The Cincinnati Enquirer from Cincinnati, Ohio • Page 26

'i up i 11 C2 MONDAY, JUNE 2, 2003 TEMPO THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER Gray's main job is to turn films green Profits drive studios' choice of directors Wrong Turn' follows map to nowhere Country road takes yuppies into West Virginia darkness J. if '14 By Scott Bowles USA Today F. Gary Gray doesn't consider himself a pioneering filmmaker, and he's not comfortable with the moniker. But he's getting used to hearing the label. "A lot of people are coming up to me and saying, 'Do you know you're making says Gray, 34.

"I don't really think of it that way. I think I'm just lucky." That may be, but Gray has used his good fortune to help lead the The dearth of directors has turned Gray into something of a mentor for aspiring filmmakers. "I tell them to be persistent and true to their vision," Gray says. "But it also takes people at the studio level who can look beyond race as well." Studio friend Gray cites Paramount's chief, Sherry Lansing, as one of those executives. Lansing called Gray two years ago and asked if he would be interested in doing a remake of the 1969 crime caper The Italian Job.

Gray hadn't seen the film but was impressed with Lansing's By Anita Gates The New York Times I had car trouble in West Virginia once. The experience (some nice people in a trailer let us use their telephone to call Hertz) was not as eventful as that of the attractive young characters in Rob Schmidt's Wrong Turn, but it was also a lot less tedious. Schmidt's lazy would-be horror film stars Desmond Harrington as Chris, a young professional who runs into a traffic jam on his way to an important interview in Raleigh, A .1 I i offer. "All she said was that if I could get as excited about the movie as she was, the job was mine," Gray says. "How easy is that?" Easier than Gray is used to.

He barely made ends charge for an increasing number of black directors who are helming big-budget films that have big-name white stars once off-limits to black filmmakers. Gray directed 1998's The Negotiator, a $45 million action thriller that was, at the time, the biggest budget I N.C. His cell phone doesnt work here, in what the movie identifies as Greenbrier Back-country, W.Va., and neither does the telephone at the nearest gas station, which is attended by a filthy, grizzled, almost toothless old man who seems overwhelmed by a lifetime of inertia. So Chris takes a look at a map and decides to take a back road. En route he runs head on into a white SUV parked in the middle of a dirt road because it Movie review Wrong Turn (R; violence, language, brief sexual situation) Directed by Rob Schmidt.

Desmond Harrington, Eliza Dushku, Emmanuelle Chri-qui, Jeremy Sisto. 90 minutes. Esquire, AMC 20, Danbarry Western Hills, Danbarry Eastgate, Danbarry Turfway. Gray If zj 1 4 1 meet with his first job as a freelance news cameraman for CNN and Black Entertainment Television in Los Angeles. At 23, he tried to make a short film about gang violence, but it stalled because of financial problems.

The rough footage caught the attention of producers and led to several hit music videos, including TLC's Wateralls. In 1995, Ice Cube gave Gray his first feature film in Friday. Shot for $2 million, the film took in $30 million, the most profitable movie of the year. The next year, his $9 million bank-heist film, Set It Off, did commanded by a black director. Since then, the doors and purse strings have opened some for black directors.

Antoine Fuqua directed this year's $70 million Tears of the Sun, starring Bruce Willis, and is now shooting King Arthur, based on the English legend and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. John Singleton directed 2 Fast 2 Furious with a $76 million budget and a multiracial cast led by Paul Walker. It opens Friday. Carl Franklin, who directed last year's High Crimes with Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman, is more than $36 million, and he was wrapping up the $60 million Out of on his way. Music videos have helped film 1 i I 1 has just run over a stretch of barbed wire.

Happily, this vehicle is inhabited by five people just as young and attractive as Chris: two couples and, conveniently, an extra young woman (Eliza Dushku, Buffy the Vampire Slayer). What none of these carefree types know is that they're surrounded by mentally retarded ho-, micidal maniacs. In this part of the world there has been so much inbreeding that some people have become grotesque mutants who have turned to cannibalism, which may explain why there have been so many missing-person cases in the area. We know this because the filmmakers have shown us newspaper clippings on those subjects during the opening credits. Over the generations, these men (and one does wonder, where are their womenfolk?) have apparently lost the capacity for speech but they can still drive trucks and operate firearms.

They seem to prefer hatchets and bows and arrows, though. In the tradition of teenage-oriented slasher movies, the "sinners" are the first to go. In this case, that means the couple who stay behind to watch the cars, smoke marijuana and have outdoor sex while the others go for help. The film does achieve a couple of good, unexpected scares. And to the credit of Alan B.

McElroy's script, these characters don't say nearly as many preposterous things as young people often do in this genre. But somebody has to refer to Deliverance, the film in which Ned Beatty is raped by hillbilly sodomites, and the honor goes to Scott (Jeremy Sisto) He's reminded of it when they come upon a dilapidated house with a front yard full of rusting old cars Time, starring Denzel Washington, due in October. Small steps "I think things are getting better for black directors," says Spike Lee, who directed last year's 25th Hour with Ed Norton and is considered the godfather of modern-day black filmmakers. "But it's still not where it should be. Most of us are still in the gangster or comedy film ghetto." Indeed, 15 years ago, the Directors Guild of America listed 195 black members out of 8,558, or 2.27 percent.

Today, that number is 500 out of 12,694, or about 4 percent. Blacks make up 12 percent of the population. makers like Gray and Ice Cube make the transition to feature films, says Melvin Donalson, author of Black Directors in Hollywood. "The fans of hip-hop music know who directs their favorite videos, and they'll follow that director to film," he says. "That built-in audience is giving more directors of color a chance." Gray says he tries not to infuse too many effects in any of his movies because he is more interested in the relationships in film.

"Movies are about telling good stories that the audiences of all backgrounds can connect with. If you're telling good stories, your race doesn't matter as much." Regency Enterprises Eliza Dushku and Desmond Harrington make some wrong decisions on the back roads of West Virginia during the course of the generic horror film Wrong Turn, and trucks. There is, however, no sign of banjos. 'Nemo' sinks 'Bruce' at box office noiBepaiiismoiiBu starry night backyard 1. Finding Nemo, $70.6 million.

2. Bruce Almighty, $35.6 million. 3. The Italian Job, $19.3 million. 4.

The Matrix Reloaded, $15 5. Daddy Day Care, $6.8 million. 6. X2: X-Men United, $5.02 7. Wrong Turn, $5.01 million 8.

Theln-Laws, $3.7 million 9. Down With Love, $1.6 million. 10. Bend It Like Beckham, $1 percent of its audience, and Bruce Almighty saw ticket sales fall by 48 percent in its second week. The Matrix Reloaded remains the highest-grossing film of the year, however, with $232 million.

The final part of the trilogy, The Matrix Revolutions, is scheduled to open in November. The following are estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters. Final figures will be released today. uumv I -t i 4l AiOsES ii v. i w.i im.

nil I I I run lop riesearcn is conducting a study on tne salety anc effectiveness of teeth whitening products. Are you at least 18 years okl; Are you in good general health? Participants are generally compensated up to 8 IOO for competing studies of tliis type. Hill Tp Research Li lixiking for men and women ut least 18 years okl to teat the ability of teeth blearhing products to improve the whiteness of teeth. Tile study visits will le conducted in our Hill Top facility located 1 mile west of the Wauls Comer exit off 1-275. Participants are generally compensated up to $100 for completing studies of this tvpe.

For more information, call hilltop research, inc. jop Research at www.hill-top.com By Anthony Breznican The Associated Press The deep-sea adventure Finding Nemo hooked the top spot at the box office Sunday with an estimated $70.6 million opening weekend. The Disney-Pixar comedy, about a worrisome clownfish searching for his aquarium-trapped young son, sank the Jim Carrey God-comedy Bruce Almighty to second place with $35.6 million, according to studio estimates. Meanwhile, the Mark Wahlberg caper remake The Italian Job opened in third place with $19.3 million, while The Matrix Reloaded continued to plunge after its spectacular debut three weeks ago, landing in fourth place with $15 million. The horror flick Wrong Turn, starring Eliza Dushku as one of several lost teenagers hunted by woodland mutants, was the only other film to open in wide release.

It earned a weak $5.01 million for seventh place. Finding Nemo scored the biggest debut ever for an animated film, swimming past the $62 million opening for previous record-holder Monsters which also was a Disney-Pixar collaboration. All of the companies' previous films Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2 and Monsters Inc. opened at No. 1.

"This is as much of a sure-thing at the box office as you can get," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. The blockbuster debut of Finding Nemo is even more impressive considering many tickets sales for the family-themed movie were discounted for children or matinee shows, he added. "The $70 million represents a lot more tickets for that G-rated film than for an R-rated film, where all the tickets reflect an adult admission price," Dergarabedian said. That's not to say Finding Nemo lacks grown-up fans. The film collected near-unanimous praise from film critics, and Disney distribution chief Chuck Viane said demand from adult moviegoers filled many late-night screenings.

The Italian Job, a remake of the 1969 Michael Caine heist-thriller, also garnered a wealth of positive reviews and Paramount spokeswoman Nancy Kirkpatrick said the studio is hoping good word-of-mouth will help turn it into a sleeper hit over the long-run. Many summer films open big and fade fast Last weekend, The Matrix Reloaded shed more than 60 JQWXDETY YOU BlOW UP? REAL Astronomy For the Whole Family! Brilliantly realistic and designed for anyone with an interest in the night sky. See the sky from anywhere on Earth or blast-off and visit any solar system or location up to 20,000 light years away. View millions of stars along with galaxies and star clusters. Travel 15,000 years in time.

Check out the view from the International Space Station. See Jupiter from one of its moons. See what the stars looked like on the day you were born! I 7 'Jnrt-K I If you can't stop worrying and feel on edge and irritable day and night, anxiety disorder may be the cause. Hartford Research is enrolling men and women into a research study of an investigational 1 1 iturtauui i iui cii lAJtrcy uijui ua To learn more, please call: Hartford Research Visit www.starrynight.comgannett to order or find a retailer near you or call 1-877-STARS-88. 1-800-792-7393 hartfordresearch.com Cincinnati, OH Florence, KY.