Word: disneyism
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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African-American filmmakers and critics contend that white audiences would cross color lines if Hollywood had enough faith to spend more money on quality black films. Quality is a subjective term, of course, but in the case of The Preacher's Wife, many industry insiders believe Disney has demonstrated that faith. Yet even those who have seen it and liked it are concerned about the film's commercial prospects. "It's a beautiful picture," says John Krier of Exhibitor Relations, a firm that tracks box-office results. Nonetheless, he says, several theater operators are worried. "How can they convince white...
Another problem for the film is that it opens this weekend opposite Jerry Maguire, a Tom Cruise vehicle. One encouraging sign for Disney is that the studio's research shows women expressing more interest in seeing Denzel and Whitney than Tom. But an executive at a rival studio argues that the research on The Preacher's Wife is skewed because the sampling was done in major cities; a closer look, he says, shows that the picture is evoking a powerful response from African Americans but far weaker interest among whites. He predicts that The Preacher's Wife will gross from...
Nervous exhibitors expect Disney to exploit every potential selling point to whites. But Disney acknowledges there's a limit to what it can do. After all, the company can't put up billboards that say white people, this movie's for you! What the company has done is preview the film for free, on a double bill with its 101 Dalmatians, in an effort to generate good word-of-mouth--the most effective advertising of all. Another lure for audiences is the movie's sound track. Unfortunately for Disney, the record wasn't shipped by early November as planned...
...Disney studio chairman Joe Roth says he's betting that a family-friendly Christmas movie with two hugely popular stars, Houston's singing and Penny Marshall (Big, A League of Their Own) behind the camera will transcend color. "The biggest movies of all time have always defied conventional wisdom," he argues. Houston finds it discouraging that race is still an issue. "What's so alien about us?" she asks. "I don't understand why there's such a big thing about all-black casts. I've seen movies with all-white casts...It's a movie. Either you like...
...from an Uruguayan story by innovative stage director and designer Julie Taymor, it is a visually dazzling and utterly original piece of stagecraft. But perhaps more startling is what its creator is doing next. Taymor, a leading light of New York's experimental theater scene, has been picked by Disney to turn its all-time biggest movie hit, The Lion King, into a Broadway show...