This Wire-Walking World--The Hollywood Reporter: Risky Business

By Steven Zeitchik

Upon seeing "Man on Wire," -- James Marsh's gripping documentary about Philippe Petit's quixotic (but successful) attempt to stealthily rig a wire and walk between the Twin Towers in 1974 -- for the third time the other day, following Sundance and Tribeca viewings, we were struck by how well the movie plays in the summer.

That's not for the usually counterpogram-y reasons, the ones about how 'It's so different from anything else out there.' In fact, quite the opposite. "Wire" is not nearly as different from a summer tentpole as you might think. Like, say, "The Dark Knight," "Wire" also is a chronicle of one man's sweeping (and potentially overreaching) ambition, centers on the dominance but ultimate feebleness of city institutions and offers breathtaking aerial shots to boot.

Petit has been turning up at screenings, and saying things, as he did at Tribeca, about his madcap vision that somehow all makes sense in the end. "I was really hungry for beautiful places to put a wire," he told the TFF audience in May. "When I saw the towers they pulled me by the sleeve. It became my dream-slash-nightmare."

The movie's been chugging along nicely - after widening the last two weeks, Magolia has the pic to nearly $1 million, though its per-screens last weekend dropped below $4000. Even if it ends up near $2 million, though, it will be a nice score for the Sundance pickup.

Speaking of Sundance, the next few weeks will be a huge test for a bigger Sundance pickup, "Hamlet 2" the Steve Coogan vehicle (and, given how much he's driving the thing, his plane, boat and hovercraft) about a comedically clueless drama teacher. The movie -- with its spoofs of celebrity, high-school dramas and theater taboos -- might be the world's first ever first kitchen-sink satire.

Focus has already sold off chunks of international, defraying much of its $10 million spend on the pickup. Still, we'll see if the heavy marketing campaign, centering on an ironic "Rock Me, Sexy Jesus" campaign hook, as well as its summer-vacation opening, pays off.

And speaking of summer vacation, we're taking a little one of our own these next few days. We'll be back next week. Until then, keep an eye out for the risky bizzers, and the wire-walkers.

About Risky Business

Risky Biz blog takes a deep, daily look at the film industry's ups, downs and deals from around the world and the heart of Hollywood. It is edited by media and entertainment journalist Steven Zeitchik, with contributions from The Hollywood Reporter's worldwide team of film editors and reporters. Zeitchik is a Los Angeles-based writer for THR and also has written for The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.

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