LOS ANGELES, March 14, 2000 — In 1991, Keith Gordon learned the hard way about film marketing.
His second film, “A Midnight Clear,” starring Ethan Hawke and Gary Sinise, was set to open in just two cities: New York and Los Angeles. The studio invested all its money in both locations, and when the big opening day came, a little something called the Rodney King riots in L.A. discouraged anyone from going near a movie theater.
Despite favorable reviews, “A Midnight Clear” died a quick death at the box office, but found audiences through home video. Gordon, who’s since directed “Mother Night” in 1996 and episodes of “Homicide,” is now facing the marketing monster again with his latest effort, “Waking the Dead.”
“Films are under tremendous pressure to perform immediately,” he says. “There’s so much competition, there’s so much wrangling for screen space that if you don’t come out and do well, you’re gone. And I think that’s too bad.”
“Waking the Dead” is a romantic drama with a “Ghost” influence, based on the novel by Scott Spencer. It follows the life of Fielding Pierce (Billy Crudup), a political aspirant who loses the love of his life, Sarah (Jennifer Connelly) when she is killed in a 1974 car bombing.
But eight years later, as Fielding is running for Congress and settled into his new life with girlfriend Juliet (Molly Parker), he begins to have flashbacks and visions of Sarah. His unraveling psyche worries those around him, including his sister Caroline (Academy Award nominee Janet McTeer) and mentor Isaac (Hal Holbrook). Fielding begins to lose footing on his personal and professional success as his mental struggles heighten: Is he going crazy, or is Sarah alive?
Gordon began as an actor and spent much time following around his directors: Brian De Palma (during “Dressed to Kill”), John Carpenter (during “Christine”) and Bob Fosse (during “All That Jazz”). His first feature was 1988’s “The Chocolate War.” Three years later, he read Spencer’s novel and immediately began writing a screenplay.
But the production was held up, mostly because the studio lost interest in what didn’t look to be a mainstream love epic. Gordon abandoned the project and moved on, only to receive a call in 1995, when the studio’s interest in the project re-ignited. Gordon says he owes this to Jodie Foster, whose Egg Pictures produced the movie.
“Audiences go to films because they’re offbeat, because they don’t feel compromised … In the process of getting the film financed you have to go to the people financing it and say this is why this film can do well,” Gordon says. “Jodie Foster was incredibly valuable to us. She was going to Polygram and saying, ‘This is why — beyond this being a critically successful movie — this is why this film will find an audience.’ ”
And why will it?
“It’s a love story and you can sell a love story,” says Gordon. “Just because it’s smart doesn’t mean there’s not an audience there.”
“Waking the Dead” hopes to find its audience March 24, when it opens in limited release.
