Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • Page 158

Arts Entertainment 18 Section 7 Chicago Tribune, Sunday. December 6 1998 Our movie picks "IMM DIAZ AND CHRISTIAN SLATER ARE H11AR1S!" (run filler, klmhei "Directed by Peter Berg with scalpel-sharp comic timing." iena rtmj, nicr 1 a. rustles me lunnj. IttMa Finer, MaiKliM CAMERON DIAZ CHRISTIAN SLATER Movies Sour notes Leading composer complains films are using 'just too much music' zr -3r I-1 I W'-rJ Willi Hi Composer Hans Zimmer (left) and lyricist Steven Schwartz collaborated on the upcoming animated film "The Prince of Egypt." www.verybadthings.com STRATFORD SQUARE Blooirwgrjale 630 444-FILM STREAMWOOD Streamwoofl 630.289-6900 TOWN COUNTRY Arlington His 847444-FILM 535 OWESTERN HEIGHTS Chicago Hts 708 747-0800 OONE SCHAUMBURG PL. Scnaumfjcirg 647 444-FIlM '571 QUARRY 14 Modgkms 708 444-FIlM 631 ORICE LAKE SQUARE 547 Wtisalon 630 444-F'LM '546 RIVER RUN Lansing 708 895-0052 'Within any year I see 98 percent horrible stuff and 2 percent quality.

I certainly didn't write anything great last year Hans Zimmer OWATER TOWER CRESTWOOD Near North 312 JJJ-RLW '593 CresMoocJ 708 396-2300 OBROADWAY ODEERBR00K Cncago 312 444-FILW '521 Desrt.eid 847 444-FILM '566 OF0RD CITY 14 OGR0VE CINEMA Cheats SW 3'2 444-FilM 567 Oo.vnecs Grose 630 444-FilV OLINC0LN VILLAGE HILLSIDE MALL Chicago I 312 444-FU' '525 Hnisioe 708 449-6230 OVILLAGE NORTH MARCUS CINEMA Cnicago 773 764-9'00 tosor 630 932-0664 OCANTERA30 OMARCUS CINEMA Warrm-ue 847 755-7262 Orland Part 708 873-1900 CITY PARK 20 NORRIDGE Lmcolnsnw 847 215-2690 NorfiOge 108 452-9000 NO PASSES OR REDUCED a ADMISSION COUPONS ACCEPTEO. ROLLINS CROSSING 18 8YORKTOWN Lcmtjara 630 444-FILM '575 Rone! Lake Beam 847 546-4983 orjrjrjSFj 6SOUTH BARRINGTON 30 $i)uln Bamnglon 847765-7262 OSOUTHLAKE Met(iiiie2'9 738-2652 CHECK THEATRE DIRECTORIES OR CALL THEATRE FOR SHOWTIMES A BLOCKBUSTER ADVENTURE! These current films have received favorable reviews in the Tribune: "American History (R). This film about hatred and white supremacy may fall short of greatness, but there's so much in this painful and revealing tale that is truly remarkable, it would be a shame to let it pass. JP "Antz" (PG). "Antz" works not because it's a technical marvel but for more old-fashioned reasons: It's a well-written, witty tale, expertly executed.

It also provides the bonus of Woody Allen being funny outside of his own prickly films. MC "Babe: Pig in the City" (G). A dazzling action movie with the now-famous pig and a cast of animals. But with its nightmarish urban vision and distressing material, it is not recommended for what should be its core audience: young kids who most frequently attend G-rated movies. MC "Beloved" (R).

Set in the 19th Century, the movie portrays that most explosive and embittering of American historical subjects, slavery and its consequences, with a blend of sensitivity, high imagination and raw courage. We are brought into the fire and fury of those times through the eyes and minds of its African-American slaves, escapees and survivors particularly escaped slave Sethe (played by "Beloved's" producer-star Oprah Winfrey). MW A Bug's Life (G). "Antz" may have had more size, star power and spectacle, but "A Bug's Life," creates something engaging and unique. This is an insect epic of breathtakingly tiny scope, of thrilling smallness and squishi-ness one that, more than its competitor, is calculated to drive you buggy with pleasure.

MW "The Celebration" (R). A nightmarish comedy drama about a family birthday party gone amok. Scandalous revelations, fights and sex keep interrupting the celebration for a 60-year-old domineering patriarch. la MW "Celebrity" (R). Woody Allen's newest movie lets us feel the claustrophobia and hysteria in the world of celebrities.

At the core is Kenneth Branagh as a neurotic celebrity journalist. MW "The Cruise" (No MPAA' rating). A fascinating documentary about a New York City tour bus guide who brings wisdqm, enthusiasm and panache to his seemingly mundane job. GS (v2JP) "Enemy of the State" (R). Will Smith is the hero pursued by a berserk government agency and Jon Voight the icy-cool villain in a thriller where cops trying to protect people from terrorism have become terrorists.

Also with NEWSWEEK "JUST IN TIME FOR THE HOLIDAYS! The Rug rats Movie' is ideal family entertainment! It's FRESH AND WITTY rich in its colors and jaunty in style." Kevin Thomas, LOS ANGELES TIMES By Edwin Black Special to the Tribune Film composer Hans Zim-mer has exerted an extraordinary influence over movie music in such motion pictures as "Rain-man," "Black Rain," "Driving Miss Daisy," "As Good As it Gets," "Lion King," and "Crimson Tide." His newest effort is "The Prince of Egypt," which opens Dec. 18. Movie music writer Edwin Black spoke with the composer in his studio last March, and in September by phone. The edited transcript of those interviews follows. More soundtrack music is available today than ever before some 500 CDs annually.

Quantity is dramatically up. But what about the quality? A Within any year I see 98 percent horrible stuff and 2 percent quality. I certainly didn't write anything great last year. What was your best? A "Peacemaker." I liked one theme in it. The "Sarajevo" theme? A Yes.

Because it was inspired. We all have craft, we all have technique. But the moments of inspiration, that's where it really happens for composers. Are you saying the current filmmaking environment makes inspiration and innovation less possible? A Right. For one, there's just too much music being used.

Remember the chase scene in "Bullitt" had no music. A The fight in "Rocky" had no music either. I know that for a fact because a producer once said to me that he wanted the scene to sound like the "Rocky" fight and that my music was all wrong. I went out and got the video of "Rocky" and discovered the scene had no music. What type of music do directors expect from Hans Zimmer? A I have no idea.

I'm this loose cannon all over the place. I can do action movies and romantic comedies. And I'm a good collaboratorwhich means I'm cantankerous and opinionated. I compose from a point of view. Point of view is the most important thing, and not necessarily the director's point of view.

In fact, great directors welcome disagreement. A film takes on a life of its own, and you just hang on for dear life. Eventually, it starts talking back to you. It's an odd process. So why so many action movie assignments? A Because when I was a kid in Europe, I only scored art movies.

In those days, all I wanted was to go to Hollywood, compose Ftalurlng llw immmwmmm "FETCH' Iron ,1 r- I m. www.rugratsrriovie.coni 0t EESfW I I GENERAL AUDIENCES Jlit3 An Ajti. totr-litfl hear a few seconds of the "Black Rain Suite," a 20-minute piece. A Would you like to know what happened? Our producer, Stanley Jaffe, at the time, hated everything I was doing. And hated it so much he shouted at me after a screening at Paramount, and I fainted.

So by the time we got to the dub stage, I was just living in fear. We were battling the system. It's always a war. Well, not always, but most of the time it's a war. You're in a battle and you lose faith and you lose heart especially when your producer tells you that is the worst piece of music he's every heard.

How has "Lion King" and your Academy Award for it made a difference in your career? A First, I realized that I should not write things in 3'2 weeks. "Lion King" could have been better if I had spent twice the time. Second, it's dangerous to work with black and white preproduc-tion drawings and not color because I think I got the orchestration wrong in a few places. Third, "Lion King" also made me reassess my situation in this town. You can go two ways.

I admit that standing on the stage getting an Oscar is the most seductive moment in one's life. It is truly overwhelming. And then you go, wow, if I just carry on writing nice music like this, I can have this moment again. That's why I did the exact opposite, scoring for truly offensive projects like "The Fan." Just to shake myself out of the desire for that Oscar experience. Otherwise I would just stagnate.

Nothing new would happen. For me, it's still about trying to write decent music. Ironically, despite all the scores I've written, there are very few I'm proud of. When you're composing, are you thinking about the CD or the movie, or both? A I'm thinking about the movie all the time. Today I'm sitting here mixing "Prince of Egypt" and everybody else is telling me it sounds great.

But I just have doubts about it. Constantly. But that's the way I'm built. At the same time, the studio is asking me, what tracks are going on the CD, and I'm saying, "I don't know. Maybe two minutes' worth." How long did you work on "Prince of Egypt?" A I started on the songs 3 'a years ago, long before any drawings were made.

Animators must coordinate to lip movements, so they really needed the songs first. For years, I worked on the project just one or two days per month and even became involved in story shaping. MCfiLDWW MMMTt MO All REUTM TIHEI IMOt AH CHAMCTtM AM TMHMMII OF WCDM MtMMTKNMt Hit PUGMIt CHEATED IV HUM IlAttt. 8AMACWN AW PAW OCMUM. RIDGE CINEMAS Arlington HH.

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GS What was the big difference between "Prince of Egypt" and "Lion A Unlike "Lion King," for "Prince of Egypt" I had plenty of color drawings. Everything but the burning bush. In "Lion King," I wasn't that involved with animation and didn't really understand the process. For "Prince of Egypt," I saw the color charts. In fact, in the burning bush sequence I wrote the score first and then they colored it.

What type of scars did Prince of Egypt leave? A While recording in London, I was the most miserable I have ever been. I was so grumpy because I thought I ruined the whole movie. I was convinced none of the music would fit the action. Then, I became more and more panicked and didn't tell anybody. But everyone around me noticed.

I was impossible to be with. Finally, one of my staffers kicked me out of the studio for 10 days to organize everything. There were 88 tracks of music. Imagine you are an air traffic controller. There are 88 airplanes circling over LAX, all running out of fuel, and you must decide which one lands first.

That's what it was like. Now they are saying its a great score. So it's easy for me to answer, "No problem." How was Israeli singer Ofra Haza selected for the lead songs? A I have always loved Ofra and just asked for her. If I ask hard enough, I get it. She was the first person we cast.

Ofra is tremendous and recorded 13 of the foreign translations as well. Among the thousands of scores written in recent years, do you see more than a few great ones? A Not really. But it's not necessarily the composers. The great movies have not just happened. On the other hand, why is the score from "Titanic" so incredibly successful? Because it works with the movie.

I think it works on the lowest common denominator. No more, no less. But it works. Yet the simplistic score to Titanic has done a great deal for the world of soundtracks. A I know.

But now we're going to hear these generic "Titanic" songs. You know, the way "Feelings" has become a very annoying song. We have to differentiate between popularity and quality. The Los Angeles Times ran a great headline a few years ago after a Michael Bolton concert here saying, "Five Million People Can Be Wrong." What about the proliferation of pop songs within the soundtracks. I have asked, "Why does Godzilla need a song?" A Yeah, why does it? I have no idea.

Well, maybe the producers are now looking at the billion bucks associated with "Titanic." Producers say, "I need a hit record." A Yes, marketability. There are two things going on. On the one hand, you have the action, or light, fun kind of movies which always need songs flying around, for their genre of picture. On the other hand, there are movies like "The English Patient," which didn't have and didn't need a song. So do you see soundtrack music becoming more creative, more inspired, or is it all going to homogenize into sound effects what I call museffex? A I think the big effects thing is becoming passe.

We're bored with it. Jim Brooks and I went low-tech with "As Good As It Gets." Our biggest special effect is somebody driving a car. Nobody's WW wijjiiiii mi nui WW 1111 mlM for action movies and sound like John Williams. But I didn't know how. So "Black Rain," my first action movie, was original but only by virtue of my own stupidity.

My lack of knowledge made it original. Black Rain is one of your best-known scores. Yet much of the music you composed is only used for an instant in the movie itself. In fact, you only "Everest" (No MPAA rating; family). A new Omnimax documentary that takes us, I in incredible eye-filling shots, rght to the top of the world.

Perhaps not a great film, but certainltV a great experience. 'i MW "Gods and Monsters" tjNo MPAA rating). About the last days and mysterious death; of James Whale, Hollywood fjlm director of the 1930s Frankenstein movies (played by Ian McKellen). At The Music Box MC, GS "Life is Beautiful" (PG-13). A deeply moving blend of cold -terror and rapturous hilarity, TVith much of its action laid ito a notably grim concentration camp.

MW "Little Voice" (R). British actress Jane Horrocks in a fort of neurotic show biz "Cinderella" in which she possesses a Ihes-merizing singing voice. Also! featuring Michael Caine, Brenda Blethyn and Ewan McGregorl At The Fine Arts Theatre. GS "Living Out Loud" (R). Ijolly Hunter is divorced from a cardiologist, Danny DeVito is a debt-ridden elevator operator (also divorced), and the two unlikely characters find love.

Not your usual grand romance mold, MC, GS "Rush Hour" (PG-13). Another Los Angeles buddy action movie featuring Jackie Chan, with Chan-as-usual great stunt work. time, as an added plus, he concentrates on his English language acting chops. MW ,1 "What Dreams May Come" (PG-13). It's a true dazzler, but it's a strange dazzler, and movie audiences more comfortable 'with big, violent rides I KV 9 NOW PLAYING IMJl lAHIir Mi IS Ft MARCUS CINEMAS Add.oF.

b.ni 9'? MERRIiLVILLE NORTHBRaOK CDURT 1 N. NDRIH RIVERSIDE MiIMn 144 ORLAND SQUARE Orj'idW 444 fiiM'62t QUARRY 14 cl itm 4H I RANDHURST IG Ml Hioi)(l4) 414 BRIDGE CINEMAS ArltMrm Hh ill HLM RIVER OAKS 444 HI J4 SOUTH HARRINGTON A V.utl-Finn.tnil-i.S STRATFORD SQUARE li.r.' J1 nomtowmi mtOO NORTH MICHIGDH 4J4 Fim 1572 US2MD WESTERN Chicaio II-' 414II1M'L'8 iStBICHIOWH SOME HlM522 0 CHATHAM 14 iuic iii.iji filiate FORD CltV 14 -lit 156' KUMKDUEII 444 tliMCuj ft LINCOLN VILLAGE WEBSIER PLACE CruiKOl'M' WESTERN HEIGHTS OuiC HM tW4l THE COMMONS 144-11. CANTERA 10 1W U'-H hi CRESTW0G0 EVERGREEN Kenneth Branajh Leonardo DiCaprio Winona Ryder Charlize Theron uncomfortable with this '2 MW -ROLLING MEADOWS Rolling Meadows 847(952-8200 SOUTH BARRINGTON 30 South Bamnglon YORKTOWN Lombard 630 444-FILM 575 OPIPERS ALLEY ODEERBROOK OMARCUS CINEMA Chicago 312-642-7500 Deerlield 847.44J-FILM 566 Orland Park 708 873-1900 CANTERA 30 EVANSTON MERRILLVILLE Waritnmlle 847765-7262 Evanslon 847 864-4300 Merrrilvitle 219 947-4072 CITY PARK 20 OMARCUS CINEMA ORANDHURST Lincolnshire 847 215-2690 AOOison 630 932-0864 Ml Prospect 847 444-FILM 568 N0RTHBR00K COURT 14 N.fIIhIjkiliK B4 444 FIlM RANDHURST 16 Ml I'MilitU S4 444 FILM W8 US W00DF IE LD Mi. 444 H1W easts oLTl(s eLTI? ESQUIRE CtlH.HU Jl? fiO 0101 WEBSTER PLACE LIHL.WH 7j 327-3100 CANTERA 30 vV.ni'ii.illi- 34; CITYPARK 20 Luiujliisliiu- H4-' 600 EVANSTON C.iiMuti 04 6bJ 49IJ0 MARCUS CINEMA un.nnip.iik rob a. 3 iwo "The Wizard of Oz" (G)i) The classic 1939 MGM classic -(With Judy Garland now gorgetjusly restored in Technicolor, fylore powerful on the big screen.

MW, GS is the highest rating MW-Michael Wilmington1, GS Gene Siskel; MC-Mark Car JP John Petrakis; TW-Teresa Wiltz; ME-Monica Eng i xcKimwcMTHumm GARDEN CINEMAS A1 010 ORCHARD pwwi shooting at anybody. Are you saying we're going to cycle back to inspired music? A But only if you understand that inspired music arises from an inspired movie which arises from an inspired script. ROLLING MEADOWS SOUTH BARRINGTON Si. nil. a.imnql.),r -i2M YORKTOWN 18 LoiiiL.ml 444 fkM 575 Call Iheaire or see directory ad (of sfiowiimes CINfMAS "So" HIUMUl iUUAHt i i i.

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