Wild America
Scott Bairstow, Devon Sawa, and Jonathan Taylor Thomas star as the Stouffer brothers, filmmakers who achieved fame for their wildlife documentaries (Marty Stouffer's Wild America). In the fact-based story, set in 1967, the siblings leave their Arkansas home and trek across America with their 16 mm camera. ''It's a lot about goals and dreams,'' says Taylor Thomas. ''They stuck to their guns and didn't let anyone discount them.'' (July 2)
4 Little Girls
While studying at New York University's film school in 1982, Spike Lee decided to make a documentary about the racially charged 1963 murders of four Birmingham, Ala., schoolgirls — ''one of the most significant tragedies in American history,'' says Lee, who wrote to Christopher McNair, the father of one of the victims. At the time he was turned down (''I was not a filmmaker yet, and he wasn't ready to speak out''). Now — 15 years after the letter was written — Lee's documentary features the girl's father, the prosecutor, Bill Cosby, Walter Cronkite, and others who recall the tragedy as they experienced it. (July 9)
A Simple Wish
In Michael Ritchie's effects-driven fantasy, Mara Wilson is a 7-year-old who wishes for a fairy godmother to turn her dad (Murphy Brown's Robert Pastorelli) into a successful Broadway actor. Instead, thanks to affirmative action in the fairy realm, she gets a fairy godfather, Martin Short, whose wand is coveted by the de-winged Kathleen Turner. The filmmakers apparently think affirmative action is a good thing: ''From now on,'' promises Pastorelli, ''all fairy godmothers are going to look like Martin Short.'' (July 11)
The Winner
Rebecca De Mornay plays a lousy Las Vegas lounge singer trying to scam Vincent D'Onofrio out of his winnings. According to De Mornay, the dark comedy (written and directed by Repo Man's Alex Cox) contains at least a dash of verite. ''I'd go back to my hotel with fake eyelashes and heavy makeup and nobody would bat an eyelid,'' she says. ''That's what people look like there.'' (July 18)
Box of Moonlight
John Turturro stars as a strait-laced engineer who gets a new take on life after experiencing it through the eyes of a slightly disturbed young man (Sam Rockwell). ''It's a funny story of a man trying to do everything right [but] who doesn't know how to live,'' explains Turturro, who says he also approves of director Tom DiCillo's (Living in Oblivion) description of the film: a cross between Leave It to Beaver and Kafka. (July 25)
Good Burger
Nickelodeon mainstays Kenan and Kel (All That) milk their most popular sketch for all it's worth in this comedy about dueling fast-food joints. After developing the project for three years, Head of the Class actor-turned-director Brian Robbins got the green light from Paramount — with a catch. ''They said, 'The good news is, we want to make this movie,''' remembers Robbins, who hurried to finish shooting just last month. '''The bad news is, we want it out this summer.''' (July 25)
