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American Morning

'Scooby-Doo' Opens

Aired June 14, 2002 - 09:22   ET

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

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: When movie reviewers were assigned to screen the "Scooby-Doo" movie ahead of today's release, a lot of them might have been saying "ruh-roh." Apparently, they were pleasantly surprised. Here's a look at the trailer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On a faraway island, ancient forces have been awakened, and only one thing stands between them and the enslavement of all mankind...

SCOTT INNES, ACTOR: (belches)

MATTHEW LILLARD, ACTOR: I'll have whatever he's having.

INNES: (belches)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: Scooby snacks all around. KTLA entertainment editor, Sam Rubin, now joins us live in L.A.

How are you Sam? Good morning to you.

SAM RUBIN, ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR, KTLA: Hey, Bill, good morning. Good morning to you.

HEMMER: So what gives with this film? Did you like it or not? What are reviewers saying?

RUBIN: Well, you know what I think what happens is there is this expectation that people who review movies have walking into the theater, and no one was looking forward to the "Scooby-Doo" screening, that trailer was not particularly strong. So coming in with the notion that, gee, this is going to be the worst movie we've ever seen, it isn't that bad. I guess it's damning with faint praise. And thus Warner Brothers is sending it out to over 3,400 theaters.

Reviews around the country have been mixed. Many people saying, gosh, it's not as horrible as we anticipated that it would be, that older kids and teens will like it. Obviously, the star couple, Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, romantic in real life, may carry the movie. I think this will do OK.

HEMMER: Hey, Sam...

RUBIN: Yes?

HEMMER: Your answer tells me that your expectations were extremely low, and that's what helped the response.

RUBIN: Well, but you know what, it's very funny, Bill, how that works sometimes. The expectations were extraordinarily low, I think, across the board. You figure, gee, this is sort of a beloved franchise, they're certainly -- you know, quote, unquote, Hollywood is going to "mess this up." And it isn't nearly as dreadful as, say, the "Flintstones"...

(CROSSTALK)

HEMMER: OK, we'll take that one. Listen, we want to get through three more here quickly.

RUBIN: Sure.

HEMMER: "Bourne Identity," Matt Damon, how does it rank? You know, "Sum of all Fears," his buddy, Ben Affleck, that film came out two weeks ago. But on Damon's film, how does he do?

RUBIN: Well, again, reviews across the country have been mixed. But I would say generally more positive certainly than "Sum of All Fears." I think Damon is definitely a better actor than Ben Affleck. He has been on the celebrity mule train, as it were, for about 10 days now all across the country promoting the film. With all of that in mind, I don't think this will do as well as "Sum of All Fears." I guess Ben will beat Matt in the box office.

This is a Robert Ludlum novel that's been out for years. It's well over 10 years old. This movie was kicked around for a long time. Will Ben Affleck -- I should say Matt Damon -- pull off a big spy thriller? I don't necessarily know. I think this has got trouble at the box office...

(CROSSTALK)

HEMMER: OK. This is "Windtalkers," Nicholas Cage. Is there much buzz on this yet?

RUBIN: You know, no buzz. This is a movie that's been delayed for almost a year. It was supposed to come out last summer. John Woo is a very well thought of director. Nick Cage has not had much luck at the box office as of late.

I think this is the one that is really going to kind of pass quietly, frankly. Again, the reviews relatively mixed for this one as well. Some extraordinary violent scenes. Nick Cage is always good on screen. And of course, based on a true story. That being said, I don't think we're going to hear much talking, dare I say, about "Windtalkers."

HEMMER: It appears that we cannot talk about L.A. unless we talk about Winona Ryder. She's got a movie coming out in a week, right, "Mr. Deeds?"

RUBIN: This is the Adam Sandler movie, and it's really interesting to see this career trajectory for Winona Ryder, who, of course, an Oscar nominee, really an up-and-coming actress. And now she's quote, unquote, "the girl" in the latest Adam Sandler movie. And while her name still gets top billing in some of the ads, you don't see her in the trailer -- you see her in the trailer very, very briefly. She's not in any of the posters. And, of course, she...

(CROSSTALK)

HEMMER: Do you think that's because of the ongoing trial, Sam?

RUBIN: You know what, I think they are thinking that Adam Sandler fans are not real acting aficionados, and thus they don't really care who, again, "the girl" is in the Adam Sandler movie. Winona I think initially did a pretty good job in sort of playing off her troubles in Beverly Hills, appearing on "Saturday Night Live," of course, making fun of it. Then you might recall the cover of the woman's magazine in the "Free Winona" T-shirt.

So she played it out. But now I think she's got some serious legal problems, as we'll find out later today. And that, you know, doesn't bode well for a longer movie career, I think.

HEMMER: Interesting side story, that's for certain. Hey, thank you, Sam. Have a great weekend.

RUBIN: You bet. All right, you too, Bill.

HEMMER: Sam Rubin out there in L.A.

RUBIN: Talk to you later.

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