1982_12 The Daily Collegian December 1982

              *«.
=Entertainment =
Films
Continued from page A15
who conceived the original. The question
moviegoers will be asking, "Is ft just going
to be a repeat of what worked in 'Air¬
plane?"
Goldie Hawn and Burt Reynolds star as
"Best Friends" who get married and turn
a perfectly good relationship sour.
"Kiss Me Goodbye" asks the comical
question, "What do you do when your
dead spouse comes back to interfere with
the new relationship you've established?"
It stars Sally Field, James Caan and Jeff
Bridges.
The late Peter Sellers will once again be
seen as the bumbling Inspector Clouseau
in "Trail of the Pink Panther." The film will
use previously unscreened footage.
Dustin Hoffman stars in a strange look
at soap operas, "Tootsie." In "Tootsie,'1
Hoffman plays a struggling actor who gets
a job in a daytime soap opera when he
dresses and auditions for a woman's part.
The final comedy of the Christmas
releases is "Six Weeks," with Dudley
Moore and Mary Tyler Moore playing the
PaMy CaBaaias
:  BIOGRAPHIES
Biographies will also be among those
films in the holiday package with two
releases scheduled.
Richard Attenborough's $22 million
epic "Gandhi," about the life of the great
Indian leader. wiD open during December
"Francis" stars Jessica Lange and is the
tragic life story of Francis Farmer, a 1930s
film star who was locked away into an
asylum.
FAMILY FILMS
Disney is reissuing the animated fea-
ture, "Peter Pan" and is planning to
release "Never Cry Wolf* as its year-end
product. ■<,
The imaginative and creative "Dark
Crystal" project by Jim Henson and
Frank Oz was postponed from its
summer berth because of "ET.'s" sue-
cess. Henson claims that "Dark Crystal"
was five years in the making after delays
when ITC Pictures asked for a sequel
to "The Muppet Movie" be completed
With 20 different releases frorr. which
to choose, filmgoers should have no prob
lem in finding a film or two to see.
Above Oustin Hoffman stars in "Toot¬
sie. on offbeat comedy about an out ot
work actor who dresses in female garb
to land a part in a daytime soap opera.
Tootsie" also stars Teri Garr, Jessica
Lange   Dabney Coleman and Charles
Right Eddie Murphy, star of Saturday
Night Live, plays opposite Nick Nolle in
"48 hrs " Filmed in San Francisco. "46
nrs " is an action-packed undercover
cop thriller in which Nolte illicits convict
Murphy's help.
Variety reporter explains holiday film scheduling
of   t
The year-end period is the best tii
the n
: Indus
efor
>  profit
. About 20
ill be released this Christmas
and all of them will be competing for your
According to Lawrence Cohn, a New.
York based reporter for Variety, there
are two reasons behind the Christmas
film flood. Those reasons are to launch a
film's healthy run or cleanup at the box
office with a "two-week" film.
A reason Cohn did not cite was that
Hollywood also uses this period to screen
""motion pictures for consideration in the
annual Academy  Award nomination
"The idea behind , releasing films at
Christmas," Cohn said, "is to get new
product into the theatres during the
industry's largest audience draw period."
People, especially those in the young
filmgoing crowd, have more time to see
movies during Christmas because of
Cohn explained that many films are
"two-week" films.
"At Christmas time," Cohn said, "the
released at a
media attention.
"Last year's "Modern Problems' is a
good example," Cohn said. "'Modem
Problems' was able to turn a profit during
Hollywood's biggest box-office period,
the two weeks of Christmas and New
Year's."
Cohn also said that it is important for
major productions to get off to a strong
start and the Yuletide season gives them
that opportunity.
"Many of the big films of 1981 were the
1980 Christmas releases'," Cohn said, not¬
ing "9 to 5" and "Stir Crazy."
But Cohn admitted that with the
number of holiday releases, some can be
lost in the shuffle or "burned by the
competition.
"Let's face it," he said, "six or seven of
these films are going to lose money, get
burned. But the studios aren't going to
know what films are going to lose until
after the fact.
"There just isn't enough people or
money around wfth unemployment for all
of the Christmas releases to go 'crazy' at
the box-office.
"No more than a dozen of these films-
can go crazy," he predicted.
Cohn said that the schedule of planned
release dates for an entire year looks
orderly, but changes are made through¬
out the year.
"'Pirates of Penzance' was originally
scheduled to come out at Christmas but
it's being delayed. If any film were to be
passed up in the Christmas shuffle, it
would be 'Pirates.' It's not competitive
with the other stuff.
"The success of 'E.T., the Extraterres¬
trial' causedUniversal to delay the release
of'The Dark Crystal.'The studios have to
be flexible," he said.
Cohn explained that in distribution
scheduling there are two major periods
the studio is concerned wfth.
What Cohn calls "can't miss" films are
released throughout June and into July. .
"Frdm June to July 4th is when the
'blockbusters' are released. This summer
will bring us 'Revenge of the Jech,' 'Krull'
and 'Superman OI,"' he said.
"The second echelon films are released
during Christmas. Other films are spread
throughout the rest of the year.
"It can be a very lopsided phe-
he said about scheduling-
distribution. ,
When asked if he thought people were
frustrated by all the films coming out dur
ing the holiday season, he said, "I don't
think anybody is really frustrated by the
December fnfiux..
"It's hard for me to identify with people
who may feel frustrated; I see everything.
I think more people are frustrated during
the empty periods of October and April,"
He talked about what he feels are three
common public attitudes.
"Attitude one," he said, "belongs to the
people who say 'well wait till it comes to
television' or what is becoming more
popular, 'well wait till it comes to cable.'
"The second group wiD select one film,
a special film, to see. This group consists
of people who only see a couple of films a
year. This year, the selective group will
probably see 'Ghandi' because it's
different.
"The third group, the filmgoing group,
will see all the movies they want," Cohn
said. "For the motion pictures they can't
catch up with, thev will probably use the
line, 'well catch it on television."'
Entertainment =
Music: Pop/Rock
Costello's 'Bedroom9
tops 1982 record list
The Top 10
ly Jafl Reynolds
Even though 1982 was a bad year for
the record industry, it was a good year
nonetheless for the music itself.
So good, in fact, that at least 15 ot 16
albums were released that I considered
good enough to be included in the year-
end top 10 list."
Elvis Costello came out with a master¬
piece, Tom Petty, Warren Zevon and Billy
Joel came out with their finest efforts to
date, and Bruce Springsteen shocked the
country by releasing an acoustic album.
This is my year-end top 10, plus a list of
honorable mention selections:
1. "Imperial Be-roc." Elvi*
Costello ami the Attraction —
This is Costello's best album to date — a
masterpiece. For the first time, Costello
finally sheds his angry young man stance,
and lets the listener in on some of his
innermost feelings. This one ranks right
up there with the Beaties's "Sgt. Pepper"
and the Who's "Who's Next."
2. "Nebraska." Brace Sariaa-
■ tren — Known as America's premier
rock 'n' roller, Springsteen took a big risk
by recording an-alfacoustic album on the
heels of the success of 1980's "The River."
But he succeeds beyond all expectations
with this gritty, grim portrait of America.
The songs on "Nebraska" were origjnaBy
meant to be recorded with the E Street
Band, but Springsteen felt the message of
the songs were more forceful in their
aC3.%feCHM*l." Tfce Wfco - "If*
Hard" is the Who's strongest album in
years. Pete Townsend and Company are
back in full force, on what will probably be
the group's final studio effort:
k."To*a Patty
a*Ml tkm Heartbrcaker* — Petty est¬
ablishes himself as one of America's top
rockers with "Long After Dark," his finest
album to date. With his distinctive vocals
and the impressive Heartbreakers back¬
ing wfth their usual flair, Petty has come
up with one of the finest rock albums this
year.
5. "Tk Nykra Carta!*" Bitty
Joel — BUfy Joel has finally won the crit¬
ics over wjth his most mature record,
which deals with some strong subjects,
including unemployment, love, pressure,
the Vietnam War and other »ocial con¬
cerns. His turn toward more serious
material is a stunning success.
— The final album from this
British group is probably their best, al¬
though 1981's "East Side Story" is a
strong contender. Filled with high-quality
pop ditties and romantic ballads, "Sweets
from a Stranger" is a refreshing album.
The often-made comparison of Paul Mc¬
Cartney and John Lennon to Squeeze's
Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford aren't
that for off base, i
Springsteen's 'Nebraska' succeeds
beyond all expectations...1It's Hard' Is
The Who's strongest albumin years.
6. "Ik Eavay." Warraa Zavaa
— His days of hard drinking behind htm,
Zevon is finally starting to erase his image
as Hollywood's bad boy. The Envoy" i» a
fine work, filled not with images of were¬
wolves fn London and headless machine
gunners m Africa, but wfth political en¬
voys, Beverly Hills doctors and hula hula
boys.
7. "I Caa*t Stand Stffl." Doa Hots-
Wy — The ex-Eagle soars solo with one of
1982s most biting social commentaries.
With songs like "Johnny Can't Read" and
"Dirty Laundry" on the radio, Henley has
taken a hard stance against illiteracy and
the exploftive media. Henley also sms*
about the nuclear threat, "Therri and Us,"
and has successfully moved away from
the sound of the Eagles.-
9. "Night aaa" Day." Jaa Jacfcaaa
—Joe Jackson i* an artist not afraid to
experiment with various type* of music.
Last year it was ewing and jiv* musk, thi*
year it's Latin-flavored salsa. With "Night
and Day," Joe Jackson prove* that you
can make an excellent pop-rock alburn
without using any guitar*.
1«. "Far Ever, Fat Always, Far
Lava." LatWr Viihin — Luther
Vandross makes some of the most beauti¬
ful soul music heard on athe radio these
days. The second solo album from this
briD'iantsourful crooner firmly establishes
VandroM a* one of the finest male vocal¬
ists in th* music busine**. Wfth his lush
vocals and beautiful arrangements, Lu¬
ther Vandro** ha* finely hit it big.
This album sound* fik* soul used to
loufid n the fete I960* and early 1970s,
the big band, brassy sound of Memphis
soul pioneered by greats like Otis Red¬
ding and Wilson Pickett. Little Steven,
otherwise known as Miami Steve Van
Zandt, the guitarist for Bruce Springsteen
and the E Street Band, is a devoted fol¬
lower to Redding and other sou) legend*
and this album rekindles the spirit of
1960s soul. .
"Ota Eaeaaa." Lam Aaa Bartaa
— The debut album from this Texas-born
singer is a strong album, sort of like a
cross between Linda Ronstadt and Jo*
Ely — making for an exerting, spirited
blend of country flavored rock Vrot,
"AJitaaBaatCa**aayaH«nvaCa*-
a—a Eyas." Fete Taaraaaaa" - The
guiding force behind the Who 1* on a
streak with hit finest solo album yet and
the Who's best record in years.
Bonnie Raiff ha* been kicking around for
years, and with "Green Light," ha* her
best record to data. Her version or "Me
and the Boys" rivak Dave Edmund*'ver¬
sion in excitement and p—eion.
"Oa tfca Laaa." Gary U.S. Baaaa
— The "**cond" album for Jhis veteran
rocker. Wfth hi* career skimpinga couple
of year* ago. Bonds got a biaboo*t from
Bruce Sprinartean and ha* been on the
up*wing ever since. "Out of Work," the
— WOCK.paaaAU