2002 in Review: Year in Movies

Aired December 31, 2002 - 07:41   ET

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: This was a blockbuster year at the box office with Hollywood on the verge of record-breaking numbers. So, for the inside story on the movies you missed and those you shouldn't miss, I spoke with Kevin Smith, the hot independent director. His latest feature: "Jersey Girl." It stars -- you know these two -- Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. He gives us his hits and misses for 2002.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN (on camera): "My Big, Fat Greek Wedding." What is it about a movie like that, where you can take unknown actors, or a unknown actor, and spend what, 3 or 4 million bucks on it and end up making close to a couple of hundred million?

KEVIN SMITH, DIRECTOR AND ACTOR, "JERSEY GIRL": A total phenomenon really. You know, how often does that happen when something that extensive (ph) with almost no marketing budget behind it just keeps earning and earning?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you hungry?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I already ate.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, I'll make you something.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

SMITH: This is a movie that just kind of picked up steam as it went along. Obviously, people found something in the movie that they identified with, because boy, they went out there and told the world about it.

ZAHN: "Harry Potter, Chamber of Secrets," "Men in Black II," "Analyze that," another "Star Trek" movie, "Santa Clause 2," this genre of film doesn't seem to lose its staying power, does it?

SMITH: No, there's always comfort in the familiar, when you can kind of sit down in the movie theater and be like, OK, I pretty much know like what the chemistry is going to be like.

"Men in Black," I love it, it was a wonderful movie. But "Men in Black II" it felt like they were like people love that dog. It really wasn't the dog in the last movie that did it for most people. It was the chemical between Tommy Lee and Will Smith, and they didn't seem to share as much screen time as they had in the first one.

ZAHN: Did "Spiderman" live up to your expectations? SMITH: The first time I saw "Spiderman," I wasn't really wild about it, but I watched it on a tape at home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He saved my life twice, and I've never even seen his face.

SMITH: And the movie came out and did huge numbers. I went to see it on the big screen when things calmed down a bit, when you could finally get in to see it, and I liked it a lot more, like you know it plays wonderfully on a big screen.

ZAHN: Another movie that got a lot of attention this year was Eminem's "8 Mile."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're late again, Smith, then you're fired.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know that everybody is calling you a loser?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everyone I work for (ph), you get to stop living up here and start living down here.

ZAHN: Is this the beginning of a new career for him?

SMITH: A large cross-section of people like Eminem music. You know, I'm sure there's a certain percentage of the audience that showed up just to see if he'd fail, rooting for him to fail. But apparently, he didn't, because he got great acting notices.

ZAHN: If you would, Kevin, reflect on what you think were some of the movies that had the greatest impact this year.

SMITH: Two of the best movies that I saw this year were cartoons: "Ice Age" and "Lilo & Stitch."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where is he?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A place called Hawaii.

SMITH: "Lilo & Stitch" I thought was one of the best, if not the best, movies of the year, because that really -- it did everything that a movie should do. It made you laugh, and it made you cry, it totally touched you, and it had songs in it.

ZAHN: "Ice Age" visually was just spectacular.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From now on, refer to me as "Lord of the Flame."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, Lord of the Flame, your tail's on fire.

SMITH: "Ice Age," yes, was wonderful to look at, and I also thought the chemistry between the voices was totally well-done, proving like, you know, you could take something familiar and as long as it's well-written and well-directed, it doesn't matter.

ZAHN: Yes, that's...

SMITH: I really enjoyed that movie.

I finally got around to seeing "Austin Powers 3: Gold Member," and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) I didn't find it funny.

AUSTIN POWERS, ACTOR: 1975, yes, baby, yes!

SMITH: There's a few moments where you kind of chuckled, but it felt like diminishing (ph) returns. The movie did incredibly well, and everyone thinks that Austin Powers is really funny. And I thought he was funny the first time, but that movie to me was just kind of like, oh man.

ZAHN: Tell me a little bit about how the industry reacted to "Swept Away," and that was the venture of Madonna and her husband, Guy Ritchie.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you want the food, you will have to earn it.

MADONNA, ENTERTAINER: Ow!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you doing?

MADONNA: Sorry.

SMITH: Yes...

ZAHN: It did horrible at the box office.

SMITH: It's kind of a shame. Guy Ritchie is really a talented director, and Madonna can't seem to catch a break in movies. Don't know why. But who knows? Who knows why stuff doesn't work?

ZAHN: Some of the other movies you see leading the list of the worst movies of the year are "Jackass, the Movie."

SMITH: In terms of "Jackass," you've got to (UNINTELLIGIBLE), because it's barely a movie. It's to a certain extent a version of the TV show. I guess you'll never go broke, you know, underestimating the intelligence of the American public, or the taste of the American public for that matter.

ZAHN: Let's close by talking about your latest project, "Jersey Girl." It's your latest...

SMITH: "Jersey Girl," yes.

ZAHN: ... movie. Now, that stars, what? Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck?

SMITH: Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, it will be out sometime in 2003. I had a great time shooting it.

ZAHN: Did they become a couple during the filming of this movie? Or were they a couple preceding it?

SMITH: They -- I guess they had started dating right before we started rehearsing. So, they had been together for about a week, two weeks, and then suddenly we were rehearsing, and they were a couple, which was kind of great, because they were playing a couple falling in love in movie. So, the onscreen chemistry was mirrored by their offscreen chemistry.

ZAHN: So, you didn't have to fake anything?

SMITH: Didn't have to fake a thing, and hopefully, next year we'll be sitting here talking about that movie and not you're referring to it in "Swept Away" terms. That would be horrible.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN: Keeping our fingers crossed for you, Kevin. Be sure to watch more of my interview with him a little bit later on in our show.

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Talk with Director Kevin Smith

Aired December 31, 2002 - 09:45   ET

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Some of the hottest movies of 2002 are in theaters right now. Hollywood's bringing out all the big guns from Leonardo DiCaprio to Jack Nicholson to the directing debut of George Clooney. So what should you see?
I recently sat down and talked with hot indie director Kevin Smith to get his take on the can't-miss movies of 2002.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN SMITH, DIRECTOR: "Gangs of New York" I have seen.

ZAHN: What did you think?

SMITH: It's fantastic, I think. The sheer volume of the flick, the sheer scope of the flick, kind of just screams out for, give it an Oscar right now, give it the best picture Oscar.

Beautiful movie, wonderfully acted, just amazing vision. You sit there as a filmmaker, you're kind of humbled. You go like, oh, so this is what filmmaking is all about. Martin Scorcese kind of outdid himself.

ZAHN: Another movie getting a fair amount of buzz is the musical version of "Chicago" with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renee Zellweger. Do you think that will do well?

SMITH: I think it could do well. I don't know, musicals don't fare that well, but every Disney movie that comes down the pike seems to be a musical. So why wouldn't a live action movie work, particularly if people really like the stars.

ZAHN: Let's talk about Jack Nicholson. He's out with in a new movie called "About Schmidt," and I guess Oscar talk is really loud on this one.

What did you think?

SMITH: I mean, there ought to be, like, an Oscar category just for Jack Nicholson so that he doesn't have to compete with everybody else. It seems like every time Jack Nicholson comes out in a somewhat dramatic role, people are like, it's Jack's year, he's going to win again. We're like, we know he's a great actor, he's wonderful, but maybe let's give somebody else a shot this time.

It's always a pleasure to watch Jack Nicholson, always a pleasure to watch Kathy Bates. Best picture of the year, "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind."

George Clooney, first-time director, made a better looking movie than my first five movies, far more visually engaged. I know that's really not that great a compliment, because my movies don't look that good, but I thought that movie was incredibly visually accomplished and incredibly well-directed, wonderful performances.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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