Japan, for example. In short, so much can go wrong that a director needs to be ringmaster of a dozen circuses. Then there's the question of expectation. Then again, he made Bicentennial Man and Nine Months . The only certainties are that some of the year's best films will come from unexpected sources and some sure-fire hits will end up unloved on video store shelves.
Musical films are never easy to carry off.
Coppola flopped with One From the Heart and Scorsese didn't do much better with New York, New York , and Luhrmann has the added challenge of using contemporary songs in a stylised period setting. It has also proved a difficult film to make at Sydney's Fox Studios, with numerous delays and reshoots during editing. After his Golden Globe nomination, Geoffrey Rush is a chance for another Oscar for Quills . He plays the lecherous Marquis de Sade in a film American critics have praised for its wit, sophistication and style. Publicity for Pearl Harbour started early - Independence Day early, Godzilla early.