A Look at The Biggest Box Office Stories from 1972-present (THABOS: The History of Amazing Box Office Stories) | IT'S FINALLY COMPLETE!!!!!!!

[Maxmoser3]

1 hour ago, Jonwo said:

Showgirls would be an interesting one to cover given it bombed at the box office but was a hit on home video

It bombed because the GA got to see softcore porn cheaper than tickets in 1995 on HBO, Cinemax, or even Playboy/Penthouse magazines. Caroloco also died because of this and Cuthroat Island in 1995. Plus the poster is very memorable with Elizabeth Berkeley looking naked. 

[baumer]

1994 ALMOST DONE.

[baumer]

1994

 

The number one film this year domestically was Forrest Gump.  And it has one of the most interesting stories concerning the development of the film.  Forrest Gump is a comedy-drama based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis and stars Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson, and Sally Field. The story depicts several decades in the life of Forrest Gump, a slow-witted but kind-hearted, good-natured and athletically prodigious man from Alabama, who witnesses, and in some cases influences, some of the defining events of the latter half of the 20th century in the United States; more specifically, the period between Forrest's birth in 1944 and 1982. The film differs substantially from Winston Groom's novel, including Gump's personality and several events that were depicted.

 

 

It grossed 330 million domestic and a total of 677 million WW.  It would also go on to win best picture, director and actor and many other awards.  

 

And in the Harry Potter creative accounting school of bullshit, the film was known as a "successful failure"—due to distributors' and exhibitors' high fees, Paramount's "losses" clocked in at $62 million. This has, however, also been associated with Hollywood accounting, where expenses are inflated in order to minimize profit sharing. It is Robert Zemeckis' highest-grossing film to date.

 

Tom Hanks signed on within an hour of reading the script but he also refused to take a salary, instead asking for profit sharing.  This paid off handsomely for him and it is said that he made more than 70 million from it.  Winston Groom was paid $350,000 for the screenplay rights to his novel Forrest Gump and was contracted for a 3 percent share of the film's net profits. However, Paramount and the film's producers did not pay him, using Hollywood accounting andclaimed that the blockbuster lost money. Tom Hanks, by contrast, contracted for a percent share of the film's gross receipts instead of a salary, and he and director Zemeckis each received took points.  Additionally, Groom was not mentioned once in any of the film's six Oscar-winner speeches.

Groom's dispute with Paramount was later effectively resolved after Groom declared he was satisfied with Paramount's explanation of their accounting, this coinciding with Groom receiving a seven-figure contract with Paramount for film rights to another of his books, Gump & Co.

 

Getting the film made wasn't easy.  Wendy Finerman, one of four producers, but the one who nurtured it from a baby, spent 9 years trying to get it made.  She said that no one in Hollywood wanted to do it mainly because they feared Rain Man had already cornered the autistic savant character.  Door after door was shut.  She was connected in Hollywood and managed to get Hanks to read the book and he said he's be interested in playing the title role if a good script was there.  So she spent another 3 years trying to convince someone to do it before Paramount finally agreed to it.  He labour of love paid off and she won the Oscar and got rich off it.

 

Robert Zemekis also benefited from it in a huge way.  Financially he did well but he also shed the reputation (in his own mind) of being in Hollywood only because he was Steven Spielberg's friend.  This is something he dealt with for years and even after he did Back to the Future he still felt he was under Steven's shadow.  That all changed when he won best director.  

 

Like Deadpool, Gump is an example of someone believing in themselves and never giving up.  Wendy Finerman is living proof of this.

 

The number two film for the year, but number one WW was The Lion King.  The Lion King is an animated musical produced by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 32nd Disney animated feature film, and the fourth animated film produced during a period known as the Disney Renaissance. The Lion King was directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and has a screenplay credited to Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Its original songs were written by composer Elton John and lyricist Tim Rice, and original scores were written by Hans Zimmer. The film features an ensemble voice cast that includes Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Moira Kelly, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Rowan Atkinson, Robert Guillaume, Madge Sinclair, Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, and Jim Cummings. The story takes place in a kingdom of lions in Africa and was influenced by William Shakespeare's Hamlet. The Lion King tells the story of Simba, a young lion who is to succeed his father, Mufasa, as King of the Pride Lands; however, after Simba's uncle Scar murders Mufasa, Simba is manipulated into thinking he was responsible and flees into exile. Upon maturation living with two wastrels, Simba is given some valuable perspective from his childhood friend, Nala, and his shaman, Rafiki, before returning to challenge Scar to end his tyranny and take his place in the Circle of Life as the rightful King.

 

 

 

Development of The Lion King began in 1988 during a meeting between Jeffrey Katzenberg, Roy E. Disney, and Peter Schneider while promoting Oliver & Company in Europe. Thomas Disch wrote a film treatment, and Woolverton developed the first scripts while George Scribner was signed on as director, being later joined by Allers. Production began in 1991 concurrently with Pocahontas, which wound up attracting most of Disney's top animators. Some time after the staff traveled to Hell's Gate National Park in Kenya to research on the film's setting and animals, Scribner left production disagreeing with the decision to turn the film into a musical and was replaced by Minkoff. When Hahn joined the project, he was dissatisfied with the script and the story was promptly rewritten. Nearly 20 minutes of animation sequences were produced at Disney-MGM Studios in Florida. Computer animation was also used in several scenes, most notably in the wildebeest stampede sequence.

 

The Lion King was produced for 45 million and after a 3D release in 2016, it has now made 968 million.  The Jon Favreau live action retelling is due out in 2018.

 

Coming in at number three both domestically and WW is True Lies.  True Lies is an action comedy fwritten, co-produced and directed by James Cameron, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Art Malik, Tia Carrere, Bill Paxton, Eliza Dushku, Grant Heslov and Charlton Heston. It is a loose remake of the 1991 French comedy film La Totale!  The film follows U.S. government agent Harry Tasker, who balances his life as a spy with his familial duties.

True Lies was the first Lightstorm Entertainment project to be distributed under Cameron's multimillion-dollar production deal with 20th Century Fox, as well as the first major production for the visual effects company Digital Domain, which was co-founded by Cameron.

 

As well as the film did, I'm a little surprised it didn't do more.  It grossed 146 million in North America and it had both Arnold and Cameron coming off Terminator 2.  The budget was 100 million, making it one of the most expensive films ever made at the time and yet although it did well, it came in under what I thought it would do at the time.  

 

 

The controversy might explain why.  Upon its release in 1994, the film garnered mostly positive reviews. Based on 47 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, True Lies has a 72% approval rating and a weighted average of 6.5/10; the consensus states, "If it doesn't reach the heights of director James Cameron's and star Arnold Schwarzenegger's previous collaborations, True Lies still packs enough action and humor into its sometimes absurd plot to entertain". Website Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean to various reviews, gave the film a 63 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

 

 

Despite the positive reviews, the film was criticized by the National Review as sexist, cruel, or even misogynistic, for its treatment of female characters, such as the hero (Schwarzenegger) using his agency's resources to stalk and frighten his wife. Members of the Muslim community perceived it as conveying a strong anti-Arab or anti-Muslim prejudice.

In a negative review, Kenneth Turan of the New York Times wrote "Taken individually, the cruder and childish things about this film, its determination to use caricatured unshaven Arabs as terrorists, the pleasure it takes in continually mortifying a weasely used-car salesman (Bill Paxton) in the most personal ways, might be overlooked, but added together they leave a sour taste."  James Cameron has even said that this is a film that could not be made in today's climate.

 

Personally, I think films like this are entertainment.  There has to be a bad guy and if they are portrayed as English, Muslim, Irish or whatever nationality, it's not an indictment of the entire race of people, it's just Hollywood.  I find there are way too many uptight people looking for reasons to be upset about something.  True Lies is an example of this.

 

Coming it at number four domestically but not even registering on the WW charts, was The Santa Clause.  The Santa Clause is a Christmas fantasy family comedy  directed by John Pasquin. It is the first installment in The Santa Clause trilogy and it stars Tim Allen as Scott Calvin, an ordinary man who accidentally causes Santa Claus to fall from his roof on Christmas Eve. When he and his young son, Charlie, finish St. Nick's trip and deliveries, they go to the North Pole where Scott learns that he must become the new Santa and convince those he loves that he is indeed Father Christmas.

This was Pasquin and Allen's first movie collaboration after they both worked together on the TV series Home Improvement. Pasquin and Allen would later work again on the films Jungle 2 Jungle and Joe Somebody, and on the TV show Last Man Standing.

The film was followed by two sequels, The Santa Clause 2 (2002) and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006). In comparison to the original, the former received mixed critical response while the latter was panned by most critics.

 

 

 

1994 was a huge year for Tim Allen.  He simultaneously had the number one movie, the number one TV show and a best selling book.  Allen was Disney's third choice to play the role.  Bill Murray turned it down (like he did for a lot of other films....) and Chevy Chase did as well.  Made for 22 million, it took in 189 million WW with 144 of that coming from NA.

 

Number five was The Flintstones.  The Flintstones is a buddy comedy directed by Brian Levant and written by Tom S. Parker, Jim Jennewein, and Steven E. de Souza (Commando). It is a live-action adaptation of the 1960-66 animated television series of the same name. The film stars John Goodman as Fred Flintstone, Rick Moranis as Barney Rubble, Elizabeth Perkins as Wilma Flintstone, and Rosie O'Donnell as Betty Rubble.  

 

The film, shot in California at an estimated $46 million budget, was theatrically released on May 27, 1994, and earned almost $342 million worldwide, making it a huge box office success, despite earning negative reviews from critics. Observers criticized the storyline and tone, which they deemed too adult and mature for family audiences, as well as the casting of O'Donnell as Betty and Taylor as Pearl, but praised its visual effects, costume design, art direction, and Goodman's performance as Fred.

 

 

This was a Steven Spielberg production and even though he would not direct another film for 3 more years, he was still producing big hits.  John Candy was originally in serious talks to play Fred but he unfortunately passed away before filming began.  Bill Murray and Chevy Chase turned down this film as well.  The film went through about 20 different writers, most of them did touch up work and were uncredited.  Two of my favourite writers from the era, Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel took home $100,000 for two days worth of touch up writing.  

 

I'm going to go a bit unconventional here and discuss the numbers 6,9 and 16 films all at the same time.  We'll start with number 16 first.  This was Ace Ventura:  Pet Detective.  Jim Carrey was an unknown at this point.  He'd done a few films in mostly unmemorable roles and he was known as the white guy on In Living Color.  Ace Ventura was the film that launched his career but it's a miracle it got made.  Carrey was once quoted as saying that, "we have a film where a man talks out of his ass, literally....kind of hard to get someone believe in that."  But somehow Warner Brothers believed in it and on a budget of 15 million dollars, it made 107 million WW.  And a star was born.  Carrey earned $350,000 for Ace Ventura and then half a million for The Mask, which came out 5 months later.  By the time he agreed to do Dumb and Dumber,  film that came out the same year, he earned 7 million for it.  But first back to the Mask.  

 

 

The Mask is a fantasy comedy directed by Charles Russell, produced by Bob Engelman, and written by Mike Werb, loosely based on the comic series of the same name distributed by Dark Horse Comics. The film stars Jim Carrey, Peter Greene, Amy Yasbeck, Peter Riegert, Richard Jeni, Ben Stein, Joely Fisher, and Cameron Diaz in her film debut. It revolves around an unlucky bank clerk finding a mask that grants the wearer cartoon-like superpowers.

The film was released on July 29, 1994 by New Line Cinema, becoming a critical and commercial blockbuster, grossing over $351.6 million over a $23 million budget and receiving positive reviews. It cemented Carrey's reputation as a dominant actor of the 1990s, and established Diaz long-term as a leading lady. Carrey was nominated for a Golden Globe for his role, and the film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects but lost to Forrest Gump.

 

 

The Mask came out in the middle of summer and established Carrey as a box office giant.  

 

Dumber and Dumber was the biggest hit domestically, making 127 million and WW taking in 247 million.  It has gone on to become known as one of the funniest films ever made and it took Carrey to an all new pay scale and put the Farrely's on the map.  Dumb and Dumber is a comedy road film starring Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels. It was written by the Farrelly brothers and Bennett Yellin, and is the Farrelly brothers' directorial debut. The film tells the story of Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne, two unintelligent but well-meaning friends from Providence, Rhode Island who set out on a cross-country trip to Aspen, Colorado to return a briefcase full of money to its owner, only to be pursued by a group of criminals who are after the briefcase.

The film was released on December 16, 1994. It grossed $247 million at the box office and has developed a cult following in the years since its release.

 

 

Jim Carrey, based on the box-office success of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, received a salary of $7 million for this film.

Jeff Daniels was only paid around $50,000 (later he took home a bonus of about a million). New Line Cinema originally didn't want Daniels in the film, as he was known only for his dramatic work at the time. The Farrelly brothers fought to have him cast and won out, but the studio offered Daniels the low salary hoping he would turn down the film. Daniels ultimately accepted the role.

Steve Martin and Martin Short both turned down the role of Lloyd. According to Splitsider, Nicolas Cage and Gary Oldman were the original choices for Harry and Lloyd.Chris Elliott and Rob Lowe were both considered for the role of Harry.

Jim Carrey's chipped tooth is genuine, resulting from a tussle with a schoolfellow in his boyhood, but he had since had it capped. He simply had the crown temporarily removed from that tooth to portray Lloyd.

 

Jim Carrey launched himself to super-stardom in 1994.

 

Number seven for the year was the follow up to Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger.  Clear and Present Danger is a spy thriller film directed by Phillip Noyce and based on Tom Clancy's novel of the same name. It was preceded by the 1990 film The Hunt for Red October and the 1992 film Patriot Games, all three featuring Clancy's character Jack Ryan. It is the last film version of Clancy's novels to feature Harrison Ford as Ryan and James Earl Jones as Vice Admiral James Greer, as well as the final installment directed by Noyce.

As in the novel, Ryan is appointed CIA Acting Deputy Director, and discovers he is being kept in the dark by colleagues who are conducting a covert war against a drug cartel in Colombia, apparently with the approval of the President. The film premiered in theaters in the United States on August 3, 1994, and was a major financial success, earning over $200 million at the box office.

 

Finishing number 8 domestically but number 5 WW is the Die Hard on a bus film, Speed.  Speed is an action thriller film directed by Jan de Bont in his feature film directorial debut. The film stars Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, Sandra Bullock, Joe Morton, Alan Ruck, and Jeff Daniels. It became a surprise critical and commercial success, winning two Academy Awards, for Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing, at the 67th Academy Awards in early 1995. The film tells the story of an LAPD cop who tries to rescue civilians on a city bus rigged with a bomb programmed to explode if the bus slows down.

 

 

Screenwriter Graham Yost was told by his father, Canadian television host Elwy Yost, about a film called Runaway Train starring Jon Voight, about a train that speeds out of control. The film was based on an idea by Akira Kurosawa. Elwy mistakenly believed that the train's situation was due to a bomb on board. Such a theme had in fact been used in the 1975 Japanese film The Bullet Train. After seeing the Voight film, Graham decided that it would have been better if there had been a bomb on board a bus with the bus being forced to travel at 20 mph to prevent an actual explosion. A friend suggested that this be increased to 50 mph. The film's end was inspired by the end of the 1976 film Silver Streak. The shooting script underwent extensive re-writes by script doctor Joss Whedon. According to Yost: "Joss Whedon wrote 98.9 percent of the dialogue. We were very much in sync, it's just that I didn't write the dialogue as well as he did."

 

Director Jan DeBont cast Keanu Reeves after he saw him in Point Break.  He felt that he showed vulnerability and that he was good looking enough so that the ladies would like him.  Sandra Bullock was cast after they finally decided to go in a different direction than originally intended.  She was supposed to be the comic relief...and Ellen DeGeneres was considered for the role.  Once they changed it to a love interest, Bullock came in to read with Reeves and apparently their chemistry was off the charts.  

 

When Reeves was cast, he objected to much of the script.  He told Whedon that Travern came across as a caricature....there were too many forced one liners and Reeves felt that it cheapened the movie.  Whedon agreed with him and rewrote him to be much more stoic, much more iron-jawed.  Reeves liked it.  He also had a great respect for the LAPD, working with them on Point Break.  Reeves spent the next two months in the gym and with a nutritionist.  He gained about 20 pounds for the role.  

 

Everything worked, it all came together and not only did Speed go on to become one of the biggest films of the year, it has become one of the all time great action films of out time.  And it was another hit for Jeff Daniels.  

 

Speed was made for 30 million and took in more than 350 million WW.

 

Number ten for the year, is probably one of, if not the most influential film of the last 25 years.  Pulp Fiction is a black comedy neo-noir crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, from a story by Tarantino and Roger Avary. Directed in a highly stylized manner, Pulp Fiction connects the intersecting storylines of Los Angeles mobsters, fringe players, small-time criminals, and a mysterious briefcase. The film's title refers to the pulp magazines and hardboiled crime novels popular during the mid-20th century, known for their graphic violence and punchy dialogue.

The screenplay of Pulp Fiction was written in 1992 and 1993, and incorporated some scenes originally written by Avary for True Romance. Its plot, as in many of Tarantino's other works, is presented out of chronological order. The film is also self-referential from its opening moments, beginning with a title card that gives two dictionary definitions of "pulp". Considerable screen time is devoted to monologues and casual conversations with eclectic dialogue revealing each character's perspectives on several subjects, and the film features an ironic combination of humor and strong violence. Its script was reportedly turned down by Columbia TriStar as "too demented". Miramax co-chairman Harvey Weinstein was instantly enthralled with it, however, and the film became the first that Miramax fully financed.

 

 

Pulp Fiction won the Palme d'Or at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival, and was a major critical and commercial success upon its U.S. release. It revitalized the careers of John Travolta (who received an Academy Award nomination), Samuel L. Jackson, and Uma Thurman. It was also nominated for seven Oscars, including Best Picture; Tarantino and Avary won for Best Original Screenplay. The nature of its development, marketing, and distribution – and its consequent profitability – had a sweeping effect on the field of independent cinema.

 

Pulp Fiction is taught in film school and is easily one of the most quoted films of all time.  It also gave new life to John Travolta as it made him a star.  Samuel L. Jackson has never looked back either and has been one of the most in demand and busiest actors since 1994.  Tarantino is famous for casting has beens, current stars, TV icons, foreign film legends and everything in between.  Because of his encyclopedic like knowledge in all genres and country of origin, he has a litany of actors he likes to choose from for his films.  It's one of the true strengths of Pulp Fiction.  John Travolta was a pariah at this point in his career.  Harvey Keitel helped him get Reservoir Dogs made so he was a huge name.  Then you had guys like Eric Stoltz, Amanda Plummer and Christopher Walken.  All well known actors but far from giants.  The biggest name of course was Bruce Willis....and all of it worked.  The cast is one of the best parts of the movie.  

 

The film was made for 8 million dollars and made 107 million domestic and WW it took in 214 million dollars.  If anyone is interested in my original review of Pulp Fiction (which might be the best review I've ever written, if I can say so), here it is:

 

I'm on the muthfucka....I'm sending in the wolf!

 

Coming in at number 21 was one of the funniest films (that didn't star Jim Carrey) of 1994.  Four Weddings and a Funeral is a British romantic comedy directed by Mike Newell. It was the first of several films by screenwriter Richard Curtis to feature Hugh Grant, and follows the adventures of Charles (Grant) and his circle of friends through a number of social occasions as they each encounter romance. Andie MacDowell stars as Charles' love interest Carrie, with Kristin Scott Thomas, James Fleet, Simon Callow, John Hannah, Charlotte Coleman, David Bower, Corin Redgrave and Rowan Atkinson in supporting roles.

It was made in six weeks and cost under £3 million, becoming an unexpected success and the highest-grossing British film in cinema history at the time, with worldwide box office in excess of $245.7 million, and receiving Academy Award nominations for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. In addition to this, Grant won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, and the film also won the BAFTA Awards Best Film, Best Direction and Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Scott Thomas.

In 1999, Four Weddings and a Funeral placed 23rd on the British Film Institute's Top 100 British films list.

 

 

Richard Curtis was inspired to write this film after realizing he had been to 72 weddings in 10 years.  Andie McDowell took a gamble and declined to be paid, taking percentage points.  This got her a payday of around 3 million which was about 30X what Hugh Grant's salary was.  MacDowell wasn't the first choice.  But she got the part due to the two other actresses dealing with sick family members.  Marisa Tomei was originally cast but her grandfather was sick. She later said that he told her she should have taken the part and to this day, she is still regretful for not taking it.  Jeanne Triplehorn was then cast but her mother passed away suddenly so she had to drop out as well.

 

And finally coming in at number 155 for the year is one of my all time favourite films.....CLERKS.  This is the film that launched Kevin Smith's career.  

 

Kevin Smith had no experience making films but he was a good writer.  So he sold his massive comic collection, maxed out 5 credit cards, used money set aside for collage and with the $27,000 he amassed, he made the film almost entirely at night.  The Quick Stop convenience store where Smith worked was the primary setting for the film. He was only allowed to film in the store at night while it was closed (from 10:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.), hence the plot point of the shutters being closed due to a vandal having jammed gum in the padlocks. Because Smith was working at Quick Stop during the day and shooting the film at night, he slept no more than an hour a day. By the end of the 21-day shoot, Smith was unable to stay awake while some of the most climactic scenes of the film were shot.

 

 

When released, the film was noted for its realism and memorable characters. Clerks won the "Award of the Youth" and the "Mercedes-Benz Award" at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival, tied with Fresh for the "Filmmakers Trophy" at the Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards (Best First Feature, Best First Screenplay and Jeff Anderson for Best Debut Performance). In 2000, readers of Total Film magazine voted Clerks the 16th greatest comedy film of all time and in 2006, British film magazine Empire listed Clerks as the 4th greatest independent film. The film is also No. 33 on Bravo's 100 Funniest Movies. In 2008, Entertainment Weekly ranked it 13th on "The Cult 25: The Essential Left-Field Movie Hits Since '83" and 21st on "The Comedy 25: The Funniest Movies of the Past 25 Years". Also in 2008, Empire named it one of their "500 Greatest Movies of All-Time" placing it 361st on the list. The film was also one of the 500 films nominated for a spot on AFI's 100 Years…100 Laughs but failed to make the top 100. The film was also included in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.

 

Clerks features two absolutely brilliant performances from Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson.  Jay and Silent Bob, the characters, played by Smith and long time friend Jason Mewes, add some good comedy and the end features Silent Bob's only line but it's a memorable one.  However the film is so low budget that the editing at times in very apparent.  There's even a scene where Jason Mewes messes up a line and says, "Wait, I fucked up."  But due to budget and time constraints, it's kept in the film.  Clerks is first and foremost known for it's realistic and snappy dialogue.  The script is brilliant, funny, relevant and is detailed and observant.  There's also some great Star Wars talk in it.  Clerks went on to gross 3 million at the box office and it made a star out of Kevin Smith.

 

There are so many other films that should be mentioned in 1994.  Shawshank Redemption could have and perhaps should have won best picture.  Ed Wood got the late Martin Landau his first and only Oscar.  The Color of Night didn't make a dent at the box office but it was known for almost being pornographic as Bruce Willis and Jane March steam up the screen.  City Slickers II disappointed.  Beverly Hills Cop III tanked.  Reality Bites was one of the Seattle themed films.  Stallone and Stone had a hit with the Specialist......but again, there is only so much that I can cover here.

 

THIS WAS 1994

[John Marston]

1994 was awesome!

 

 

Shawshank, Pulp Fiction,. and Lion King are all wonderful

 

 

Forrest Gump isn't quite as good as the awards make it out to but it is still a charming film

 

 

I watched The Mask over and over again as a kid. One of my favorite Carrey movies. And Speed, fucking love it. Watched it a million times and still has so much rewatchability factor

 

Clear and Present Danger is terrific. One of the best adult blockbusters
ever

 

and True Lies is awesome and one of Cameron's best movies. Screw the haters

 

 

I also really like Stargate with Kurt Russell and James Spader

 

 

also in 1994, we had one of the biggest critical and commercial flops of all time. Rob Reiner's North. 

Edited July 18, 2017 by John Marston

[baumer]

@damnitgeorge08 @Kalo @narniadis 

[baumer]

Sorry tagging isn't working now

[Chaz]

In another "Hollywood shocker," Disney never thought that The Lion King would be the monster that it became. They expected 1995's Pocahontas to be the prestige pic that would finally win them the Best Picture Oscar. Jeffery Katzenberg is even on record in 1993 as saying that The Lion King will be a fine movie, but it wouldn't be anything compared to Pocahontas.

 

Ridiculous today, but hindsight is 20/20. The Lion King has sold more tickets than any animated movie of the last 50 years. It was the best-selling VHS of all-time, the third best-selling DVD of all-time, and in the top 10 best-selling Blu-rays of all time. A new Blu-ray edition releases on August 29.

[Chaz]

Zemeckis definitely peaked in '94. His directorial output in the years since has been way more misses than hits - What Lies Beneath, Cast Away and The Polar Express being the only shimmering lights in his filmography post Forrest Gump.

Edited July 19, 2017 by Chaz

[baumer]

3 hours ago, Chaz said:

Zemeckis definitely peaked in '94. His directorial output in the years sense has been way more misses than hits - What Lies Beneath, Cast Away and The Polar Express being the only shimmering lights in his filmography post Forrest Gump.

 

He's probably still counting his money from Gump.

[baumer]

@75live @Telemachos @Subzero

[cannastop]

16 minutes ago, Chaz said:

In another "Hollywood shocker," Disney never thought that The Lion King would be the monster that it became. They expected 1995's Pocahontas to be the prestige pic that would finally win them the Best Picture Oscar. Jeffery Katzenberg is even on record in 1993 as saying that The Lion King will be a fine movie, but it wouldn't be anything compared to Pocahontas.

 

Ridiculous today, but hindsight is 20/20. The Lion King has sold more tickets than any animated movie of the last 50 years. It was the best-selling VHS of all-time, the third best-selling DVD of all-time, and in the top 10 best-selling Blu-rays of all time. A new Blu-ray edition releases on August 29.

Not to mention the extraordinarily successful 2011 re-release. #1 for two weeks for a movie everyone already had on DVD! It had even been released in IMAX in 2002! People just couldn't get enough.

[Fancyarcher]

Great write-up Baumer. 1994 is an incredible year. Gump is practically the movie that got me into my love of films as a kid, and I'm glad you decided to spotlight Carrey as well. It was truly the year of "Carrey". For an actor who was only known up until that point for being a predominant minorty-led sketch show, he didn't do so bad for himself. 

[cannastop]

The Lion King was my first movie obsession. Got me interested in movies in general, too.

[Fancyarcher]

2 minutes ago, cannastop said:

Not to mention the extraordinarily successful 2011 re-release. #1 for two weeks for a movie everyone already had on DVD! It had even been released in IMAX in 2002! People just couldn't get enough.

 

Yeah The Lion King status as a huge film is undeniable. Heck the remake's going to prove the films classic status when the live-action remake opens to 190m+ opening weekend. 

[Fancyarcher]

3 minutes ago, cannastop said:

The Lion King was my first movie obsession. Got me interested in movies in general, too.

 

The Disney animated films in general definitely had an impact on my love for film, like any kid. I remember I had a stacked collection of VHS tapes of them growing-up, and just could not get enough. The Lion King was definitely my favorite. I could not stop singing Hakuna Matata, and I Just Can't Wait To Be King, think I even drew my mom bonkers. I even played the video game on the genesis, I was that obsessed with the film.

Edited July 19, 2017 by Fancyarcher

[baumer]

3 hours ago, Fancyarcher said:

Great write-up Baumer. 1994 is an incredible year. Gump is practically the movie that got me into my love of films as a kid, and I'm glad you decided to spotlight Carrey as well. It was truly the year of "Carrey". For an actor who was only known up until that point for being a predominant minorty-led sketch show, he didn't do so bad for himself. 

 

Until i did the research, I had no idea he has three huge hits in 1994.  Has that ever happened before or since?  Has any one actor starred in three films (not as support, but as the above the title star) in one year where they all did incredibly well?  I don't think that has happened.  I could be wrong....maybe back in the 40's or 30's.

[baumer]

And to people like @Chaz, who I know are huge animation fans, sorry but I'm not so that's why it may seem that TLK write up isn't very informative.  I don't have a lot of personal energy invested in it.

[Kalo]

1994 was one of- if not the best year for film in history, Lion King being my favorite animated film of all time (tied with BATB), Dumb and Dumber one of my favorite comedies ever, Shawshank one of the best movies ever made, even though I find Pulp Fiction not quite my tempo it is still very good, not to mention Leon. Speed is great, Forrest Gump is great, The Mask is pretty sinking funny too, funny thing is my little sister was obsessed with that movie when she was like 5, probably an age a little too young to be watching it. 

Edited July 19, 2017 by Kalo

[cannastop]

7 minutes ago, baumer said:

And to people like @Chaz, who I know are huge animation fans, sorry but I'm not so that's why it may seem that TLK write up isn't very informative.  I don't have a lot of personal energy invested in it.

I disagree. The write-up is actually very informative.

[Fancyarcher]

12 minutes ago, baumer said:

 

Until i did the research, I had no idea he has three huge hits in 1994.  Has that ever happened before or since?  Has any one actor starred in three films (not as support, but as the above the title star) in one year where they all did incredibly well?  I don't think that has happened.  I could be wrong....maybe back in the 40's or 30's.

 

Chevy Chase in 1985 (Spies Like Us, Fletch, & European Vacation) comes to mind, also I believe Bing Crosby had three big hits back in the 1940's or 1930's in one particular year. 

Edited July 19, 2017 by Fancyarcher