Thrillhouse
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Assuming you can find them in the first place.
http://film.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/Guardian/0,4029,815186,00.html
They are some of Hollywood's most bankable stars. So why are their films gathering dust?
They are seen as unmarketable, plain bad or even unpatriotic
Duncan Campbell in Los Angeles
Saturday October 19, 2002
The Guardian
Poor old Hollywood. Many films starring big-budget names are sitting on the shelf unable to obtain a release because they are so bad or unmarketable. And now studios are also having to hold back films which may be seen as offensive in a newly patriotic and sensitive United States.
Transatlantic travellers heading for Los Angeles on British Airways over the last couple of weeks have had a chance to see Al Pacino star as a publicist in a film called People I Know. But although Miramax bought the film 18 months ago, it still has no release date.
"Call it Hollywood's dirty little secret," said Patrick Goldstein who writes the Big Picture column in the LA Times and who has compiled a list of films that have so far failed to make it to national screens. "With marketing costs spiralling every year, studios increasingly have both economic and psychological incentives to cut their losses by keeping their stinkers in the closet."
Perhaps the biggest stinker so far not to have seen the light of day in the US is D-Tox, a cop thriller starring Sylvester Stallone and filmed in 1999 at a cost of $60m (£40m) for Universal Pictures. Edges of the Lord, starring the Oscar-nominated Haley Joel Osment, is the story of a blond Jewish boy who passes as a Gentile during the Nazi invasion of Poland. It has also been sitting on a shelf for two years with no sign of a release date.
Risks
Mr Goldstein said yesterday that the costs of promoting a film had increased dramatically over the last few years. Thus it might cost as much as $10m or $15m to market a film which might never make that sort of money back at the box office. "The cost of marketing films has skyrocketed," he said. Studios were thus reluctant to take risks on doubtful films, whatever the starpower.
Among other films listed as an "all-star cast of bombs" are: Unconditional Love, starring Kathy Bates as a housewife and Rupert Everett as her British valet who unite to avenge a death - made in 1999, it is likely to be released as a video next summer; Daddy and Them, a murder story directed by and starring Billy Bob Thornton in 1998 with Laura Dern and Diane Ladd, was made in 1998 but is still on a shelf; The Third Wheel, with Ben Affleck, Luke Wilson and Denise Richards, a comedy made in 1999, now looks as though it will go straight to video; Highway, a black comedy starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Jared Leto and Selma Blair, has already gone to video.
Some films which have been released in Britain or elsewhere have also been relegated to video or television release in the US: Double Whammy, starring Liz Hurley and Tom DiCillo will now only make it as a video. Killing Me Softly, with Heather Graham and Joseph Fiennes, has not made it to US screens after being universally mocked by critics in Europe.
But on top of the growing pile of films not released on commercial grounds are those that have been held back because they are seen to be potentially offensive to American audiences in the post-September 11, pre-Iraq war climate.
Most notable among them is The Quiet American, directed by the Australian Philip Noyce and starring Michael Caine and Brendan Fraser. Since Fraser's character is responsible for terrorist attacks in which Vietnamese civilians die, the film was deemed to be a risky bet by Miramax who are handling it. It was ready to run last year but has not yet been released.
Baffled
This decision has baffled the cast and crew of the film. Philip Noyce put the film's case at the Toronto film festival where it was well received. Michael Caine, a famously pro-American actor, has also criticised the decision to hold back the film. Now, finally, it is due to have a limited release next month so that it can qualify for this year's Oscars - Caine is seen as a likely nominee for his role and will benefit from Miramax's promotion in the Oscar stakes.
Another film to fall victim to the current climate is Buffalo Soldiers, also already completed before September 11. Directed and written by the Australian Gregor Jordan, it tells the story of a Vietnam vet who goes into the black market in what was then West Germany in the 80s. More than a year after it was shown to acclaim at last year's Toronto film festival, it still has no release date. Miramax say they are committed to seeing it open by next spring.
"The film says that the American army and armies around the world are full of psychopaths whose aim is to go out and kill people," Jordan told the New York Times. "It is not unpatriotic. It asks the question: why do people want to keep killing each other? A big section of the world community is asking these questions."
Not that the non-release of movies is the only film-related drama intriguing LA. In June, a dead fish with a rose in its mouth was left in the car of a Los Angeles show business reporter with a warning sign saying "Stop". The reporter, Anita Busch, formerly of the Hollywood Reporter, had been working for the LA Times on a story about an alleged mafia extortion plot aimed at the actor Steven Seagal.
This week, Alexander Proctor, alleged to have smashed her car window and left the fish and the warning, was jailed without bail to await trial on "interfering with commerce by threats of violence". He faces a maximum 20-year sentence.
Perhaps frustrated film-makers trying to persuade studios to market their unseen movies will adopt a similar tactic.
The Quiet American
An adaptation of Graham Greene's 1955 novel, directed by Philip Noyce and starring Michael Caine, Brendan Fraser and Do Thi Hai Yen. Test-screened last September and critically admired, but its release has been delayed. The film is feared to be "unpatriotic" as the US is shown in a bad light. Will be shown for a week this year with full release in 2003.
Buffalo Soldiers
The story of US soldiers in what was then West Germany shows the troops in an unflattering light. Starring Scott Glenn and Joaquin Phoenix, it was well received by critics who have seen it. One said: "It makes M*A*S*H look like a recruitment video." The film has been ready for more than a year. There are plans for a possible release in March with a new voiceover from Phoenix making clear that the film is based on fact.
D-Tox
$60m action police thriller starring Sylvester Stallone which is so bad, according to insiders, that the producer Imagine Entertainment took its name off film. Tested disastrously and opened overseas badly. Will go straight to video in the US.
Unconditional Love
Directed by PJ Hogan who made the successful My Best Friend's Wedding. Completed three years ago and starring Kathy Bates and Rupert Everett. May now end up on video.
The Third Wheel
Despite a big name cast, including Ben Affleck, it is still on the shelf three years after being made. A comedy, it failed with test audiences.
http://film.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/Guardian/0,4029,815186,00.html
They are some of Hollywood's most bankable stars. So why are their films gathering dust?
They are seen as unmarketable, plain bad or even unpatriotic
Duncan Campbell in Los Angeles
Saturday October 19, 2002
The Guardian
Poor old Hollywood. Many films starring big-budget names are sitting on the shelf unable to obtain a release because they are so bad or unmarketable. And now studios are also having to hold back films which may be seen as offensive in a newly patriotic and sensitive United States.
Transatlantic travellers heading for Los Angeles on British Airways over the last couple of weeks have had a chance to see Al Pacino star as a publicist in a film called People I Know. But although Miramax bought the film 18 months ago, it still has no release date.
"Call it Hollywood's dirty little secret," said Patrick Goldstein who writes the Big Picture column in the LA Times and who has compiled a list of films that have so far failed to make it to national screens. "With marketing costs spiralling every year, studios increasingly have both economic and psychological incentives to cut their losses by keeping their stinkers in the closet."
Perhaps the biggest stinker so far not to have seen the light of day in the US is D-Tox, a cop thriller starring Sylvester Stallone and filmed in 1999 at a cost of $60m (£40m) for Universal Pictures. Edges of the Lord, starring the Oscar-nominated Haley Joel Osment, is the story of a blond Jewish boy who passes as a Gentile during the Nazi invasion of Poland. It has also been sitting on a shelf for two years with no sign of a release date.
Risks
Mr Goldstein said yesterday that the costs of promoting a film had increased dramatically over the last few years. Thus it might cost as much as $10m or $15m to market a film which might never make that sort of money back at the box office. "The cost of marketing films has skyrocketed," he said. Studios were thus reluctant to take risks on doubtful films, whatever the starpower.
Among other films listed as an "all-star cast of bombs" are: Unconditional Love, starring Kathy Bates as a housewife and Rupert Everett as her British valet who unite to avenge a death - made in 1999, it is likely to be released as a video next summer; Daddy and Them, a murder story directed by and starring Billy Bob Thornton in 1998 with Laura Dern and Diane Ladd, was made in 1998 but is still on a shelf; The Third Wheel, with Ben Affleck, Luke Wilson and Denise Richards, a comedy made in 1999, now looks as though it will go straight to video; Highway, a black comedy starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Jared Leto and Selma Blair, has already gone to video.
Some films which have been released in Britain or elsewhere have also been relegated to video or television release in the US: Double Whammy, starring Liz Hurley and Tom DiCillo will now only make it as a video. Killing Me Softly, with Heather Graham and Joseph Fiennes, has not made it to US screens after being universally mocked by critics in Europe.
But on top of the growing pile of films not released on commercial grounds are those that have been held back because they are seen to be potentially offensive to American audiences in the post-September 11, pre-Iraq war climate.
Most notable among them is The Quiet American, directed by the Australian Philip Noyce and starring Michael Caine and Brendan Fraser. Since Fraser's character is responsible for terrorist attacks in which Vietnamese civilians die, the film was deemed to be a risky bet by Miramax who are handling it. It was ready to run last year but has not yet been released.
Baffled
This decision has baffled the cast and crew of the film. Philip Noyce put the film's case at the Toronto film festival where it was well received. Michael Caine, a famously pro-American actor, has also criticised the decision to hold back the film. Now, finally, it is due to have a limited release next month so that it can qualify for this year's Oscars - Caine is seen as a likely nominee for his role and will benefit from Miramax's promotion in the Oscar stakes.
Another film to fall victim to the current climate is Buffalo Soldiers, also already completed before September 11. Directed and written by the Australian Gregor Jordan, it tells the story of a Vietnam vet who goes into the black market in what was then West Germany in the 80s. More than a year after it was shown to acclaim at last year's Toronto film festival, it still has no release date. Miramax say they are committed to seeing it open by next spring.
"The film says that the American army and armies around the world are full of psychopaths whose aim is to go out and kill people," Jordan told the New York Times. "It is not unpatriotic. It asks the question: why do people want to keep killing each other? A big section of the world community is asking these questions."
Not that the non-release of movies is the only film-related drama intriguing LA. In June, a dead fish with a rose in its mouth was left in the car of a Los Angeles show business reporter with a warning sign saying "Stop". The reporter, Anita Busch, formerly of the Hollywood Reporter, had been working for the LA Times on a story about an alleged mafia extortion plot aimed at the actor Steven Seagal.
This week, Alexander Proctor, alleged to have smashed her car window and left the fish and the warning, was jailed without bail to await trial on "interfering with commerce by threats of violence". He faces a maximum 20-year sentence.
Perhaps frustrated film-makers trying to persuade studios to market their unseen movies will adopt a similar tactic.
The Quiet American
An adaptation of Graham Greene's 1955 novel, directed by Philip Noyce and starring Michael Caine, Brendan Fraser and Do Thi Hai Yen. Test-screened last September and critically admired, but its release has been delayed. The film is feared to be "unpatriotic" as the US is shown in a bad light. Will be shown for a week this year with full release in 2003.
Buffalo Soldiers
The story of US soldiers in what was then West Germany shows the troops in an unflattering light. Starring Scott Glenn and Joaquin Phoenix, it was well received by critics who have seen it. One said: "It makes M*A*S*H look like a recruitment video." The film has been ready for more than a year. There are plans for a possible release in March with a new voiceover from Phoenix making clear that the film is based on fact.
D-Tox
$60m action police thriller starring Sylvester Stallone which is so bad, according to insiders, that the producer Imagine Entertainment took its name off film. Tested disastrously and opened overseas badly. Will go straight to video in the US.
Unconditional Love
Directed by PJ Hogan who made the successful My Best Friend's Wedding. Completed three years ago and starring Kathy Bates and Rupert Everett. May now end up on video.
The Third Wheel
Despite a big name cast, including Ben Affleck, it is still on the shelf three years after being made. A comedy, it failed with test audiences.
