By Kim Hollis

July 2, 2002

2. Barbershop Filmed on a budget of only $11 million, Barbershop stars Ice Cube as the owner of a struggling barbershop that he inherited from his father. It just happens that a recent robbery took place in their Southeast Chicago community, and the barbers who work in the shop have the opportunity to gather information over the course of one workday to help them solve the crime - and earn a $50,000 reward. It doesn’t necessarily sound like much on paper but it’s a concept that certainly appears set to be a niche hit. Director Tim Story notes, “The barbershop is the hub of the black community. It’s the one place you can go to get all the information about what’s going on.” Barbershop should have strong appeal for its demographic, and with a terrific and proven cast that includes the aforementioned Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, Sean Patrick Thomas, and the hilarious and under-rated Anthony Anderson, there should be plenty of laughs with an upbeat and fresh presentation. Opens September 13th

**3. Old School A Road Trip for 30-somethings, Old School stars recent Entertainment Weekly “It-Lister” Luke Wilson along with Will Ferrell and Vince Vaughn as three long-time friends who decide to recapture the glory days of youth when one of the guys moves into a house that is just outside the local college campus. They throw a hugely successful party and then concoct a scheme to start their own fraternity that won’t be bound by the rules and regulations of the school since it’s located off campus. With appeal across a broad demographic range and a novel combination of Animal House and American Pie/Road Trip/Dude Where’s My Car?, Old School may just be the film that propels “the other Wilson” to broader fame. **Pushed back to First Quarter 2003 just after this article was completed - check out the bonus selection at the end of the article

4. Moonlight Mile This quiet film is already garnering some Oscar® buzz and certainly features a noteworthy cast, including past Academy Award® winners Dustin Hoffman, Susan Sarandon and Holly Hunter. The ubiquitous Jake Gyllenhaal stars in the film, and his career, while not white hot, is certainly on the upswing. His performance in Donnie Darko is generally considered to be attention drawing and he appears in two smaller summer films in Lovely and Amazing and The Good Girl. Another young “It-Lister” who never seems to go for conventional roles, he again takes on a riskier part here as a young man who is taken in by his fiancée’s parents when she dies unexpectedly. Though Moonlight Mile may not exactly light up the box office initially, it should have some staying power if the performances live up to hype. The trailer is solid and any additional marketing from Disney should attract the precise demographic for which it is aiming. Opens September 20th

5. Spirited Away It’s possible that I’ve gotten a bit carried away in placing this all-time Japanese box office leader on my list. Frankly, it’s my most anticipated movie for the remainder of the year, so I do admit to carrying a strong amount of bias. Even so, this animé film is unique in comparison to others that have seen U.S. release in that it is considered to be much more family-friendly. Where movies like Princess Mononoke, Akira and Ghost in the Shell contained violence and were particularly targeted at older fans of Japanese animation, Spirited Away has been seemingly embraced by Disney, with Toy Story’s John Lasseter acting as creative consultant for the English version. He believes the film is one of the greatest animated films ever created, and plans to keep Hayao Miyazaki’s creation completely intact, with no cuts or changes to the animation. Simply put, Spirited Away is the story of Chihiro, a listless and bored little girl whose family gets lost in the suburbs, causing them to end up in a mysterious town where her parents are turned into pigs and she is forced to become a servant for a witch. It sounds odd, but the animation is lovely and the film has already gained acceptance beyond Japan as it won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival and opened to enthusiastic audiences at the San Francisco International Film Festival. For fans of animation and animé in particular, Spirited Away is not to be missed. Opens September 20th

6. Tuck Everlasting Another ever-important family film, Tuck Everlasting’s pedigree is boosted not only by its subject matter, but also by a fine cast and director. The screenplay is based on Natalie Babbitt’s classic children’s book, marking the second attempt to turn this particular story into a movie. The tale is based around Winnie Foster, a girl living during the early 20th century who wishes to escape her parents and her dull everyday life. While walking in the woods, she comes across the Tucks, a family with a secret. She befriends them and helps them when their secret becomes jeopardized. Tuck Everlasting is directed by Jay Russell, who previously helmed the wonderful family film My Dog Skip. The primary star is Alexis Bledel of WB’s Gilmore Girls, a terrific little show that has allowed her to capably develop her acting skills. Her costars include past Academy Award® winners William Hurt, Sissy Spacek and Ben Kingsley, which provides solid evidence that this film will be solidly targeted at the entire family rather than just the younger crowd. Combine all these elements and Tuck Everlasting appears to be a truly wholesome product with more to offer than just Scooby-Doo level dumb jokes or funny dogs to laugh at a la Snow Dogs. It’s rare that a film that is truly appropriate for all ages comes along, but this one certainly looks as though it could fit the bill. Opens October 11th

7. Ring This film has a hot premise and appears to be the likeliest entry for breakout horror film of the year. The plot surrounds a mysterious videotape that circulates amongst a group of people. The catch? Those who watch it die within seven days. Seattle reporter Rachel Keller thinks the story sounds like urban legend, but finds her own life thrown into tumult when the strange aura of the tape begins to encircle her. Ring features Naomi Watts, another member of Entertainment Weekly’s “It List.” She received rave reviews for her bright-eyed performance in David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive in 2001 and her star is certainly on the rise. Other than Chris Cooper and the omnipresent Brian Cox, the remainder of the cast is widely comprised of unknowns, but it is based on a Japanese film that was wildly successful in that country. DreamWorks is already starting to develop an air of mystery about the film, with the official site itself being very creepy and vague. With a reported budget of $60 million, they’ve got some work to do to make it a profitable film, and working toward Blair Witch Project-style Internet hype does seem to be their current approach. It’s certainly gotten my attention. Opens October 18th

8. I Spy Eddie Murphy’s recent film career has been somewhat up and down. Though the Dr. Dolittle and Nutty Professor franchises have proven to be quite popular, Showtime was a glaring disappointment and The Adventures of Pluto Nash looks horrifically bad. For this film, Murphy will have the benefit of being partnered with Hollywood-hot Owen Wilson, who has never had a stratospheric box office hit, but is solid and reliable nonetheless. I Spy is an update of the 1960s television series that starred Bill Cosby and Robert Culp. The story in the film version will be just slightly different, with Wilson playing the actual spy and Murphy taking on the role of a professional boxer whose assistance Wilson’s character enlists. It’ll be the first of two “buddy films” for Wilson in a two month span, with Shanghai Knights to follow in December. Expect I Spy to see a very strong marketing push and big numbers on opening weekend. Opens November 1st

9. 8 Mile Yes, it really does star Eminem, and some folks apparently even think he has some acting chops. Love him or hate him, a lot bodes well for 8 Mile. First and foremost, whether or not this is a serious drama, Eminem remains a force in music. His newest album sits at number one on the music charts right now and he does in fact have legions of fans. Where vanity pieces like Mariah Carey’s Glitter have had a “too little, too late” quality, Eminem is still very visible and a mighty presence amongst one of the best demographic groups for film. 8 Mile has much, much more to offer, though. Director Curtis Hanson (another member of EW’s “It List”) has done some outstanding work in the past, including Wonder Boys and L.A. Confidential, which was nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Picture and also happened to win the director an Oscar® for Adapted Screenplay. True fans of cinema will be interested in 8 Mile thanks to Hanson’s involvement, and it will almost certainly receive a heavy marketing push on MTV and the other more youth-targeted networks. This is going to be a big one. Opens November 8th

10. Treasure Planet My greatest fear for Treasure Planet is that Disney is marketing it far too similarly to Atlantis, which didn’t exactly live up to lofty expectations. The trailer definitely amps up the sci-fi in a manner similar to Atlantis, perhaps at the expense of showing some of the characters. Even so, the animation for that trailer is terrific shows our hero skyboarding through the atmosphere of a strange-looking planet (reminiscent of Tarzan “surfing” the trees), but highlights some fantastic-looking space pirate ships. It’s a novel approach to updating Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel Treasure Island for the big screen, and if the glimpses we’ve seen thus far are any indication of the end product, Treasure Planet should be fantastic. The fact that the story is based on tried and true material may give this film the edge over Atlantis and some other recent Disney releases. Opens November 27th

**11. Ghost Ship (Bonus Selection) If this film isn’t on radar at this point, it absolutely should be. It’s the third film from Dark Castle Studios, which previously found Halloween season success with modernized updates of House on Haunted Hill and Thirt13en Ghosts, both updates of classic movies from horror film guru William Castle. Ghost Ship is the studio’s first effort at branching out beyond the Castle catalog, as he was in no way involved in the 1952 film on which this newest effort is based. The movie itself tells the story of a salvage crew that has come across a cruise ship that had been reported lost at sea nearly 50 years earlier. When they try to tow the ship back for additional examination, a series of bizarre events are set into motion, and we can only assume that a number of crew members meet violent ends. Much like the previous Dark Castle films, the cast is comprised of a several familiar faces that lend credibility to the production but aren’t known specifically as box office draws. Gabriel Byrne heads the group, and is joined by Isaiah Washington and former ER denizens Ron Eldard and Julianna Margulies. As with most horror movies, the cast isn’t all that important, but there’s no doubt that the earlier Castle productions would likely have been far less enjoyable affairs without the presence of some of the more talented cast members, such as Geoffrey Rush, Famke Janssen, Tony Shalhoub, F. Murray Abraham and Matthew Lillard. Ghost Ship promises to follow in the stylish footsteps of its predecessors, which comprise two of the ten best October openers ever. It should have a solid first weekend followed by typical horror film drops in weeks to follow. Opens October 25th

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