A Few Good Men Movie

Moviegoing this holiday season continues ahead of last year's pace, fueled by a winning streak of hit films from Hollywood's major studios. To the list that so far includes "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York," "Bram Stoker's Dracula," "Aladdin" and "The Bodyguard," now add "A Few Good Men," the military courtroom drama directed by Rob Reiner that stars Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson and Demi Moore.

John Ferzacca knows it's usually the other way around, but he can't help thinking that the ad for his latest project might be: "You've seen the movie, now go see the play!" In 1989, before it became the huge star-fueled picture it is today, "A Few Good Men" had a long run on Broadway. However, Ferzacca says that to his knowledge, except for a run at the Wilshire Theatre in Los Angeles last year, the play hasn't been done anywhere else.

John Ferzacca knows it's usually the other way around, but he can't help thinking that the ad for his latest project might be: "You've seen the movie, now go see the play!" In 1989, before it became the huge star-fueled picture it is today, "A Few Good Men" had a long run on Broadway. However, Ferzacca says that to his knowledge, except for a run at the Wilshire Theatre in Los Angeles last year, the play hasn't been done anywhere else.

With a pair of ace performances under his belt, Jack Nicholson is generally presumed to have an edge in this year's Oscar race. But the odds are tighter than they seem. The Nicholson rumble began last summer, when word of his slam-dunk performance as a U.S. Marine colonel in Columbia Pictures' "A Few Good Men" began to circulate. Now, on the eve of his turn as the bulldoggish labor leader Jimmy Hoffa in Fox's "Hoffa" (opening Friday), handicappers are looking more closely at his chances.

Encouraged by test screenings that exceeded their expectations, Columbia Pictures has moved the release date for "A Few Good Men" up a week--from Dec. 18 to Dec. 11--to attract more pre-Christmas moviegoers to the $40-million production and open it clear of other major competition.

So here's the update on the standoff between the two Jack Nicholson movies that were going to open on the same day: Columbia Pictures will hold on to the Dec. 11 opening for the Tom Cruise military drama "A Few Good Men," which features Nicholson, while 20th Century Fox will push the opening of its "Hoffa," with Nicholson starring as the presumed-dead Teamsters leader Jimmy Hoffa, to Christmas Day.

Competition? What competition? "We're not competing at all with 'A Few Good Men,' " says 20th Century Fox executive vice president Tom Sherak of "Hoffa," one of the studio's big Christmas pictures. "We're not competing with 'Hoffa,' that's just not the case," says Columbia Pictures chairman Mark Canton of his studio's "A Few Good Men."

With a pair of ace performances under his belt, Jack Nicholson is generally presumed to have an edge in this year's Oscar race. But the odds are tighter than they seem. The Nicholson rumble began last summer, when word of his slam-dunk performance as a U.S. Marine colonel in Columbia Pictures' "A Few Good Men" began to circulate. Now, on the eve of his turn as the bulldoggish labor leader Jimmy Hoffa in Fox's "Hoffa" (opening Friday), handicappers are looking more closely at his chances.

Hollywood riddle: Which upcoming Christmas movie was the most expensive to make but the cheapest to produce? Answer: The one starring Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson and Demi Moore. Before cameras even rolled on "A Few Good Men," the $41-million military courtroom drama due out from Columbia Pictures on Dec. 11, independent producer Castle Rock Entertainment shelled out a reported $12.

MOVIES A Few Good Winners: The MTV generation gave the military drama "A Few Good Men" best movie honors at the 1993 MTV Movie Awards hosted by Eddie Murphy on Saturday night at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank. Best male performance went to Denzel Washington for "Malcolm X," and Sharon Stone took best female performance for "Basic Instinct."

Moviegoing this holiday season continues ahead of last year's pace, fueled by a winning streak of hit films from Hollywood's major studios. To the list that so far includes "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York," "Bram Stoker's Dracula," "Aladdin" and "The Bodyguard," now add "A Few Good Men," the military courtroom drama directed by Rob Reiner that stars Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson and Demi Moore.

Hollywood riddle: Which upcoming Christmas movie was the most expensive to make but the cheapest to produce? Answer: The one starring Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson and Demi Moore. Before cameras even rolled on "A Few Good Men," the $41-million military courtroom drama due out from Columbia Pictures on Dec. 11, independent producer Castle Rock Entertainment shelled out a reported $12.

So here's the update on the standoff between the two Jack Nicholson movies that were going to open on the same day: Columbia Pictures will hold on to the Dec. 11 opening for the Tom Cruise military drama "A Few Good Men," which features Nicholson, while 20th Century Fox will push the opening of its "Hoffa," with Nicholson starring as the presumed-dead Teamsters leader Jimmy Hoffa, to Christmas Day.

Competition? What competition? "We're not competing at all with 'A Few Good Men,' " says 20th Century Fox executive vice president Tom Sherak of "Hoffa," one of the studio's big Christmas pictures. "We're not competing with 'Hoffa,' that's just not the case," says Columbia Pictures chairman Mark Canton of his studio's "A Few Good Men."

Encouraged by test screenings that exceeded their expectations, Columbia Pictures has moved the release date for "A Few Good Men" up a week--from Dec. 18 to Dec. 11--to attract more pre-Christmas moviegoers to the $40-million production and open it clear of other major competition.

With the Academy Awards arriving in three weeks, it's time to think not only about the winners but about which nominated films will be made into television series. A theatrical movie doesn't have to be an Oscar nominee to gain extended life in prime time, of course. Big box office is a sufficient pedigree, witness the coming series clone of "A League of Their Own."