Sneaks ’93 : THE PLAYERS PICK ‘EM : They’d Actually Pay to See the Latest From Scorsese, Spielberg--and Arnold

The concept for this story was asking a cross section of Hollywood two questions:

What movie do you think will be the year’s biggest blockbuster?

What movie are you most looking forward to seeing?

Since the unanimous answer to question No. 1 was Steven Spielberg’s “Jurassic Park,” we moved on to question No. 2.

The top personal picks of these Hollywood denizens were varied and at times extremely cheeky. In some cases, they named movies that aren’t in the SNEAKS listings of 1993 releases--they may be are projects that are getting off the ground this year, without a clear release date, or they may not have a distributor yet. A slight trend did emerge, however. Based on this random sample, you’ll see a lot of Hollywood types at the Century City 14 for two upcoming period pieces--Martin Scorsese’s “The Age of Innocence” and Bille August’s “House of the Spirits.”

Paul Cohen (president, Aries Film Releasing): “The one at the top of my list is Abel Ferrara’s ‘Snake Eyes,’ and I say this without any reassurance that it’s going to be our movie. I think as a filmmaker, after ‘Bad Lieutenant,’ he’s hit his stride. And in this one, I think Harvey (Keitel) will take even more risks, if that’s possible. The additional lure here is Madonna working for the first time with a director like Abel, who I think will pull things out of her we haven’t seen before. That, in in itself, will be a good reason to go see this picture.”

Todd Graff (screenwriter of “Used People,” “The Vanishing,” “Angie, I Says”): “I’m going to go with Martin Scorsese’s ‘The Age of Innocence.’ I’m a Scorsese fanatic. The cast (Michelle Pfeiffer, Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder) is so incredible and it will be fascinating to see what he does with material that is unlike anything he’s ever tackled before.”

Kathleen Kennedy (producer of “E.T.,” “Alive” and the upcoming “Jurassic Park”): “I know I’m being biased here, but I’m going to have to go with ‘Jurassic Park.’ Steven has created a really unique and special movie and along with being entertaining, it has a lot to say about the state of the world and the advancement of technology. I can hardly wait to see it and I think a lot of people share my opinion!”

Callie Khouri (last year’s Oscar winner for her original script “Thelma & Louise”): “I’m looking forward to seeing ‘House of the Spirits.’ I like the work of Isabel Allende, the writer of the book, very much, and I love to watch Meryl Streep do anything, especially something she can sink her teeth into. She’ll be able to do that in this movie--the material is phenomenal.”

Industry marketing expert: “So many films, so few choices. At the top of my list is ‘The Vagrant,’ starring Bill Paxton, which I believe should have been subtitled “The MGM Story.’ I’m also looking forward to seeing ‘Weekend at Bernie’s 2,’ because frankly, the first film left me wanting more. And then there’s my ultimate top pick, “Aspen Extreme,’ if only because it give me real hope for the movie business. This film shows that if you are Michael Eisner’s ski instructor, you, too, can be a movie director.”

Industry script consultant: “Well, I can tell you instantly what I’m not looking forward to seeing: ‘Dennis the Menace,’ ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘The Last Action Hero.’ To me, these are bloated Excedrin-time summer movies that would make any rational person want to get out of this business. I’m looking forward to “House of the Spirits,” which is a Chilean epic love story, and so what do they do? They cast all Anglos! What were they thinking? Lastly, I can hardly wait to get in line to see ‘Grumpy Old Men,’ which stars that ‘60s A-list cast Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau and Ann-Margret. Actually, this one may be good. The script is really charming. I predict it will be this year’s ‘Fried Green Tomatoes.’ ”

Phillip Noyce (director of “Dead Calm,” “Patriot Games” and the upcoming summer release “Sliver”): “I would say ‘Little Buddha.’ Bernardo Bertolucci is one of the few directors who chooses to compose shots for the cinema screen, as opposed for the video release. Every one of his films is a visual treat.”

Production executive: “ ‘Cliffhanger.’ I think it’s going to be the biggest action movie of the year. If the movie is half as exciting as the script was, it’s going to be huge.”

Noami Phoner (screenwriter, “Running on Empty,” the upcoming “A Dangerous Woman”): “There’s a couple. The Coen Brothers’ ‘The Hudsucker Proxy,’ Robert Altman’s ‘Short Cuts,’ Scorsese’s ‘The Age of Innocence’ and ‘House of the Spirits.’ I chose these because of a combination of content. I’m looking for films that say something, and you can count on all these filmmakers to deliver original provocative statement. Of course, I’m hoping for a few surprises, too. It’s always a thrill when you stumble onto something like ‘The Crying Game.’ I hope this year, we get more films like that, films that take chances and are entirely original.”

Studio executive: “The only one that springs to mind is ‘The Last Action Hero.’ Any time Arnold (Schwarzenegger) makes a movie, it brings people out to see other movies because usually they can’t get in to see his! Arnold is good for business.”

John Patrick Shanley (director, “Joe vs. the Volcano,” screenwriter “Moonstruck” and the upcoming animated feature “We’re Back!”): “ ‘Jurassic Park’ is at the top of my list. I love action and when it’s coupled with Steven Spielberg and the subject matter, how can it miss? I hear from the grapevine that special effects-wise, it’s just incredible. And plus, I have to admit--I have a thing for dinosaurs.”

Richard Sherman (production designer, “Paris Trout,” the upcoming “The Adventures of Huck Finn”): “ ‘Sommersby.’ I think it’s a great story, I love the period and I like her (Jodie Foster). My runner-up is ‘House of the Spirits.’ It’s going to be an epic, and they just don’t make them anymore.”

John Waters (director of cult classics “Pink Flamingos,” “Hairspray” and the upcoming “Serial Mom”): “I’m really looking forward to ‘Kalifornia,’ which is a road-trip murder-rampage movie. I like the title very much, and I would love to see stars Brad Pitt and Juliette Lewis robbing a 7-Eleven. That, to me, would be a really sexy scene. I’m also going to pay to see ‘Matinee,’ which I gather is loosely based on the William Castle story, so why don’t they just admit it? And also ‘The Ed Wood Story,’ which Tim Burton is directing. I think Johnny Depp as Ed, one of the world’s worst movie directors, is a brilliant casting idea. I’ll be the first in line to see that one.”

Dan Waters (screenwriter of “Heathers,” “Batman Returns”): “At the top of my list for ’93 is ‘Romeo Is Bleeding.’ With this cast --Gary Oldman, Lena Olin--I’d even be excited if they were doing a trapeze act on ‘The Circus of the Stars.’ I read the script for this one and it’s very, very good. Normally I’m a grouch about . . . adaptations, but David Cronenberg’s ‘M. Butterfly’ is also high on my list. Lastly, I’m looking forward to Tim Burton’s ‘The Ed Wood Story.’ It will be great to see Tim do a movie that is not evaluated on the criteria of how many Happy Meals campaigns they can saddle it with.”