The curiosity factor comes into play with November's Bounce, which pairs America's Oscar-winning are-they-or-aren't-they couple, Gwyneth Paltrow and Ben Affleck--to the likely delight of their benefactor Miramax. Director Don Roos is planning how to juggle the inevitable questions. "Maybe I should just play ignorant," he laughs. "'I have no idea what's going on!'"
Sparks indicate heat--which studios like--but there's always a chance of getting burned: A complicated relationship makes for complicated PR planning. "You could book [an appearance] this week, and everything's on--and next week? Ouch," says the marketing exec.
Miramax admits even the hottest (or hot-and-coldest) couple won't get people into seats simply because of public voyeurism. "You look at the movies couples are in, and when they've been couples in a really good film, they work," says Miramax publicity president Marcy Granata. "The offscreen stuff--I don't know if it matters."
Maybe, but viewers who want to debate the state of the Ben-Gwyn union may head to Bounce just to see if they can spot an understanding. "When you take a couple who's on-again, off-again, things get much more interesting," says the marketing exec. "It's the tension that makes it interesting for an audience."
Then it may be lucky that the affianced Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas share no screen time in December's Traffic. "Once people are married, it's like, eh," says marketing analyst Tony Angellotti. "Married people know there's no more sexual tension when people are married--you're not going to fool them."
(Additional reporting by William Keck)
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