Deep Impact Movie

In this year's two doomsday pics, "Deep Impact" and "Armageddon," the U.S. government is both good guy and bad guy, stonewalling the public and then sending heroes to intercept meteors on a collision course with Earth. In both movies, America ultimately saves the world--with a little help from our friends, of course.

In this year's two doomsday pics, "Deep Impact" and "Armageddon," the U.S. government is both good guy and bad guy, stonewalling the public and then sending heroes to intercept meteors on a collision course with Earth. In both movies, America ultimately saves the world--with a little help from our friends, of course.

Will "Deep Impact" have one on the bottom lines of the studios behind it? The comet disaster movie had a flashy opening weekend, topping the box-office take with a $41.15-million gross. But such big numbers make it easy to lose sight of the fact that movies generating impressive box-office results don't necessarily end up in the black because they often don't generate enough business to offset the huge costs needed to make and market them.

Will "Deep Impact" have one on the bottom lines of the studios behind it? The comet disaster movie had a flashy opening weekend, topping the box-office take with a $41.15-million gross. But such big numbers make it easy to lose sight of the fact that movies generating impressive box-office results don't necessarily end up in the black because they often don't generate enough business to offset the huge costs needed to make and market them.

Mel Gussow's 1971 biography of Darryl F. Zanuck, "Don't Say Yes Until I Finish Talking," chronicles the life of one of Hollywood's original movie moguls. Zanuck's son, veteran producer Dick Zanuck, plans to someday write his own book: "Don't Say No Until I Finish Talking."