While Mel Gibson is recuperating from an appendectomy and preparing to return to the set of a new film in which he stars, his second directing effort, "Braveheart," hit video on Wednesday. And I've received several calls over the past couple of weeks asking if the epic adventure, which received 10 Oscar nominations, will be available in the letterbox format.
Surprisingly, no. At least, not yet.Gibson's Scottish historical epic would seem a natural to lend itself to the wide-screen format, with all the big crowd scenes and sweeping vistas beautifully captured by Oscar-nominated cinematographer John Toll.
But all that's available at the moment is the two-tape, three-hour, rental-priced videotape version ($89.99, Paramount Home Video), which is in the pan-and-scan mode, cropping and shifting the picture to fit the square television tube instead of the rectangular theater screen. "Braveheart's" scope and the thrilling battle scenes are bound to lose something in the translation.
On the other hand, the reduction of the film's size may help its more intimate moments - and it will most certainly tone down the ridiculous horror-movie-style gore. Gibson proves himself a major directing talent, but he also goes for the in-your-face Quentin Tarantino-school of blood and guts, splashing the gushing special-effects all over the place. Take the R rating seriously.
Meanwhile, a letterbox laser disc is promised for the future, though no date has been set. And when it comes, Gibson's original director's cut will be available. Yes, "Braveheart" was actually toned down for theatrical release.
This version is said to be even gorier, and much closer to NC-17 territory.
- MEANWHILE, GIBSON IS being tempted by Warner Bros. to make a fourth "Lethal Weapon" movie with Danny Glover.
Both Gibson and Glover have said repeatedly over the past four years, since the release of "Lethal Weapon 3," that they had no interest in doing another one. But now, industry reports are that Gibson has received the ultimate offer - a $25 million salary, a percentage of the merchandising profits and the green light for a pet project, an action-comedy called "Conspiracy Theory."
That package could bring him even more money than Jack Nicholson's famous "Batman" deal (he took home a reported $60 million) or Tom Hanks' "Forrest Gump" deal (which netted the star a reported $30 million).
Industry scuttlebutt suggests that if he accepts the deal, Gibson could become the highest-paid actor in movie history.
And even if he were to simply accept the $25 million salary that's on the table for "Lethal Weapon 4," it would obviously take him far beyond the recent $21 million record set by John Travolta for a single project. It will also set a new standard for the $20-million boys club, which includes Jim Carrey, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Cruise and Harrison Ford.
- SPEAKING OF SEQUELS, Sigourney Weaver has signed on for "Alien 4," officially titled "Alien: Resurrection," scheduled for release in the summer of '97.
Yes, her character did die in "Alien3." So, in this new film, she'll play Ripley's clone.
Hey, anything can happen in sci-fi heaven.
And while Weaver has said in the past that she had no interest in continuing the "Alien" series, she was reportedly coaxed by an offer of $10 million (see the Mel Gibson story above).
An even bigger surprise, however, is that Weaver's co-star will be Winona Ryder, who is temporarily trading her character-driven films for the sci-fi action-thriller - and her biggest paycheck yet, a reported $5 million.
- ANOTHER SEQUEL SCHEDULED for the summer of '97 is "Speed II," for which Sandra Bullock has signed the dotted line (for $11 million), but Keanu Reeves is still negotiating for a bigger payday. And Oliver Stone's "Planet of the Apes" remake, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, will open around the same time . . . assuming all goes as planned.
Meanwhile, sequels for this summer include "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The New Beginning," scheduled to open June 28; "John Carpenter's Escape From L.A." (no firm date), again with Kurt Russell as Snake Plisskin; "Tales From the Crypt Presents Bordello of Blood" (August), with Dennis Miller; "The Crow: City of Angels" (August), with Vincent Perez taking over the role originally played by the late Brandon Lee; and "A Very Brady Sequel" (no firm date), in which Shelley Long and Gary Cole reprise their roles as the Brady parents.
"The Mighty Ducks III," again with Emilio Estevez, is scheduled for fall release, as is a new "Star Trek" film starring the "Next Generation" cast (and yes, the last holdout - Patrick Stewart - has finally signed on).
- IN ADDITION TO the "Star Trek" and "Brady Bunch" sequels, big-screen adaptations of small-screen series continues to be a trend, with a number of theatrical features derived from television shows scheduled for the next few months:
- "The Kids in the Hall Movie" (April 12) stars the Canadian comedy troupe, whose TV skit comedy series gained American popularity on the HBO pay-cable channel.
- "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie" (April 19) is based on the cable Sci-Fi Channel's series, as Mike Nelson and his two wisecracking robots make fun of the 1955 sci-fi thriller "This Island Earth."
- "Flipper" (May 10), starring Paul Hogan and Elijah Wood, was actually an early '60s movie first, followed by a movie sequel and then a very popular TV series. And now a new TV series is in syndication. You can't keep a good dolphin down.
- "Mission Impossible" (May 22) stars Tom Cruise in the lead role, directed by Brian De Palma ("The Untouchables," "Dressed to Kill").
- "McHale's Navy" (Winter '97), starring Tom Arnold in the Ernest Borgnine role, with his bumbling crew in World War II.
- BIG-SCREEN REMAKES of big-screen movies are also on the docket, including:
- "Robinson Crusoe" (May 10), starring a pre-James Bond Pierce Brosnan.
- "Moll Flanders" (June 7), with Robin Wright and Morgan Freeman, which was a '60s vehicle for Kim Novak, "The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders."
- "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (June 21), Disney's musical animated version. Previous live-action adaptations have starred Lon Chaney, Charles Laughton, Anthony Quinn and Anthony Hopkins.
- "The Nutty Professor" (June 28), Eddie Murphy's remake of Jerry Lewis' '60s comic take on "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde."
- "The Mighty Kong" (July), a musical animated-feature remake of "King Kong."
- "Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio" (Aug. 2), a live-action version, with Jonathan Taylor Thomas in the title role and Martin Landau as Gepetto.
- "Romeo and Juliet" (September), with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes.
- "101 Dalmatians" (November), a live-action remake of Disney's animated classic, with Glenn Close as Cruella De Vil.