MGM delays "Windtalkers" debut to summer, 2002

Reuters
Sep 28 2001 9:00PM

LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.
decided Friday to delay releasing its big-budget World War II film,
"Windtalkers," until next summer to avoid the box office uncertainty that
has beset Hollywood since the Sept. 11 attacks on America.

"There's so much uncertainty right now and we don't want to spend a lot of
money on promoting the film," the film's producer, Terence Chang, told
Reuters.

The movie, set for release on Nov. 9, was expected to be a major entry for
the Thanksgiving holiday season. It has now been pushed to June 14, 2002,
MGM said in a news release.

MGM did not want to risk a bad showing at the box office by releasing it at
a time when ticket sales are down due to the somber national mood in the
wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon,
Chang said.

"Windtalkers," based on a true story, was directed by action specialist John
Woo and stars Nicholas Cage. It tells a tale of Native Americans who helped
to thwart Japanese code breakers during World War II by transmitting war
plans in the Navajo language.

"We feel certain this great film will be enjoyed by the broadest possible
audience during the strong summer play period," Robert Levin, president of
worldwide theatrical marketing and distribution, said in the MGM statement.

NOT WORTH THE RISK

One studio source told Reuters that with only six weeks until the movie's
debut, MGM would be spending millions of dollars on advertising and
promotion when, possibly, TV coverage of a U.S. retaliatory strike could
nullify the ads and take audiences away from theaters.

"It seemed to us to be not worth the risk because of the uncertainty," said
the source who asked to remain anonymous.

Unlike major media companies with TV networks, cable TV operators, billboard
companies, and theme parks, MGM does not have a wide variety of operations,
and is highly dependent on box office receipts and video sales for its
profits.

So, if an expensive film like "Windtalkers" were to flop, it would do more
damage to the bottom line than a single movie failure would do at a company
like The Walt Disney Co. or AOL Time Warner Inc..

Several movies have already been delayed by other studios -- Arnold
Schwarzenegger's "Collateral Damage" and Tim Allen comedy "Big Trouble" to
name two -- due to content that seemed insensitive to the national mood. But
Chang said the delay of "Windtalkers" had nothing to do with the subject
matter.

"It's more of a feeling that it's not a good time for any movie," he said,
"It's a very patriotic film. It's a war film and terrible things happen
during war, and we don't want to shy away from that."

The studio source said the film had been playing very well in front of test
audiences, and MGM did not want to jeopardize what it felt was a good film
in what might be a down market.

Chang was the producer of John Woo's "Face/Off" (1997) and since then has
executive produced films such as "Anna and the King" (1999) and "Mission:
Impossible 2" (2000).

Reuters/Variety