As hard and as fast as the Warner Bros. movie studio has fallen within the course of just a year, even Bugs Bunny must be asking "What's up, Doc?"
You hate to kick a dog when it's down, but Warner Bros. has been on a real losing streak in 1998, a trend that actually began with the release of the Kevin Costner bomb "The Postman" in late '97.Ironically, this is the studio's 75th anniversary, and one that probably won't go down as its happiest.
Not only were most of the films Warners released during the past year roundly panned by critics (the horrid movie version of "The Avengers," for example), but they've been box-office failures as well ("The Avengers" also comes to mind here).
This is a once-proud studio we're talking about. Remember that in the past Warner Bros. has produced the classic Looney Toons animated shorts and such terrific films as "Casablanca," "The Color Purple" and "Superman." And as recently as last year it had a major critical and minor box-office hit with "L.A. Confidential."
Admittedly, the studio has had a couple of hits - "Lethal Weapon 4" and "Practical Magic." But relatively large budgets have made those films less likely to be significantly profitable.
What's even stranger is that Warner Bros. officials are taking the news in such stride. Gerald Levin, chairman of the Time Warner group, recently told several news services that the company had the best financial quarter in its history this summer - this despite the fact that the company reported a net loss of $37 million.
And they're even using creative accounting to make things look better than they are - such as including revenue from syndication and cable television deals (for its profitable "ER" and "Friends" repeats) to make the losses look better the for Warner Bros. Filmed Entertainment arm.
A shakeup is probably coming in the moviemaking department, but it can't come soon enough for the company's stockholders.
- A PSYCHO-TIC OVERREACTION? It's likely there are people out there who are excited by the upcoming remake of Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho." But those ranks contain few (if any) film critics. In fact, critics have fallen all over themselves condemning the movie before they've even seen it!
(For the record, I'll admit that I'm not keen on the idea of a blood-and-guts revision of the 1960 black-and-white thriller, either.)
Don't think Gus Van Sant, who directed the film, hasn't noticed. In fact, he's instructed Universal Studios, which is releasing the movie, not to hold any critic's screenings. (But the studio may hold promotional screenings to build word of mouth, which critics are also welcome to attend.)
You can kind of see where Van Sant is coming from - it is unfair to prejudge any movie sight unseen. But he probably won't get any sympathy from the critical minority this way and is more likely to hurt his cause.
If the film makes money - which could happen - he may yet have the last laugh. However, Van Sant also needs to remember that reviewers tend to hold grudges about these types of things.
- "STAR WARS" GOSSIP OF THE WEEK: OK, all you Star Warriors out there. The latest hot rumor is that we may finally get a look at the first of the new Star Wars prequels, "The Phantom Empire," when "The Siege" opens on Nov. 6.
LucasFilms Ltd. has been mum on the subject, but according to spies at 20th Century Fox (which is releasing both films), a preview of "Phantom Empire" may precede showings of the Denzel Washington-Bruce Willis thriller "The Siege."
And the news has sent "Star Wars" fanatics into orbit.
Of course, we have heard this before. Rumors were circulating that this summer's "X-Files" movie was going to include a trailer for the film, which, of course, didn't happen.
So, needless to say, I'm extremely skeptical - and you should be, too.
However, one thing we do know is that next May, debuting with the movie, is the new Dolby Surround EFX, an upgraded version of the theatrical Dolby Digital Sound. It will require theaters to install another speaker - in the rear section of the auditorium.
The extra speaker is supposed to enhance the movie's sound effects, including spaceship "flight" sounds. But the real question is whether it will push the almost deafening theater roar to even more ear-splitting levels.