1997: Good Will, Great Success

Ten movies we get into today, all released between November 7 and December 10, 1997.  December 5th, though, saw the release of our next Best Picture nominee: Good Will Hunting.

Peter Biskind’s Down and Dirty Pictures does a good job of placing us in Matt Damon’s and Ben Affleck’s shoes, two good-looking young actors who haven’t quite hit yet and are waiting for that One Great Part that will showcase their talents. Together, they collaborate on an expansion of a short script Damon wrote in college, a thriller about a Southie math genius recruited by the government. Castle Rock Entertainment buys the script, Rob Reiner and William Goldman make some suggestions about what to take out (the thriller aspect) and what to build up (these therapist scenes…), but the movie doesn’t get made. There’s interest from studios, but no one wants to buy the script due to the writers’ requirement: that they be cast in the roles they wrote for themselves. Fortunately, by this time, they’re friendly with indie success Kevin Smith, who convinces Miramax to make the film and cast the guys…and you know the rest. Movie’s made, released, and is a huge hit, ending up on Top Ten lists, grossing $225.9M on a $10M budget, winning Oscars for Damon & Affleck’s screenplay and for Robin Williams’ against-type performance as the therapist, and cementing the young men’s status as Stars.

And this is what was out in theaters as it started it’s run:

1997: Just Before the Fall

Thirteen films here, all released between September 26 and November 7, 1997, as late Summer turns to early Autumn. 

1997: Exposed

This batch of 15 films covers the period July 16 - September 19, 1997. Two Best Picture nominees came out in this period: The Full Monty on August 13 and L.A. Confidential on September 19.

The Full Monty, in which out-of-work steel workers in desperate need of money form a pseudo-Chippendales act promising full frontal nudity, was one of many British indie/arthouse films that took the US and Oscar by storm in the 1990s; indeed, between 1992 and 1998, nine such films were up for Best Picture. It was an insanely successful film, financially, grossing over $250M on a $3.5M budget. Of course, money isn't everything, but cultural impact is, and The Full Monty can boast that, too: two stage productions, one a musical (2000, book by Love! Valour! Compassion! playwright Terrence McNally), one a non-musical (2013); a television series spin-off that debuted on Hulu last summer; and, I would argue, is the reason other similarly-toned and -themed films from 2003's Calendar Girls to 2014's Pride were greenlit and made.

L.A. Confidential is the movie people today claim came closest to threatening Titanic's Best Picture win (I assume that's quite relative). Adapted from the James Ellroy novel of the same name, it depicts the corruption of the LAPD, its relationship with Hollywood and organized crime, and a trio of cops who decide, yeah, maybe it's time to do the right thing. Titanic may have been the people's choice, but L.A. Confidential was the critics' pick: the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the New York Film Critics Circle, the National Society of Film Critics, and the Critics' Choice Awards all named it the Best Film of 1997. It was also a hit - $126M gross, $35M budget, hoo yeah.

Interesting to see two Best Picture nominees among these releases, especially as, nowadays, August and September aren't really considered "awards season" periods. Times change. Anyway, the rest of the summer:

1997: The Best Batman

I'm late on this, so let's charge through 2.5 months' worth of 1997 releases, shall we?:

1997: The Two J. Los

1997 begins with two Jennifer Lopez movies, the debut of a modern American master, and Corky St. Clair:

1997: Beginning

Now that 1990 is wrapped, we can get to 1997.

The 1990 Retro Hollmann Awards: Part Three

OK, so we've got my Top Ten, part one of the awards, and part two of the awards. Now, the grand finale: part three of the 1990 Retro Hollmann Awards!

The 1990 Retro Hollmann Awards: Part Two

Continuing to wrap up 1990 after the Top Ten and Day One of 1990 Retro Hollmann Awards. Three acting categories lie ahead, let's go:

The 1990 Retro Hollmann Awards: Part One

This is the first of three posts this week, each dedicated to the 1990 Retro Hollmann Awards. No, I did not make a separate nominations announcement, all will be revealed as we go category by category. Get familiar with my Top Ten of this year, come back, and enjoy.

The first six categories: