THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 20, 1994 TAG: 9407200019
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: CRAIG SHAPIRO
LENGTH: Long : 125 lines
EVERY WEDNESDAY about this time, the same thing runs through your mind:
``You know, that Shapiro does an OK job with this Videomatic thing. He's got reviews, tidbits, what's selling and renting. Looking for a tape? He'll help you find it.
``But I wonder, just how far will he go?''
Try 2,155 miles.
That's how far it is from Norfolk to Las Vegas - not including a layover in Pittsburgh. The reason I'm winging off to Sin City is the Video Software Dealers Association convention, a once-a-year confab that brings in industry and show-biz types for four days of show and tell and sell/schmoozing and boozing and losing.
I know what you're thinking now, too: the poor thing.
You got a rough job, who you gonna call?
Sure, there are drinks and hors d'oeuvres with Barney the Dinosaur, lunch with Anna Nicole Smith and a dinner put on by Sega. But there's also a cocktail party with 22 Penthouse pets and the premiere of a new Olsen Twins' video. And Mary-Kate and Ashley are going to be there.
OK, there is a serious side to it. The guest speaker is George Bush. Larry King and Joe Theismann are going to lead discussions. And there will be loads of exhibits and displays about what's new in the home entertainment industry.
Besides, when I fly out Friday, I won't be going alone. You'll go, too.
Sort of.
I'm going to run a list of the celebrities who will be at the convention. What I want you to do is call the Videomatic Infoline Mailbox at 640-5555, category 2827 (2VCR), and leave what question you'd like me to ask of whom. No guarantees, but I'll try to hook up with as many as I can.
Ready?
Hank Aaron, Paula Abdul, Edie Adams, Denise Austin, Tracy Austin, Dixie Carter, Marilyn Chambers, Tony Curtis, Ami Dolenz, Larry Drake, Shelley Duvall, Kathie Lee Gifford, Dan Haggarty, Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera, Tippi Hedren, Charlton Heston, Kathy Ireland, LaToya Jackson, Timothy Leary, Jerry Lewis, Richard Lewis, Susan Lucci, Ali MacGraw, Richard Masur, Mary Tyler Moore, Martin Mull, Chuck Norris, Hugh O'Brien, Bobby Orr, Regis Philbin, Lou Diamond Phillips, Roddy Piper, Stefanie Powers, Brooks Robinson, Deborah Shelton, Alan Shepard, Richard Simmons, Marc Singer, Kathy Smith, Jean Stapleton, Jake Steinfeld, Michael Wayne and Don ``The Dragon'' Wilson.
One thing: You have to call FAST. My plane leaves Friday morning, so that means I'll have to go through the Mailbox pronto.
And don't even think about Rutger Hauer, ``Mr. Cub'' Ernie Banks or Billy West, voice of Nickelodeon's Doug Funnie and Stimpson J. Cat.
They're mine.
SUCH A DEAL: Red tag. Blue light. Whatever. MGM/UA is pricing a bunch of titles today at to-go prices.
Ebbis: ``Jailhouse Rock,'' ``Viva Las Vegas,'' ``Elvis `That's the Way It Is,' '' ``Elvis on Tour,'' ``Clambake,'' ``Double Trouble,'' ``Follow That Dream,'' ``Frankie and Johnny,'' ``Harum Scarum,'' ``It Happened at the World's Fair,'' ``Kid Galahad,'' ``Live a Little, Love a Little,'' ``Speedway,'' ``Spinout,'' ``Stay Away, Joe,'' ``The Trouble With Girls'' ($14.95 each); ``Elvis: The Lost Performances'' ($19.98)
Bezball: ``Angels in the Outfield'' (1951), ``The Stratton Story,'' ``Take Me Out to the Ballgame,'' ``The Jackie Robinson Story'' ($19.98 each)
Screen queens: ``Green Fire'' (Grace Kelly), ``Green Mansions'' (Audrey Hepburn), ``Interrupted Melody'' (Eleanor Parker), ``The Mortal Storm'' (Margaret Sullivan), ``The Valley of Decision'' (Greer Garson), ``Young Bess'' (Jean Simmons) ($19.98 each)
Funny biz: ``Manhattan,'' ``Bananas,'' ``Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex but Were Afraid to Ask,'' ``Love and Death,'' ``Sleeper,'' ``The Party,'' ``A Fish Called Wanda,'' ``Overboard,'' ``The Road to Hong Kong'' ($14.95 each)
TOP TAPES (in this week's Billboard):
Sales: ``Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,'' ``The Return of Jafar,'' ``Mrs. Doubtfire,'' ``Playboy: 1994 Playmate of the Year,'' ``Yanni: Live at the Acropolis''
Rentals: ``Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,'' ``The Pelican Brief,'' ``Tombstone,'' ``The Piano,'' ``Philadelphia''
The Couch Report
``On Deadly Ground'' (1994, Warner). Despite a commendable message about our eco sins, Steven Seagal's latest is still about kicking butt. He's an ex-CIA man turned spirit warrior who gets even when an oily oil baron tries to rub him out. So his directorial debut is familiar fare; Seagal does answer one big question: How do you get Michael Caine to be in your movie? Just ask.
(CAST: Steven Seagal, Michael Caine, Joan Chen. RATED: R for violence, language, nudity)
``My Father the Hero'' (1994, Touchstone). Gerard Depardieu is a divorced dad who takes his daughter on an island vacation. She's moody and 14 and lies and whines so much you don't care if she gets the boy. But Depardieu makes even a trifle like this fun. The beefy Gaul shows great comic timing - and give him points for being unafraid to let it all hang out.
(CAST: Gerard Depardieu, Katherine Heigl, Lauren Hutton, Faith Prince. RATED: PG for mild language)
``The Hidden 2'' (1994, New Line). The original, with Earth and outer-space cops chasing an alien that lives in humans, was a taut thriller. The sequel strip mines that idea, subbing bad dialogue, cheesy FX and a boogyman with ``an insatiable lust for fast cars, high-caliber weapons and heavy metal.'' Please.
(CAST: Raphael Sbarge, Kate Hodge. RATED: R for violence, language)
Also: ``Fiorile,'' a romantic fable from the creators of ``The Night of the Shooting Stars'' (PG-13), and ``Tides of War,'' a World War II actioner starring David Soul and Ernest Borgnine (unrated).
Tuesday: ``Hans Christian Andersen's Thumbelina''
Next Wednesday: ``What's Eating Gilbert Grape,'' ``Wrestling Ernest Hemingway,'' ``Cabin Boy,'' ``Blank Check,'' ``Lurking Fear,'' ``Test Tube Teens From the Year 2000,'' ``Scanner Cop,'' ``Psychocop 2,'' ``Assault at West Point,'' ``Dragon World,'' ``By the Sword'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos
Hank Aaron
Lou Diamond Phillips
Tippi Hedren
Lou Diamond Phillips
Susan Lucci
by CNB