War tales captivate Chicago critics

World War II films dominated the Chicago Film Critics Awards on Monday evening as Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan" from DreamWorks and Paramount took best picture honors and Terrence Malick's "The Thin Red Line" won two awards, including best director. The dozen other honors were scattered among 10 films as "Shakespeare in Love" was the only other multiple winner. Miramax and Universal's "Shakespeare" took best screenplay (Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard) and most promising actor (Joseph Fiennes). Fox's "Red Line" also won for John Toll's cinematography. Roberto Benigni's bittersweet Holocaust comic drama "Life Is Beautiful," released domestically by Miramax, was voted best foreign-language film.

Suitable vehicle for Chan kicks in at DreamWorks

In a pre-emptive bid, DreamWorks has paid low- against mid-six for an untitled pitch to star Jackie Chan that Vanguard Films and Blue Train Entertainment will produce. Written by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi, the action comedy is intended to be a franchise where Chan will star as a bumbling spy. The script, the first of a hoped-for series, will see Chan's character inventing a tuxedo that helps him fight. The project will showcase Chan's comedic side while incorporating the star's martial arts and stunt skills. This is the second pitch that Chan has attached himself to in the past month. He will also star and exec produce New Line' s "Nosebleed."

First visual effects fest has force to be reckoned with

Four seminars on the making of the first "Star Wars" prequel will highlight what organizers bill as Hollywood's first visual effects festival. The Visual Effects Society has set VES '99: A Festival of Visual Effects for June 4-6. The event will be held at the Leonard Goldenson Theatre at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in North Hollywood. "We believe the juxtaposition of state-of-the-art visual effects from 'The Phantom Menace' with classic visual effects films from the past will attract attendance from film buffs and professionals alike -- particularly from Hollywood's enormous pool of visual effects talent," VES executive director Tom Atkin said. "Star Wars -- Episode One: The Phantom Menace," the first of three prequels planned by George Lucas, is set for release May 21.

B.O. rolls a hard 'Eight' for 1st year-to-year win of '99

Sony's "Eight Millimeter" hit big-screen pay dirt during the weekend, pacing the overall marketplace to its first year-over-year victory of 1999. Receipts generated by the 76 features tracked by The Hollywood Reporter in North America came to $79.4 million, 3% more than the comparable period last year. That figure was off 1% from last weekend, however. "Eight Millimeter," which stars Nicolas Cage as a detective probing the "snuff film" industry, earned $14.25 million for the three days, a performance in the mid-range of results forecast by indicators of audience interest prior to release .

Frosh films can't unseat vets in calm overseas frame

Holdovers dominated a generally temperate overseas boxoffice over the weekend, with "A Bug's Life," "You've Got Mail," "Shakespeare in Love" and "The Thin Red Line" among the better scorers. New international entries just starting out -- "Payback," "Eight Millimeter," "Patch Adams," "Rushmore" and "American History X" -- were not greeted with undue excitement in early dates, and it's too soon to appraise their acceptance in the overseas market. Terrence Malick's "The Thin Red Line," apparently trying to cash in on its Oscar nominations, made a massive attack in 23 new markets over the weekend after opening in eight a week ago. Armed with 1,712 screens in 31 countries, it captured a modest $8.6 million, highlighted by a middling $1.5 million in France at 216 screens, $1.6 million in Germany at 324, and $535,348 in Brazil at 122. It goes wide in the United Kingdom this coming weekend after opening with $138,763 on a single screen.