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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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Millions
Comedy, set in Manchester, England, about
a pair of pre-teen brothers who have difficulty
agreeing on a plan of action after they stumble
across a huge sum of British pounds just
days before the Bank of England switches
over to the euro. Directed by Danny Boyle
(“The Beach,” “28 Days
Later”) from a screenplay by Frank
Cottrell Boyce (“24 Hour Party People,” “Code
46”). With James Nesbitt (“Bloody
Sunday”), Enzo Cilenti (“24 Hour
Party People”), Daisy Donovan (“Still
Crazy”), Pearce Quigley (“The
House of Mirth”), Nasser Memarzia,
Alexander Nathan Etel and Lewis Owen McGibbon.
Flat. PG-13: Thematic elements; language;
some peril; mild sensuality. March 11 limited.
Fox Searchlight.

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Mondovino
Documentary about the growing rivalry developing
between winemakers in France and their
upstart counterparts in the United States,
focusing on two key vintners: the Mondavi
family of Napa Valley, Calif., and the
Montille family of Burgundy, France.
Written and directed by Jonathan Nossiter
(“Sunday,” “Signs & Wonders”).
Flat. 131 min. March 23 in New York.
ThinkFilm.
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The
Pacifier
Action-comedy about a Navy SEAL who, having
failed to prevent the assassination of a
key government scientist, agrees to protect
the scientist’s five children. Directed
by Adam Shankman (“A Walk to Remember,” “Bringing
Down the House”) from a screenplay
by Robert Ben Garant & Thomas Lennon
(“Taxi”). With Vin Diesel (“The
Chronicles of Riddick”), Lauren Graham
(“Seeing Other People”), Faith
Ford (“North”), Max Thieriot
(“Catch That Kid”), Morgan York
(“Cheaper By The Dozen”), Brad
Garrett (“Stuart Little 2”),
Carol Kane (“Confessions of a Teenage
Drama Queen”) and Brittany Snow (TV’s “American
Dreams”). March 4. Buena Vista.

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Robots
Animated
comedy, set in a world populated entirely by
robots, about a metal man who finds himself
at odds with a corporate tyrant when he sets
out to improve the planet. Directed by Chris
Wedge (“Ice Age”) from a screenplay
by Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel (“Ed
TV,” “Where the Heart Is”).
Featuring the voices of Ewan McGregor, Halle
Berry, Mel Brooks, Drew Carey, Robin Williams,
Greg Kinnear, Jim Broadbent, Paul Giamatti,
Stanley Tucci, Amanda Bynes, Dianne Wiest,
D.L. Hughley, Jennifer Coolidge, Dan Hedaya,
Harland Williams and Sofia Vergara. March 11.
Fox.

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A
Sound of Thunder
Fantasy
actioner about a game hunter who, while on
a time-traveling dinosaur safari, accidentally
sets off a chain of events destined to erase
humanity from the face of the planet. Directed
by Peter Hyams (“End of Days,” “The
Musketeer”) from a screenplay by Gregory
Poirier (“See Spot Run,” “Tomcats”)
and Thomas Dean Donnelly & Joshua Oppenheimer
(“Sahara”). With Ben Kingsley (“Suspect
Zero”), Edward Burns (“Confidence”),
Catherine McCormack (“Spy Game”),
Jemima Rooper (TV’s “As If”),
Corey Johnson (“Hellboy”), Heike
Makatsch (“Love Actually”), Scott
Bellefeville (“A Knight’s Tale”)
and August Zirner (“Eyewitness”).
PG-13: Sci-fi violence; partial nudity; language.
March 11. Warner Bros.

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Wild
Side
French-language drama about a transsexual
prostitute who, having
returned home from Paris to nurse her dying
mother, contemplates the events of her own
life. The “Come Undone” team of
writer-director Sébastien Lifshitz and
screenwriter Stéphane Bouquet reteam.
With Yasmine Belmadi (“Who Killed Bambi?”),
Stephanie Michelini, Edouard Nikitine and Josiane
Stoléru (“Cyrano de Bergerac”).
Scope. March 4. Wellspring.

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Miss
Congeniality 2
When her friends – pageant winner Cheryl
Frasier and pageant emcee Stan Fields – are
kidnapped in Las Vegas, FBI special agent
Gracie Hart has to go undercover again, this
time as a casino showgirl. A sequel to the
2000 comedy blockbuster. Returnees from part
one include screenwriter Marc Lawrence (“Two
Weeks Notice”) and actors Sandra Bullock
(“Two Weeks Notice”), Heather
Burns (“Two Weeks Notice”), William
Shatner (“Dodgeball”) and Ernie
Hudson (“The Watcher”). Newcomers
to the franchise include director John Pasquin
(“Jungle 2 Jungle,” “Joe
Somebody”) and actors Regina King (“Ray”),
Enrique Murciano (“Black Hawk Down”),
Elisabeth Rohm (TV’s “Law and
Order”), Lusia Strus (“50 First
Dates”), Leslie Erin Grossman (“Can’t
Hardly Wait”), Susan Chuang (“Simone”),
John DiResta (“How to Lose A Guy in
10 Days”), William O’Leary (“Terminator
3”), Diedrich Bader (“EuroTrip”),
Nick Offerman (“Murder By Numbers”),
Abraham Benrubi (“Without a Paddle”)
and Treat Williams (“Hollywood Ending”).
March 25. Warner Bros.

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Nowhere
Man
Comic thriller about a young man who calls
off his wedding, then must embark upon a
desperate search for his ex-fiancee, who
sliced off and absconded with his penis.
Written and directed by Tim McCann. With
Michael Rodrick (“Under Hellgate Bridge”),
Debbie Rochon (“Terror Firmer”)
Rachel Haynes (“Robot Stories”)
Lloyd Kaufman (“Orgazmo”), Michael
Risley (“Two if By Sea”), and
Frank Olivier. 92 min. March 11. First Run.

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The
Ring 2
When more fall victim to the “7-days” curse,
Rachel Keller finds herself returning to
Seattle and learning more of how Samara Morgan
acquired her extraordinary abilities. A sequel
to the blockbuster 2002 supernatural thriller.
Returnees from part one include screenwriter
Ehren Kruger (“Impostor”) as
well as actors Naomi Watts (“I Heart
Huckabees,” “The Assassination
of Richard Nixon”) as Rachel and David
Dorfman (“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”)
as her son. Hideo Nakata, who directed “Ringu” (which
was remade in the United States as “The
Ring”), directs. Kelly Stables (“Pride
and Prejudice”) inherits the role of
Samara. Other newcomers to the franchise
include Simon Baker (“The Affair of
the Necklace”), Emily VanCamp (“Lost
and Delirious”), Elizabeth Perkins
(“Cats & Dogs”), Sissy Spacek
(“A Home at the End of the World”),
Ryan Merriman (“Halloween: Resurrection”),
Gary Cole (“Dodgeball”), Kelly
Overton (“It Runs in the Family”),
Adrienne Smith (“Evolution”),
Mary Joy (“Secretary”), James
Lesure (“Crimson Tide”) and Willis
Van Dusen (“Free Willy”). March
18. DreamWorks.

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Sahara
Drama about
an agent with the National Underwater and Marine
Agency who teams with a beautiful U.N. medical
advisor to uncover a source of nuclear waste
dumping that could destroy all sea life on
the planet. Based on the 11th Dirk Pitt adventure-series
novel by Clive Cussler (“Raise the Titanic”).
Directed by Breck Eisner (TV’s “Taken” miniseries)
from a screenplay by Joshua Oppenheimer & Thomas
Dean Donnelly (“A Sound of Thunder”),
John C. Richards (“Nurse Betty”)
and Jim V. Hart (“Contact,” “Tuck
Everlasting”). With Matthew McConaughey
(“How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days”),
Penélope Cruz (“Head in the Clouds”),
William H. Macy (“Cellular”), Steve
Zahn (“Shattered Glass”), Delroy
Lindo (“The Core”), Lennie James
(“24 Hour Party People”), Nathan
Osgood (“Velvet Goldmine”), Glynn
Turman (“Men of Honor”), Ranin
Wilson (“Baadasssss!”), Mark Wells
(“Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow”),
Billy Seymour (“Vera Drake”) and
Dayna Cussler. PG-13: Action violence. March
25. Paramount.

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The Upside of Anger
Drama about a mother
and her four grown daughters, all of whom get
support from an old ex-ballplayer friend when
the family patriarch dies. Written and directed
by Mike Binder (“Blankman,” “Indian
Summer”). With Joan Allen (“The
Bourne Supremacy”), Kevin Costner (“Open
Range”), Alicia Witt (“Two Weeks
Notice”), Erika Christensen (“Stephen
King’s Riding the Bullet”), Keri
Russell (“We Were Soldiers”), Evan
Rachel Wood (“The Missing”) and
Mike Binder (“Minority Report”).
R: Language; sexual situations; brief comic
violence; some drug use. March 11. Fine Line.

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Inside
Deep Throat
Documentary about the lasting cultural impact of “Deep Throat” (1972),
the $25,000 porn feature widely hailed as the most profitable motion
picture ever made. Written and directed by Fenton Bailey & Randy
Barbato. (“Party Monster,” “The Eyes of Tammy
Faye”). Feb. 11. Universal.
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Man
of the House
Comedy about a militant Texas Ranger who goes undercover as a cheerleading
coach to protect a squad of murder-witness cheerleaders. Directed
by Stephen Herek (“Rock Star,” “Life, or Something
Like It”) from a screenplay by Robert Ramsey & Matthew
Stone (“Intolerable Cruelty”) and John J. McLaughlin.
With Tommy Lee Jones (“The Missing”), Monica Keena
(“Freddy Vs. Jason”), Paula Garces (“Harold & Kumar
Go To White Castle”), Christina Milian (“Torque,” “Be
Cool”), Vanessa Ferlito (“Spider-Man 2”), Kelli
Garner (“The Aviator”), Liz Vassey (“Calendar
Girl”), Paget Brewster (“Eulogy”), Anne Archer
(“The Art of War”), Brian Van Holt (“S.W.A.T.”),
Tom Reynolds (“House of Sand and Fog”), Shea Whigham
(“All the Real Girls”), Ash Christian (“Serving
Sara”) and Curtis Armstrong (“Ray”). Feb. 25.
Sony.

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