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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 2000)
! . f Delan Lonowski/DN i^^***^ Summer flicks promise return of the blockbuster By Samuel McKewon Senior editor Consider the 2000 summer movie season not in terms of what will be playing but what won’t: namely, the second installment of “Star Wars.” The first of the trilogy sent waves through all of last year - the finest year of film since the 1970s. One big reason: no summer junk, or at the very least, not much of it. Big studios, fully aware of the “Star Wars” prowess at the box office, thought smaller and miracle of miracles, better. The second-high est grossing movie of 1999 was Disney’s “The Sixth Sense,” a certain box-office dwarf in other years. “The Blair Witch Project” topped $100 million on a peanut-sized budget. Julia Roberts crafted her own time zone with two summer flicks. None of it is happening in 2000. The big, big movies are back, at least until 2001, when “Star Wars” arrives with Episode H. Expect a lot of war, a lot of outer space, even more crime and a tiny premium on quality drama. Even animated features want to appeal to a broader audience. Good news: It just might have. The blockbusters actually might have some - gasp! - polish to them. So let us begin. We’re talking Lincoln here, so dates are tentative. The big, big movies: m “Gladiator” (May 5) - The advance buzz guarantees two things: Ridley Scott’s epic of Narcissus Meridas could run neck-and-neck with “Ben Hur” in terms of scale, and Russell Crowe, who plays Narcissus, will cement his status as a major movie icon. ine trailers ana aavance screen ings all get high marks, as does Joaquin Phoenix, who plays rival Commodus. It’s a gladiator story with all the classic Roman Empire trappings. Scott, director of “Alien” and “Blade Runner” has been down for a while. “Mission: Impossible 2” (May 24) - Tom Cruise returns as whatev er-the-hell-he-is Ethan Hunt, neither hero nor foe. Anthony Hopkins is his boss. The lady-in-waiting is Thandie Newton. But the wild card is director John Woo, who will either make or break the series, based on how he films it Woo’s smart enough not to make another “Face/Off,” right? “Battlefield Earth” (May 26) - I am in the dark concerning L. Ron Hubbard’s novel about an alien mas ter race on Earth and a boy named Tyler, who fights back around the year 3000. John Travolta is the alien leader Terl, Barry Pepper, the marks man in “Saving Private Ryan,” is the hero. An advance online reading of the script reveals a real clunker. “The Patriot” (June 28) - The film is very loosely based on American Revolution hero Francis Marion, Mel Gibson takes on the British Army as Southerner Benjamin Martin, an over-the-hill soldier out for revenge against his son’s killers. Make no mistake: This is a Western-style construct set amidst the trappings of the Revolutionary War. Think “Unfoigiven” with musket powder. “The Perfect Storm” (June 30) - We know this about the Andrea Gail: It was a fishing boat from Gloucester, Mass., that sailed into the worst storm in recorded history in the North Atlantic. The ship and crew (headed by George Clooney in the movie) were lost. The movie, based on the 1991 book by Sebastian Junger, is a fictional recreation of what that storm might have looked like. Director Wolfgang Peterson made one of the finest water vessel films ever with “Das Boot,” and “The Perfect Storm” promises to fol low along those documentary lines. “X-Men” (July 14) - “The Usual Suspects” meets the comics. “Suspects” director Bryan Singer and writer Christopher McQuarrie last teamed up for a critical success. Now they move to a whole different genre, with Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen up front, while Hugh Jackman gets the coveted role of Wolverine. stylized crime: “Gone in 60 Seconds” (June 7) - The film is a remake of the 1973 film with Nicolas Cage as the retired car thief extrordinaire, Angelina Jolie as his jilted girlfriend and Giovanni Ribisi as the kid brother in too deep. “Shaft Returns” (June 16) - Samuel L. Jackson is a near-perfect choice for Shaft Jr. (the original Shaft has a role, too), a NYC cop, who has a worthy foe in Walter Williams (Christian Bale), a wealthy misogy nist with a penchant for killing women. “Get Carter” (August 11) Sylvester Stallone is back after a massive layoff in a Michael Caine gangster remake. Carter wants vengeance for his brother’s death. Alan Cumming is a villainous Internet pom king. Caine’s the rival hitman. Please see MOVIES on 15 summer ..— M Rock, pop and metal I take summer stage ^ By Jason Hardy Staff writer In Bob Seger’s classic hit, “Turn the Page,” he chronicles life on the road as a rock ’n’ roll superstar play ing to a sea of faces in towns such as Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles and Omaha. “On a long and lonely highway,east of Omaha/ you can lis ten to the engine moanin’ out as one long song. You can think about the woman/or the girl you knew the night before/and your thoughts will soon be wandering the way they always do/when you’re riding 16 hours, and there’s nothing much to do/you don’t feel much like trav elin’, you just wish the trip was through.” It’s a somber and introspective mood, one Seger wore well. Luckily for Nebraska residents, however, this summer’s concert schedule should be nothing as subdued as Seger’s classic melodies. In fact, it should be more like some of Seger’s other work. “I think I’m going to Katmandu!/ That’s really, really where I’m going to/ If I ever get out of here/ that’s what I’m gonna do/ K-K-K-K-K-K KATMANDU!” This summer’s concert schedule for southeast Nebraska can only be described in two-words - BIG TIME. To say it holds a little something for everybody would be cliche, but it would also be true. Rarely has a Nebraska concert season been so jam packed with such a diverse line up of stars: Kenny Rogers and Nine Inch Nails, Christina Aguilera and Cracker are all planning to make a stop in Huskerland. The season starts early with a badass display of rock ’n’ roll dementia as the legendary Danzig is set to take the skanky stage of the Royal Grove, one of Lincoln’s best venues for hard-rock acts, with Disturbed and Six Feet Under on May 9. Danzig is still doing the devil’s work and is touring in support of its latest album, obviously titled “Satan’s Child: 666.” Death by 1 metal. Of course, if metal is too metal for you, and i you prefer the sounds of 1 a man who’s made almost as much money selling chicken as he has recording music, than you better know when to hold ’em and know when to fold ’em because Kenny Rogers is playing the Please see CONCERTS on 14 Neal Obermeyer/DN
