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CNN Saturday Morning News

Fall Movie Preview

Aired September 07, 2002 - 09:46   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: With the summer movie season over, we turn now our attention to the box office for a preview of the new fall offerings. We get that from cnn.com movie reviewer Paul Clinton.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The rules are, like, arbitrary.

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PAUL CLINTON, CNN.COM MOVIE REVIEWER (voice-over): Summer's almost over, and it's safe for grownups to go back to the movies. Now Oscar hopefuls and more serious fare hit theaters.

Paul Degarabedian's company, Exhibitor Relations, has been tracking box office trends for nearly three decades.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "MOONLIGHT MILE")

DUSTIN HOFFMAN, ACTOR: Do you know where the cemetery is? OK.

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PAUL DEGARABEDIAN, EXHIBITOR RELATIONS: Tremendous buzz on "Moonlight Mile." This is a film that just says Oscar.

CLINTON: Starring Dustin Hoffman, Susan Sarandon, and Jake Gyllenhaal, "Moonlight Mile" explores love and loss in the aftermath of a young girl's murder.

Writer/director Brad Silberling dated "My Sister Sam" star Rebecca Schaeffer, who was killed by an obsessed fan in 1982.

BRAD SILBERLING, WRITER/DIRECTOR, "MOONLIGHT MILE": I think that personal side of that is coming out in this film.

CLINTON: Sarandon is the triple-crown winner this fall. She's also in the dark comedy "Igby Goes Down" and "The Banger Sisters" with Goldie Hawn.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN SARANDON, ACTRESS: Suzanne and I were groupies.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You were a (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

SARANDON: Yes.

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CLINTON: What intrigued me about "The Banger Sisters" is that Goldie's playing a groupie and her daughter, you know...

DEGARABEDIAN (on camera): Yes, yes, Kate Hudson...

CLINTON: ... (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

DEGARABEDIAN: ... (UNINTELLIGIBLE) "Almost Famous," so mother and daughter playing a similar role, which I think will play very well.

CLINTON (voice-over): Hudson also stars with Heath Ledger and Wes Bentley in "The Four Feathers," a sweeping saga about an Arab uprising against the British in the 19th century.

DEGARABEDIAN: I think it'll play well, because the film has a lot of relevance to today and what's going on in the Middle East.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "CITY BY THE SEA")

JAMES FRANCO, ACTOR: I didn't shoot that cop. Did you hear me? I didn't shoot him.

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CLINTON: In "City by the Sea," Robert De Niro is a New York City detective trying to save his junkie son, who's accused of murder, played by newcomer James Franco.

CLINTON (on camera): Word has it De Niro picked him (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

DEGARABEDIAN: Yes, De Niro hand-picked this guy, so you know he's got to be good.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "SWEET HOME ALABAMA")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will you marry me?

REESE WITHERSPOON, ACTRESS: Oh, my God.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON (on camera): Now, we have a romantic comedy coming up, "Sweet Home, Alabama," with Reese Witherspoon.

DEGARABEDIAN: Yes.

CLINTON: And this is going to be really her movie. She's carrying this movie. DEGARABEDIAN: She's smart and she's funny and she's beautiful to look at, and all those things combine to make what I think will be a really big hit.

CLINTON (voice-over): "Red Dragon" is a prequel to "Silence of the Lambs."

(on camera) People are mesmerized by that character, and Anthony Hopkins' portrayal.

DEGARABEDIAN: I think this one is going to be one that people are going to be talking about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "RED DRAGON")

ANTHONY HOPKINS, ACTOR: Would you perhaps like to leave me hour home number?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "SWEPT AWAY")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

MADONNA, ACTRESS: That's impossible, you idiot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON (voice-over): "Swept Away" is a remake of Lina Wertmuller's 1975 classic, now starring Madonna and directed by her husband, Guy Ritchie.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMINEM, ACTOR: If something's going to happen, it needs to happen now.

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CLINTON: Rapper turned actor Eminem makes his big screen debut in "Eight Mile." And just for a change of pace...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "WHITE OLEANDER")

MICHELLE PFEIFFER, ACTRESS: Love humiliates you. Hatred cradles you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: ... box office beauty Michelle Pfeiffer goes off the deep end in the dark drama "White Oleander."

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CALLAWAY: Wow. Joining us now from Los Angeles, Paul Clinton, to talk more about that. That Michelle Pfeiffer movie looks good, and we'll talk about that in a movie that -- in a minute.

But first, "The Banger Sisters," they have some huge stars in this movie, a big pay cut too, I guess, maybe even in "White Oleander," they did as well.

CLINTON: Yes, in both of them, Catherine. "Banger Sisters" was a $10 million budget, and you've got two Academy Award winners, so you know they took a huge pay cut in order to get that done.

They obviously fell in love with the material, and quite frankly, there's not a whole lot out there for women of a certain age. And they found this project, they liked it, and they did it, obviously, for under their normal fee.

Same thing with "White Oleander," which is sort of like the attack of the Hollywood blondes. You've got Michelle Pfeiffer, Robin Wright Penn, Renee Zellweger is in it, and then Alison Lohman, who's a newcomer, and she's basically carrying the movie, she plays the daughter.

And that was a $16 million budget, so you know that with those power names, there was a budget cut there too in terms of their salaries.

CALLAWAY: The other movie that looks good is -- that we just saw here with you is "The City by the Sea," by Robert De Niro. And in now we've been hearing and reading everywhere that this James Franco is kind of a new guy handpicked by De Niro, but I remember him in the James Dean movie that he did. He was awesome in that.

CLINTON: Yes, that's where he came to fame, the James Dean TV, TNT TV-movie...

CALLAWAY: right.

CLINTON: ... really brought his name out, and that's where he really got a lot of notice. But he was also in "Spider Man." He played Toby McGuire's best friend and the son of the Green Dragon.

CALLAWAY: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

CLINTON: And he will definitely be in part two, maybe part, three, who knows? He may be killed off. But he is definitely coming back in "Spider Man 2." He's a -- he is really a wonderful talent, he's made some choices to be in these big budgeted movies, "City by the Sea" with De Niro, "Spider Man" with Toby McGuire.

And he's not going the route that a lot of young actors go with the independent, the more, you know, small type films, he's going for the big budget stuff, and we'll see how that works out for him.

CALLAWAY: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) aside here, we don't have a lot of time, but of all the movies you previewed this time, what's your favorite? Do you have one?

CLINTON: "Moonlight Mile," I love it.

CALLAWAY: Oh, really? Oh, good.

CLINTON: I love it.

CALLAWAY: And some good advice for us. Thank you very much, Paul, have a great day. Thanks for getting up early with us.

CLINTON: OK, take care.

MOLINEAUX: Be fun to watch.

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