Showest Conference

Call it the summer of shove. As theater owners and studios head into the second day of the annual ShoWest convention this week, it's easy to figure out who is bulking up for the competition on the animation front -- "Shrek the Third" banners are papered around baggage claim at McCarran airport, thousands of conventioneers are shouldering "Ratatouille" tote bags, snacking on "Surf's Up" candy or crashing on "The Simpsons Movie's" big orange couch, where they can cozy up to Homer for a photo op.

They didn't kick their feet up on the plush stadium seating, chat on their cellphones or stick gum under their seats, but theater owners who attended a marathon session of movie sales pitches from four of the major studios on ShoWest's opening day made themselves nice and comfortable as they tuned into this summer's coming attractions. The pressure to stand out from the crowd and book movies onto thousands of global screens this summer is fraught with anticipation.

KEVIN COSTNER may be trying to reinvent himself as a darker, edgier leading man but when he introduced costar Demi Moore before unspooling "Mr. Brooks," his new serial killer thriller, he sounded more like a host on a plastic surgery reality show. "With the way she looks, she's gonna be making movies a lot longer," the actor said, as the 44-year-old Moore glided across the stage to the delight of hundreds of theater owners Tuesday night at the Paris Hotel & Casino here.

Call it sizzle plus. In an effort to shout in the face of the oncoming Mack truck tentpoles "Spider-Man 3" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," director Michael Bay and his "Transformers" hype team treated ShoWest attendees to a tour of a faux mobile government surveillance operation, complete with high definition video monitors. Actors dressed as G-men from the movie ushered groups of 15 delegates into the facility, installed in a big rig on the trade show floor at Bally's Hotel.

"Got Milk?" helped sell dairy products. Now Hollywood is considering a branding campaign of its own. Would "Movies: Just like DVDs, but Larger," be out of the question? Dan Glickman, who now runs the Motion Picture Assn. of America said that when he was U.S. Agriculture Secretary the agency's businesses benefited from such promotional campaigns as "Got Milk?," "Pork: The Other White Meat" and "Beef: It's What's for Dinner."

Coming off the second year that theater admissions remained in a relative slump, Hollywood got some good news Tuesday morning: The average cost of making and marketing a movie dipped below $100 million. Making his debut here at ShoWest, Dan Glickman, the new president and CEO of the Motion Picture Assn. of America, reported that the cost of putting out a movie declined to $98 million in 2004, down 5% from the industry peak of $102.8 million the year before.

There were movie stars, of course. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie strolled across the stage one day to present clips from "Mr. and Mrs. Smith." There were filmmakers, naturally. Fox Filmed Entertainment recruited George Lucas -- who received an instantaneous standing ovation -- to introduce footage from "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith." There were promises of a digital, 3-D and fat-free future at the multiplex.

The average cost of making and marketing a movie soared above $100 million for the first time last year, according to data released at the annual ShoWest theater owners' convention, which got underway Tuesday. Production and marketing costs climbed to an average of $102.8 million for the Motion Picture Assn. of America's seven member studios.

The buzz began early. The two men in suits, exhibitors at theater owners' annual ShoWest Convention in Las Vegas, boarded the elevator. "You know, they are bringing out 25 stars," one said. "Really?" asked his friend. "Yes." "Is that because they had such a crappy year last year?" he asked, as his friend laughed in agreement. Paramount Pictures executives surely would not confess openly to having had a "crappy" 2003.