Variety's latest updated list of the 100 all-time biggest box-office moneymakers has just been published, and to no one's surprise "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" remains in the No. 1 slot, followed closely by that other Steven Spielberg monster hit "Jurassic Park."
"E.T." and "Jurassic Park" have earned $399.8 million and $357 million, respectively, in North American grosses. (You can double those figures for worldwide earnings, and you can also flop the titles - "Jurassic Park" is No. 1 and "E.T." is No. 2 in the worldwide market.)But No. 3 may surprise you - "Forrest Gump." The 1994 hit came in at No. 5 on last year's list but managed to earn enough since then to inch up a couple of notches.
That drops "Star Wars" down to fourth place, with "The Lion King" (also a '94 release) up a notch from last year at No. 5.
The rest of the top 10 have, accordingly, dropped down a few numbers, but the order is otherwise the same - as it is for Nos. 11-20.
In fact, with all the new titles that enter the top 100 list every year, the biggest surprise is that "Gone With the Wind," which earned its total amount in 1939 dollars, has managed to stay in the top 20 - at No. 20. (Although, obviously, one more big movie and it's outta there.)
The 1995 entries on the list are "Batman Forever," which came in at No. 22; "Toy Story," No. 24; "Apollo 13," No. 33; and "Pocahontas," No. 55.
Here is Variety's new top 20:
1. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial ($399.8 million)
2. Jurassic Park ($357.1 million)
3. Forrest Gump ($329.7 million)
4. Star Wars ($322.7 million)
5. The Lion King ($312.8 million)
6. Home Alone ($285.8 million)
7. Return of the Jedi ($263.7 million)
8. Jaws ($260 million)
9. Batman ($251.2 million)
10. Raiders of the Lost Ark ($242.4 million)
11. Ghostbusters ($238.6 million)
12. Beverly Hills Cop ($234.8 million)
13. The Empire Strikes Back ($222.7 million)
14. Mrs. Doubtfire ($219.2 million)
15. Ghost ($217.6 million)
16. Aladdin ($217.4 million)
17. Back to the Future ($208.2 million)
18. Terminator 2: Judgment Day ($204.8 million)
19. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ($197.2 million)
20. Gone With the Wind ($191.7 million)
- I'VE BEEN GETTING flak from readers who noticed the Tower Theatre ad for "Angels & Insects," a movie I did not enjoy or recommend, and which I described sarcastically in the review as ". . . a soft-core episode of `Masterpiece Theater.' "
The Tower folk apparently considered that an endorsement and proudly displayed the quote over the top of the advertisement for "Angels & Insects" this way:
"Soft-Core Masterpiece Theater"
- Chris Hicks, Deseret News
It's not a lie, of course, but it also does not accurately represent the statement.
To quote Dick Smothers, whose comments are always misinterpreted by his brother Tom: "That was not a compliment!"
And it reminded me of the first time I ever had a negative review quote lifted and reshaped to make it seem more flattering for a movie ad. It was back in the Stone Age, September 1981. The movie was the 3D spaghetti Western epic "Comin' At Ya!" and the quote at the top of the ad was:
" `Comin' At Ya!' is different . . . however it's worth it. There is a certain thrill as flaming arrows and shooting spears seem to fly off the screen and into your lap . . . this new 3D system is a great success," followed by my name.
As you can guess, however, the ellipses allowed the ad folk to leave out a few things. In the review, the second paragraph begins, "But `Comin' At Ya!' is different," and then there are five paragraphs before you get to the phrase, "however, it's worth it."
Among the phrases overlooked are these: "As 3D, it's not too bad, but the movie stinks" and "3D is the only reason to see this picture at all."
You get the idea.
Still, as misquoted quotes go, the "soft-core `Masterpiece Theater' " line still provides a service. In fact, anyone who would take it as a recommendation probably wouldn't have paid any attention to the true intent if it had been read in context.
- THE DIRECTOR credited for the fourth "Hellraiser" flick is fictitious. As explained in my review of that movie in Saturday's paper, the name Alan Smithee (sometimes "Allen" Smithee) is a pseudonym created by the Directors Guild of America to be used when a director wants his real name left off the credits, for whatever reason.
The Smithee name was created in 1967 for the Western "Death of a Gunfighter" (released in 1969), which starred Richard Widmark and Lena Horne. Don Siegel replaced Robert Totten as director of the film, and both were unhappy with the final result. So, each asked that his name not be used.
Since then, Smithee has cropped up as credited director of such films as the Utah-made "Fade-In" (1968), "Let's Get Harry" (1986), "Ghost Fever" (1987) and "The Shrimp on the Barbie" (1990), among myriad others.
One of the more famous examples of a Smithee film is the 1984 sci-fi epic "Dune," which was re-edited to include outtake footage for a four-hour television version, which is occasionally shown in syndication.
David Lynch, of course, directed the film and gets credit on the 2-hour, 20-minute theatrical/video version. But he had no input for the expanded film and so disliked it that he had his name removed.
- QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Jason Alexander, co-star of "Seinfeld" and starring opposite an orangutan in "Dunston Checks In," playing at local second-run theaters, or "dollar houses":
"I don't know if it's because of my son and the fact that we're going to have another child soon, but I have found myself lately looking for material that is more inclusionary than exclusionary to people. In the last four or five months, I have become ultra-sensitive to how much is out there that is inappropriate for a lot of people, and I'd like to do something about that.
"It's not that I plan to be in a string of family films, because that would go against my desire to do different things all the time. But this time out, I'm doing my part."