THE TOP FORTY COUNTDOWN 2004, PART SIX: THE FINAL CONFRONTATION

By Scott Bettencourt

TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation--71 (U.S. Gross in Millions)
2. A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 3: Dream Warriors--44
3. The Beach--39
4. Arlington Road--24
5. Cousins--22
6. Cabin Fever--21
7. Wild at Heart--14
8. Blue Velvet--8
9. Mulholland Drive--7
10. The Straight Story--6

His only recent major feature was the overrated indie horror film Cabin Fever, but Nathan Barr was the principal composer and Badalamenti only provided a few themes (the director is a protege of David Lynch).

5 OSCARS, 7 NOMINATIONS
TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. Dances With Wolves--184
2. Indecent Proposal--106
3. Out of Africa--87
4. Moonraker--70
5. Thunderball--63
6. Octopussy--62
7. The Deep--61 (approx)
8. The Specialist--57
9. King Kong--52
10. Goldfinger--51

Barry fans were crushed when the composer left Pixar's upcoming superhero spoof The Incredibles, and there's no word of any future feature projects.

1 OSCAR, 14 NOMINATIONS
TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. Ghostbusters--238
2. National Lampoon's Animal House--141
3. Wild Wild West--113
4. Trading Places--90
5. The Ten Commandments--85
6. Stripes--85
7. Airplane!--83
8. Cape Fear--79
9. Spies Like Us--60
10. Legal Eagles--47

Despite the tremendous acclaim (and Oscar nomination) for his Far From Heaven score, no sign yet of any more Bernstein features.

TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. Barbershop--75
2. Next Friday--57
3. Malcolm X--48
4. Jungle Fever--31
5. Love & Basketball--27
6. Summer of Sam--19
7. Sugar Hill--18
8. Original Sin--16
9. Eve's Bayou--14
10. 25th Hour--13

Surprisingly, Blanchard didn't return for the Barbershop sequel, but he will reunite with Spike Lee for She Hate Me and take a rare detour into horror-action for the latest Blade film.

WHAT'S NEXT: Blade: Trinity, She Hate Me

1 OSCAR NOMINATION
TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. Lost in Space--69
2. Honey, I Blew Up the Kid--58
3. Tombstone--56
4. Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey--41
5. Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco--32
6. Silverado--32
7. Harry and the Hendersons--29
8. The Rescuers Down Under--27
9. The Presidio--20
10. Betsy's Wedding--19

No feature work, but Broughton won what seems like his thousandth Emmy for Eloise at the Plaza.

TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. The Fast and the Furious--144
2. Monster--34
3. Driven--32
4. Go--16

He's done surprisingly little to capitalize on the success of Fast and the Furious, while he scored one of last year's most acclaimed indies, the Oscar winning Monster, and will reteam with Furious director Rob Cohen on Stealth, collaborating on the score with Cohen's regular composer Randy Edelman.

WHAT'S NEXT: The Underclassman, Stealth.

TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. Big Daddy--163
2. Anger Management--134
3. Mr. Deeds--126
4. 50 First Dates--119
5. The Wedding Singer--80
6. Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo--65
7. The Animal--57
8. Little Nicky--39
9. Adam Sandler's 8 Crazy Nights--23
10. My Boss's Daughter--15

Still more smash hit Adam Sandler vehicles, and upcoming a vehicle for the younger Wayans brothers.

WHAT'S NEXT: White Chicks

TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. Austin Powers in Goldmember--213
2. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me--205
3. The Santa Clause 2--139
4. Mortal Kombat--70
5. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery--53
6. Mortal Kombat: Annihilation--35
7. Beverly Hills Ninja--31
8. Wild Things--30
9. Joe Somebody--22
10. Catch That Kid--16

Alas, no new Austin Powers for him to score yet, but he's managing to keep busy with the disappointing (The Big Bounce), the promising (John Waters' A Dirty Shame), and the distinctly unpromising (the Olsen twins in New York Minute, which looks like it will be a waste of a great title).

WHAT'S NEXT: New York Minute, A Dirty Shame

1 OSCAR, 3 NOMINATIONS
TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. Rocky III--125
2. Rocky--117
3. The Karate Kid, Part II--115
4. The Karate Kid--90
5. Rocky II--85
6. Private Benjamin--69
7. The Thomas Crown Affair--69
8. For Your Eyes Only--54
9. Rookie of the Year--53
10. Broadcast News--51

No new features, but a cable movie reunion with Paul Mazursky, Coast to Coast starring Judy Davis and Richard Dreyfuss.

TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. The Santa Clause--144
2. Jungle 2 Jungle--59
3. Bull Durham--50
4. The Doctor--38
5. Children of a Lesser God--31
6. Guarding Tess--27
7. Bed of Roses--19
8. Milk Money--18
9. Dance With Me--15
10. The Hidden--9

Still frustratingly missing in action.

1 OSCAR
TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. The Crying Game--62
2. The Full Monty--45
3. A Man Apart--26
4. Say Anything--20
5. Disorderlies--10
6. Pushing Tin--8
7. Hiding Out--7
8. American History X--6
9. Monkeybone--5
10. The Mighty Quinn--4

No major features lately -- the Oscar curse, or returning to her rock roots?

TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. XXX--141
2. Ghostbusters II--112
3. The Mask--119
4. Twins--111
5. Kindergarten Cop--91
6. While You Were Sleeping--81
7. The Last of the Mohicans--75
8. Six Days, Seven Nights--74
9. Anaconda--65
10. Shanghai Knights--59

Edelman did both score and song arrangements for Connie and Carla, but the film failed to work that Big Fat Greek boxoffice magic. He reunites with his number one director Rob Cohen for Stealth, collaborating with BT.

WHAT'S NEXT: Surviving Christmas, Stealth.

TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country--74
2. The Lizzie McGuire Movie--42
3. Now and Then--27
4. One True Thing--23
5. Leap of Faith--23
6. Untamed Heart--18
7. My Girl 2--17
8. Crazy People--13
9. Christopher Columbus: The Discovery--8
10. The Meteor Man--8

I guess it's best that the success of The Lizzie McGuire Movie hasn't trapped him in teen girl movies, but it would be nice to have SOME feature score from him this year.

TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. Dante's Peak--67
2. Beavis and Butt-head Do America--63
3. Alien Resurrection--47
4. Thirteen Ghosts--41
5. I Still Know What You Did Last Summer--40
6. Cradle 2 the Grave--34
7. Ghost Ship--30
8. Jane Austen's Mafia--19
9. Josie and the Pussycats--14
10. Gods and Generals--12

Nothing since last year's oddball double feature of Cradle 2 the Grave and Gods and Generals.

TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. Dr. Dolittle--144
2. Big Momma's House--117
3. Barbershop 2: Back in Business--63
4. Like Mike--51
5. 10 Things I Hate About You--38
6. 28 Days--37
7. Son-in-Law--36
8. I Spy--35
9. Queen of the Damned--30
10. First Kid--26

Intriguingly, this former Oingo Boingo member has become typecast in African-American comedy -- most recently Love Don't Cost a Thing, Barbershop 2, My Baby's Daddy and Johnson Family Vacation. Maybe it's the dreadlocks.

TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. The Rock--134
2. We Were Soldiers--74
3. The Man in the Iron Mask--56
4. Home Alone 3--28
5. Ella Enchanted--17 (as of 4/25/04)
6. Fire Down Below--16
7. Two If By Sea--10

A last minute rescoring of Ella Enchanted (so last minute that his name was included in neither the release poster nor the Variety review) and an intriguing upcoming project -- Peter Hyams' film of Ray Bradbury's A Sound of Thunder.

WHAT'S NEXT: A Sound of Thunder

1 OSCAR, 8 NOMINATIONS
TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. Tootsie--177
2. The Firm--158
3. On Golden Pond--118
4. The Graduate--104
5. The Goodbye Girl--92
6. Heaven Can Wait--81
7. The Electric Horseman--61
8. The Goonies--61
9. Hope Floats--60
10. Tequila Sunrise--41

No features in five years, and his most loyal director, Sydney Pollack, has hired James Newton Howard for his new film, The Interpreter.

2 OSCAR NOMINATIONS
TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. Hanging Up--36
2. Shine--35
3. Elizabeth--30
4. Sliding Doors--11
5. Strictly Ballroom--11

No American films in several years, but his new project is an Australian film called Peaches, with Hugo Weaving (taking a break from sci-fi/fantasy trilogies).

TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. Ocean's Eleven--183
2. Out of Sight--37

The terrific Buffalo Soldiers died a quick death at the U.S. boxoffice; upcoming is Code 46, a futuristic romance, and presumably Ocean's Twelve.

WHAT'S NEXT: Code 46

3 OSCARS, 9 NOMINATIONS
TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. Ghost--217
2. Fatal Attraction--156
3. Doctor Zhivago--111
4. Dead Poets Society--95
5. Witness--68
6. A Walk in the Clouds--50
7. Firefox--46
8. Lawrence of Arabia--38 (approx)
9. Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome--36
10. Taps--35

No U.S. features in five years.

TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. Unfaithful--52
2. Lost Souls--16
3. Washington Square-1

Some cable movie scores (including Soldier's Girl), and the Johnny Depp-as-J.M. Barrie biopic Neverland is still due.

WHAT'S NEXT: Neverland

TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. Bram Stoker's Dracula--82
2. The Pianist--32
3. The Ninth Gate--18
4. The Portrait of a Lady--3
5. Death and the Maiden--3

No U.S. releases since The Pianist, but with luck Kilar will score Polanski's remake of Oliver Twist.

TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. Scary Movie--157
2. Look Who's Talking--140
3. Bad Santa--60
4. Clueless--56
5. Dude, Where's My Car--46
6. Look Who's Talking Too--46
7. A Night at the Roxbury--30
8. Can't Hardly Wait--25
9. Problem Child 2--24
10. Jury Duty--16

A largely adaptation score for the deservedly successful Bad Santa, and upcoming is a return to Dude, Where's My Car? territory.

WHAT'S NEXT: Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle

TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. Boys Don't Cry--11
2. Dirty Pretty Things--8
3. High Art--1

Dirty Pretty Things earned excellent reviews and an Oscar nomination; perhaps Prozac Nation will be finally released after four years in the medicine cabinet.

WHAT'S NEXT: Prozac Nation

TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. Twister--241
2. Tarzan--171
3. Speed--121
4. Con Air--101
5. Brother Bear--85
6. Training Day--76
7. The Haunted Mansion--75
8. Bad Boys--65
9. Speed 2: Cruise Control--47
10. Domestic Disturbance--44

A good case could be made for putting Mancina on the Top Forty instead of some of the other choices, though Brother Bear and Haunted Mansion were considered boxoffice disappointments.

TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. Murder by Numbers--31
2. Abandon--10
3. Requiem For a Dream--3
4. Pi--3

His upcoming films are the same as they were last year, not a good sign.

WHAT'S NEXT: Suspect Zero, 11:14

TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. Traffic--124
2. sex, lies and videotape--24
3. Solaris--14
4. Pump Up the Volume--11
5. Narc--10
6. The Limey--3
7. King of the Hill--1
8. Wonderland--1
9. Kafka--1

The grungy true crime drama Wonderland emphasized songs over score; perhaps the romantic suspense film Wicker Park will allow him to shine.

WHAT'S NEXT: Wicker Park

TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. U-571--77
2. 3 Ninjas--29
3. 3 Ninjas Kick Back--11

His only recent feature release was The Battle of Shaker Heights, whose score was a bit tdistractingly in the Thomas Newman vein.

TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. Holes--67
2. Return to Neverland--48
3. The Jungle Book II--47
4. Uptown Girls--37
5. Vegas Vacation--36
6. The Avengers--23
7. Iron Will--21
8. Flipper--20
9. Terminal Velocity--16
10. Supercop--16

The terrific Holes was his biggest hit yet, but hasn't led to much of anything except replacing Lesley Barber on Uptown Girls.

8 OSCARS, 15 NOMINATIONS
TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. Aladdin--217
2. Beauty and the Beast--145
3. Pocahontas--141
4. The Little Mermaid--111
5. The Hunchback of Notre Dame--100
6. Hercules--99
7. Home on the Range--42 (as of 4/25/04)
7. Life With Mikey--12

Home on the Range is a charming film and a lively score, but its low boxoffice may sound the death knell for traditional animation (and the animated musical).

WHAT'S NEXT: Noel

5 OSCAR NOMINATIONS
TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. In the Line of Fire--102
2. Disclosure--83
3. The Untouchables--76
4. Wolf--65
5. Mission to Mars--60
6. Bugsy--49
7. Casualties of War--18
8. Love Affair--18
9. Frantic--17
10. The Mission--17

Still keeping very active in Europe, while Ripley's Game received a brief (but very well reviewed) New York release before showing up on video.

TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. Rugrats: The Movie--100
2. Rugrats in Paris--76
3. The Royal Tenenbaums--50
4. Rugrats Go Wild--39
5. Happy Gilmore--38
6. Good Boy!--37
7. Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen--29 (as of 4/25/04)
8. The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle--26
9. Rushmore--17
10. A Guy Thing--15

Mothersbaugh is doing an impressive job balancing films for tykes (the Rugrats series), teens (Teenage Drama Queen) and grownups (Thirteen, the Wes Anderson comedies).

WHAT'S NEXT: Envy, The Life Aquatic

TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. 28 Days Later--45
2. Friday After Next--33
3. Snatch--30
4. All About the Benjamins--25
5. City by the Sea--22
6. The Bachelor--21
7. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels--3

28 Days Later is his biggest U.S. hit yet, and coming up are a Queen Latifah/Jimmy Fallon (!) action comedy and another Danny Boyle project.

WHAT'S NEXT: Taxi, Millions

TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. The Piano--40
2. Gattaca--12
3. The End of the Affair--10
4. The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover--7
5. Carrington--3
6. Ravenous--2

More arthouse films upcoming, but one stars Johnny Depp which should bring some attention.

WHAT'S NEXT: The Libertine, The Actors

TOP GROSSING FILMS
1. The Hunt For Red October--122
2. Free Willy--77
3. The Blue Lagoon--56 (approx)
4. Starship Troopers--54
5. RoboCop--53
6. Breakdown--50
7. Under Siege 2: Dark Territory--50
8. Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book--43
9. Conan the Barbarian--39
10. Hot Shots! Part Deux--38

Still no new features. His fans miss him and hope he's enjoying his hiatus.

2 OSCAR NOMINATIONS
TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. Howards End--25
2. The Remains of the Day--23
3. A Room With a View--20
4. Le Divorce--9
5. Mr. and Mrs. Bridge--7
6. The Golden Bowl--3
7. Jefferson in Paris--2
8. Maurice--2
9. Surviving Picasso--2
10. A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries--1

Le Divorce was one of his more charming and fresh scores, but the film won't be considered one of the Merchant-Ivory classics.

WHAT'S NEXT: The White Countess

TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. Tin Cup--53
2. The Little Rascals--52
3. T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous--47
4. My Dog Skip--34
5. Black Sheep--32
6. My Fellow Americans--22
7. Tuck Everlasting--19
8. The Evening Star--12
9. Look Who's Talking Now--10
10. The Amazing Panda Adventure--7

His Young Black Stallion score received inexplicably harsh reviews, but the fireman drama Ladder 49 should allow him to work some new turf.

WHAT'S NEXT: Ladder 49

6 OSCAR NOMINATIONS
TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. Rush Hour 2--226
2. Rush Hour--144
3. Bringing Down the House--132
4. The Amityville Horror--86
5. Sudden Impact--67
6. Enter the Dragon--47 (approx)
7. The Beverly Hillbillies--44
8. Money Talks--40
9. Magnum Force--39 (approx)
10. The Dead Pool--37

Considering the huge success of Bringing Down the House, Schifrin has kept a fairly low profile (while supervising CD releases of his classic scores like Hellstrom Chronicle and Dirty Harry), and next works in more somber terrain with the all-star remake of Thornton Wilder's The Bridge of San Luis Rey.
 
WHAT'S NEXT: The Bridge of San Luis Rey

TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. School of Rock--81
2. Laurel Canyon--3
3. High Art--1
4. Roger Dodger--1

School of Rock was Wedren's first big hit and a deserved critical success, but though the songs understandably gained most of the attention, it's still a good project to have on the resume.

TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. Hollywood Homicide--30
2. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind--15
3. Play it to the Bone--8
4. Thirteen Conversations About One Thing--3

Hollywood Homicide, while Wurman's highest grossing movie, was a huge money loser, yet this promising composer is more prolific than ever.

WHAT'S NEXT: Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Criminal

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