamations in the national press. The scores of stories about Hollywood's B.O. slump created a gloomy vibe about studio titles that made it even harder for them to claw their way out of the red.

After a dozen news outlets called "Cinderella Man" a disappointment, its fate was pretty much sealed.

But the fluctuations of the American B.O. aren't especially interesting to overseas moviegoers. They tend to be attracted to big American productions with big American stars. That message is not hard for "Cinderella Man" to project.

As part of BVI's campaign, the cast and director are preparing to rally behind the movie a second time. Zellwegger will escort it to Venice, Tokyo and London. Howard will go to Venice and Deauville.

Crowe, whose affecting performance in "Cinderella Man" as a pugilist with a heart of gold is completely at odds with the image of a phone-throwing Hollywood diva, also will make an appearance in Venice.

Bloodied and bruised at home, "Cinderella Man" undoubtedly requires special handling overseas. But if there's a single underlying principle here, it's one that also applies to the advertising strategies of companies like Coke, Nike and Procter & Gamble.

"In the packaged-good business, it's all about sampling," Buena Vista Intl. prexy Mark Zoradi says. "They want you to try (a product) and tell your friends about it. That strategy is integral to the marketing of "Cinderella Man.'"