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Volume
V No. 3
A
publication of the National Association of Theatre Owners
Advertise
in In Focus
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| April’s
Shower
Comedy about a young woman whose bridal shower takes
an unexpected turn when her best friend unexpectedly
confesses her true love to the bride-to-be. Written
and directed by Trish Doolan. With Doolan, Maria
Cina (“The Amati Girls”), Randall Batinkoff
(“As Good as it Gets”), Denise Miller,
Zack Ward (“Resident Evil”), Honey Labrador
(“Strange Days”) Arly Jover (“Impostor”),
Molly Cheek (“American Wedding”) and
Joe Tabbanella. 98 min. April 8. Regent.

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The
Cave
Action-adventure about a group of divers who, after
finding themselves trapped underwater, must battle
life-threatening cave creatures. Longtime second
unit director Bruce Hunt (“Dark City,” “The
Matrix”) makes his first-unit directorial
debut from a screenplay by Michael Steinberg (“Sleep
with Me”) and Tegan West. With Cole Hauser
(“Paparazzi”), Piper Perabo (“Cheaper
by the Dozen”), Morris Chestnut (“Ladder
49”), Eddie Cibrian (“Say it Isn’t
So”), Daniel Dae Kim (“Spider-Man 2”),
Marcel Iures (“Hart’s War,” “Layer
Cake”) and Rick Ravanello (“Hart’s
War”). Also known as “Prime Evil.” Scope.
110 min. PG-13: Intense creature violence. April
8. Sony.

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Eros
Anthology comprised of three short films about
love and lust. 1) “The Dangerous Thread
of Things,” co-written and directed by
Michelangelo Antonioni (“Beyond the Clouds”)
and starring Christopher Buchholz (“The
House on Carroll Street”), Regina Nemni
and Luisa Ranieri, is a drama about a ménage-a-trois
undertaken by a couple and a young woman on the
coast of Tuscany. 2) “Equilibrium,” written
and directed by Steven Soderbergh (“Solaris,” “Ocean’s
Twelve”) and starring Robert Downey Jr.
(“Gothika”), Alan Arkin (“America’s
Sweethearts”) and Ele Keats (“There
Goes My Baby”), is about a stressed-out
ad exec who discusses a recurring erotic dream
with his psychiatrist. 3) “The Hand,” written
and directed by Kar Wai Wong (“In the Mood
For Love,” “Happy Together”)
and starring Li Gong (“Zhou Yu’s
Train”) and Chen Chang (“Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon”), is a drama about
a young tailor’s long-time unrequited love
for a beautiful Hong Kong courtesan. R: Strong
sexual content including graphic nudity; language.
April 8 limited. WIP.

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Gunner
Palace
Documentary, shot four months after the United
States declared the Iraq War’s “major
combat” operations had ended, about the U.S.
soldiers stationed in the bombed out Central Baghdad
palace of Sadaam Hussein’s son. Co-directed
by Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker. Flat. 86
min. PG-13: Language. March 4 limited; wider in
April. Palm.
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House
of Wax
Thriller about a group of young motorists who,
while passing through a small town, encounter killers
who like to coat their victims with wax. A remake
of the 1953 horror classic “House of Wax
3-D.” Commercial director Jaume Serra makes
his feature directorial debut from a screenplay
by Carey & Chad Hayes (TV’s “Baywatch”).
With Elisha Cuthbert (“The Girl Next Door”),
Jared Padalecki (“Flight of the Phoenix”),
Chad Michael Murray (“A Cinderella Story”),
Jon Abrahams (“My Boss’s Daughter”),
Paris Hilton (“Raising Helen”), Damon
Herriman (“Son of the Mask”), Robert
Ri’chard (“Coach Carter”), Emma
Lung (“Garage Days”) and Brian Van
Holt (“Man of the House”). R: Horror
violence; some sexual content; language. April
29. Warner Bros.

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Julie Johnson
Drama about
a thirtysomething housewife and high-school dropout
who decides to pursue an education, kick out her
disapproving husband, and contemplate a lesbian affair
with her best friend. Based on the play by Wendy
Hammond. Directed by Bob Gosse (“Niagra, Niagra”)
from a screenplay by Gosse and Matthew Weiss. With
Lili Taylor (“High Fidelity”), Courtney
Love (“Trapped”), Mischa Barton (“Lost
and Delirious”), Noah Emmerich (“Cellular”),
Spalding Gray (“Kate & Leopold”)
and Gideon Jacobs (“Mr. Deeds,” “House
of D”). 94 min. April 1. Regent.

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Kontroll
Comic Hungarian-language action-thriller, set against
the Budapest subway system, that follows a
young ticket inspector, a brutal killer and
a mysterious young
woman in a race against time. American-born Nimród Antal directs from
a screenplay by Antal and Jim Adler. With Sándor Csányi, Zoltán
Mucsi, Csaba Pindroch, Sándor Badár, Zsolt Nagy, Bence Mátyási,
Gyözö Szabó, Eszter Balla, Lajos Kovács, György
Cserhalmi, Zsolt László, Balázs Mihályfi, Péter
Scherer and János Kulka. Flat. 106 min. R: Language; some violence;
brief sexuality. April 22 in New York. ThinkFilm.
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The
Amityville Horror
Remake of the 1979 horror thriller about the residents
of a Long Island suburb’s haunted house.
Directed by Andrew Douglas from a screenplay by
Scott Kosar (“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “The
Machinst”). With Ryan Reynolds (“Blade:
Trinity”), Melissa George (“Down with
Love”), Jimmy Bennett (“Daddy Day Care,” “Hostage”),
Philip Baker Hall (“In Good Company”),
Rachel Nichols (“Dumb and Dumberer”),
Jesse James (“The Butterfly Effect”)
and Chloe Moretz (TV’s “The Guardian”).
R: Violence and terror; sexuality; language; brief
drug use. April 15. MGM.

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Bomb
The System
Drama, based on a true story, about a young New
York graffiti artist whose work lands him on
the radar of the local art galleries and the
NYPD vandal squad’s “most wanted” list.
Adam Bhala Lough makes his feature directorial
debut from his own screenplay. With Mark Webber
(“People I Know”), Jaclyn DeSantis
(“Road Trip”), Gano Grills (“Bamboozled”),
Jade Yorker (“Snow Day”), Joey
Dedio (“Trick”), Al Sapienza (“Cellular”),
Kumar Pallana (“The Terminal”).
R: Pervasive language; drug use; some violence;
sexuality/nudity. April 8 in New York and Los
Angeles. Palm.

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Dust
To Glory
Action documentary about the Baja 1000 – an
annual, off-road race held in Baja, Mexico, famous
for drawing hundreds of contestants to one of the
world’s toughest desert courses. Directed by
Dana Brown (“Step into Liquid”). With
Mario Andretti, Sal Fish, Jimmy Roberts, Chad McQueen,
J.N. Roberts, and Malcolm Smith, as well as archived
footage of James Garner and Steve McQueen. Flat.
90 min. PG: Racing action and peril; some language.
April 1. IFC.

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Fever
Pitch
Romantic comedy about a successful businesswoman
who, with the arrival of baseball season, finds
her otherwise “perfect” romance with
a high school teacher threatened by the man’s
obsession with the Boston Red Sox. Based on the
novel by Nick Hornby (“High Fidelity,” “About
a Boy”). Directed by brothers Bobby & Peter
Farrelly (“Shallow Hal,” “Stuck
on You”) from a screenplay by Lowell Ganz & Babaloo
Mandel (“Where the Heart Is,” “Robots”).
With Jimmy Fallon (“Taxi”), Drew
Barrymore (“50 First Dates”), KaDee
Strickland (“The Grudge”), Lenny
Clarke (“Lemony Snicket’s A Series
of Unfortunate Events”), Evan Helmuth (“Garfield”),
Isabella Fink (“Don’t Say A Word”),
Jack Kehler (“Under the Tuscan Sun”)
and Ione Skye (“But I’m A Cheerleader”).
April 8. Fox.

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House
of D
Drama about a Paris-based artist who returns home
to New York’s Greenwich Village and finds
himself revisiting the unresolved issues of his
youth. Actor David Duchovny (“Connie and
Carla”) makes his feature directorial debut
from his own screenplay. With Duchovny, Robin Williams
(“Final Cut”), Zelda Williams (“Nine
Months”), Anton Yelchin (“Hearts in
Atlantis”), (“Magali Amadei (“Taxi”),
Téa Leoni (“Spanglish”), Erykah
Badu (“The Cider House Rules”), Gideon
Jacobs (“Mr. Deeds,” “Julie Johnson”)
and Mark Margolis (“Daredevil”). Flat.
97 min. PG-13: Sexual and drug references; thematic
elements; language. April 15. Lions Gate.

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The
Interpreter
Thriller about a U.N. translator who, after overhearing
an assassination plot, teams with a federal agent
to save the life of an African leader. Directed
by Sydney Pollack (“Sabrina,” “Random
Hearts”) from a screenplay by Scott Frank
(“Minority Report,” “Flight of
the Phoenix”), Charles Randolph (“The
Life of David Gale”) and Steven Zaillian
(“A Civil Action,” “Hannibal,” “Gangs
of New York”). With Nicole Kidman (“Birth”),
Sean Penn (“The Assassination of Richard
Nixon”), Catherine Keener (“S1m0ne,” “The
Ballad of Jack and Rose”), David Zayas (“Washington
Heights”), Maz Jobrani (“13 Going on
30”), Tsai Chin (“Red Corner”),
Doug Aguirre (“Hitch”) and Yusuf Gatewood
(“Wonder Boys”). Scope. April 22. Universal.

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King’s
Ransom
Comedy-drama
about a wealthy businessman who arranges his own
kidnapping in an attempt to thwart the 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 & Kumar
Go to White Castle”), Regina Hall (“Scary
Movie 3,” “The Honeymooners”),
Leila Arcieri (“Daddy Day Care”), Nicole
Ari Parker (“Brown Sugar”), Glenn Bang
(“Mimic”), Larry Day (“Jack Paradise”),
Loretta Devine (“Woman Thou Art Loosed”),
Brooke D’Orsay (“Harold & Kumar Go
to White Castle”) and Ilona Elkin (“Confessions
of a Dangerous Mind”). PG-13: Crude and sexual
humor; language. April 22 limited. New Line.
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Layer Cake
British
crime thriller about a wealthy young drug dealer
who, on the verge of early retirement, reluctantly
agrees to track down the beautiful missing daughter
of a powerful criminal. Matthew Vaughn makes his
feature directorial debut from a screenplay by J.J.
Connolly. With Daniel Craig (“The Jacket”),
Michael Gambon (“The Life Aquatic With Steve
Zissou”), Tom Hardy (“The Reckoning”),
Sally Hawkins (“Vera Drake”), Sienna
Miller (“Alfie”), George Harris (“Black
Hawk Down”), Francis Magee (“I’ll
Sleep When I’m Dead”) and Colm Meaney
(“Intermission,” “The Boys From
Country Clare”). R: Strong brutal violence;
sexuality; nudity; pervasive language; drug use.
April 15. Sony Pictures Classics.

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