Hey folks, Harry here with Adam's look at SHOWEST. He has buzz reports about the 3 films that have played at SHOWEST, his look at the JURASSIC PARK 3 ShoWest reel and the 20th Anniversary E.T. Special Edition with new effects and remastered sound and digitally cleaned up images... So read on, but if you were at ShoWest this year, I'd appreciate to hear from ya! Thanks...
Harry,
First of all, I'd like to say what a big fan I am. I write for an entertainment site called Zboneman.com. I've been clicking on your site for a couple of years now, and you and your crew are a huge inspirtation. Alright, let me get right to it. I attended the Showest convention in Las Vegas. For readers not familiar with the expo, it's an annuel gathering for movie theater personell. There, your able to take a look at all the new hardware (projectors, soundsystems, snack bar stuff etc.) available. Most importantly, the studios are present to unveil their kickass product reels.
There was some fantastic stuff to behold this year. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get into the screenings of Spy Kids (there were three screenings of this particular flick), Heartbreakers, or the work in progress print of Shrek (there were two screenings of this one, and there must have been at least 1000 people trying to get in.) I did hang out to absorb some of the buzz following the screenings. The word on Spy Kids was through the roof. I talked to several people and not one had a negative thing to say. All are in agreement that this is a great movie for everbody and that it should be a big hit. People weren't as kind to Heartbreakers (starring Sigourney Weaver, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Gene Hackman). While nobody was out to crucify the picture, the buzz here was quite mild. Anyway, that picture is getting a sneak preview nationwide this weekend (03/10/01). Finally, there was Shrek. Initially, there was only going to be one screening, but so many tickets were requested, that they added a second. I tried like hell to get in, and almost pulled it off, but then I was pinched. Everyone I talked to said this movie is a visual stunner. Apparantly, it's hilarious as well. From what I could gather, Mike Myers is an absolute hoot as the voice of the lead.
Let me tell you what I did get into. I managed to crash the Universal Party and boy was it spectacular. Great food, open bar and wall to wall Hollywood types. Of course the highlight was the product reel. Universal even put togther trailers for films that aren't in production yet (i.e. The Scopion King, Beautiful Mind, American Pie 2 etc.). In addition to this, there were trailers for Spy Game (starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt), Bourne Identity (starring Matt Damon), K-Pax (starring Kevin Spacey), and new trailers for The Mummy Returns and The Fast and the Furious. There were lots more and the entire reel lasted about a half an hour. Of course, I've saved the best for last. At the party, Universal unveiled the Jurassic Park III trailer. I think everyone can relax. This movie looks great, and the trailer doesn't seem to give too much away. From what I can gather, returning Sam Neil and a rescue crew are forced to crash land their airplane on an island. While there, they encounter a new batch of prehistoric creatures. The catch is that these dinosaurs seem to be far more intelligent then the scientists seem to give them credit for. At the end of the trailer, we see Sam Neil and Tea Leoni standing in a strange looking fortress, staring around in awe. At one point, Neil says something to the effect of; "This looks to be some kind of birdcage." to which Leoni replys; "A birdcage for what?" With this, a loud shriek eminates from behind our fearless heros. This movie looks like a lot of fun and far edgier and action oriented than The Lost World. With a great cast (including William H. Macy) and a new director (October Sky's Joe Johnston), this film should put some fire into the franchise.
To top that off, I got the sneak peeks of all sneak peeks. I am a huge Steven Spielberg fan. I just about crapped myself when the E.T. twentieth anniversary version trailer hit the screen. Fucking awsome! This was no half assed trailer either. The movie has been digitally remastered and touched up with new effects and deleted scenes, some of which are shown in the trailer. There is a scene in which E.T. and Elliot open a can of soda, and the pop sprays into their face. The E.T. in that sequence is obviously digitally created but that's fine by me. It also seems if they've done a lot of touch up work on E.T.'s eyes and it looks fabulous. It's going to be cooler than hell to have the opportunity to see this on the big screen again. Although E.T. is a re-release, it is easily one of my most anticipated films of 2002!
A lot of other cool stuff went down at Showest. The Twentieth Century Fox party offered up the trailers for Planet of the Apes (Badass!) and Moulin Rouge (looks amazing), while the New Line party gave out all kinds of goodies including an amazing Lord of the Rings calender. To end the day, a buddy of mine won a DTS theater system in a trivia contest. Lucky bastard! Anyway, you can read about my adventures at Showest at Zboneman.com. Thanks a lot Harry.
Adam
