Patrick Stoner welcomes your questions about movies and the people who make them. Send your questions to pstoner@whyy.org. Here's the current question and answer:
Q: What did we learn from the summer of '97?
A: The big studios are back.
After everyone, including me, made a big deal out of 1996 being the year of the independent filmmaker, the suits in the Hollywood hills grabbed control again. Yes, it's true that June was a very disappointing month for the biggies, what with SPEED TWO getting waterlogged, BATMAN AND ROBIN getting soft, and HERCULES getting muscle-bound, but even the worst month of the summer saw THE LOST WORLD, CON AIR, and FACE/OFF making big bucks.
Then, July began big with MEN IN BLACK, continued strong with CONTACT, and ended big with AIR FORCE ONE. August continued the good news with CONSPIRACY THEORY, COP LAND, G.I. JANE and MONEY TALKS.
But even that doesn't tell the full story. Several "smaller" films--ones without major star salaries or expensive special effects--surpassed expectations. For example, Disney did far better than it could have hoped with GEORGE OF THE JUNGLE and NOTHING TO LOSE. Sony has to be pleased that MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING went over the $100 million mark weeks ago, and New Line must love AUSTIN POWERS for exceeding expectations.
If you're still not impressed, then there's the foreign box office to clinch the case. Consider the the three aformentioned June disappointments. Each is now playing overseas. When you add that money into the pot, SPEED TWO and HERCULES jump into the $100 million PLUS club, and BATMAN AND ROBIN doubles that.
However, I can hear you say, that doesn't tell us anything about the independents this summer. I mean, they always make less money, but then they dominated the awards. True. But there are two differences this year. First, last summer a few independents--like LONE STAR, EMMA, and TRAINSPOTTING--made good money by the non-studio standard; they followed strong showings by films like FARGO. Secondly, they heralded a solid fall with the independent names both doing respectable box office and getting nominations, but the general reaction to the Sundance and Cannes indies this year is not encouraging in terms of ENGLISH PATIENT-type crossovers into mainstream theatres.
Finally, the studios have been busily setting up their own "art" sections--Fox Searchlight, Disney's Miramax, Universal's October Films, etc. So, as time goes on, what looks, sounds, and maybe even passes for an independent film may well be a studio product under a different name.
The bottom line is this: the Hollywood studios didn't get to be America's most successful producer of international products by accident, and they're not likely to give up their dominance in the near future.
Past questions and answers.
