A Little Princess Movie

Alfonso Cuaron was just a name in Mark Johnson's appointment book, an obligatory meeting the producer agreed to while searching for a director for the film "A Little Princess." Johnson knew Cuaron had made waves on the festival circuit with a low-budget Mexican AIDS satire titled "Love in the Time of Hysteria" and won a CableACE Award for an episode of Showtime's neo- noir series "Fallen Angels," but he was, in truth, hardly impressed by such credentials.

The disappointment was evident in Mark Johnson's voice. "Certainly, this is the worst professional experience I've ever had," said the veteran producer after his critically acclaimed family film "A Little Princess" died a second time at the box office. After earning a weak $8.9 million during its initial broad release in May, a revamped advertising campaign and good word-of-mouth failed to lure audiences into the theaters when Warner Bros.

On Aug. 4, Warner Bros. will put back into wider release its film adaptation of the Frances Hodgson Burnett novel "A Little Princess." Such relaunch campaigns are seldom attempted in Hollywood, because they usually don't work. "Anytime you try to reintroduce a picture into the marketplace after it has had a national release, that is an extraordinarily difficult and tricky thing," said Charles Glenn, a veteran marketing executive who is president of marketing at Bregman/Baer Productions.

On Aug. 4, Warner Bros. will put back into wider release its film adaptation of the Frances Hodgson Burnett novel "A Little Princess." Such relaunch campaigns are seldom attempted in Hollywood, because they usually don't work. "Anytime you try to reintroduce a picture into the marketplace after it has had a national release, that is an extraordinarily difficult and tricky thing," said Charles Glenn, a veteran marketing executive who is president of marketing at Bregman/Baer Productions.

What do you do when you've made one of the most magically felt family films ever made in this country--the kind of movie parents are supposedly clamoring for--and the families can't be convinced to come? This must be the question that Warner Bros. and the people who made "A Little Princess" are asking themselves right now.

The disappointment was evident in Mark Johnson's voice. "Certainly, this is the worst professional experience I've ever had," said the veteran producer after his critically acclaimed family film "A Little Princess" died a second time at the box office. After earning a weak $8.9 million during its initial broad release in May, a revamped advertising campaign and good word-of-mouth failed to lure audiences into the theaters when Warner Bros.

Alfonso Cuaron was just a name in Mark Johnson's appointment book, an obligatory meeting the producer agreed to while searching for a director for the film "A Little Princess." Johnson knew Cuaron had made waves on the festival circuit with a low-budget Mexican AIDS satire titled "Love in the Time of Hysteria" and won a CableACE Award for an episode of Showtime's neo- noir series "Fallen Angels," but he was, in truth, hardly impressed by such credentials.

What do you do when you've made one of the most magically felt family films ever made in this country--the kind of movie parents are supposedly clamoring for--and the families can't be convinced to come? This must be the question that Warner Bros. and the people who made "A Little Princess" are asking themselves right now.