The Brand (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 84, No. 1, Ed. 1, Monday, August 19, 1996 Page: 6 of 12
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Page 6 The Brand August 19 1996
NOISE OF SUMMER
Money mayhem and an Oscar or two highlight summer films of v96
By Chris Hatcher
Editor in Chief
We've been twisted caught in a chain reaction and
attacked by deadly aliens over the past several months.
Tom Jim and Arnold reared their million dollar
heads as we were faced with an impossible mission
introduced to an annoying cable guy and erased by
everyone's favorite Terminator.
Explosions rocked us elephantine Eddie drove us
nutty and an Oscar-worthy dose of phenomenal courage
touched us all.
For those who've been hibernating since May this is
all part of your ever-typical tour through summertime
movie madness a time where big action and big bud-
gets come together to produce one big entertainment
headache.
The summer of '96 was of course no exception to
the rule. In fact this year's summer films exploded loud-
er than ever leaving a pile of wreckage and wealth
unmatched by any previous Hollywood efforts.
The first signs of mayhem came with Warner Bros
release of Twister in mid-May. Director Jan De Bont's
tale of terror-recking town-wrecking tornadoes blew
audiences away with a smorgasbord of computer-generated
special effects.
Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt starred as tornado
"chasers" who plow over under and through everything
in site including a two-story house and a flying barnyard
animal or two.
Dc Bont who made his cinematic mark two sum-
mer's ago with the action-thriller Speed reportedly
"beefed" Twister's budget from its original $70 million to
over $90 million when unexpected weather conditions
forced him to double the film's special effects shots.
Luckily the film's $235 million grossing was
enough to cover the bill.
Two weeks after Twister's release our mission was
to accept the confusing plot mishaps of Brain Dc
Palma's highly publicized Mission: Impossible.
According to its opening week figure of close to $75
million we accepted.
Tom Cruise didn't regret choosing to accept his mis-
sions as executive producer and star of the popular TV
series turned blockbuster movie. And despite the film
falling way short of Paramount Pictures' projected $220
million figure (Mission currently stands at around $175
million) Cruise and company managed to make the film
work through some very "nifty" gadgctry and a 15
minute finale that explodes with the best of them.
Perhaps the most anticipated cinematic event to hit
the big screen in the past decade was this summer's Star
Wars meets Top Gun sci-fi-fest Independence Day.
Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum (alias Sky walker and
Solo) led the way against earth-threatening aliens in one
of the biggest sci-fi shoot "em up finales in years play-
ing second-fiddle only to Randy Quaid's goof-ball
cameo in the film.
ID4 shattered not only every building in New York
City but every opening day and weekend box office
record in history reaching $100 million in a phenomenal
six day stretch (Jurassic Park's nine day period held the
previous record.).
The film's current $250 million plus figure soon to
be 300 mil stands way ahead of the flock as this sum-
mer's number one money-maker.
Two other films receiving big money for big messes
this summer included Arnold Schwarzenegger's CIA
thriller Eraser ($95 million) and Sean Conncry's and
Nicolas Cage's highly dynamic action flick The
Rock(2 million) both of which came out of the box
office gates with big guns and little game plan.
But during a time of year when serious plots seem
hard to come by two films did manage their way through
the rubble to pose as serious Oscar contenders.
Phenomenon and Courage Under Fire scored both
high praise and high dollar marks on their respective
opening weekends in July.
John Travolta's compassionate role as a simpleton
suddenly gifted by an extra-terrestrial light may earn him
another scat at the Oscar nomination table and give
Phenomenon a solid chance at winning an Oscar of its
own this year.
The same goes for Courage's Dcnzcl Washington
whose inspired performance as a remorseful lieutenant
colonel may also push this military film about truth and
honor to the top of the best picture list come spring.
Well we've made it through another summer of
movie mania in one piece. And though we highly
enjoyed all the action and alien hoopla along the way
most of us arc ready for the spinc-tinglcrs and tcar-jcrk-crs
that await us in the fall.
However with 1997's summer line-up featuring
such sequels as Batman and Robin Speed 2 and The Lost
World (Jurassic Park's second installment) it's a given
that we'll return to theaters next May to experience the
madness all over again.
Top: Bill Paxton
and Helen Hunt
star as "chasers"
being chased by
destructive torna-
does in Warner
Bros.' thrilling
action-adventure
Twister.
Right: Agent
Ethan Hunt (Tom
Cruise) goes to
extraordinary
lengths to get
information in the
adventure thriller
Mission:
Impossible.
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The Brand (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 84, No. 1, Ed. 1, Monday, August 19, 1996, newspaper, August 19, 1996; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth97640/m1/6/?q=waco+tornado: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hardin-Simmons University Library.