‘Cowboys’ Guns Down Age Myth

“Space Cowboys” was supposed to be a big flop as far as most of Hollywood was concerned. Conventional wisdom suggests that in an era when youth-appeal films are driving the box office, those aimed at older audiences don’t have a shot at doing much business--especially if they’re cast with aging movie stars.

The buzz before Warner Bros.’ Aug. 4 release was: Who wants to see “Grumpy Old Men in Space?”

Not only did “Space Cowboys,” starring Clint Eastwood (who also directed), Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland and James Garner, open to $18.1 million amid mostly rave reviews, it has hung in there with a minimal drop-off in business thanks to strong word of mouth.

The film, which Warner sources confirm cost just north of $80 million, has so far grossed about $54 million and is projected to do in the $85-million range domestically. Once all revenues from the international market, where Eastwood is huge, and other ancillaries are tallied, the movie could well be profitable. Eastwood and Jones, who each get a cut of the gross starting from the first dollar at the box office, will see a nice payday.

“All we read and talk about is the domination of the under-30 moviegoers,” said Alan Horn, president of Warner Bros. “The implicit assumption is that if you have a movie not designed for that audience, you’re in big trouble.”

With “Space Cowboys,” Horn said, “The older demo has spoken.”

In fact, amid such youth-driven hits as “X-Men,” “Scary Movie” and “Gladiator,” this summer has seen the success of several other adult-appeal films. They include Warner’s “The Perfect Storm,” DreamWorks/Fox’s “What Lies Beneath,” starring Harrison Ford, and Columbia Pictures’ “The Patriot,” starring Mel Gibson.

Jack Valenti, head of the Motion Picture Assn. of America, says that contrary to popular belief, “there is a large market out there for films that appeal to older people.”

In 1999, MPAA data show, moviegoers older than 40 accounted for 31% of admissions, compared with 41% for the 12-to-24 age group. But when 30-to-39-year-olds are added to the 40-plus group, the over-30 crowd accounted for nearly half of all admissions (49%). Valenti said that in the last five years, moviegoers older than 40 have accounted for 30% to 34% of admissions.

Still, as data show, the core moviegoing audience remains 16-to-20-year-olds. They are the most frequent moviegoers (going at least once a month), therefore Hollywood’s most sought-after audience.

The under-25 segment will go back to see movies repeatedly if they love them (which tells you why “Titanic” was such a mega-hit), whereas older moviegoers don’t typically see the same movie twice. That might explain why a film such as “Space Cowboys” is a solid hit but won’t likely gross $100 million or more.

Paul Dergaraedian, president of Exhibitor Relations Co., says the film’s successful hold at the box office reflects both strong word of mouth and the “moviegoing habits of older audiences, which don’t necessarily run out and see something the first weekend but discover a film over time.”

Knowing how review-driven and word-of-mouth-dependent the movie would be, Warner distribution president Dan Fellman finally persuaded Eastwood--who doesn’t normally preview his movies--to sneak “Space Cowboys” the weekend before it opened. The only other film Eastwood had ever agreed to sneak was “In the Line of Fire,” a 1993 Columbia Pictures release produced by Horn’s former company, Castle Rock Entertainment.

In making his argument for “Space Cowboys,” Fellman recalled telling Eastwood, “Older audiences attend sneaks more than younger ones,” who are usually preoccupied with running out to see the hottest flick of the moment.

“From our experience of knowing how good the film was, we felt that the best type of advertising was the movie itself, if we could just get it out there,” Fellman said. “And he agreed, for the first time.”

Horn said that whereas Warner sold “Perfect Storm” as a thrill-ride action picture, much like its 1996 release “Twister,” “Space Cowboys” was different because it’s a character-driven story with older movie stars “aimed squarely at the mainstream older audience.” It’s more similar to Warner’s “Grumpy Old Men” movies, starring Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon, which each grossed in the $70-million range.

Horn said that initially, Eastwood, 70, had “expressed reservations about doing the film,” worried audiences might not embrace him in the role of an aging astronaut. It helped, Horn said, that in 1998, pioneering astronaut John Glenn, at 77, went back into space.

As a director, Eastwood also had concerns about undertaking a big special-effects movie, never having done one. Such films require much longer preparation and post-production time than he’s used to. Eastwood--one of Hollywood’s most efficient and controlling filmmakers, who won best director and best picture Oscars for “Unforgiven”--has a reputation for bringing his movies in on time and on budget.

Eastwood also did so with this film, said Andrew Lazar, who produced “Space Cowboys” with him.

Lazar said he came up with the original idea of “Space Cowboys” about three years ago. He pitched it to screenwriter Ken Kaufman, with whom he had always wanted to work.

“The idea was about these four guys in their late ‘50s who had been pioneers in their fields and had dreamed of going into space but were overlooked. Then, through a series of circumstances, they were brought back to the space program,” Lazar said, noting he and Kaufman fleshed out the pitch and tried to sell it. Warner, where Lazar has a production deal, passed, as did several other studios.

“The company line in most cases was, ‘It’s so cast-contingent,’ ” recalled Lazar, noting that Kaufman--who’s the credited writer on the film along with Howard Kausner--then agreed to write the script on spec.

The completed script was then submitted both to Warner executives and to Eastwood. Although Eastwood initially passed, his story editor at Malpaso Productions and his longtime agent, Lenny Hirshan, both fans of the script, helped persuade him to do the movie.

“Lenny called that Friday and said that Clint was interested,” recalled Lazar, which of course was all it took to prompt Warner’s then studio chief Terry Semel to green-light the movie.

Horn, who joined Warner just as “Cowboys” went into production, said the film’s success proves that audiences want to see Eastwood in heroic roles, which was also the case with “In the Line of Fire.”

“There’s no substitute for really good movies,” Horn said. “Audiences will show up.”

We’ll see whether they show up this weekend for the debut of Walt Disney Co.’s mature-cast comedy caper “The Crew,” starring Burt Reynolds, Seymour Cassel, Richard Dreyfuss and Dan Hedaya, which one critic dubbed “ ‘Goodfellas’ Meets ‘Grumpy Old Men.’ ”

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For Mature Audiences

While the moviegoing public is largely made up of teens and young adults, Jack Valenti, head of the Motion Picture Assn. of America, says “There is a large market out there for films that appeal to older people.”

Frequent Attendees

Teens, ages 12 through 17 made up a greater percentage of the frequent moviegoing public in 1999 than adults 18 and older.

Movie Admissions

The under-40 crowd generated more than two-thirds of total movie admissions during the last five years:

Selected Films with Older Cast Members

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U.S. gross Movie Studio (in millions) Released On Golden Pond Universal $119.3 1981 Driving Miss Daisy Warner Bros. 106.6 1989 Cocoon Fox 76.1 1985 Grumpier Old Men Warner Bros. 71.5 1995 Grumpy Old Men Warner Bros. 69.8 1993 Space Cowboys* Warner Bros. 53.8 2000 Out to Sea Fox 26.6 1997 Waking Ned Devine Fox/Searchlight 24.8 1998 Oh God, You Devil Warner Bros. 21.5 1984 Tough Guys Buena Vista 21.5

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Sources: Motion Picture Assn. of America, Exhibitor Relations Co.

*Still tracking.