Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #105 :: July 27 to August 2

Universal Pictures

As we head into the ‘Dog Days of August’, the number of films released is still substantial but you may be hard-pressed to actually remember many of them. There were still some notable releases including the first three-strip Technicolor animated short in 1932, a ‘comeback’ for Rita Hayworth in 1952, a stage-to-film Oscar winner in 1962, one of Raquel Welch’s own favorite movies in 1972, vampire slayers and people who just won’t die in 1992, a 3D dance film and an Oscar winning documentary in 2012. Any ideas what some of these films may be? Read on to learn more and tell us if any of your favorites premiered this week across the decades!

1922

• No new films were released this week in 1922.

1932

July 30 – Flowers and Trees (USA)

• Voice cast (uncredited): Clarence Nash, Esther Campbell, Pinto Colvig, Marion Darlington, Walt Disney
• Director: Burt Gillett
• Production Company: Walt Disney Productions, distributed by United Artists
• Trivia: The first commercially released film to be produced in the full-color three-strip Technicolor process. The film was already in production in black and white, but Walt Disney agreed to test the new Technicolor camera and ordered the film re-done for color which caused the film to go over budget, potentially ruining Disney but it proved so popular the profits made up for the overages. Because of the success, all future Silly Symphonies were produced in three-strip Technicolor. Winner of the first Academy Award for Best Cartoon Short Subject. Selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2021.

August 1 – The Hurricane Express (USA, serial)

• Cast: Tully Marshall, Conway Tearle, John Wayne, Shirley Grey, Edmund Breese, Lloyd Whitlock, Al Bridge, Matthew Betz, Joseph W. Girard, James P. Burtis, Ernie Adams, Charles King, J. Farrell MacDonald, Al Ferguson, Glenn Strange
• Director: Armand Schaeffer, J.P. McGowan
• Production Company: Mascot Pictures
• Trivia: Stuntman Yakima Canutt appears in the uncredited role of a ‘Henchman’. The serial was edited into an 81 minute feature film from Chapters 1m 2, 3, 9, 10, 11, and 12. The scene of the plane in a spiral dive in Chapter 2 is used in other Mascot movies.

1942

July 29 – The Kids Grow Up (Argentina)

• Cast: Arturo García Buhr, Santiago Gómez Cou, María Duval, Pepita Serrador, Maruja Gil Quesada, Miguel Gómez Bao, Aurelia Ferrer, Mariana Martí, Tito Alonso, Arturo Arcari
• Director: Carlos Hugo Christensen
• Production Company: Lumiton
• Trivia: Arturo García Buhr won the Silver Condor Award for Best Actor at the 1943 Argentine Film Critics Association Awards.

August – The Goose Steps Out (UK)

• Cast: Will Hay, Charles Hawtrey, Frank Pettingell, Julien Mitchell, Peter Ustinov, Barry Morse, Leslie Harcourt, Peter Croft, Ann Firth, Ray Lovell, Jeremy Hawk, Aubrey Mallalieu, John Williams, Lawrence O’Madden
• Director: Will Hay, Basil Dearden
• Production Company: Ealing Studios
• Trivia: The film’s actual UK release date is unknown. William Hartnell, best known as the first Doctor Who, appears uncredited as a German officer at the railway station. Film debut of Peter Ustinov and Barry Morse. Uncredited theatrical movie debut of Walter Gotell.

1952

July 27 – Sea Tiger (USA)

• Cast: Marguerite Chapman, John Archer, Harry Lauter, Marvin Press, Mara Corday, Ralph Sanford, Lyle Talbot, Paul McGuire, Sam Flint, John Mylong, Wayne Mallory, John Reese
• Director: Frank McDonald
• Production Company: William F. Broidy Productions, distributed by Monogram Pictures
• Trivia: Based on Charles Yerkow’s short story ‘Island Freighter’.

July 29 – Affair in Trinidad (USA)

Columbia Pictures

• Cast: Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, Alexander Scourby, Valerie Bettis, Torin Thatcher, Howard Wendell, Karel Stepanek, George Voskovec, Steven Geray, Walter Kohler, Juanita Moore, Mort Mills, Ralph Moody
• Director: Vincent Sherman
• Production Company: The Beckworth Corporation, distributed by Columbia Pictures
• Trivia: The film was released in the UK on October 6, 1952. Notable as Rita Hayworth’s ‘comeback film’ after four years away from Columbia. Hayworth’s singing voice is dubbed by Jo Ann Greer.

July 31 – Mandy (UK)

• Cast: Phyllis Calvert, Jack Hawkins, Terence Morgan, Godfrey Tearle, Mandy Miller, Marjorie Fielding, Nancy Price, Edward Chapman, Patricia Plunkett, Eleanor Summerfield, Colin Gordon, Dorothy Alison, Julian Amyes, Gabrielle Brune, John Cazabon, Gwen Bacon, W. E. Holloway, Phyllis Morris, Gabrielle Blunt, Jean Shepherd, Jane Asher
• Director: Alexander Mackendrick
• Production Company: Ealing Studios, distributed by General Film Distributors
• Trivia: The film opened in Canada on October 31, 1952, began a New York City run on February 23, 1953 and went into general US release in March under the title The Story of Mandy. It was sold to television with the title Crasah of Silence. Based on the novel The Day Is Ours by Hilda Lewis. First film appearance by Jane Asher. The film was nominated for six BAFTAs but did not win any.

July 31 – A Woman Without Love (Mexico)

• Cast: Rosario Granados, Tito Junco, Julio Villarreal, Joaquín Cordero, Xavier Loyá, Elda Peralta, Jaime Calpe, Eva Calvo
• Director: Luis Buñuel
• Production Company: Internacional Cinematográfica, distributed by Columbia Pictures (Mexico)
• Trivia: Based on Guy de Maupassant’s story ‘Pierre et Jean’. Filmed in 20 days. Luis Buñuel considered this the worst film he had ever made.

1962

July 28 – The Miracle Worker (USA)

United Artists

• Cast: Anne Bancroft, Patty Duke, Victor Jory, Inga Swenson, Andrew Prine, Kathleen Comegys
• Director: Arthur Penn
• Production Company: Playfilm Productions, distributed by United Artists
• Trivia: The film began a New York City engagement on May 23, 1962, and was screened at the San Sebastián Film Festival in June 1962. Based on the 1959 play of the same title, which originated as a 1957 broadcast of the television anthology series Playhouse 90. The secondary source material was The Story of My Life, the 1903 autobiography of Helen Keller. Nominated for five Oscars, winning two: Best Actress (Bancroft) and Supporting Actress (Duke). At the age of 16, Patty Duke was the youngest Oscar winner at the time. Despite Bancroft’s award-winning stage performance, United Artists wanted Elizabeth Taylor cast in the movie. but Arthur Penn, who also directed the show, insisted on Bancroft which resulted in UA cutting the budget to $1.3 million (with $200,000 of that spent to acquire the rights to the play). Duke almost did not get cast as she was considered too old at the time to play a seven-year-old, but after Bancroft was cast, Duke got the part. The nine-minute dining room battle scene took five days to film with three camera, with Bancroft and Duke wearing padding under their costumes to prevent injury. Duke played Bancroft’s role of Annie Sullivan in a 1979 TV movie remake.

July 31 – The Pirates of Blood River (UK)

• Cast: Kerwin Mathews, Glenn Corbett, Christopher Lee, Peter Arne, Marla Landi, Desmond Llewelyn, Oliver Reed, Andrew Keir, Michael Ripper, David Lodge, Dennis Waterman, Jack Stewart, Marie Devereux, Lorraine Clewes, Jerold Wells
• Director: John Gilling
• Production Company: Hammer Films, distributed by Columbia Pictures
• Trivia: The film first opened in Denmark on May 9, 1962, France on July 4, and Ireland on July 20. It opened in the US in August 1962. The film was released on a double bill with Mysterious Island, which was the UK’s biggest double bill of the year.

August – Dead Man’s Evidence (UK)

• Cast: Conrad Phillips, Jane Griffiths, Veronica Hurst, Ryck Rydon, Godfrey Quigley, Bruce Seton, Alex Macintosh
• Director: Francis Searle
• Production Company: Bayford Films, distributed by British Lion Film Corporation
• Trivia: The film’s exact UK release date is unknown.

August – Mix Me a Person (UK)

• Cast: Anne Baxter, Donald Sinden, Adam Faith, David Kernan, Frank Jarvis, Peter Kriss, Carole Ann Ford, Antony Booth, Topsy Jane, Jack MacGowran, Walter Brown, Glyn Houston, Dilys Hamlett, Meredith Edwards, Alfred Burke, Russell Napier, Ed Devereaux, Ray Barrett, Nigel Davenport
• Director: Leslie Norman
• Production Company: British Lion Film Corporation
• Trivia: The film’s exact UK release date is unknown.

August – Seven Seas to Calais (Italy)

• Cast: Rod Taylor, Keith Michell, Edy Vessel, Terence Hill, Basil Dignam, Anthony Dawson, Gianni Cajafa, Irene Worth, Arturo Dominici, Marco Guglielmi, Esmeralda Ruspoli, Rossella D’Aquino, Umberto Raho, Aldo Bufi Landi
• Director: Rudolph Maté, Primo Zeglio
• Production Company: Adelphia Compagnia Cinematografica, distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
• Trivia: The film’s exact Italian release date is unknown. The film was released in the UK in 1963 but the date is unknown. The film opened in the US on March 6, 1963. Rudolph Maté’s final film.

1972

August 2 – Kansas City Bomber (USA)

• Cast: Raquel Welch, Kevin McCarthy, Helena Kallianiotes, Norman Alden, Jeanne Cooper, Richard Lane, Jodie Foster, Shelly Novack, Russ Marin
• Director: Jerrold Freedman
• Production Company: Artists Entertainment Complex, Levy-Gardner-Laven, Raquel Welch Inc, distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
• Trivia: The film opened in the UK on December 3, 1972. Jodie Foster’s second feature film. The script was written with Raquel Welch in mind for the lead role, but since it was by a new screenwriter he was unsure it would get read, so Barry Sandler delivered it to Welch’s house himself. A rink was built on an MGM soundstage so Welch could praactice skating, but she broke her wrist during a speed skating session and filming had to be pushed back eight weeks from February to April 1972. The film used real-life stars of the National Skating Derby, Roller Games, as uncredited extras. Despite more injuries during filming, including a cut lip and swollen face, Welch said this was the first of her movies that she actually liked. Helena Kallianotes was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress.

1982

July 28 – An Officer and a Gentleman (Canada)

Paramount Pictures

• Cast: Richard Gere, Debra Winger, David Keith, Robert Loggia, Lisa Blount, Lisa Eilbacher, Louis Gossett Jr., Tony Plana, Harold Sylvester, David Caruso, Victor French, Grace Zabriskie, Tommy Petersen, Elizabeth Rogers, John Laughlin
• Director: Taylor Hackford
• Production Company: Lorimar Productions, distributed by Paramount Pictures
• Trivia: The film had a limited release in the US on July 28, 1982, and entered general release on August 13. The film was released in the UK on February 11, 1983. Ed Begley Jr’s voice can be heard as the Altitude Chamber Instructor. Louis Gossett Jr. won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, the first Black male to do so in that category. Producer Don Simpson fought to have the song ‘Up Where We Belong’ removed from the film, believing it would not be a hit. The song went to Number 1 on the Billboard chart and won the Oscar for Best Original Song. Simpson wanted Jeffrey Osborne’s ‘On the Wings of Love’ instead, which peaked at Number 21 on the charts. Debra Winger also received an Oscar nomination. Mandy Patinkin was considered for the role of Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley but the director felt he was ‘too ethnic’. When it was learned that all of the top drill instructors in Pensacola were African-American, that led to Gossett being cast. Gere did not want to shoot the film’s iconic ending, feeling it was ‘too sentimental’ but after extras started cheering and crying during the filming, and seeing the scene with the music, Gere knew it was the right choice to do it.

July 30 – Forced Vengeance (USA)

• Cast: Chuck Norris, Mary Louise Weller, Camila Griggs, Michael Cavanaugh, Peter Gee, David Opatoshu, Seiji Sakaguchi, Frank Michael Liu, Bob Minor, Lloyd Kino, Leigh Hamilton, Howard Caine, Robert Emhardt, Roger Behrstock, Jimmy Shaw, Richard Norton
• Director: James Fargo
• Production Company: Metro Goldwyn-Mayer
• Trivia: The film opened in the UK on August 31, 1982. Original title was The Jade Jungle. Some of the casino action scene was stock footage from the pilot episode of the Robert Urich show Vega$.

July 30 – Night Shift (USA)

• Cast: Henry Winkler, Michael Keaton, Shelley Long, Gina Hecht, Pat Corley, Bobby Di Cicco, Nita Talbot, Basil Hoffman, Tim Rossovich, Clint Howard, Joe Spinell, Richard Belzer, Grand L. Bush, Charles Fleischer, Vincent Schiavelli, Dawn Dunlap, Kevin Costner, Shannen Doherty, Floyd Levine
• Director: Ron Howard
• Production Company: The Ladd Company, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
• Trivia: The film was released in the UK on December 26, 1982. First major studio film directed by Ron Howard. Michael Keaton’s first starring role. Henry Winkler was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. This film contains the first recorded version of the song ‘That’s What Friends Are For’, which was recorded by Rod Stewart for the film. The song became a global hit three years later performed by Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, Elton John and Stevie Wonder. Kevin Costner appears in a non-speaking extra role in his second film. Shannen Doherty’s debut.

July 30 – Tex (USA)

• Cast: Matt Dillon, Jim Metzler, Meg Tilly, Bill McKinney, Frances Lee McCain, Ben Johnson, Phil Brock, Emilio Estevez, Tom Virtue, Jack Thibeau, Željko Ivanek, Pamela Ludwig, S.E. Hinton
• Director: Tim Hunter
• Production Company: Walt Disney Productions, distributed by Buena Vista Distribution
• Trivia: Based on the novel of the same name by S. E. Hinton. Tim Hunter’s directorial debut. Regarded as an early effort by Disney to include more adult content into its films, which earned the film a PG rating instead of the typical G usually given to Disney films. Jim Metzler, who was 30 while playing a 17-year-old, received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture. Emilio Estevez’s feature film debut. Joe Dante helped with the editing of the film, and after seeing the performance of Frances Lee McCain he cast her as Billy Peltzer’s mother in Gremlins.

1992

July 31 – Bébé’s Kids (USA)

• Cast: Faizon Love, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Marques Houston, Jonell Green, Tone Lōc, Wayne Collins Jr., Myra J., Nell Carter, Phillip Glasser, Louie Anderson, Tom Everett, Rich Little, John Witherspoon, George Wallace
• Director: Bruce W. Smith
• Production Company: Hyperion Studio, Hudlin Bros., distributed by Paramount Pictures
• Trivia: Released in the UK On November 13, 1992, and in Canada on June 23, 1993. Also known as Robin Harris’ Bebe’s Kids. Harris, who died two years before the film was released, makes a live-action appearance in the opening scene. Based upon Harris’ stand-up comedy act. The film was intended to be live-action with Harris starring but his death in 1990 during pre-production led to the change to animation. Bruce W. Smith’s directorial debut. Smith said the film started as a TV movie but the studio pushed it to feature film status. Faizon Love’s film debut. The first fully animated film to be rated PG-13 after the new rating’s introduction (1982’s The Plague Dogs was eventually re-rated from PG to PG-13).

July 31 – Buffy the Vampire Slayer (USA)

• Cast: Kristy Swanson, Luke Perry, Rutger Hauer, Donald Sutherland, Paul Reubens, Hilary Swank, Paris Vaughan, Michele Abrams, Randall Batinkoff, David Arquette, Stephen Root, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Sasha Jenson, Tom Jane, Candy Clark
• Director: Fran Rubel Kuzui
• Production Company: Sandollar Productions, Kuzui Enterprises, distributed by 20th Century Fox
• Trivia: Also opened in Canada on July 31, 1992, and in the UK on October 23. Ben Affleck, Ricki Lake, Seth Green, and Alexis Arquette make uncredited appearances (although Green’s scenes were cut, but he can still be seen from behind for three seconds). The film was produced by Dolly Parton’s company Sandollar. Filming was limited to five weeks to accommodate Luke Perry’s 90210 schedule. The film’s tone was much different than writer Joss Whedon had intended (Merrick’s suicide was changed to the character being murdered by Lothos, jokes were removed for being ‘too abstract’, Buffy burning down the school gym to kill the vampires was removed completely) so he created the darker TV series five years later. Whedon said Donald Sutherland was difficult to work with and frequently ad-libbed his dialogue which then came off as disjointed and unintelligible. The director allowed it because he was the film’s biggest star. All of the changes led to Whedon walking off the set. His original script was released in comic book form as ‘The Origin’. David Bowie, Mick Jagger, and Cary Elwes were set to make cameos as vampires, but these were cut due to time and budgetary constraints. Theatrical movie debut of Hilary Swank. Whedon has said the film should be considered a stand-alone and not related to the series; Seth Green and Chi Muoi Lo both appeared in the movie and TV series as different characters. The role of Amilyn was written for a female and was cast with Joan Chen. When she pulled out of the film, it was rewritten and cast with Paul Reubens, in his first major role following his infamous arrest. Alyssa Milano was originally set to play Buffy. This was Thomas Jane’s first appearance in a major Hollywood production.

July 31 – Death Becomes Her (USA)

• Cast: Meryl Streep, Bruce Willis, Goldie Hawn, Isabella Rossellini, Ian Ogilvy, Adam Storke, Alaina Reed Hall, Michelle Johnson, Mary Ellen Trainor, Susan Kellermann, William Frankfather, John Ingle, Debra Jo Rupp, Fabio
• Director: Robert Zemeckis
• Production Company: Universal Pictures
• Trivia: The film premiered in New York City on July 13, 1992. It did not open in the UK until November 1, 1993. Sydney Pollack makes an uncredited appearance as an ER doctor. The film was a pioneer in the use of computer-generated effects; it went on to win the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. It was the first film where computer-generated skin texture was used. The digital advancements pioneered by Industrial Light and Magic for the film were incorporated into ILM’s next project, Jurassic Park. Meryl Streep accidentally cut Goldie Hawn’s face during their battle with shovels, leaving a faint scar. Streep hated working on a film that relied so heavily on special effects, saying it was her first, last and only one (which it was not). She loved how it all turned out though. Kevin Kline was the first choice to play Dr. Ernest Melville but dropped out after a pay dispute with the studio. Jeff Bridges and Nick Nolte were considered before Bruce Willis was cast. Tracy Ullman was featured in the film’s original ending in which she helps Willis’ character fake his death to evade Streep’s and Hawn’s characters. Director Robert Zemeckis deemed it ‘too happy’ and opted for the darker ending in the film. Another deleted scene featured Jonathan Silverman as Madeline’s agent. Ullman and Silverman are two of five speaking actors to have been cut from the film. Another deleted scene featured Ernest removing Madeline from the kitchen freezer where he has stored her. None of the scenes have been publicly released but can be seen in the original theatrical trailer. Catherine Bell (JAG, Good Witch) was Isabella Rossellini’s nude body double. The pink potion in the film was originally described in the script as thick and gray like mercury.

2002

July 30 – K-9: P.I. (USA, direct-to-video)

• Cast: James Belushi, Gary Basaraba, Kim Huffman, Jody Racicot, Christopher Shyer, Barbara Tyson, Blu Mankuma, Duncan Fraser, Jason Schombing, Kevin Durand, Matthew Bennett
• Director: Richard J. Lewis
• Production Company: Universal Pictures
• Trivia: Released in the UK on November 19, 2002. The fourth and final installment of the K-9 franchise. The film holds a 0% rating based on six reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. For some unknown reason, James Belushi’s character’s first name has been changed to Mike in this film; it was Thomas in the previous two.

August 2 – Full Frontal (USA)

• Cast: David Duchovny, Enrico Colantoni, Nicky Katt, Catherine Keener, Mary McCormack, David Hyde Pierce, Julia Roberts, Blair Underwood, Jeff Garlin, David Alan Basche, Terence Stamp, David Fincher, Jerry Weintraub, Brad Pitt, Rainn Wilson, Eddie McClintock, Dina Waters, Sandra Oh, January Jones, Patrick Fischler
• Director: Steven Soderbergh
• Production Company: Miramax Films
• Trivia: Released in the UK on May 23, 2003. The film was shot on digital video using the Canon XL-1s in under a month. Catherine Keener was the first actor cast for the project then named How To Survive a Hotel Room Fire. Miramax billed it as an unofficial sequel to Sex, Lies and Videotape. After the September 11 attacks, the title was changed to The Art of Negotiating a Turn. Harvey Weinstein did not like the new title and Steven Soderbergh suggested Full Frontal.

August 2 – Lovely & Amazing (USA)

• Cast: Brenda Blethyn, Catherine Keener, Emily Mortimer, Raven Goodwin, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Nouri, Aunjanue Ellis, Dermot Mulroney, James LeGros, Clark Gregg, Spencer Garrett, Dreya Weber
• Director: Nicole Holofcener
• Production Company: Good Machine, Blow Up Pictures, distributed by Lions Gate Films, Roadside Attractions
• Trivia: The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2001, and was screened at the USA Film Festival on May 2, 2002. It began its US engagement in New York City and Los Angeles on June 28, 2002, and opened in the UK on August 2. An early working title for the film was Sad But True. In its widest release in the US, this played at only 175 theaters.

2012

July 27 – Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (US, documentary, limited)

• Cast: Ai Weiwei, Danqing Chen, Ying Gao, Changwei Gu
• Director: Alison Klayman
• Production Company:
• Trivia: The film screened at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2012, and at the Berlin International Film Festival on February 12. It was first released in Germany on June 14, 2012. It opened in Canada on July 27 and in the UK on August 10.

July 27 – Killer Joe (USA, limited)

• Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, Juno Temple, Gina Gershon, Thomas Haden Church, Marc Macaulay
• Director: William Friedkin
• Production Company: Voltage Pictures, Worldview Entertainment, distributed by LD Entertainment
• Trivia: The film screened at the Venice Film Festival on September 8, 2011, the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, the South by Southwest Film Festival on March 10, 2012, the Seattle International Film Festival on June 9, and the Edinburgh International Film Festival on June 20 before its UK release on June 29. The film received a limited release in Canada on August 10. Based on the 1993 play of the same name by Tracy Letts. William Friedkin rarely did more than three takes per shot. The film received an NC-17 rating but Friedkin refused to make cuts for an R. The film was eventually released as Unrated for home video. An R-rated version was also released on video so certain retailers (like Blockbuster) would carry it. The first feature film cinematographer Caleb Deschanel shot digitally.

July 27 – The Queen of Versailles (USA, documentary, limited)

• Cast: Jackie Siegel, David A. Siegel
• Director: Lauren Greenfield
• Production Company: Impact Partners, Evergreen Pictures, Candescent Films, distributed by Magnolia Pictures
• Trivia: The film screened at the Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2012, and opened in New York City and Los Angeles on July 20. It also received a limited release in Canada on August 3, and a limited UK release on September 7.

July 27 – Searching for Sugar Man (USA, documentary, limited)

• Cast: Sixto Rodriguez, Stephen ‘Sugar’ Segerman, Dennis Coffey, Steve Rowland, Clarence Avant
• Director: Malik Bendjelloul
• Production Company: Red Box Film, Passion Pictures, Canfield Pictures, Sveriges Television, Yle Co-Production, Hysteria Film, distributed by NonStop Entertainment (Sweden), StudioCanal (United Kingdom)
• Trivia: The film screened at Sundance on January 19, 2012. It opened first in the UK on July 26. Winner of the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary at the 66th British Academy Film Awards, and the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 85th Academy Awards. Shot on 8mm film, Malik Bendjelloul ran out of money and could not buy more film to complete the last few shots. After three years of editing, the backers threatened to pull out of the project, so Bendjelloul completed the film on his iPhone using the 8mm Vintage Camera app. This is the only film Bendjelloul has directed.

July 27 – Step Up Revolution (USA)

Summit Entertainment

• Cast: Ryan Guzman, Kathryn McCormick, Misha Gabriel, Peter Gallagher, Stephen ‘tWitch’ Boss, Tommy Dewey, Cleopatra Coleman, Megan Boone, Adam Sevani, Chadd ‘Madd Chadd’ Smith
• Director: Scott Speer
• Production Company: Offspring Entertainment, distributed by Summit Entertainment
• Trivia: The film opened first in Hong Kong on July 26. It was released in the UK on August 10. Released in some countries as Step Up 4: Miami Heat. Scott Speer’s feature directorial debut. Fillmed in native 3D without post-production conversion.

July 27 – The Watch (USA)

• Cast: Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, Richard Ayoade, Rosemarie DeWitt, Patricia French, Erin Moriarty, Nicholas Braun, Will Forte, Mel Rodriguez, Doug Jones, R. Lee Ermey, Joseph A. Nunez
• Director: Akiva Schaffer
• Production Company: 21 Laps Entertainment, Dune Entertainment, distributed by 20th Century Fox
• Trivia: The film also opened in Canada on July 27, 2012, and in the UK on August 24. Originally titled Neighborhood Watch, but changed to The Watch after the shooting of Trayvon Martin, while the marketing was refocused on the alien premise. R. Lee Ermey’s final film role. Billy Crudup appears uncredited. Members of The Lonely Island (Akiva Schaeffer, Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone) make cameo appearances. The film was originally conceived in 2008 as a teen-oriented project. Chris Tucker was considered for the role of Jamarcus.