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Volume
V No. 2
A
publication of the National Association of Theatre Owners
Advertise
in In Focus
©
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Frankie
Drama, set in coastal Scotland, about a single mother
who finds herself relying on a stranger to reinforce
a lie she has long told her 9-year-old deaf son.
Directed by Shona Auerbach from a screenplay
by Andrea Gibb. With Emily Mortimer (“Bright
Young Things”), Gerard Butler (“The
Phantom of the Opera”), Sharon Small (“About
A Boy”), Jack McElhone (“Young Adam”),
Mary Riggans and Sean Brown. Flat. 104 min. PG-13:
Language. March 4 in New York and Los Angeles.
Miramax.

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Guess
Who
Ethnicity-reversed remake of the 1967 comedy “Guess
Who’s Coming To Dinner,” this time
about a young white man’s battle to win over
the father of the black girlfriend he wants to
marry. Kevin Rodney Sullivan (“How Stella
Got Her Groove Back,” “Barbershop 2:
Back in Business”) directs from a screenplay
by Jay Scherick & David Ronn (“I Spy,” “National
Security”) and Peter Tolan (“Analyze
That,” “Stealing Harvard”). Ashton
Kutcher (“The Butterfly Effect”), Bernie
Mac (“Ocean’s Twelve”), Zoe Saldana
(“The Terminal”), Jessica Cauffiel
(“White Chicks,” “D.E.B.S”),
Chad Gabriel (“After the Sunset”) and
Judith Scott (“Dunston Checks In”)
star. Flat. 104 min. March 25. Sony.

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Hostage
Drama about a cop who, haunted by a botched LAPD
hostage negotiation, retreats to a quiet job in
an upscale suburb’s two-man police department – only
to endure a personal nightmare when his own wife
and daughter are kidnapped. Based on the novel
by Robert Crais (“El Secuesto”). Directed
by Florent Emilio Siri (“Nid de guepes”)
from a screenplay by Doug Richardson (“Die
Hard 2,” “Bad Boys,” “Money
Train”). With Bruce Willis (“The Whole
Ten Yards”), Kevin Pollak (“The Whole
Ten Yards”), Ben Foster (“The Punisher”),
Serena Scott Thomas (“The World is Not Enough”),
Rumer Willis (“The Whole Nine Yards”),
Kim Coates (“Assault on Precinct 13”),
Marshall Allman (“Little Black Book”),
Michelle Horn (“Stuart Saves His Family”),
Jonathan Tucker (“Criminal”) and Johnny
Messner (“Anacondas: The Hunt For The Blood
Orchid”). R: Strong graphic violence; language;
some drug use. March 11. Miramax.

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The
Jacket
Supernatural thriller about an imprisoned clairvoyant
who embarks upon a strategy of survival after he
learns his violent death will occur in one week.
Directed by John Maybury (“Love is the Devil”)
from a screenplay by Massy Tadjedin. With Adrien
Brody (“The Village”), Keira Knightley
(“King Arthur”), Jennifer Jason Leigh
(“The Machinist”), Kris Kristofferson
(“Blade: Trinity”), Kelly Lynch (“Joe
Somebody”), Daniel Craig (“Enduring
Love”), Stephen Mackintosh (“The Mother”),
Tara Summers (“Alfie”), Brad Renfro
(“Deuces Wild”) and Mackenzie Phillips
(“More American Graffiti”). Scope.
R: Violence; language; brief sexuality/nudity.
March 4. Warner Independent Pictures.

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A
League of Ordinary Gentlemen
Documentary about pro bowlers and their lives following
the near-disappearance of televised bowling tournaments
in the late 1990s. Christopher Browne makes his
feature directorial debut. With appearances by
Wayne Webb (“Latter Days”) and Walter
Ray Williams, considered by many the best bowler
of all time. Flat. 100 min. March 18. Picture This.
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Be
Cool
Comedy about how Chili Palmer, the Miami mob enforcer
(and film producer) at the center of “Get
Shorty,” helps a struggling singer on the
run from the Russian mafia. Based on the novel
by Elmore Leonard (“Get Shorty,” “Out
of Sight” “The Big Bounce”).
Returnees from “Get Shorty” include
John Travolta (“Ladder 49,” “A
Love Song for Bobby Long”) as Chili and Danny
DeVito (“Big Fish”) as Martin Weir.
Newcomers to the franchise include director F.
Gary Gray (“A Man Apart,” “The
Italian Job”), screenwriter Peter Steinfeld
(“Drowning Mona,” “Analyze That”),
and actors Uma Thurman (the “Kill Bill” series),
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (“Walking
Tall”), Cedric the Entertainer (“Lemony
Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events”),
Harvey Keitel (“National Treasure”),
Vince Vaughn (“Anchorman”), Christina
Milian (“Torque,” “Man of the
House”), Andre Benjamin (“Hollywood
Homicide”), Robert Pastorelli (“Bait”),
Paul Adelstein (“Collateral”) and Debi
Mazar (“Collateral”). Scope. PG-13:
Violence; sensuality; language including sexual
references. March 4. MGM.

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D.E.B.S
Action comedy about popular high school girls
recruited to serve as top government spies
for an elite national defense agency. Angela
Robinson makes her directorial debut from her
own screenplay. With Sara Foster (“The
Big Bounce”), Jordana Brewster (“The
Fast and the Furious”), Devon Aoki (“2
Fast 2 Furious”), Jill Ritchie (“Breakin’ All
the Rules”), Meagan Goode (“The
Cookout”), Michael Clarke Duncan (“Daredevil”),
Holland Taylor (“Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over”),
Jessica Cauffiel (“White Chicks”),
Jenny Mollen (TV’s “Angel”)
and Roger Fan (“Stuck on You”).
Scope. 91 min. PG-13: Sexual content; language.
March 25. IDP.

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The
Honeymooners
Comedy, set in New York City, about bus driver Ralph
Kramden and his feisty wife Alice, who, together
with their best friends Trixie and Ed Norton, have
big plans to get rich quick – until Ralph loses
all their money in a crazy scheme meant to impress
Alice. Based on the classic Jackie Gleason-Art Carney
TV series. Directed by John Schultz (“Like
Mike”) from a screenplay by Barry Blaustein & David
Sheffield (the “Nutty Professor” series),
Don Rhymer ( “The Santa Clause 2,” “Agent
Cody Banks 2: Destination London”), Saladin
K. Patterson (“The Fighting Temptations”)
and Danny Jacobson (TV’s “Mad About You”).
With Cedric the Entertainer (“Lemony Snicket’s
A Series of Unfortunate Events,” “Be
Cool”), Mike Epps (“Resident Evil: Apocalypse”),
Regina Hall (“Scary Movie 3”), Gabrielle
Union (“Breakin’ All the Rules”),
Eric Stoltz (“The Butterfly Effect”),
John Leguizamo (“Assault on Precinct 13”),
Jon Polito (“The Last Shot”) and Anne
Pitoniak (“Unfaithful”). March 11. Paramount.

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Ice
Princess
Romantic comedy-drama about an awkward teen whose
hopes of becoming a champion figure skater
are tied to the help of a disgraced coach.
Directed by Tim Fywell (“I Capture the
Castle”) from a screenplay by Hadley
Davis (TV’s “Scrubs”). With
Michelle Trachtenberg (“Eurotrip”),
Hayden Panettiere (“Racing Stripes”),
Joan Cusack (“Raising Helen”),
Kim Cattrall (“Crossroads”), Trevor
Blumas and Juliana Cannarozzo. Scope. March 18.
Buena Vista.

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King’s
Ransom
Comedy-drama about a wealthy businessman who arranges
his own kidnapping in an attempt to thwart his
money-hungry wife, who intends to divorce him.
Directed by Jeff Byrd from a screenplay by Wayne
Conley (TV’s “Kenan & Kel). With
Anthony Anderson (“Harold and Kumar Go to
White Castle”), Leila Arcieri (“Daddy
Day Care”), Glenn Bang (“Mimic”),
Larry Day (“Jack Paradise”), Loretta
Devine (“Woman Thou Art Loosed”), Brooke
D’Orsay (“Harold and Kumar Go to White
Castle”), Ilona Elkin (“Confessions
of a Dangerous Mind”) and Nicole Ari Parker
(“Brown Sugar”). PG-13: Crude and sexual
humor; language. Feb. 25 limited. New Line.

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Melinda
and Melinda
Comedy-drama about a group of dining companions
who, over dinner, twice concoct the tale of a troubled
young Midwestern woman looking for love in Manhattan – telling
the story alternately as a tragedy and as a comedy.
Written and directed by Woody Allen (“Hollywood
Endings,” “Anything Else”). With
Will Ferrell (“Anchorman”), Radha Mitchell
(“Finding Neverland”), Amanda Peet
(“The Whole Ten Yards”), Vinessa Shaw
(“40 Days and 40 Nights”), Chloë Sevigny
(“Shattered Glass”), John Lee Miller
(“Dracula 2000”), Steve Carrell (“Anchorman”),
Josh Brolin (“Hollow Man”), Zak Orth
(“Wet Hot American Summer”), Wallace
Shawn (“The Haunted Mansion”), Gene
Saks (“Deconstructing Harry”), Brooke
Smith (“Bad Company”), Chiwetel Ejiofor
(“She Hate Me”) and David Aaron Baker
(“Two Weeks Notice”). Flat. March 11
limited. Fox Searchlight.

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