DATE=3/18/2002

TYPE=ENGLISH PROGRAMS FEATURE

NUMBER=7-36070

TITLE=HOLLYWOOD HIGHLIGHTS 2002-12a (Top 5 Films)

BYLINE=ALAN SILVERMAN

TELEPHONE=619-1024 (editor)

DATELINE=HOLLYWOOD

EDITOR=vicki swaney

CONTENT=

( INSERTS AVAILABLE FROM AUDIO SERVICES; VOICED VERSION 3:50vo, 6:48mo )

Intro: It may be set in the Ice Age, but an animated family adventure heats up the box office in this week's look at the most popular films now showing at North American theaters. Alan Silverman lists the top five, starting with a stirring military drama at number five:

CUT ONE "WE WERE SOLIDERS" CLIP

"WELCOME TO THE NEW CAVALRY. WE WILL RIDE INTO BATTLE AND THIS WILL BE OUR HORSE."(HELICOPTER SFX)

TEXT: "WE WERE SOLDIERS" stars Mel Gibson as the American commander whose troops are the first to face the North Vietnamese Army in a bloody 1965 battle at Ia Drang. "WE WERE SOLDIERS" ends up in fifth place:

CUT TWO "THE TIME MACHINE" CLIP

"WHY HAVE YOU TRAVELED THROUGH TIME?"

"TO HAVE A QUESTION ANSWERED. WHY CAN'T ONE CHANGE THE PAST?"

"WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO?"

TEXT: "THE TIME MACHINE" stars Guy Pearce in the action adventure adapted from the classic sci-fi novel by H.G. Wells (and directed by the author's great-grandson, Simon Wells). Last week's number one film, "THE TIME MACHINE" travels back to fourth place, bumped from the top by three new entries.

The comedy "SHOWTIME" debuts in third place. A parody of "reality" TV shows that supposedly show the exploits of real police officers, it stars Eddie Murphy as a camera-loving cop who the show producers pair with a veteran detective, a crusty curmudgeon played by Robert DeNiro:

/// OPT /// CUT THREE DENIRO

HE DOESN'T TAKE IT SERIOUSLY. HE DOESN'T WANT TO DO IT. HE'S FORCED INTO IT. EDDIE'S CHARACTER IS THE OPPOSITE. HE'S AN ACTOR AND IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR HIM TO DO IT, SO WE'RE BOTH COMING TO IT FROM TWO DIFFERENT PLACES AND WE'RE FORCED INTO THIS SITUATION. /// END OPT ///

CUT FOUR "SHOWTIME" CLIP

"PATROLLING YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD AT FRIDAY . . ."

"EVERY FRIDAY NIGHT AT EIGHT. THAT'S EASY."

"PATROLLING YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD EVERY FRIDAY NIGHT AT EIGHT."

"THIS GUY IS THE WORST ACTOR I HAVE EVER SEEN."

TEXT: Featuring Rene Russo as the TV show producer and William Shatner as himself, "SHOWTIME" opens up at number three.

An action-packed video game becomes a high-energy live action adventure in "RESIDENT EVIL:"

CUT FIVE "RESIDENT EVIL" CLIP

"STATUS."

"THE RED QUEEN HAS LOCKED ONTO US. SHE KNOWS THAT WE'RE HERE."

"WHO'S THE RED QUEEN?"

"STATE OF THE ART ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. SHE'S THE COMPUTER THAT CONTROLS THE HIVE."

TEXT: Milla Jovovich stars as the mini-skirted young woman battling zombie dogs and other deadly obstacles familiar to fans of the video game:

/// OPT /// CUT SEVEN JOVOVICH

LET'S JUST PUT IT THIS WAY: I'M NO SHRINKING VIOLET. I'M A STRONG, BIG GIRL. MY DAD IS FROM YUGOSLAVIA MONTENEGRO SO I HAVE BIG BONES, BIG SHOULDERS AND IF YOU LOOK AT ALL THE ACTRESSES, I DON'T KNOW WHO ELSE COULD HAVE PLAYED THIS PART THAT IS BUILT LIKE ME AND CAN DO THOSE PHSYICAL THINGS AND YOU BELIEVE IT. I LOVE THAT. /// END OPT ///

TEXT: "RESIDENT EVIL" scores second place in its first week out; but the new number one film, with the biggest opening weekend ever for a film released in March, is "ICE AGE," a computer-animated family adventure about a mammoth, a sloth and the human baby they find:

CUT EIGHT "ICE AGE" CLIP

"ALL RIGHT, I'LL HELP YOU BRING IT TO ITS HERD, BUT PROMISE ME THAT YOU'LL LEAVE ME ALONE AFTER THAT."

"OKAY, IT'S A DEAL. WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?"

"YOU ARE MY PROBLEM."

TEXT: The English language version features TV star Ray Romano as the voice of Manfred Mammoth and his diminutive sloth buddy Sid is played by John Leguizamo /// OPT /// who says he enjoys the animation technique of each voice actor working alone:

CUT NINE LEGUIZAMO

I FIND IT REALLY EXCITING AND FUN BECAUSE IT'S COMPLETELY YOUR IMAGINATION. I USED TO DO THAT WHEN I WAS A TEENAGER AND KIND OF STRANGE. I WOULD BE IN THE ROOM BY MYSELF DOING ALL KINDS OF VOICES AND CHARACTERS TO THE MIRROR; AND WHATEVER WAS REALLY FUNNY WOULD REALLY CRACK ME UP. THAT'S WHAT IT'S LIKE IN THAT BOOTH. I JUST DO AS MANY TAKES UNTIL IT WORKS . . . UNTIL YOU FEEL LIKE THAT LINE CONTAINS THE VOICE, THE CHARACTER AND THE SITUATION. THAT LITTLE VOICE IS WHAT WILL MAKE THE CHARACTER POP. /// END OPT ///

TEXT: "ICE AGE" warms up the box office to debut at number one: the new most popular movie at North American theaters. (signed).

MUSIC: from the "ICE AGE" score by David Newman