SHOWEST: H & M Take on the Sony Slate: SPIDER-MAN, HOLLOW

SHOWEST: H & M take on the Sony slate: SPIDER-MAN, HOLLOW

MAN, THE PATRIOT, THE SIXTH DAY and much more!!!

I awoke this morning with the knowledge that I'd see... THE HOLLOW

MAN footage that I've been dying to see. Showered, dressed... ironed

the tie... and then attempted to restart Moriarty's heart as it appeared

he died, but with a strange 'Old Mill' sound escaping his wrinkled

nostrils.

It took 3 attempts before he finally woke up. Finally grabbed his

bedside walker and wheeled his way into the bathroom to God... I

don't even want to go there.

Caught a cab and went straight on through to the Paris to take our

places in the Press Lines again.

I understand the function of a Press Line now. It is the place where

reporters go that can not gather a story in any other manner. And

sadder still are the reporters that don't have a place in line and stare

at people like me and Moriarty and wish they had that spot.

Moriarty and I got tired of the ass kissing questions that those around

us were asking. Reporters asking questions without knowing the

name of the movie they are inquiring about.

Like Robin Tunney... the question wasn't... "What was it like working

on VERTICAL LIMIT?" the question was, "What film do you have here

today?"

Sigh. Journalists? I don't think so.

Meanwhile you would see the little sharp teethed lizard people

attacking one another to get a microphone under Kim Basinger's

mouth, while she sung the praises of Africa, but instead of following

up with her experiences of filming there, they'd ask about Alec

Baldwin. Sigh.

Moriarty and I left to get our seats for the Sony Product Reel.

Upon arriving at the round table... pretty darn close to not only the

stage, but the screen too, Moriarty and I were pleased. A bag of swag

was sitting in our seat... some sort of weird vest thing that would fit

an anorexic twelve year old midget. Perhaps my sister's kid can wear

it.

We sat down and prepared for the show.

Jeff Blake took the stage, and basically introduced the world of Sony

suits... and then said that they were so excited by their product reel,

that rather than making the exhibitors wait... they were showing the

reel first... then lunch.... then the stars.

So the lights dimmed and the world of SONY entertainment began.

First up was 28 DAYS directed by Betty Thomas (PRIVATE PARTS and

THE BRADY BUNCH) and starring Sandra Bullock as a recovering

alcoholic that goes to rehab where she meets Steve Buscemi and

Viggo Mortenson and has a turning moment in her life. I wasn't

impressed by the film, but did like the tag line which was, "This Is The

First 28 Days Of The Rest Of Her Life." I was happy to see it wasn't

one of those overly emotional weep fest coming to grips with your

disease of the week films... but I still don't know if I'll see this one.

Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with a little counterpoint on Harry's comments. I

actually like this trailer. I think Sandra Bullock is an enormously talented actress

who seems to drift a bit, never really hooking up with the right material. There's

some real grace notes here, both comic and dramatic, and I'd love it if she pulled off

something truly memorable. Yes, it's CUCKOO'S NEST and GIRL,

INTERRUPTED in shape, but there's plenty of rich material to be mined if done

honestly.

Next was BLACK & WHITE directed by James Toback. The trailer

hinted at the footage that was placed on their website ages ago. The

film is just... interesting looking, and I have to say that watching Mike

Tyson in a drama is just... weird.

I thought this was a provocative trailer, and I'm interested even after hearing

such mixed buzz from the festival circuit last year. Toback is one of those great

crazy old rascals who I'd love to see pull off one great last glorious picture,

something to remind people about FINGERS or his wonderful early script work.

The improvisational nature of this film is the draw for me, and that explosive

moment when Robert Downey Jr. tries to pick up on Mike Tyson only to get

bitchslapped looks too real for comfort. Between this and the Cameron Crowe

picture DreamWorks is releasing, it looks like we'll finally get a chance to make our

minds up about Bijou Phillips as an actress. I wonder if Elijah Wood got culture

shock going from a loose crazy set like this to something as majestic as LORD OF

THE RINGS.

Then came CENTER STAGE directed by Nicholas Hytner. At first I

began thinking that this film was one of those bitchy ballet movies,

but the more of it I saw... I began to wonder. The ballet work was quite

nice and I didn't recognize any of the actors... which is a good sign as

perhaps this means that they have talented dancers instead of wire

removal teams and primadonnas. Hytner is a fantastic director

(MADNESS OF KING GEORGE) and there was nothing in the trailer to

make this film look one way or another. But his hand is a firm and

honest hand to be at the helm of any film. Pay attention to buzz on

this one.

"I'm gonna live forever..." and so will this genre. It's FAME all over again, baby,

but with a guy like Hytner at the wheel, it might be a good ride for fans of this type

of film. The dancers all all beautiful, and the energy looks like it's through the roof.

It's been a while since we've seen this many people dancing in any film, and this

year, there's a lot of it coming. This will have to be special to stand out.

TIME CODE: Directed by Mike "Leaving Las Vegas" Figgis. Apparently

we're going to be debuting this trailer on the site in the next day or

so, but right now... Man, this is a bold bold film here. Four screens

running in real time following four different characters or events, and I

believe that at some point it probably all comes together. Could be

crap.... Could be brilliant... but stylistically it's the boldest film around

right now. Will they call it 'quadrovision'?

I thought this looked ballsy and bold and wild. The idea of running the four

screens simultaneously, all of them running in real time, some of them occasionally

crossing and interplaying, is enough to make Brian De Palma leave a wet spot on his

seat. Figgis is one of those guys who seems to be trying to shatter the conventional

notion of what you can or can't do with film, and I'm all for that.

I DREAMED OF AFRICA: Directed by Hugh "CHARIOTS OF FIRE"

Hudson. At first glance I thought... Hmmm.... OUT OF AFRICA minus

Meryl Streep and Robert Redford and with the amazing talents of Kim

Basinger? But ya know what. This is beautiful. Images of a hacked

apart rhino and other dead animals... the chasing and brutality of

poachers... a stunning shot of a cobra throwing it's venom... a

windmill collapsing on the African tundra. Has anyone seen or heard

anything on this one?

I was surprised by how much I loved this trailer. A big part of it was the appeal

of Kim Basinger as she gets older. I've always thought she seemed nervous, skittish

onscreen. This is her first major role since winning the Oscar, though, and maybe

that finally calmed her down. There's a poise to her here, a lived-in beauty that is

far more deeply affecting than the surface sexuality of her youth. The film looks

magnificent, and the idea of poaching remains just as powerfully upsetting as ever. I

know Basinger's a rabid defender of animal rights, so it makes sense for her to be in

the film, and maybe that passion will help her create a truly special piece of work.

LOSER directed by Amy (CLUELESS) Heckerling comes another

movie with Jason Biggs where he plays... the loser. And suddenly I'm

having flashes of Jon Cryer from that John Hughes era. It had a

couple of really funny lines like, "EX-girlfriend... She lost some weight

so she's dating more." AND... "If you could kill only one Back Street

Boy, which one would you kill?" "That one with the strange facial

growth."

I think Harry's selling this film short by saying it's just another Jason Biggs film.

The difference between this and the miserable BOYS AND GIRLS trailer Miramax

showed is night and day. Heckerling's CLUELESS was one of those effortless little

pictures that had no right to be as good as it was, and a big part of that was the

particular chemistry of her young cast, caught on film at that particular moment.

Biggs has lost the baby fat from AMERICAN PIE, and his comic chops seem even

sharper now. Mena Suvari continues in her quest to be the strangest sexy young thing

working. Greg Kinnear is the professor who affects both their lives, and I hope it's a

good supporting role for him. If the elements all work, this could be a real winner.

THE PATRIOT directed by Roland Emmerich. I don't believe that this

is.. 'the full trailer' I believe that this was a special for SHOWEST... but

I don't know. The film is gorgeous... the scenes of Gibson watching

horrible things happen to his home, family and friends.... Watching

the performance in Heath Ledger as Gibson's son standing up for his

rights vs the wizened pacifism of an experienced warrior was

touching and very good. And the piece ellicited applause from

Moriarty... a notable non-fan of Emmerich and Devlin. We'll see...

Stupendous. I can't believe how interested I am in the film now. It's just

breathtaking. Mel Gibson's face is starting to look like a long stretch of rough road,

all of his years showing on it, and his exeriences as a father really seem to have

informed the passion he brings to this role. There's one great line here, when Heath

Ledger tells Mel that he's going to enlist in the army whether Mel likes it or not. "I'm

not a child." Mel's anguished cry of "You're my child" is just wrenching. If

Emmerich and Devlin have actually pulled off the film that this trailer (and I'm

almost positive this is the full trailer you'll see in theaters soon), then I will be able

to forgive them any and all past sins.

THE HOLLOW MAN. Verhoeven. Waaaay fucking cool. Begins with a

scene of a camera steadicamming it's way behind a woman as she

enters her house... Elegant swooping-like... "YOU TRUST YOUR

EYES" crosses the screen in wispy ghost like letters... Camera moves

around the house at will.... "YOU RELY ON YOUR SENSES" wisps

away as we come upon the girl in a room with no lights on and we see

the covers on her slowly move off of her... "BUT JUST BECAUSE YOU

THINK YOU ARE ALONE" suddenly a violent commotion and

"DOESN'T MEAN YOU ARE!" Then a whole series of shots from the

film including the fantastic image of Kevin Bacon strapped to a table

while being injected with a fluid... violent images of.... a skinless man

at the same table... muscles disappearing, close up on face... jaw

stretched screaming. A skeleton strapped to the same table that

seems to just be eaten away. Then there was a shot of a bathroom

mirror... the water being picked up from the basin and being splashed

on the face of an invisible Kevin Bacon... and as it runs off we hear

his voice say... creepy as hell I might add.... "It's Amazing What You

Can Do When You Don't Have to Look At Yourself In the Mirror

Anymore." Great damn tease. Wow. Perfect tone for the script.

Exciting movie folks.

It's just as Harry describes, everyone. This trailer is aggressive and sleazy and

sinister as shit. I so desperately want Verhoeven to finally put it all together again.

The tone of this piece is perfect for him. Kevin Bacon is just barely seen onscreen.

In fact, very few of the actors are featured. The emphasis is on the effects work, and

that's certainly going to be what we all go back to see again and again. Mark your

calendars.

VERTICAL LIMIT directed by Martin Campbell (GOLDENEYE and THE

MARK OF ZORRO) While in the press line I got an excellent look at

Robin Tunney's beautiful pert breasts through this gorgeous see

through patterned crepe like material. Completely see through and

every male reporter except Moriarty had the ol tenting cloth problem

again. Never knew she had an accent before. Anyway, this film stars

her, Chris O'Donnell, Scott Glenn and if memory serves (and it might

not) I think Bill Paxton. Anyway the trailer's high point involves a guy

sliding down a sleet of ice and snow as various members of the

climbing team try to catch him. As he is set to go over the edge of the

cliff and fall to his death we hear a female voice scream out 'Use your

axe' and suddenly he's stopped on the precipice. The lady (Robin?) is

moving to help him, but as she gets about six feet away, the cliff

begins to crack and fall as she throws a bit of nylon strap at him

which he catches as both she and he go over the edge of the cliff as

her axe dives into the rock and ice. She begins trying to swing him so

he can get to rock to climb and then help her. Suddenly he's climbing,

her axe is losing it's hold, and she suddenly falls. And if this is the

trailer I won't spoil the rest, but damn this actually looked good. Cool.

Imagine if CLIFFHANGER had all been as exciting as that great first 15 minutes.

Imagine if it hadn't had the shitty DIE HARD ripoff storyline, but had focused

instead on the destructive power of nature itself. That's what VERTICAL LIMIT

looks like, and the trailer is a monster, aggressive and violent and terrifying. There

are some remarkable sights here, and if the film plays this well all the way through,

it's going to be something we've never seen onscreen before.

GIRLFIGHT... This was a film that many were impressed by at

SUNDANCE and I have to say that the trailer about this woman that

enters the world of boxing looks as good as the buzz has been.

Worlds better looking than the boxing movie yesterday that's name

escapes me.

There's a real low-key charm to the way this trailer is put together, and the

emphasis is exactly where it belongs -- on Michelle Rodriguez, who I couldn't tear

my eyes away from. She looks like a star in the making, as does the director, Karyn

Kunama. I am jealous of the people who have already seen the movie. I hope it lives

up to the building hype.

GODZILLA 2000... A TOHO Production. It's so funny. This trailer

begins with Godzilla kicking ass and a Japanese man terrified and

pointing up at Godzilla and screaming out... 'GODJIRA!!!!!' and that's

when Moriarty and I started crying with joy as the big G just let loose

with flame breath all over the place. Digital effects all over the place,

but GUY IN SUIT for the big guy! This looks like so much fun and I

hope to hell this does great in theaters! The tagline? "IF YOU CAN'T

STAND THE HEAT" as Godzilla's mouth begins to fill with energy/fire

"RUN!"

Here's the real deal, baby. A guy in a suit. How can you begin to compete with

this? I couldn't stop howling in delight as this trailer unspooled, and I look forward

to sitting in a theater and seeing the big G with an appreciative audience later this

summer. It should be fun in the way GODZILLA films are supposed to be.

URBAN LEGENDS: FINAL CUT, the trailer looks like a completely

different movie from the first film. And actually looks... dare I say it?

Pretty darn good. Apparently it seems to be about some film students

that are attempting to make a movie where the killer kills people based

on old Urban Legends, and ya know... I don't think it looks like the old

killer is back or anything. Not real sure how this fits together, but

John Ottman is a genius editor (APT PUPIL and THE USUAL

SUSPECTS) and editors generally make good filmmakers... ex...

Robert Wise... so we'll have to wait and see what we hear. I hope it's

good.

Unreal. This actually looks like a kick-ass comment on horror films, suspense

films, and the reasons they play on our fears the way they do. Could it be that

someone has finally made the film that SCREAM always professed to be? I'm

rooting for Ottman to pull it off.

ALL THE PRETTY HORSES: Directed by Billy Bob Thornton. Early test