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

[MrPink]

1 minute ago, TalismanRing said:

 

Damn. 

 

I haven't seen The Mummy but I read reviews calling it was the worst ever Cruise film which I find impossible to believe because Cocktail exits. 

 

 

 

Well...

 

I'm that dude who loves Kokomo, even though it's trash tier Beach Boys. 

 

That's about the only positive for me

[baumer]

Doesn't Elizabeth Shue show her stupendous in Cocktail?

[baumer]

Coming up in 1994....back to back best actor wins.

The circle of life

The one that says Bad Muthafucka

A snow cone maker?

[baumer]

And for those of you who want the whole piece together for continuity, here it is....1993 in it's entirety.

 

 

1993....the year Spielberg shattered records....and grew up.  Or so they say.  

 

 

 

 

      

 

I'm going to start 1993 off with a tribute to my favourite director.  Steven Spielberg.

 

Spielberg made his splash in 1975 when he directed his second film.  JAWS was the best film of 1975 and the best film ever made, and in my humble opinion (as most of you know by this point) it's a perfect film.  It was sadly only nominated for 4 Academy Awards and sadly Spielberg wasn't one of those nominated.  This happened to him again in 1985 when The Color Purple was nominated for 11 Oscars and he was not recognized in the directing category.  I don't know what goes on behind the scenes, but Oscars are famous for petty omissions.  Maybe Spielberg slept with someone's wife.  Maybe members of the academy at him for being partially responsible for changing the way films were made.  There could be any number of reasons that Spielberg was ignored in both JAWS and Color Purple.  Even beyond those two films, when he was nominated for Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark and E.T., those films would generally win tech awards but never anything for the picture, the acting or the directing.  Spielberg, as it was rumoured, was just too young and too successful at too young an age.  So instead you had forgettable films and directors like Annie Hall, Woody Allen win best picture in 1977. In 1981, a good film won best picture in Chariots of Fire.  And you had a Hollywood legend and icon win best director in Warren Beatty for Reds (ever heard of Reds?  Nope, most haven't.) Then you had the "important" film of 1982 win, Gandhi.  Spielberg made escapist films.  Spielberg made films for children.  Spielberg was too young and hadn't paid his dues.  There were all kinds of whispers and innuendo coming out of the Hollywoodelite as to why Spielberg was being ignored.  One anonymous academy member was quoted as saying that he could name 50 films better than E.T. in 1982.  I'd love to know who this twat is.  Even Richard Attenborough was surprised that Gandhi won.  The theories of jealousy just would not go away.  

 

Finally in 1993, all of this changed as Spielberg did what no other director in film history had ever done.  He made two films in one year.  The first shattered box office records and the second is perhaps one of the top films ever made, according to critics and Hollywood and this is something that just simply could not be ignored.  Jurassic Park was something Spielberg gambled on.  He didn't take a salary for Jurassic Park, instead opting for a percentage of the gross.  He also didn't have time to do post production on Jurassic Park as he had to get Schindler's List done so it could get a winter release.  Schindler's List was green lit only on the condition that Spielberg agree to direct Jurassic Park first. Spielberg did so, but left post-production work to George Lucas, while Spielberg left to begin work on Schindler's.  Not only did Spielberg not take a salary on Jurassic Park, he refused to take one for Schindler's List.  So he basically worked for a year without a single paycheck coming in.  He refused to take any money from Schindler's List because he didn't want to profit off of the Holocaust.  To this day (according to Kathleen Kennedy and Spielberg himself) Spielberg hasn't taken a dime from Schindler's List.  

 

And so finally, in 1993, the Academy could no longer ignore Spielberg.  First he goes out and smashes the opening weekend record with Jurassic Park.  It also became the first film to gross more than 900 million world wide and maybe even more importantly, Jurassic Park was a life line for Hollywood.  The year had started off kind of slowly and even the summer wasn't off to the best start.  Before Jurassic Park, Indecent Proposal was the biggest film of the year with just over 100 million.  World Wide, Stallone's Cliffhanger took in 225 million.  So the year was not off to a good start.  But as soon as Jurassic Park hit the multiplexes, things changed.  ”It jump-started the whole summer,” says Warner Bros. distribution president Barry Reardon. ”Jurassic is making the market grow,” said Paramount distribution president Wayne Lewellen.  Soon after, Sleepless in Seattle, The Firm and In The Line of Fire did big business.  And according to the industry, Jurassic Park was at least partially responsible for this.  

 

Jurassic Park even did 3.1 million in midnight business...before midnight's were even a thing.  Jurassic Park became the highest-grossing film released worldwide up to that time. Following $3.1 million from midnight screenings on June 10, the film earned $47 million in its first weekend, with the $50.1 million total breaking the opening weekend record set by Batman Returns the year before. By the end of its first week, Jurassic Park had grossed $81.7 million, and stayed at number one for three weeks. It eventually grossed $357 million in the U.S. and Canada. Box Office Mojo estimates that the film sold over 86.2 million tickets in the US in its initial theatrical run. The film also did very well in international markets, breaking opening records in the United Kingdom, Japan, India, South Korea, Mexico, and Taiwan, ultimately earning $914 million worldwide,  with Spielberg reportedly making over $250 million from the film.  It surpassed Spielberg's own E.T. the Extraterrestrial as the highest-grossing film ever worldwide, and became second to E.T. in North America earnings.  Jurassic Park's record was only surpassed in 1998 by Titanic, the first film to gross over $1 billion.  ”He bet on himself and won,” said Lawrence Kasanoff, producer of James Cameron’s True Lies. ”He produced a blockbuster.”

 

Following an extensive $65 million marketing campaign, which included licensing deals with 100 companies, Jurassic Park not only became a hit with audiences,  it was well received by critics, who praised its special effects, John Williams' musical score, and Spielberg's direction. Following a 3D re-release in 2013 to celebrate its 20th anniversary, Jurassic Park became the 17th film to surpass 1 billion in ticket sales, and the film ranks among the 25 highest-grossing films ever. The film won more than twenty awards, including three Academy Awards for its technical achievements in visual effects and sound design. Jurassic Park is considered a landmark in the development of computer-generated imagery and animatronic visual effects, and was followed by three commercially successful sequels, The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), Jurassic Park III (2001), and Jurassic World (2015). The fifth film, titled Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is scheduled for a June 2018 release(much to @Telemachos ) chagrin.

 

And this was just the start of Spielberg's year.  I'll get to the rest of it, including his emotional speech at the Oscars.  Make no mistake about it.  1993 was the year that Spielberg finally, could not be ignored.  

 

 

On to part two.....The film that won Spielberg his first Oscar.  With Spielberg leaving Jurassic Park in good hands with his best friend and fellow wunderkid film-maker, George Lucas, Spielberg left the comforts of Hollywood and ventured to cold and desolate and seemingly haunted Krakow, Poland.  Principal photography began on March 1, 1993 with a planned schedule of 75 days. The crew shot at or near the actual locations, though the Płaszów camp had to be reconstructed in a nearby abandoned quarry, as modern high rise apartments were visible from the site of the original camp. Interior shots of the factory in Kraków were filmed at a similar facility in Olkusz, while exterior shots and the scenes on the factory stairs were filmed at the actual factory. The crew was forbidden to do extensive shooting or construct sets on the grounds at Auschwitz, so they shot at a replica constructed just outside the entrance. There were some antisemitic incidents. A woman who encountered Fiennes in his Nazi uniform told him that "the Germans were charming people. They didn't kill anybody who didn't deserve it". Antisemitic symbols were scrawled on billboards near shooting locations, while Ben Kingsley nearly entered a brawl with an elderly German-speaking businessman who insulted Israeli actor Michael Schneider. Nonetheless, Spielberg stated that at Passover, "all the German actors showed up. They put on yarmulkes and opened up Haggadas, and the Israeli actors moved right next to them and began explaining it to them. And this family of actors sat around and race and culture were just left behind."

"I was hit in the face with my personal life. My upbringing. My Jewishness. The stories my grandparents told me about the Shoah. And Jewish life came pouring back into my heart. I cried all the time."—Steven Spielberg on his emotional state during the shoot.

 

 

Shooting Schindler's List was deeply emotional for Spielberg, the subject matter forcing him to confront elements of his childhood, such as the antisemitism he faced. He was surprised that he did not cry while visiting Auschwitz; instead he found himself filled with outrage. He was one of many crew members who could not force themselves to watch during shooting of the scene where aging Jews are forced to run naked while being selected by Nazi doctors to go to Auschwitz.  Spielberg commented that he felt more like a reporter than a film maker – he would set up scenes and then watch events unfold, almost as though he were witnessing them rather than creating a movie.  Several actresses broke down when filming the shower scene, including one who was born in a concentration camp. Spielberg, his wife Kate Capshaw, and their five children rented a house in suburban Kraków for the duration of filming.  He later thanked his wife "for rescuing me ninety-two days in a row ... when things just got too unbearable".  Robin Williams called Spielberg to cheer him up, given the profound lack of humor on the set. Spielberg spent several hours each evening editing Jurassic Park, which was scheduled to premiere in June 1993.

 

When the film was released, it became an instant hit not just domestically, but world wide.  It made more than 300 million which means that Spielberg's two films he directed grossed more than 1.2 billion dollars.  This is the film that critics say he grew up on.  He became a man.  He became a film maker and as such he was awarded his first best director Oscar.  I call bullshit on this.  Spielberg didn't grow up in 1993.  He just made a film that was "important" enough that the academy simply couldn't ignore.  Schindler's List is an out of body experience and one of the few films that got inside of me.  It's expertly made, full of rage and emotion and Spielberg created some truly mind blowing shots.  But this wasn't any better than Jaws or ET.  It wasn't better directed than Raiders of Close Encounters.  But because it's a film of historic importance, the academy felt that now, at the age of 47, he had matured enough that he deserved the Oscar.  The thought process is all wrong imo.  Spielberg has made many classics and they each, in their own way deserved to be recognized more.  Schindler's List may have been the film that elevated Spielberg's status to a bunch of troglodytes, but it should not have taken that long to get there.

 

 

 Though the film won seven Oscars in 1994 — including best picture and best director — and cemented his legendary status, Spielberg reportedly lost interest in filmmaking because of the emotionally draining nature of the film. Spielberg says he contemplated retirement. He had no desire to get back in the game. 

"I just didn't," Spielberg said, explaining his four-year hiatus after the release of the film. "I could not."

In response to a question about whether working on "Schindler's List" sent him into a depression, Spielberg initially said yes and then backtracked.

"I've never been depressed," he said. "I was sad and isolated, and as well-received and successful as that movie was, I think it was the trauma of telling the story and forming the Shoah Foundation."

In the years after the film's release, according to THR, Spielberg spent his time "sending videographers to interview Holocaust survivors," but he began to lose interest in feature films.

"I started to wonder, was 'Schindler's List' going to be the last film I would direct?" Spielberg recalled.

But in 1997, Spielberg said, the prospect of directing a sequel to one of his most commercially successful films "seized [him] one day like a thunderbolt," and he returned to the movie industry with the release of "The Lost World: Jurassic Park."

"I just needed time," Spielberg said.

 

I was 3 years old when JAWS came out.  In fact I saw JAWS 2 before I saw JAWS.  I liked JAWS 2 better at one point, perhaps when I was 7 years old.  There was more shark and the kids on the boats were cooler than the three men on the Orca.  By the time I turned 12, Indy and Rambo and Predator were my favourite films.  ET was mixed in there as well.  I had a friend named Travis Kennedy, who simply loved JAWS and any time we would talk about our favourite films, he would gush over JAWS.  It would take me until I was about 16 years old (1988) before I started to love and appreciate JAWS the way I do now.  For my 17th birthday, my grandmother (who was famous for buying us ugly and itchy sweaters with birds on the front of them, for Christmas) bought me the greatest gift I had ever received.  She got me JAWS on VHS.  I was so thrilled I almost kissed her....almost.  

 

I watched that movie every night for two years straight.  That's about 700 times.  Once I got to understand the brilliance of it, it became like a drug.  I just couldn't put it down.  Spielberg, like he did in JAWS and Raiders and ET, eventually did the same thing in Schindler's List.  He could make us understand what he was feeling.  He had a hard time filming Schindler's List so we better have a hard time watching it.  The girl in red.  The kid hiding in the shitter.  Goeth using Jews as target practise.  The asshole Nazi who tried unsuccessfully to shoot the JEW because he couldn't make product fast enough.  Schindler's emotional breakdown about how he could have saved more.  And so on.  These are scenes that have stayed with me and Spielberg had a hand in this.  

 

During his acceptance speech for best director, Spielberg mentions that he has friends who have won the Oscar....and that he had never held an oscar before this night.  He also says that the film could have never have been made without a Holocaust Survivor named Polak Pfefferberg, who Oscar saved.He's the man who talked Thomas Keneally into writing the book.  Also during his speech he mentions his wife, actress Kate Capshaw, who rescued him for 92 days during the film of the movie as he found it to be unbearable at night sometimes.  

 

I mention all of this because I personally find 1993 to be one of the greatest years in film.  It's not that Jurassic Park and Schindler's list are two of my favourite movies ever made, because they are not.  I liked Jurassic Park and I respect Schindler's List immensely.  But to do what Spielberg did, to create two masterpieces in two very different ways, is nothing short of miraculous.  Box office wise, Spielberg had the number one film domestically and WW and the number 9 film domestically but number four WW.  It's a feat that I personally don't see being duplicated.  It would be like Christopher Nolan releasing TDK and Dunkirk in the same year and Dunkirk going on to win best picture.  It was truly a special year for arguably the greatest director of all time.

 

I'll get to the rest of 1993 later tonight.  But Spielberg deserved a tribute all to himself.

 

 

 

THIS IS THE REST OF 1993

 

Coming in at number two for 1993 was the Robin Williams/Sally Field comedy, Mrs. Doubtfire.  Mrs. Doubtfire is a comedy-drama film directed by Chris Columbus and written by Randi Mayem Singer and Leslie Dixon, based on Madame Doubtfire by Anne Fine. It stars Robin Williams (who also served as co-producer), Sally Field, Pierce Brosnan, Harvey Fierstein and Robert Prosky. It follows a recently divorced actor who dresses up as a female housekeeper to be able to interact with his children. The film addresses themes of divorce, separation and the effect it has on a family.

The film was released in the United States on November 24, 1993. It won the Academy Award for Best Makeup and the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. For his performance in the film, Robin Williams was awarded the Golden Globe for Best Actor.

Although the film received mixed reviews during its original theatrical run, more recent reviews have been much more positive: the film was placed 67th in the American Film Institute's 100 Years, 100 Laughs: America's Funniest Movies and was also rated No. 40 on Bravo's 100 Funniest Movies of All Time. The original music score was composed by Howard Shore. The film was released in the United Kingdom on January 28, 1994, and topped the country's box office that weekend.

 

 

Mrs. Doubtfire, as mentioned, as grown to become one of William's most loved roles.  This is a role that was made for his zany persona and manic, energized ethos.  There are scenes in this film where he goes back and forth as the dad and as Mr.s Doubtfire and there is little doubt that no one could really do what Williams does in this.  IMHO, he should have been nominated for best actor.  

 

The film earned $219 million domestically  $222 mill in other countries, for a worldwide total of $441.2M making it the highest grossing cross-dressing film. It became the second highest grossing film of 1993, behind only Jurassic Park.  It was also made for a sliver of other blockbusters, 25 million.

 

Number three for the year, and one of my favourite films of all time, is The Fugitive.  The Fugitive is an action-thriller based on the 1960s television series of the same name created by Roy Huggins. It was directed by Andrew Davis and stars Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones. After being wrongfully convicted for the murder of his wife, Dr. Richard Kimble  escapes from custody and sets out to prove his innocence while pursued by a team of U.S. Marshals led by Deputy Samuel Gerard.

The Fugitive premiered in the United States on August 6, 1993, and was a major critical and commercial success.  It was nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture; Jones won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. It was followed by a 1998 sequel, U.S. Marshals, in which Jones reprised his role as Gerard.

 

 

Harrison Ford was not originally cast for the role of Dr. Kimble. Instead, a number of actors were auditioned for the part, including Alec Baldwin, Nick Nolte, Kevin Costner, and Michael Douglas. Nolte in particular felt he was too old for the role despite only being a year older than Ford. Although the role of Gerard went to Tommy Lee Jones, Gene Hackman and Jon Voight were both considered for the role. The character of Dr. Nichols was recast for Jeroen Krabbé after the original actor who landed the role, Richard Jordan, fell ill with a brain tumour. Jordan subsequently died three weeks after the film's release.

 

I personally find the production of The Fugitive to be quite fascinating.  Harrison Ford took a great interest in the film and added a lot of critical changes to his character in order for it to become the film that we all know and love.  Tommy Lee Jones also had a few terrific ideas for his character.  There's the scene where he catches Kimble in the tunnel, just before Ford jumps over.  Kimble tells Gerard that he didn't kill his wife to which Gerard responds, "I don't care."  The original line was "That's not my problem."  Jones asked director Davis if he could change the line and Davis loved it and felt it fit much better.  Julian Moore appears in the film but only briefly.  Originally her character had a bigger role in the film even after she exposes him briefly. Kimble was to have sought her out for help and eventually fall for her. These scenes were filmed and deleted from the final cut of the film. This is the reason that her name is still credited as one of the main stars of the picture.  

 

There's a terrific scene in the police station when Kimble is getting interrogated.  According to the DVD commentary, the scene in which the Chicago police interrogate Richard Kimble was improvised. Harrison Ford had no idea what questions he would be asked.  It's one of the terrific scenes.  And during the parade when Gerard is chasing Kimble through the streets, it's 100% authentic in that it was not scripted. This was a later addition by Andrew Davis. Davis who is a native of the city, really wanted to capture the parade and was granted permission from the mayor's office to film the day of the parade. All shot with a hand held steady cam.  You can even see some really confused parade patrons looking at Jones with mild amusement.  They really had no idea what was going on.

 

 

There are so many tiny touches like this that made The Fugitive such a great film.  Box office wise, it was a behemoth.  The budget was 44 million and it made 378 million WW.

 

Number four for the year was The Firm.  The Firm is a legal thriller film directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Tom Cruise, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Gene Hackman, Ed Harris, Holly Hunter, Hal Holbrook, and David Strathairn.

The film is based on the 1991 novel The Firm by author John Grisham. The Firm was one of two films released in 1993 that was adapted from a Grisham novel, the other being The Pelican Brief.

 

Made for 44 million, it took in 270 million WW and 158 of that came from the domestic audience.  

 

I can't speak for now, but in 1993, it seems Cruise was really at the top of his game but he was also an egomaniac.  Gene Hackman's name did not appear on the release poster; due to Tom Cruise's deal with Paramount only his name could appear above the title. Hackman also wanted his name to appear above the credits, but when this was refused he asked for his name to be removed. His name does appear in the end credits.  This was his deal with Paramount.  When you look at films he has done with other studios, his name is always first, but others do get above the title credits. It's kind of interesting when you see this and then you start to look back at other Cruise films and you realize that he has not worked with a lot of actors or directors more than once.  The exception of course is the cast from Mission Impossible but that's a series of films.  It's also funny to see the Poster for The Color of Money and you see Newman's name first and Cruise's at the bottom.  I wonder if that pissed Tom off.

 

 

Number five was the second collaboration between Tom Hanks Meg Ryan, but this one came with much better results than Joe Vs The Volcano.  Sleepless in Seattle is a romantic comedy-drama directed and co-written by Nora Ephron, based on a story by Jeff Arch. The supporting cast features Bill Pullman, Ross Malinger, Rob Reiner, Rosie O'Donnell, Gaby Hoffmann, Victor Garber, and Rita Wilson. The film was a critical and commercial success, grossing over $220 million worldwide and 126 domestic on a budget of 21 million.  This film benefited from two very hot stars at the apex of their drawing power.  This would be Ryan's biggest commercial hit while Hanks would go on of course to have bigger hits but audiences clearly enjoyed seeing these two together.  For Tom Hanks, this would be a very big year for him.  Sleepless in Seattle was his big hit but he would also be nominated for and win best actor for a film we discuss later.  

 

It's amazing how things work.  This is one of the movies that cemented Meg Ryan as one of the biggest female draws in America.  But the role of Annie was originally offered to Julia Roberts, who turned it down. Kim Basinger was also offered the role in the early script process, but turned it down because she thought the premise was ridiculous. After Michelle Pfeiffer, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jodie Foster declined as well, Meg Ryan landed the role.

 

 

And finally, yes, audiences like Ryan and Hanks together but in this film they only share about 2 minutes of screen time together.....it doesn't feel like that but it's true.....this would be corrected in the next movie they starred in together.  

 

Number 6 was Demi Moore continuing her hot streak but this one in one of the more controversial films of the 90's.  Indecent Proposal is a drama based on the novel of the same name by Jack Engelhard. It was directed by Adrian Lyne and stars Robert Redford, Demi Moore, and Woody Harrelson.

 

This took in 106 million domestic and 266 WW on a budget of 38 million.  Adrian Lyne has made plenty of controversial films in his career, most of them of the sexual nature.  This one got people up in arms because for some reason they felt it made the woman look cheap.  But when you read the plot, it's anything but that.  

 

 

High school sweethearts David (Woody Harrelson) and Diana Murphy (Demi Moore) are a married couple who travel to Las Vegas, hoping they can win enough money to finance David's fantasy real estate project. They place their money on red in roulette and lose.

After gambling away all of their savings, they encounter billionaire John Gage (Robert Redford). Gage is attracted to Diana and offers them one million dollars to spend a night with her. After a difficult night, David and Diana decide to accept the offer, and a contract is signed the next day. Gage flies Diana to a private yacht where he offers her a chance to void the deal and return to her husband if he loses a toss of his lucky coin. Gage calls it correctly and she spends the night with him.

Although he had hoped to forget the whole incident, David grows increasingly insecure about his relationship with Diana, consumed with a fear that she remains involved with Gage; this insecurity is heightened by the fact that Diana discovers that Gage has bought their home/property while it was going into foreclosure. As tension between them builds, David and Diana separate.

Gage renews his advances on Diana. Although she initially resists, Diana eventually consents to spending time with him and a relationship develops. David, meanwhile, hits rock bottom and then slowly pulls his life back together. When Diana files for divorce, David signs the divorce papers and gives the million dollars away.

Diana tells Gage "I think we should talk". Gage, perhaps sensing what's coming, recognizes that, even if Diana stayed with him, their relationship would never achieve the intensity she had with David. Realizing that she longs to return to her husband, Gage makes up a story that she was only the latest in a long line of "million-dollar girls". Diana understands that Gage is doing this to make it easy for her to leave. Gage gives her his lucky coin, which is revealed to be double sided. She returns to the pier where David is waiting and he proposes. They join hands.

 

The only part of this I have a problem with is David giving away the million dollars.  This kind of bullshit only happens in Hollywood.  A million dollars is a lot of money and it can change your life.  Giving it away would never be an option.  NEVER!

 

Number seven for the year was one of my favourites as well.  In the Line of Fire is an action thriller, directed by Wolfgang Petersen and starring Clint Eastwood, John Malkovich and Rene Russo. Written by Jeff Maguire, the film is about a disillusioned and obsessed former CIA agent who attempts to assassinate the President of the United States and the Secret Service agent who tracks him. Eastwood's character is the sole active-duty Secret Service agent remaining from the detail guarding John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, at the time of his assassination in 1963. The film also stars Dylan McDermott, Gary Cole, John Mahoney, and Fred Thompson.

The film was co-produced by Columbia Pictures and Castle Rock Entertainment, with Columbia handling distribution. Eastwood and Petersen also originally offered the role of Leary to Robert De Niro, who turned it down due to scheduling conflicts with A Bronx Tale. 

 

 

In The Line of Fire benefited from the Kennedy assassination being hot again.  The 1991 film JFK got the country interested in the ordeal once again.  ITLOF was a giant hit taking in 102 million stateside and 180 million WW on a budget of 40 million.  IMO, this is one of the best action thrillers of all time, highlighted by an absolutely iconic and memorable performance by John Malkovich.  He would be nominated for best supporting actor and lose out to Tommy Lee Jones, and rightfully so....although both should have lost to an actor who wasn't even nominated.  We'll get to him a little bit later.  

 

Producer Jeff Apple began developing In the Line of Fire in the mid-1980s. He had planned on making a movie about a Secret Service Agent on detail during the Kennedy assassination since his boyhood. Apple was inspired and intrigued by a vivid early childhood memory of meeting Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson in person, surrounded by Secret Service Agents with earpieces in dark suits and sunglasses. The concept later struck Apple as an adolescent watching televised replays of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. In 1991, writer Jeff Maguire came aboard and completed the script that would become the movie.

 

Roger Ebert gave the film three and a half stars out of four, writing: "Most thrillers these days are about stunts and action. In the Line of Fire has a mind."

 

 

Number 8 was the second film based off a John Grisham novel in 1993.  The Pelican Brief is a legal political thriller based on the novel of the same name. Directed by Alan J. Pakula, the film stars Julia Roberts in the role of young law student Darby Shaw and Denzel Washington as Washington Herald reporter Gray Grantham. The film, which features music composed by James Horner, was the last film that featured Pakula as a writer or producer before his death.

 

 

John Grisham is one of the best novelists perhaps ever.  I've just finished three of his novels....The Firm, Rogue Lawyer and The Litigators.  I'm now on The Pelican Brief.  Being a former lawyer, he obviously knows the law better than most and he uses this knowledge to build worlds that seem real and tangible.  I felt that the movie was good but it also skips over some of the intriguing parts of the novel.  One really interesting thing about the novel is that Grisham wrote the part of Darby Shaw with Julia Roberts in mind.  Roberts read the book once it was finished, and agreed to the role without even seeing a script.   Denzel had some input on the outcome of the script.  The characters that Julia Roberts and he play in the film, become lovers in Grisham's novel. Although Roberts was interested in bringing that romance to the screen, Washington disagreed, and felt that the target audiences did not want to see an interracial romance. Thus, the romance never takes place in the film. 

 

The Pelican Brief was an expensive film with a budget of 45 million but it did take in 196 million WW.  

 

Number 9 was Schindler's List.  See above.

 

Number ten was one of the best action movies I've ever seen, Cliffhanger.  Cliffhanger is an action adventure directed by Renny Harlin and starring Sylvester Stallone, Michael Rooker, Janine Turner, and John Lithgow. Based on a concept by climber John Long, the film follows Gabe (played by Stallone, who co-wrote the screenplay), a mountain climber who becomes embroiled in the failed heist of a U.S. Treasury plane flying through the Rocky Mountains. The film earned $255 million worldwide.  But this came at a cost of 70 million.  In this case, you can see where the money went.

 

 

 

This is all straight from Wiki as I find the whole thing incredibly interesting and I think it's worth a read.

 

Carolco Pictures had originally signed Sylvester Stallone to appear opposite John Candy in a comedy about feuding neighbors titled Bartholomew Vs. Neff, which was going to be written and directed by John Hughes. When that project was dropped, Stallone became involved in another two Carolco projects. The first one was futuristic science fiction horror Isobar, which was about a genetically created monster who gets loose on a high speed runaway train. Between 1987, when Carolco first bought the original script by Jim Uhls for $400,000, and 1991, directors Ridley Scott and Roland Emmerich were each at different points in time attached to direct the film which would have $90 million budget and Stallone and Kim Basinger were going to play the main roles. However, due to disagreements between them and Carolco and producer Joel Silver about the script changes and lack of artistic freedom, both Scott and Emmerich gave up on the project, which in the end was cancelled.

 

The second Carolco project in which Stallone was involved was an action disaster thriller Gale Force, described as "Die Hard in a hurricane", which Renny Harlin was going to direct, and in which Stallone would play an ex Navy SEAL who has to fight against a group of modern pirates who attack some coastal town during a large hurricane. The first version of the script for the film was written by David Chappe in 1984, he wrote six more drafts between 1987 and 1989, and after his final draft received some praise and following the bidding war between several studios for it in 1989, Carolco bought his final draft for $500,000, with a promise of an additional $200,000 if the movie gets made. Harlin was paid $3 million for directing the film, but because his contract also gave him full control of the project, he demanded many re-writes of the script to, amongst other things, increase the action sequences and make them bigger. Between 1990 and 1991 while they were working on the project, Carolco spend over $4 million on all the different screenwriters and versions of the script. One of the screenwriters who worked on it was Joe Eszterhas who was paid $500,000 to write his version of the script. However he re-wrote it into an erotic thriller, similar to his previous screenplays, so it was rejected. Because they thought that intended $40 million budget would be too big, and since they couldn't figure out how to make special effects for the film, Carolco cancelled the project two weeks before production was supposed to begin, but Harlin still kept his $3 million, and he and Stallone and everyone else involved in it then moved to Cliffhanger, another Carolco project, which had a budget of $70 million, almost double that of Gale Force.

 

 

 

Half of the film's budget was provided by TriStar Pictures in exchange for complete distribution rights in North America, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, and France. Other funding was provided by Rizzoli-Corriere della Sera, Le Studio Canal+, and Pioneer Electric Corporation. The financing arrangement was the result of Carolco's serious debt issues, and as a result, the studio would ultimately receive very little of the box office gross.

 

The large majority of the film's scenes were shot in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Dolomites, Italy. For example, the bridge scene was shot on Monte Cristallo in the via ferrata VF Ivano Dibona, which was reconstructed immediately after the movie. The climbing was mostly on the Tofane cliffs, and in some scenes toward the end of the movie the audience clearly sees the three Tofane, the Croda da Lago, the village of Cortina; the location of this is on top of mount Faloria, at the arrival of the funivia Faloria. In other scenes viewers may recognize the sentiero ferrato Astaldi, over the Rifugio Dibona. The small house has been constructed on the sand of the river Boite, in Fiames, close to the heliport. Little filming took place in Durango, Colorado. The credits of the film also thank the Ute Tribe for filming in the Ute Mountain reservation.

 

Cliffhanger is in the Guinness Book of World Records for the costliest aerial stunt ever performed. Stuntman Simon Crane was paid $1 million to perform the aerial transfer scene, where he crossed between two planes at an altitude of 15,000 feet (4,600 m).

 

Number twelve was Philadelphia.  Philadelphia is a drama film and one of the first mainstream Hollywood films to acknowledge HIV/AIDS, homosexuality, and homophobia. It was written by Ron Nyswaner, directed by Jonathan Demme and stars Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington.

Hanks won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Andrew Beckett in the film, while the song "Streets of Philadelphia" by Bruce Springsteen won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Nyswaner was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, but lost to Jane Campion for The Piano.

 

 

The film was the first Hollywood big-budget, big-star film to tackle the issue of AIDS in the U.S. (following the TV movie And the Band Played On) and signaled a shift in Hollywood films toward more realistic depictions of gays and lesbians. According to a Tom Hanks interview for the 1995 documentary The Celluloid Closet, scenes showing more affection between him and Banderas were cut, including one with him and Banderas in bed together. The DVD edition, produced by Automat Pictures, includes this scene.

 

In his acceptance speech for best actor, Tom Hanks acknowledged to gay friends in his life, or from his past and mentioned that he was a better person for knowing both of them.  This was a huge watershed moment in Hollywood and in America.  A mainstream actor like Hanks was acknowledging the love between two gay men.  Philadelphia did a lot to bring the acceptance of gay themed films in Hollywood.  

 

It was made for 26 million and took in 206 million WW.

 

Number thirteen is one of the funniest films I've ever seen.  Groundhog Day is a fantasy-comedy film directed by Harold Ramis, starring Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, and Chris Elliott. It was written by Ramis and Danny Rubin, based on a story by Rubin. Murray plays Phil Connors, an arrogant Pittsburgh TV weatherman who, during an assignment covering the annual Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, finds himself caught in a time loop, repeating the same day again and again. After indulging in hedonism and committing suicide numerous times, he begins to re-examine his life and priorities.

On its release, Groundhog Day was a modest success and garnered generally positive reviews. It gained stronger appreciation among critics and film historians over time, and is now often listed among the best comedies ever. It further entered into the public consciousness, where the term "Groundhog Day" can represent a situation that seems to repeat over and over in government and military arenas, as well as influencing other entertainment. In 2006, the film was added to the United States National Film Registry as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

 

 

Harold Ramis has always been one of my favourite artists in Hollywood.  I first grew to love him in 1981 when Stripes became my most beloved film.  I found him to be equally as funny as Murray in the film.  Then he went on the direct in addition to his brilliant writing skills.  Groundhog Day is his opus.  To accomplish what he did in this film is almost a miracle.  The attention to detail that must have been adhered to in this film to make it as good as it is, must have been painstaking.  

 

I'm often sad when one of my favourite artists passes on.  But rarely do I still miss them years later.  I still miss John Candy, Bill Paxton and Harold Ramis.  Just a giant among men.  

 

GHD was made for 14 million and took in 70 million.

 

And finally coming in at number 20 is my favourite film of 1993, Tombstone.  Tombstone is a western directed by George P. Cosmatos, written by Kevin Jarre (who was also the original director, but was replaced early in production)  and starring basically everyone in Hollywood...Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, with Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton, Powers Boothe, Michael Biehn, and Dana Delany in supporting roles, as well as a narration by Robert Mitchum.  Billy Zane, Thomas Haden Church, Michael Rooker, Jason Priestly, Charleton Heston, Stephen Lang and Billy Bob Thornton all have small roles as well.

The film is based on events in Tombstone, Arizona, including the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and the Earp Vendetta Ride, during the 1880s. It depicts a number of western outlaws and lawmen, such as Wyatt Earp, William Brocius, Johnny Ringo, and Doc Holliday.

Tombstone was released by Hollywood Pictures in theatrical wide release in the United States on December 24, 1993, grossing $56.5 million in domestic ticket sales. The film was a financial success, and for the Western genre it ranks number 14 in the list of highest-grossing films since 1979. Critical reception was generally positive, but the film failed to garner award nominations for production merits or acting from any mainstream motion picture organizations.

 

 

Val Kilmer gives one of the ten best performances in film history, IMO.  He wasn't nominated for an Oscar and he should have been...in fact he should have won.  There is an excellent documentary on you-tube that gives a terrific behind the scenes look at this film.  If you like Tombstone, I'd highly recommend you watching it.

 

Tombstone made 56 million but was a huge hit on HV.

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBzNOpIn7Cc

 

And on a side note, Twilight director, Catherine Hardwicke was the production designer.  She too should have been nominated for an oscar.  

 

THIS WAS 1993

  

[75Live]

love seeing the Tombstone love here too.  I like a lot of the movies from 1993 but that may be on the top.  Not saying it's the best one, but I do really enjoy the flick.

[BOOYAH SUCKAS]

What I always find funny about 1993 is it the one year Slyvester Stallone crushed Arnold Schwarzenegger after he became big. The Last Action hero was supposed to be The blockbuster of the summer but it dissapointed and Cliffhanger pulled in big numbers. 

[baumer]

It's just too bad that Coroloco spent so much on the budget

[baumer]

I'm going to try and get box of chocolates, circle of life and hey, cause it's you....done tonight.

[Maxmoser3]

1993 was amazing! Stallone had a comeback as an action star after a slew comedy flops in 1991-1992. 

 

Steven Speilberg was a busy man and a man that came home with awards, and profit for Universal with Jurassic Park, and Schindler's List! 

 

Harrison Ford could still put a movie for a 50+ aged star, and The Fugitive scored big money for August as it broke record for the top opener in august.

 

Also Clint Eastwood brought in cash as well with In The Line Of Fire which it outgrossed action films such as Cliffhanger, and Last Action Hero.

 

Robin Williams also hit it big with family audiences for the holiday season of '93 with Mrs. Doubtfire. A film that held on solid.

 

Tom Cruise still making cash with The Firm.

 

Denzel Washington was becoming known with an award winning film like Philladelphia which saw Tom Hanks can be a serious actor, and The Pelican Brief proved that thrillers were still strong.

 

The last winner would be Cool Runnings a film that held on well in the fall and proved to be a hit with audiences alike. As it grossed nearly $70 million stateside and nearly $155 million worldwide. It outgrossed sports comedies such as Bull Durham.

 

as for the losers of 1993, the things that were popular in 1992 or in the past weren't the case in 1993 such as comedy sequels such as Wayne's World 2, and Sister Act 2 couldn't even make half of what the previous films made.

 

Erotic thrillers weren't any real boner cashers as Madonna tried to be Sharon Stone with Body Of Evidence flopping. Shit Sharon Stone's sweet ass couldn't cum back with Sliver making below $40 million but made $$$ overseas and on home video.

 

Also while Stallone and even Van Damme made cash, Arnie and Bruce couldn't make it back with Last Action Hero and Striking Distance getting slaughtered.

 

1994 is interesting next up @baumer some actors get a comeback coming up, and some franchises "Sometimes Dead Is Better"

[baumer]

Awesome post Max.  

 

[baumer]

There's so many more films I'd like to mention, but there's only so much time I can spend on these things (the last one took 3 hours).  But yes, there are a ton of worthy box office stories that could be dissected......I'd love to see others post up like Max did.  Well done, sir.

[baumer]

For you Tombstone loonies, like me, here is a really interesting piece I found on the net.  

 

Note...if  you haven't seen the movie....skip this post, it won't mean much to you, but if you have seen the movie and especially if you love it, this post might just make you smile.

 

Check it:

 

 

 

So I’ve recently had a conversation about the phrase “I’m your huckleberry” in the connotation that means “I’m your man” or “I’m the right man for the job.” Somehow, the conversation ended up on the movie “Tombstone” starring Val Kilmer as Doc Holiday and whether or not he says huckleberry or is it I’m your huckle bearer
The discussion, took a turn for whether the Doc Holiday character, who is from the gentile south (Georgia, Kentucky that area) says “I’m your huckleberry” or “I’m your huckle bearer.” Apparently, the script says “huckleberry” and that’s the biggest argument in favor of “huckleberry” over “huckle bearer.”

I started searching online and came across a site where a person claimed to have an autographed picture, signed by Val Kilmer himself, and the caption says “I’m your huckleberry.” Not to mention the official shirts and other merchandise with that phrase on it. You’d think that would put an end to the argument, but not quite.

I’d be satisfied with the term “huckleberry” meaning “I’m your man” or “I’m the right man for the job” except for one thing. 

That thing, is that a “huckle bearer” is what we nowadays call a pallbearer. 

The handles that coffins had in those days were called “huckles.” So, the connotation “I’m the guy that’s going to bury you,” would be appropriate to say to someone that you are about to have a gun fight with, don’t you think?

In the Holiday/Kilmer southern accent, I think it can go either way. 

Over on the phrase finder website, I found this explanation:

“In the old Georgia (where Doc Holiday originated) the men who would bear (carry) your coffin in a funeral procession wore small huckleberry branches in their lapels. They became know as the “Huckle Bearers”. When Doc says “I’m your huckleberry” he means that he is your coffin bearer….. or more to the point… he will be the one to PUT you in your coffin.

I don’t buy the thing about the branches, but I’m willing to concede the point that people that carried coffins were huckle bearers.

It seems appropriate to me that Holiday would respond to Ringo’s challenge with a phrase that would imply that he’s about to bury Ringo. Although it would be just as appropriate for Holiday to reply that he’s the right man for Ringo to face off with.

In the Holiday/Kilmer southern accent, I think it can go either way. 

Over on the phrase finder website, I found this explanation:

“In the old Georgia (where Doc Holiday originated) the men who would bear (carry) your coffin in a funeral procession wore small huckleberry branches in their lapels. They became know as the “Huckle Bearers”. When Doc says “I’m your huckleberry” he means that he is your coffin bearer….. or more to the point… he will be the one to PUT you in your coffin.

I don’t buy the thing about the branches, but I’m willing to concede the point that people that carried coffins were huckle bearers.

It seems appropriate to me that Holiday would respond to Ringo’s challenge with a phrase that would imply that he’s about to bury Ringo. Although it would be just as appropriate for Holiday to reply that he’s the right man for Ringo to face off with.

In the Holiday/Kilmer southern accent, I think it can go either way. 

Over on the phrase finder website, I found this explanation:

“In the old Georgia (where Doc Holiday originated) the men who would bear (carry) your coffin in a funeral procession wore small huckleberry branches in their lapels. They became know as the “Huckle Bearers”. When Doc says “I’m your huckleberry” he means that he is your coffin bearer….. or more to the point… he will be the one to PUT you in your coffin.

I don’t buy the thing about the branches, but I’m willing to concede the point that people that carried coffins were huckle bearers.

It seems appropriate to me that Holiday would respond to Ringo’s challenge with a phrase that would imply that he’s about to bury Ringo. Although it would be just as appropriate for Holiday to reply that he’s the right man for Ringo to face off with.

Where do I stand?

I’m going to have to side with the script. 

If the script says “huckleberry,” then huckleberry it is. Although I have my doubts about what I hear Holiday/Kilmer say, I’m going to have to side with the script writers and at least say that they meant for him to say “huckleberry,” regardless of what Holiday/Kilmer actually says.

There’s a thread over on the high road that takes the whole bearear/berry thing to another level altogether. Member Red Tornado says
“Huckleberry” was commonly used in the 1800′s in conjunction with “persimmon” as a small unit of measure. “I’m a huckleberry over your persimmon” meant “I’m just a bit better than you.” As a result, “huckleberry” came to denote idiomatically two things. First, it denoted a small unit of measure, a “tad,” as it were, and a person who was a huckleberry could be a small, unimportant person–usually expressed ironically in mock self-depreciation. The second and more common usage came to mean, in the words of the “Dictionary of American Slang: Second Supplemented Edition” (Crowell, 1975):

“A man; specif., the exact kind of man needed for a particular purpose. 1936: “Well, I’m your huckleberry, Mr. Haney.” Tully, “Bruiser,” 37. Since 1880, archaic.

The “Historical Dictionary of American Slang” which is a multivolume work, has about a third of a column of citations documenting this meaning all through the latter 19th century. 

So “I’m your huckleberry” means “I’m just the man you’re looking for!”

Now ain’t that a daisy!

The “Daisy” comment is easier. In the late 19th century “daisy” was a common slang term for “the best in it’s class.” So for “daisy” just substitute “the best” and you’ll have it. It was a short-lived idiom and doesn’t seem to be popular much after 1890

Sooooo, if Holiday said “huckleberry” it could’ve meant “I’m better than you” which would be fighting words in just about any situation, specially one involving guns.

Something else that’s really interesting to me, is the word “daisy.” At the end of the second scene, Holiday says to Ringo “you’re no daisy.” 

Check out what I found over on gnovies about what that meant.

“As far as being a “daisy” when Doc said “You’re no Daisy, you’re no Daisy at’all”. I think he meant, “You’re not the big deal you thought you were, I beat you”. A Daisy was a flower that was used a lot because it was sturdy and lasted long in a vase and a person who was a Daisy would be “steadfast” or “sure” or would have been a “done deal” as the expression in the South was used.

At first, I thought that he was saying something about how Ringo is going to be “pushing up daisies” meaning that he’s dead, but that didn’t quite make sense given the scene. I also considered the modern connotation of the word meaning someone that’s a sissy, but that didn’t make sense either.

Since Ringo still tried to fight, even after being shot in the head, I think Holiday is making a comment about Ringo’s toughness. I could be wrong though.

Certainly gives a new meaning to the term “flowery language” doesn’t it?

I love westerns

[Kalo]

I still need to see Tombstone and Schindler's list.

[Jonwo]

Mrs Doubtfire is a wonderful film, I like the fact that it ends with Daniel and Miranda not getting back together and the final speech at the end when Mrs Doubtfire gives advice to the little girl about divorce still strikes a chord. 

[junkshop36]

Gotta admit, I've never seen Tombstone. Never been much of a movie western guy. 

 

Another terrific write up @baumer

 

Cliffhanger is awesome!! 

[Dementeleus]

Baumer knows my opinion of MRS DOUBTFIRE.  

 

@junkshop36, TOMBSTONE is very entertaining even if you're not much of a western fan. 

[junkshop36]

5 minutes ago, Telemachos said:

Baumer knows my opinion of MRS DOUBTFIRE.  

 

@junkshop36, TOMBSTONE is very entertaining even if you're not much of a western fan. 

 

Its one of those movies that I'm always meaning to get around to watching but never do lol

[baumer]

Tombstone transcends genre. Its just one of the most entertaining, star studded movies of all time.

[That One Girl]

Can we take a minute to appreciate Groundhog Day?  It's one of the greatest movies of all time for me.  I find it absolutely hilarious, entertaining, and I must've seen it at least 7 times by now.  It's fucking fantastic.

[Maxmoser3]

1993 was an amazing year quality wise, slate wise, and I mostly use it box office wise for this stuff it was great all around!