--D-DAY FOR WAR MOVIES If Hollywood were to follow typical operating procedure, Ryan's commercial success would quickly spawn a number of war-hungry imitators. But that particular invasion had already been under way: At least 10 projects about World War II had been in the works before last weekend. Ryan's big opening simply means the beachhead is now secured. Says director Jonathan Mostow, who's developing U-571, a WWII submarine story (see sidebar) for Universal, "That film opens up the genre again."
But the critical acclaim for Ryan may give competing filmmakers and studios second thoughts about following too closely in Spielberg's combat boots. Says an exec at Paramount, which had been racing ahead with two of its own WWII films, Bruce Willis' Combat and Arnold Schwarzenegger's With Wings of Eagles, "I definitely think you'll see some of these projects pulled back." Another Paramount source goes further, saying that there's been talk at the studio of possibly killing Combat because of its similarities to Ryan. A Paramount spokesman, however, insists that both Eagles and Combat are on track.
As for the other heavyweight war film in the pipeline, the burden of proof now shifts to Malick's Line. Despite rumors that Fox was thinking of trying to distance the film from Ryan by moving its release date back, the studio's Domestic Film Group chief Tom Sherak says Line will open on schedule at Christmas. "It all comes down to story and how well it is told," says Sherak. "Saving Private Ryan is a great movie and it will probably be nominated. And if The Thin Red Line is perceived as a great movie, it probably will too. WWII as a backdrop isn't the issue."
After all, adds Sherak, "it was a long war." (Additional reporting by Judith I. Brennan and Pat H. Broeske)
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