Jaffe@RUTGERS.ARPA (01/12/84)
From: Saul <Jaffe@RUTGERS.ARPA>
The L.A. Times entertainment section (Calendar) for Sunday,
January 8th, published a list of all of the films that major studios
are willing to admit that they plan to release in 1984. The
original list was compiled by Julie Richard.
Thanks to the following people whose comments are in square
brackets for supplying information to SF-LOVERS:
Reiher@UCLA-CS
Ssmith@USC-ECL
Bakin.ssid@HI-MULTICS
January:
THE GODS MUST BE CRAZY
Comedy about nomadic African tribesman who discover a
strange object has fallen from a plane and believe it's a magical
gift from the Gods. (Fox Inter. Classics).
February:
PLEIN SUD ("Heat of Desire")
A fantasy about an intellectual who becomes a man of action
under the tutelage of a beautiful adventuress. Starring Patrick
Dewaere, Clio Goldsmith, and Jeanne Moreau. [A French film, if you
haven't already guessed, and not too recent, since Dewaere killed
himself early last year - reiher]. (Triumph/Columbia)
March/April
CHILDREN OF THE CORN
Based on the Stephen King short story about a young couple
traveling across the United States who stumble onto a religious cult
in Nebraska. (New World).
ICEMAN
The story of a Neanderthal man who is found frozen alive in
glacial ice. Timothy Hutton and Lindsay Crouse star. Fred Schepisi
("The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith") directs. [Probably a good deal
more serious than it sounds at first hearing. Schepisi is an
Australian with a very good critical reputation, and Hutton is still
hot enough to avoid trash. Some stills I've seen of the makeup look
very good. - reiher] (Universal)
ICE PIRATES
Pirates-in-outer-space story with Robert Urich and Mary
Crosby. (MGM/UA)
LE DERNIER COMBAT
Four survivors of a planetary catastrophe band together to
make a last stand for the human race. [surprise, surprise: another
French film] (Triumph/ Columbia)
SPLASH
Ron Howard directs a comedy about a man's love affair with a
mermaid. John Candy and Daryl Hannah star. [Looks like Disney
strikes out again - reiher] (Walt Disney Pictures)
May/June
FIRESTARTER
Adaptation of Stephen King's novel about a little girl (Drew
Barrymore) who turns her fear into a weapon. WIth George C. Scott,
Martin Sheen, and David Keith. (Universal)
NATIONAL LAMPOON'S JOY OF SEX
High school students' sexual problems come to the fore in
this film directed by Martha Coolidge (Valley Girl).
GHOSTBUSTERS
Bill Murray, Dan Ackroyd, and Harold Ramis as
parapsychologists in New York.
GREMLINS
Joe Dante ["It's a Good Life" segment of "The Twilight Zone:
The Movie" - reiher] directs a Steven Spielberg production about a cute but
malevolent creature. With Phoebe Cates [That brilliant actress who
distinguished herself by not showing her breasts in "Private
School" - reiher] (Warner Bros.)
INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM
Harrison Ford and Kate Capshaw have cliff hanging adventures
in this "prequel" to "Raiders of the Lost Ark". Steven Spielberg
directs. [The trailer for this looks good, but not as good as
Raiders'. It seems to be set mostly in the far east, and apparently
features a kid side kick, which could be a mistake. I'm suspicious
of prequels. - reiher] (Paramount)
THE LAST STARFIGHTER
Story of an 18-year-old with a talent for video games.
Robert Preston and Lance Guest star. (Universal).
THE PHILADELPHIA EXPERIMENT
A top-secret World War II military experiment is brought to
life in this time travel adventure. With Michael Pare and Nancy
Allen. (New World) [For those not up on movie studios, New World
was Roger Corman's old stomping grounds, and specialized in cheap
exploitation films, from beach blanket stuff to Poe ripoffs, with
stopoffs at motorcycle films and topless nurse and student teacher
films, and, of course, the ever popular fifties alien invasion
films. Many of them were fairly amusing. - reiher]
RED DAWN
John Milius [who directed "Conan the Barbarian" and "The
Wind and the Lion" - reiher] directs a story of a group of innocents
forced into armed resistance against an invasion of the U.S. With
Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell and Powers Booth. [Milius would
have preferred living in the Middle Ages, when he would have had
more chances to kill people in hand-to-hand combat. His films
reflect this sensibility, for better or worse. -reiher] (MGM/UA)
STAR TREK III: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK
The continuing adventures of the Starship Enterprise and the
search for Mr. Spock. With William Shatner, James Doohan, DeForest
Kelley, and Dame Judith Anderson. [And Christopher Lloyd, of "Taxi",
as the villain. -reiher] Directed by Leonard Nimoy. (Paramount)
[Looks like a big summer for Paramount -reiher]. [Can a film be
about a search for a director? - ssmith]
STREETS OF FIRE
Diane Lane and Michael Pare in a rock and roll fantasy about
a soldier of fortune. Walter Hill ("48 HRS.") directs. [Coming
attractions look really good, provided you don't mind a lot of
violence. -reiher] (Universal)
July/August
ALL OF ME
One of the world's richest women, who is dying, arranges to
have her soul transformed into the body of a younger, healthier
woman. Steve Martin, Lily Tomlin, and Victoria Tennant star. Carl
Reiner directs. [A comedy, if you haven't already guessed, which
sounds like it owes something to Spielberg's segment of the "Night
Gallery" pilot. -reiher] (Universal)
CONAN, PRINCE OF THIEVES
Sequel to "Conan the Barbarian", again starring Arnold
Schwarzeneger. With Wilt Chamberlain and Grace Jones. Richard
Fleischer directs the Dino de Laurentiis production. [Fleischer has
a reputation as a hack director of limited talents. -reiher]
(Universal)
THE NEVERENDING STORY
A boy's odyssey into a timeless world of fantastic beings.
Wolfgang Petersen ("Das Boot") directs. [Based on a current best
seller which has already cleaned up in Europe and Japan, this German
film has the largest budget in German film history. -reiher]. [My
award for worst film title, does it relect how boring the film
is? -ssmith] (Warner Bros.)
NIGHT OF THE COMET
A science fiction comedy about two sisters and the coming of
a fabulous comet. (Atlantic)
WHERE THE GREEN ANTS DREAM
Werner Herzog (Fitzcarraldo) directs this film set in
Australia. (Orion Classics). [Okay, probably not a SF film, but
knowing Herzog you will have to classify it as a fantasy -ssmith]
SHEENA OF THE JUNGLE
Tanya Roberts ("Charlie's Angels") in a feminine twist on
Tarzan. (Columbia)
November/December:
BABY
A professor [Fred MacMurray?] and his wife discover a baby
dinosaur in Africa. [Sounds like Disney's going to take a bath this
year.] (Disney)
O.C. AND STIGGS
Robert Altman directs a comedy about two teenage boys on
summer vacation. [Hmm, I wonder how much like the National Lampoon
stories this can be. -bakin]
DUNE
Based on Frank Herbert's science fiction novel about
mile-long monsters that devour manlike insects. Max von Sydow and
Sting star. David Lynch directs. [Hey, I'm just copying this
stuff, not making it up. As I recollect, Sydow is playing Liet
Kynes and Sting is Baron Harkonnen's beloved nephew. Lynch is a
brilliant stylist and the stills look great. -reiher]. [LONG AWAITED!! But
who came up with this terrible press release? Milelong monsters =
sandworms, ok, but manlike insects??? what book did this people
read? -ssmith] (Universal)
GREYSTOKE: THE LEGEND OF TARZAN, LORD OF THE APES
Is about Tarzan's boyhood, his repatriation to British
aristocracy, and his return to the jungle. Ralph Richardson,
Christopher Lambert, and Ian Holm star. Hugh Hudson ("Chariots of
Fire") directs. [This is a real labor of love for Hudson, whose
been trying to film it for a very long time. The actor playing
Tarzan is French, which makes a lot of sense for those who've read
the original book. The trailer looks impressive and faithful. - reiher]
(Warner Bros.)
LADYHAWKE
Richard Donner ("Superman") directs a tale of romance and
magic in the Middle Ages. With Rutger Hauer[chief android in "Blade
Runner" -reiher], Matthew Broderick [from "War Games" -reiher], and
Michelle Pfeiffer. [Also, John Wood, the scientist in "War Games",
as an evil bishop. Donner has been trying to down play the sword
and sorcery elements, figuring it will be bad for business what with
the entries in that genre of the last couple years, but it's
obviously fantasy. There's a lengthy and interesting article on
this $16 million film in the same issue of The L.A. Times Calendar
that has this information. -reiher] (Warner Bros.)
OH GOD III
George Burns in his first dual role, God and Devil.
STARMAN
Love story with a science fiction background produced by
Michael Douglas. (Columbia)
2010
Sequel to "2001: A Space Odyssey". Peter Hyams directs this
return to Jupitor's moons to learn the fate of astronaut David
Bowman and HAL the computer. [Hyams ("Capricorn One") is no great
shakes as a director. Keir Dullea has signed, and I think they got
hold of the actor who dubbed HAL's lines, as well. -reiher] [Stop
Dave my mind is going...We'll see what happen without Kubrick
directing...Anybody know who Peter Hyams is and what he has directed
before?? -ssmith] (MGM/UA)
No release date
DREAM ONE
A ten-year-old boy is magically transported to a strange
dream world. With Nipsey Russell and Harvey Keitel. [Talk about
your odd couples. -reiher] (Columbia)
HEAVEN SENT
Herbert Ross ("The Turning Point") directs a story of a
youth who time-trips himself backwards until he and his parents are
the same age. (Embassy)
THE MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN
SUPERGIRL
Superman's cousin, Kara (Helen Slater), clashes with a
sorceress. Also starring Peter O'Toole, Faye Dunaway, and Mia
Farrow. Jeannot Szwarc ("Somewhere in Time") directs. [Szwarc was
the director who sank "Jaws II". Another hack. -reiher] (Warner Bros.)
VISIONQUEST
A youth searches for adulthood. Matthew Modine and Linda
Fiorentinno star. [Might not be sf/fantasy, but the title sure
sounds like it. -reiher] (Warner Bros.)
[ The chances are good that a few of these films will never be
released, or perhaps even made. The list the Times published last
year contained at least a dozen films which didn't come out. Some
were delayed, and some cancelled. The same might happen with a few
of these. It's also my painful duty to point out the possibility
that "Santa Claus", from the Salskynd brothers who brought you
Supermans I-III, may be out by next Christmas. They have an
unpleasant habit of following through on their threats, so we may
yet see Dudley Moore as one of Santa's elves. -reiher]
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