In the summer of 1992, the air in Los Angeles was suffused with a suffocating heat. The Rodney King incident had escalated, becoming a globally watched political event that deeply reflected the complexities of America's multiethnic, multicultural makeup. At the same time, the summer box office was blazing hot with films such as Basic Instinct, Lethal Weapon 3, Patriot Games, Batman Returns, and Unforgiven. Especially Basic Instinct, which dominated the box office for five weeks and generated countless discussions, lit up the entire 1992 film market.
However, entering the fall, the movie market clearly began to settle down. Lacking any blockbuster titles to draw audiences, September and October felt a bit uninspiring.
In fact, the Thanksgiving and Halloween seasons had never been particularly valued in North American film history or more accurately, audiences simply weren't in the habit of going to the theaters during that period. This continued until 2001's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone unlocked November's box office potential, transforming it into a new treasure trove for the North American market.
On another note, in 1998, Shakespeare in Love produced by the Weinstein Brothers unexpectedly defeated the heavily favored Saving Private Ryan and won Best Picture at the 71st Academy Awards. This result is still considered one of the greatest disgraces in Oscar history and gave rise to the very concept of "awards season." From October to December, numerous art films began releasing in a calculated effort to achieve awards success and win the coveted Oscar statuette. This transformed the year-end box office into a uniquely lively battlefield.
But in 1992, there was neither a Thanksgiving boom nor the clamor of awards season. In the more than three months before Christmas, the film market was utterly desolate. So for professional movie magazines, any minor stirrings could become the focus of their coverage.
For example, the new film Scent of a Woman, starring the reigning Golden Raspberry Award winner for Worst Actor, Hugo Lancaster, was set to release on October 16. He was collaborating with the currently lukewarm Al Pacino, alongside director Martin Brest, who had been silent for eight years. This combination was certainly intriguing. Or take last week's release of A River Runs Through It, a film produced by Tracey Jacobs. Industry insiders knew that Hugo had been rejected during casting in favor of Brad Pitt. That matchup was also rich in interest.
Los Angeles Times journalist Nicholas McClaren certainly didn't want to miss such a great topic. A week earlier, he had already begun planning and was the first to forecast the release of Scent of a Woman.
"Brest once displayed astonishing comedic talent in Beverly Hills Cop, but sadly, that talent seems to have faded with time. Now, he's daring to take on a serious drama. Scent of a Woman, adapted from the 1974 Italian original, is a film loaded with deep, heavy themes. Under Brest's lens, it's hard to know what to expect. When projecting its potential, it's unclear whether to focus on the drama's humor or the comedy's seriousness.
Brest is not a skillful director of performance. He has to rely on the actors' own abilities. Beverly Hills Cop succeeded thanks to Eddie Murphy's brilliant performance. This time, he places his hopes on Pacino and Lancaster.
Pacino's brilliance needs no elaboration. Though The Godfather Part III failed to live up to its legacy, his acting remains beyond question. His ability to explode with emotional force from a place of calm is still widely praised. That is this film's biggest attraction. However, how much control can Pacino exert alone? It's worth questioning. Let's not forget last year's dreadful Frankie and Johnny. Though Michelle Pfeiffer received some praise for her acting, Pacino was nearly swallowed whole by the film.
So, what kind of performance can Pacino deliver especially in the role of a blind man and how much energy can he unleash? These remain huge question marks. I have every reason to believe both Brest and Pacino are anxiously concerned about the film's reception, not just because they've lost their own sense of control, but also due to the film's most unpredictable third party: Lancaster.
Lancaster's resume hasn't featured anything impressive for a long, long time. More accurately, since Dead Poets Society, Lancaster has been on a path of self-destruction. His Golden Raspberry for Worst Actor was well-deserved, and his out-of-control behavior upon receiving it could only be interpreted as the last straw of a man on the brink.
Alcohol, car accidents, drugs, sex scandals... Lancaster's history gives everyone reason to lose faith. More seriously, his talent seems to have completely lost its shine. Under such circumstances, he's now expected to act opposite Pacino raising doubts about whether audiences can hold any hope at all. The film needs both actors to generate enough energy to attract viewers, but given Lancaster's past performances in Hudson Hawk which were manic, greasy, laughable, and absurd disappointment seems the only likely outcome.
Before Scent of a Woman, Lancaster auditioned for A River Runs Through It but failed. Last week, that film opened at twelve theaters and received widespread acclaim. Even more gratifying was Brad Pitt's eye-catching performance in the role Lancaster lost, proving the wisdom of the casting choice.
Compared to the rising Pitt, Lancaster has only his handsome appearance to compete with. In all other aspects presence, acting, reputation, conduct he falls far behind. It's foreseeable that their careers will likely take opposite paths from here.
Returning to Scent of a Woman, compared to Pacino's dominance, Brest and Lancaster are the film's clear weak points especially Lancaster, whose negative influence could prove fatal to the film.
Distributed by Universal Pictures, Scent of a Woman will have limited previews at twenty theaters in its opening weekend. Per-theater revenue is expected to be around $8,000, making any greater success unlikely."
In this report, Nicholas essentially wrote off Scent of a Woman. Though he had previously painted a somewhat positive portrait of Hugo after visiting the set, his lack of faith in the film had never wavered.
In fact, Nicholas's opinion was merely a drop in the sea of collective lamentation from the American media. Before Scent of a Woman was released, seven media outlets had shown interest and made early predictions. Six of them held pessimistic views, with some believing the film would suffer a catastrophic failure. The seventh outlet was only cautiously optimistic, expressing some hope for Al.
As for Hugo, all seven outlets expressed unanimous skepticism. The endless negativity stemming from the Golden Raspberry Award was now fully manifest. Since Hudson Hawk flopped disastrously in May of last year, Hugo had been unemployed for eight months, and the fallout was severe including his Razzie award. No one believed Hugo could make a comeback. They only hoped he wouldn't ruin a fourth film in a row.
A prediction from The Boston Globe even joked, "The 13th Golden Raspberry nominations aren't far away. Pray Al doesn't get dragged down by Hugo."
As for the box office predictions for Scent of a Woman, since the film was not widely released but rather followed an art-house strategy first showing in limited preview screenings and then determining expansion based on audience and critic feedback only three out of the seven media outlets offered predictions for the per-theater earnings during the previews. The highest estimate came from the Los Angeles Times, predicting $8,000 per theater. It seems allowing Nicholas to join the production for an exclusive interview did yield some results.
In short, the media's outlook for Scent of a Woman was overwhelmingly pessimistic. Even with Al's star power, it was difficult for the press to place any faith in the film.
But media opinions were one thing. For Joseph, doing his job well was the top priority. Unlike the previous premiere for Final Analysis, this was Hugo's own project. And given that it was Hugo's first film since the disastrous Hudson Hawk months ago, Joseph had no choice but to take this seriously.
As for Hugo himself, he found it all magical. He had transmigrated in January, then spent time filming two movies back to back, followed by a long summer vacation to rest and recharge. Now, his first truly personal film project was about to hit theaters right in the heart of the global film industry, the North American market. For Hugo, it still felt like a surreal dream. Even though he had been in this land and this era for more than six months, when Joseph told him that Scent of a Woman was about to be released, Hugo still spaced out for a moment.
Compared to the Final Analysis premiere, the approaching premiere of Scent of a Woman brought with it a tide of nervousness that washed over Hugo two to three times a day like clockwork, leaving him in a state of constant anxiety. It was sheer torment.
"Like a pancake," Hugo said.
....
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