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Feature Films by LDS/Mormon Filmmakers and Actors
Weekend Box Office Report (U.S. Domestic Box Office Gross)

Weekend of February 8, 2002

[If table lines up improperly, use mono-spaced font, i.e. Courier] 
Natl  Film Title                       Weekend Gross
Rank  LDS/Mormon Filmmaker or Actor    Total Gross   Theaters Days
----  ------------------------------   -------        -----   ----
21    Ocean's Eleven                     $992,235        812    66
      LDS characters: Malloy twins    180,535,266

32    Behind Enemy Lines                  188,761        306    73
      David Veloz (screenwriter)       58,084,217

37    Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure    127,206         18   367
      Scott Swofford (producer)         7,359,522
      Reed Smoot (cinematographer)
      Sam Cardon (composer)
      Stephen L. Johnson (film editor)

39    Mulholland Drive                     73,485         71   126
      Joyce Eliason (producer/writer)   6,649,583

42    The Other Side of Heaven             49,369         31    59
      Mitch Davis (writer/director)     1,386,677
      John H. Groberg (author/character)
      Gerald Molen, John Garbett (producers)
      Steven Ramirez (film editor)

52    The Singles Ward                     28,395         10    10
      Kurt Hale (writer/director)          97,304
      John E. Moyer (writer)
      Dave Hunter (producer)
      Cody Hale (composer)
      Ryan Little (cinematographer)
      Wynn Hougaard (film editor)
      Actors: Will Swenson, Connie Young,
         Daryn Tufts, Kirby Heyborne,
         Michael Birkeland, Robert Swenson,
         Lincoln Hoppe, Gretchen Whalley,
         Sedra Santos, etc.

55    Out Cold                             15,979         45    82
      A. J. Cook (female lead)         13,883,044

64    Galapagos                             9,300          3   836
      Reed Smoot (cinematographer)     12,274,898

71    China: The Panda Adventure            6,763          7   199
      Reed Smoot (cinematographer)      1,914,205

76    Island of the Sharks                  4,176          4  1018
      Alan Williams (composer)         10,633,198


"The Singles Ward," the cameo-filled comedy directed by Kurt Hale, was going strong in its second week, a box office take bringing its total to over $100,000 -- not bad for a movie that cost only about $425,000 to make. [Originally this week's box office for "The Singles Ward" did not show up at the-numbers.com -- something that sometimes happes with independent films -- but sources inside the production company cite the total box office as over $100,000. Later the weekend's data became available, so the table below was updated to reflect the correct numbers.]

After two months in release the hit film "Ocean's Eleven" has finally dropped out of the top 20 -- at number 21 nationwide. It will probably be a long time before another movie with Mormon characters dominates the box office the way this one did.

ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS: LDS genre films were virtually shut out of the Oscar nominations this year, with no nominations going to "Brigham City" or "The Other Side of Heaven." Were Russell Crowe, Sean Penn, Will Smith, Denzel Washington, and Tom Wilkinson really better than Richard Dutcher in "Brigham City," or did Academy voters simply not see that movie? You be the judge.

We're not aware of any Latter-day Saints who received Oscar nominations this year, although many nominated films had Latter-day Saints in key positions. John Garbett (of "Other Side of Heaven" fame) was the early producer of "Shrek," which was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film and also for Best Screenplay (Adaptation). "Monsters, Inc." (from Pixar) was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film, Best Musical Score, Best Song, and Best Sound Editing. "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" (which was inspired in part by Latter-day Saint writer Chris Conkling's 1978 version of Tolkien's classic fantasy novel) was nominated for 13 Academy Awards. Although "Mulholland Drive" (co-written and co-produced by Joyce Eliason) received numerous nominations at the Golden Globes and in major critics awards lists, it made hardly a ripple in Academy Award nominations. It was only nominated for a Best Director award for David Lynch. One tenuous but fun connection: Actor Denzel Washington was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as an urban cop in "Training Day," in which he asks his new rookie partner (Ethan Hawke) why he won't use drugs, saying "Why not? You a Mormon?" (For the record, neither Denzel nor Ethan are Mormons.)

LOOKING AHEAD: LDS Genre: The producers of the "Charly" movie have changed the title from "Charly, Forever" to "Jack Weyland's Charly." No word on when the movie will be released. Kels Goodman has wrapped up filming of the winter scenes for his upcoming epic "Handcart." An extensive array of photos of the cast, crew, and production can be found at http://www.kelsgoodman.com

Upcoming Hollywood movies with Mormon/LDS stars: The release date of "The New Guy" (starring Eliza Dushku) has been pushed back from February to May. You can still look for "Murder by Numbers" (starring Ryan Gosling and non-LDS actress Sandra Bullock) to open on April 19th.