 “KEEPING
MOVIE GOERS HAPPY” - THE FOCUS OF 2006 SHOWEST
By Judy Thorburn
Photos by Stephen Thorburn
As in prior years, Bally’s
and the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas was the setting for ShoWest, the annual
trade show and convention that is the single largest gathering of movie
industry professionals and theatre owners in the world. The 2006 edition
of the four day event took place on March 13-16 and included a massive
trade show on the convention room floor where vendor/exhibitors showed
off the latest in comfort seating, concession goodies, and the latest in
technical innovations. The schedule of events included the usual
breakfast, luncheon and dinner receptions, seminars, preview screenings
and award ceremonies culminating in the Final Nights Banquet and Awards
Ceremony where an outstanding group of Hollywood stars and filmmakers
were honored for their art and contribution in box office sales.
This year the main topic
being discussed everywhere was in keeping the movie going audiences
happy by continuing to insure what they experience on the big screen, in
a darkened theatre, is unmatched by any other entertainment form. Dan
Glickman, President and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America
spoke at various times throughout ShoWest about the importance on how to
respond to an on demand world that is impacting preferences of
audiences. In 2005 domestic theatre attendance was down. Glickman was
adamant in saying, “The trend must be reversed. 70% of consumers say it
(the movie theatre) is the ultimate way to see a movie. Americans will
come if they have value…more accessible, higher quality, all modern
technology. We need to give people what they want - safety, comfort,
convenience, concierge services, clever way to buy tickets, on their
cell phone, court other industries like restaurants and give audiences a
bargain for their buck”. He added, “Everyone must perform their
perspective roles. But, compelling, entertaining stories is the key to
success. The play is the thing. I believe that very strongly. Understand
what movie consumers want; what motivates them to go to the movies and
what causes them to stay home. We are establishing a national movie week
and the first will be in next March.” Glickman then asked theatre owners
to think about providing value. “The truth is Hollywood tells superb
stores like no other, by bringing words to life that only exist in our
mind. Movies matter to people, by providing great personal pleasure. It
is cheaper than going to a psychiatrist.” Also the advancement of high
definition digital technology has enhanced the movie going experience
immensely and will “suck people in” since “seeing is believing”. Of
course, equipment cost for theatre owners is the one issue that needs to
be worked out with filmmaking partners before implementation can be
fulfilled.
Glickman went on to say “For the first time ever,
the MPAA staff, working closely with NATO is undergoing such a research
project that will foster an environment that will thrive and commit to
value and rewards of the movie going experience.” Another important
subject that continues to plague the industry is the ongoing fight
against the morally and illegally wrong practice of piracy. Two thirds
of the country has adopted laws for creative property that deserves
protection with the enforcement of such laws, litigation and education.
A web based training program can be found at
www.fightfilmtheft.org. Movie theatre
employees are encouraged to visit this site.
At the Opening Day
Ceremony, Tom Cruise’s co-producing partner, Paula Wagner (War of the
Worlds, Mission Impossible 2) was host of the Salute to $100 Million
Films of 2005. Wagner was excited to express her personal feelings about
why she is involved in the movie making process. “Films transport me to
another time and place, an experience you cannot get at home. There is
magic in the moment going into the theatre. Nothing can compare to that
event”, she said. Proud to be involved with War of The World she stated
that Tom Cruise, her co-producer on the film has made more films that
grossed over $100 million than other any other actor in history. Clips
were shown from the list of 2005’s $100 Million films that included a
story about a gorilla, a little chicken, or a married couple that happen
to be assassins; just a few among a compilation of films that crossed
all genres…. War of the Worlds, Chicken Little, I Robot, Mr. and Mrs.
Smith, The Wedding Crashers, I Walk The Line, Star Wars: Revenge of the
Sith, King Kong, Hitch, The Pacifier, Batman Begins, Charlie and the
Chocolate Factory, 40 Year Old Virgin, Fantastic 4, The Chronicles of
Narnia, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
J.J. Abrams (creator of
TV’s Lost, Alias, Felicity) was a surprise guest and I was surprised to
see that he is so young, probably in his early thirties, given that he
has built up such an impressive resume. As director of the upcoming
action thriller Mission Impossible 2, Abrams presented two tense and
exciting scenes from the film which stars Cruise and recent Best Actor
Oscar winner, Phillip Seymour Hoffman as the villain. “Presenting this
(footage) to ShoWest is the cherry on the top,” he said. “This is my
first movie as director. I know TV well. I can tell you, now that I have
done this, movies kicks TV’s ass. Making this was the best fun I ever
had. I am grateful to (stars) Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman and
Keri Russell, who worked with me on Felicity.” He added, “It is
important for me to make movies that are character driven, not just
spectacle.”
The International Day
Luncheon was co- sponsored by IMAX Corporation and Nielsen Entertainment
where the slogan was the applicable “Think Big””. Luncheon attendees
were privy to footage from upcoming blockbusters specially formatted for
IMAX screens throughout the country. They include V for Vendetta,
Poseidon, and Superman Returns. Three upcoming 3D films are the animated
Ant Bully, Open Season and Happy Feet. Director James Cameron was also
on hand to present fellow director and friend, Guillermo Del Toro with
the award for International Achievement in Filmmaking. Cameron described
Del Toro, the director of such cult classics as Mimic, Cronos, The
Devil’s Backbone and box office hits, Hellboy and Blade II, as “the
bull, strong of heart, strong of soul and strong of character”, who
makes films that are “luminous, wonderful, sometimes terrifying,
disturbing, but never forgettable”. We were shown a clip of his latest
film; a fantasy thriller called Pan’s Labyrinth that will be released
later in the year, and it looks awesome. Later, the Exhibitor of the
Year Award was presented to Lotte Cinema, the top multiplex circuit in
Korea. Described as a pioneer to impress the world, their motto is “a
great company filled with love, happiness and impressions”. Lotte
Cinema sets a higher standard by offering a plethora of available
options to its patrons like no other entertainment complex.
Of course, a highlight of
this year’s ShoWest was Monday night’s An Evening of Independent Films
at the Century Orleans Theatre complex, which featured preview
screenings of five films and a food filled lobby reception. Former
presidential candidate Al Gore appeared in person at the screening of
“An Inconvenient Truth”, a Paramount Classics documentary about Gore’s
lifelong commitment to reversing the effects of global warming. The
other films were Focus Features “On A Clear Day”, about a 55 year old
man’s attempt to swim the English Channel, Fox Searchlight’s “Confettti”
about engaged couples competing in a contest for the most to-die-for
wedding, Lionsgate Films’ “Hard Candy”, a psychological thriller about a
14 year old girl and the 32 year old man she meets on the internet, and
the two I chose to see which were thoroughly satisfying - Miramax’s
delightful “Kinky Boots”, inspired by a true story about a failing
British shoe factory that is brought back on its feet (pun intended)
when a drag queen is recruited to design shoes that fill a surprising
niche, and Sony Picture Classics, “Friends With Money”, a poignant and
funny ensemble piece starring Jennifer Anniston, Frances McDormand,
Catherine Keener and Joan Cusack.
But those weren’t the only
preview screenings. The following morning I headed over to the Theatre
des Arts at the Paris to catch Lionsgate’s Akeelah and the Bee, a
heartwarming drama about a 12-year-old girl from South L.A. with a gift
for spelling. It stars ShoWest award recipient Laurence Fishburne and
ShoWest Rising Star of the Year, Keke Palmer who was present at the
screening to accept her award. Later that evening Walt Disney Pictures
and Pixar Animation studios showed the first animated feature being
released since their merge titled’ Cars”, a fast paced comedy adventure
set inside the world of cars, voiced by an all star cast that includes
Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, and George Carlin.
Pixar’s founding member,
Academy Award winning director, John Lasseter was in the house to reveal
his latest feature and accept the ShoWest Pioneer of Animation Award for
being “a pioneer in the advanced evolution of animated features and
continuing to raise the industry standard year after year.” I couldn’t
make that presentation and screening, or the showing of New Line
Cinema’s “Take The Lead” that stars Antonio Banderas in dance mode.
But, Wednesday afternoon I attended Picturehouse’s “A Prairie Home
Companion”, a fictionalized movie account of Garson Keillor’s award
winning radio show, directed by Robert Altman with another all star cast
such as Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Lily Tomlin and Lindsey Lohan and
Keillor playing himself, just to name a few. And, I was in the audience
for what we were told was an 85% completed, still in progress movie,
Dreamwork’s delightful animated feature “Over the Hedge” about a group
of woodland animals who awake from a long winter’s nap only to find that
suburbia has invaded their natural habitat. Before the flick,
Dreamworks bigwig, Jeffrey Katzenberg praised ShoWest award recipient
John Lasseter, who delivered Toy Story, as being “the father of
animation. The brilliance and genius of John as a storyteller is
amazing. He is a great inspiration, having made 20 CGI animated films in
10 years and grossing 80 billion worldwide”, said Katzenberg.
I couldn’t wait to see
what MGM, the newly re-organized studio, had up its sleeve for the
coming year. Suffice to say at the MGM sponsored Final Day Luncheon
attendees were told “The Lion Roars Again” and that the “remodeled”
company remains steadfast in theatrical distribution to make their
business successful. Clips were shown from the upcoming slate of films
for 2006. The impressive list goes like this: Lucky Number Slevin with
Bruce Willis, I Can Never Be Your Woman with Michelle Pheiffer and Paul
Rudd in an older woman, younger man romance, Fragile, starring Calista
Flockhart, the long awaited Clerks 2 with Ben Afleck and Rosario Dawson,
The Flock starring Richard Gere and Claire Danes, Awake with Jessica
Alba and Hayden Christenson, John Madden’s Killshot, Young Hannibal
about Hannibal Lector’s formative years, Stormbreaker with Alex Pettyfer,
and Van Wilder 2 with Kal Penn. A Sizzle Reel gave us a first look at
late 2006 or early 2007 MGM releases which include a psychological
thriller, Mr. Brooks starring Kevin Costner, Joseph Fiennes in The
Darwin Awards, Breaking and Entering with Jude Law, and a film that
marks Desperate Housewives star Eva Langoria in her first major film
role.
Wednesday marked the
presentation of the First Annual Yahoo! Big Idea Chair Award For
Excellence in Studio Integrated Marketing. Wedding Crashers received the
award for having the most original and effective marketing campaign
aimed at creating moviegoers’ interest and connection to a particular
film. Runners up and just as innovative were the campaigns for Charlie
and the Chocolate Factory, King Kong, and War of the Worlds.
Thursday afternoon Warner
Bros. studios hosted “The Big Picture…Goes Vegas” which meant those with
a screening ticket (me included) were privy to an appearance by some of
the directors and see exclusive footage from their films Poseidon,
Superman Returns, Lady in the Water, and the multi-star voiced, animated
penguin flick Happy Feet, four event films of 2006. Translated that
means a must see for audiences, a very special film expected to have a
great opening. Director Wolfgang Peterson spoke about the making of the
disaster movie, Poseidon exclaiming, “I am very, very, very passionate
about it being made for the big screen. You’ll hold your breath, hear
the crashing of waves….with big screens, our big scenes.” (Yes, that is
exactly what he said). He went on, “I try very hard to get the audience
inside the movie… the ultimate journey through hell, madness - a
terrifying and really scary experience. It is a New Years celebration on
a cruise ship when everything turns upside down, literally. It really
elevates the genre of disaster movie. Unbelievably scary, it takes
everything out of you. But, in as movie theatre we are able to sit still
and safe. Peterson added “5 sound stages at Warner lots were built
upside down and right side up. Ninety thousand gallons of water were
dropped using technology just developed. This was ILM’s biggest, most
challenging film. It took 18 days and 18 nights to render a two and a
half minute long shoot, the most expensive in history. After seeing
this, Titanic passengers got off easy!” If those who actually died on
the Titanic could hear that remark, I doubt they would find that
amusing.
Director Bryan Singer
introduced the new Superman Returns movie that stars Brandon Routh, who
won the role of the man of steel after a worldwide search. Singer
supplied a bit of trivia stating that it took 16 costume changes before
picking the right one for the character. Superman Returns is scheduled
to open on July 4th weekend and costars Kevin Spacey as Lex
Luther.
M. Night Shyamalan, the
director of Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs, and the Village was
introduced as a unique spirit with intelligence, charisma, spirituality
that truly makes him unique. His latest, The Lady in the Water stars
Paul Giamatti and Bryce Dallas Howard and Shyamalan said, “This story is
about a grown man who wants to let go and believe like a child again.”
The idea originated “when I was telling a bedtime story to my kids. They
would cry when I said it was the end of a chapter. It resonated on some
level.” As regard to projects offered, “The deal is, I will make a
movie, but it must be where my heart is at the moment. If that’s cool,
then I can continue the journey with the studio”. Before showing the
10-minute footage, the director said “ I chose that section from the
first reel of the movie because it reminded him of when I first fell in
love with E.T. and stumbled across magic in my backyard.”
When it came to the long
awaited press conference before the Final Night Gala Banquet and Awards
Ceremony, not every recipient made it into our room for a quick question
and answer segment. Vince Vaughn and Hugh Jackman left us hanging and
disappointed. But, most of the stars took the time to stop and chat for
a moment. Laurence Fishburne offered an interesting response when asked
about the advice he would give to other actors. He stated “nothing,
unless the person was in the room. I must know something about that
person.” What attracts him to a role? He replied, “If the role speaks
to me. A commonality, the tragic, things that move an audience is the
biggest joy to me.”
Natalie Portman said she
took the role in V for Vendetta because it was “art mixed with
literature. I had great admiration for the original graphic novel.” In
preparing for her role, ‘The graphic novel was an amazing place to
start, (then there is) the storyboard and I read the history of Guy Fox
and Menachim Begin’s book.” As for the difference between making
independent films and huge movies, “ With V I spent lots of time (alone)
reading and watching movies between takes. For Garden State, the cast
stayed together and partied together.”
Former American Idol top
twelve contestant, Jennifer Hudson said that this last year “has been a
roller coaster dream come true.” Her favorite singers are Gladys Knight,
Martha Reeves and the Vandellas and the music from Godspell.
M. Knight Shyamalan spoke
about his Lady in the Water star, Paul Giamatti saying “He is a rare
actor that can make us feel exactly what he is feeling.” In regards to
his new film, “There are humor and fairytale aspects to Lady in The
Water, but always with lots of suspense running through it”.
The new Superman, Brandon
Routh stated “It was challenging for me to take this role after Chris
(Reeves) died. It was a little intimidating. I also worked out and put
on 22 lbs. of muscle for the role – upper body mass that I didn’t have.”
It was interesting to hear about the parallels between Brandon’s life
and the fictional comic book character. Both grew up in a small Midwest
town (Roth was raised in Iowa), with small town values and Brandon
experienced the easy-going life like Clark inhabits. “The isolation
Clark feels is something I could pull from”, added Routh.
What is remarkable about
12 year old Dakota Fanning is that she possesses the intelligence, poise
and eloquence of a mature woman along with her incredible acting talent.
Many adults can learn a thing or two from her. Dakota told us that she
is home schooled, and when asked about her favorite co-star she said “ I
bonded with all my co-stars. But, I talk the most with Kurt Russell,
who gave me a horse as a gift after we made Dreamer.”
Project Greenlight
Producer Chris Moore, who was a panel judge for the Coca Cola Refreshing
Fimaker’s Award accompanied recipient Rosemary Lambert into the
pressroom, along with chimps Cody and Sable, the stars of her winning
commercial film idea, The Reel Monkey. The chimps had everyone laughing
out loud with their adorable, yet unpredictable behavior, especially
when one made noises into the microphone.
Entertainment Tonight’s
Mary Hart was emcee for the closing night banquet and award ceremonies.
And she couldn’t have been a better host with her enthusiastic
personality and vibrant tone.
Mary Hart
The following is a list of
the Final Night Award Honorees and highlights from their acceptance
speech.
Supporting Actress of the
Year, Dakota Fanning:
“I can’t express how much
this means to me to be honored tonight. I remember taking my little
sister to a movie, 102 Dalmations, and tried to make her first time very
special. It’s an amazing honor to do that in my job. I am grateful
anytime I can thank everyone who makes movies with me. My parent’s first
date was at a movie theatre seeing Stealing Home and I hope my first
date will also be at the movies where the only dud will be the milk
duds!”
Dakota Fanning
Distinguished Decade of
Achievement in Film, Laurence Fishburne: “It is a great pleasure (for
me) to be in Las Vegas. I am truly humbled to receive this award and
very privileged to work with extraordinary people in my lifetime.” He
went on to acknowledge Joel Silver, producer of the Matrix and added, “I
am immensely gratified and will continue to do work that is satisfying.”
Laurence Fishburne
Female Star of Tomorrow,
Jennifer Hudson who makes her film debut in the movie adaptation of
The Tony Award winning
musical “Dreamgirls”:
“You have to believe and
stay true to yourself. This proves that a true dreamer’s dream never
dies. This is my first ever award and I will cherish it forever.”
Jennifer Hudson
Male Star of Tomorrow,
Brandon Routh: “This is a great honor to be welcomed into the ShoWest
family and get this award. I love movies and am extremely proud and
grateful to be part of the Superman legacy.”
Brandon Routh
Director of the Year, M.
Night Shyamalan: Speaking about early inspirations, “I went to see
Raiders of the Lost Ark when I was 12. It was electric. Part of this
fabric of life, these threads of connections, emotions of the story
passes through the story like a quilt. (These are) amazing moments that
you don’t feel alone.” About movie making- “It’s great telling a story
to strangers.” He relayed how incredible it is that his movies leave a
lasting impression like no other medium and gave an example: “I met a
man in Paris who was on his honeymoon and he showed me a tattoo on the
back of his neck of the symbol from my movie Signs.”
M. Night Shyamalan
Comedy Star of the Year,
Vince Vaughn: Staying in comedy mode he quipped, “When I was a small
boy in Illinois a gym teacher believed in me”. Then he added, “I used to
sneak into movies. I want to apologize. I feel terrible now that I am on
the other side.”
Vince Vaughn
Female Star of the Year,
Natalie Portman: After graciously accepting her award she related how
funny it was that being in 400 cities and 7,000 interviews, she wound up
at ShoWest where a chimp kissed her neck.
Natalie Portman
Male Star of the Year,
Hugh Jackman: He spoke about being in Las Vegas in 2001 for the huge
line up of stars luncheon and recalled standing next to Clint Eastwood.
Jackman then gave everyone a treat with an exclusive clip from his
upcoming new movie, X Men-The Last Stand that comes out on Memorial Day.
It looks fantastic!
Hugh Jackman
The program mentioned that
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe was to
receive a special Consumer Choice Award for Favorite Movie of 2005 as
voted by the readers of USA Today. However, that presentation failed to
occur during these ceremonies, for whatever reason.
A special recognition goes
out once again to Joseph Girouard, director of marketing and promotions
for Johnny Brenden’s Brendan Theatres. A Brendan movie complex is
located inside Las Vegas’s own Palms Hotel, Joe’s home base. I believe
this is the third year in a row Joe has been honored for his creative
marketing strategy. This year he received the ShoWest/NATO Marketing
Achievement Award for Overall Promotion and Showmanship for his Star
Wars: Episode III- Revenge of the Sith promotion sponsored by Pepsi Cola
at Brenden Theatres Modesto 18 in Modesto, California.
Once more, congratulations
Joseph Girouard for a job well done, and ditto to ShoWest for another
successful Hollywood/Las Vegas connection. |
