MOVIES - Dec. 21, 2001

MOVIES

‘Lord’ Off to a Strong Start, New Line Says

“The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” debuted Wednesday to some of the year’s best reviews and an impressive $18.2 million on 5,711 screens. The movie also opened in 13 countries abroad, bringing in $11.5 million on its first day.

The “Rings” trilogy is considered a make-or-break proposition for New Line Cinema, which has spent close to $300 million to produce the trio. It will probably spend an additional $150 million to market them.

Because the pre-Christmas week is traditionally downbeat in terms of movie attendance and the film’s three-hour running time allows for only one evening performance, the strong showing for “Rings” augurs well. Comparisons to “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” which started out with a $32-million opening day, are not necessarily valid, says David Tuckerman, New Line distribution chief, since that movie opened on a Friday and was on about 8,200 screens.

Opening-day attendance was strong nationwide, in suburban multiplexes as well as big cities, Tuckerman says, reflecting interest beyond the core “Lord of the Rings” fans. Given its strong start and four Golden Globe nominations--including best motion picture drama--that the film received Thursday, New Line upped its estimate of $60 million for the first five days to between $65 million and $75 million.

*

THEATER

Critics (Mostly) Applaud Kushner Play

Tony Kushner’s new play about Westerners in Afghanistan, “Homebody/Kabul,” which just opened in New York, drew mostly positive reviews. Plenty of stuff to cheer about, the critics said ... with some qualifications.

“Exciting if still unfullfilled ... lumbering yet compelling,” wrote Ben Brantley of the New York Times. Linda Winer of Newsday liked the “beautiful, sly and heartbreaking” first act but found the middle “surprisingly turgid.” Richard Christiansen of the Chicago Tribune called the play “prickly and flawed ... but what a feast it is.”

Elysa Gardner of USA Today wrote that it has “mesmerizing moments” but also “reveals the writer’s enduring infatuation with his own cleverness and consequent reluctance to edit himself.” And Michael Kuchwara of Associated Press referred to the play’s “intermittent power.”

*

POP/ROCK

Elliott’s Car Wrecked in Cross-Country Joyride

A towing firm employee was jailed on charges he took an unauthorized spin in rapper Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott’s $311,000 Lamborghini Diablo and wrecked it.

Joseph Thomas Johnson, a dispatcher for Richmond, Va.-based Century Inc., was hired to transport the plum-colored 2001 car from California to the singer’s Virginia Beach home on Dec. 9. Police said he mowed down a speed limit sign and slammed into a tree before abandoning the wrecked car around 3 a.m. The initial damage estimate was $161,000.

*

THE ARTS

Rejected by the NEA, Supported by Warhol

Earlier this week, the National Endowment for the Arts turned down a grant request from the Maine College of Arts for support of its upcoming “The William Pope.L: eRacism” exhibition, featuring the work of controversial performance and visual artist William Pope.L.

But the college got better news Thursday: The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts is forking out $50,000 for the cause.

Joel Wachs, the Warhol Foundation’s president, said the decision was made before the NEA’s action but he found the timing interesting.

“The irony is that the NEA’s latest attack on freedom of expression serves to highlight the relevance and timeliness of Mr. Pope.L’s work, and to emphasize the importance of the issues it addresses,” Wachs said.

Pope.L, an African American who teaches at Bates College in Maine, has won three NEA grants and been featured in a number of group and solo shows. The 45-year-old maverick has traditionally focused on race, sexuality and social issues.

*

Local Collection to Be Auctioned at Sotheby’s

Modern and contemporary art from the estate of Samuel and Luella Maslon of Rancho Mirage will go up for auction in May at Sotheby’s New York.

The priciest pieces, including a Matisse painting valued at $9 million to $12 million, will be offered on May 8; other paintings, sculptures and prints will go on the block in subsequent sales.

Estimated to bring a total of $25 million to $33 million, the collection was amassed over 50 years and displayed in the Maslons’ home, designed in 1960 by architect Richard Neutra. The house and its artistic contents have been on the circuit of traveling art groups for many years. Samuel Maslon, a prominent attorney, died in 1988; Louella Maslon died in July.

*

QUICK TAKES

MTV has signed a deal with the creators of its controversial series “Jackass” that will result in a theatrical movie version of the show, starring Johnny Knoxville and directed by “Jackass” co-creator Jeff Tremaine for MTV Films and Paramount. It will also generate at least three prime-time TV specials to run next year.... Scott Weiland, lead singer of the Stone Temple Pilots, was ordered to undergo counseling Wednesday after pleading guilty to domestic battery after fighting with his wife in a Las Vegas hotel last month.... Tori Spelling will star in the off-Broadway hit “Maybe Baby, It’s You” at the Coronet Theater Jan. 24-March 23, replacing Shari Simpson, who co-wrote the piece--11 vignettes about people in search of mates.

Elaine Dutka