He knew of the danger his superstardom had brought to his marriage: 24-hour-days living and breathing work, 24-hour-days of women throwing themselves at him, at work, camping outside outside his homes in Pasadena and Malibu and wherever he might go. The possibility of dangerous liaisons were, he said, 'the coolest thing. Are you kidding? To undress somebody? To be undressed. To be physically, somehow, just taken.' Before the divorce action he said his marriage 'isn't perfect' and his brother-in-law David Silva agreed: 'It wasn't easy when he first became so famous. But Cindy's grew with it real well. 'Costner's brother Danny, his financial adviser, said:' It got to be tough on Cindy. This business is such an emotional rollercoaster. It's bigger than life and the stakes are high.' Whatever the gamble, it paid off for Costner. Until now. Not only is his domestic situation nasty there are a great deal of waves surrounding 'Waterworld.' The film was given the go-ahead by Universal Studios with a budget of $100 million dollars. Now, the cost is estimated at more than $200 million dollars once the cost of marketing and prints of the film are included. Although filming should have been completed last year the movie still goes on being made. All involved are so nervous about the situation that a giant water tank on a Hollywood lot is hidden behind blue sheeting and scaffolding. Security guards patrol the perimeter around-the-clock. 'Everyone is very paranoid at this point,' was the very unofficial word from the set. They are just as nervy down at the City of Commerce where a replica of a huge supertanker, a great, rusting hulk, is also being used to complete some of the action sequences of 'Waterworld'. Universal Studios which clearly have a massive investment in Costner's movie are concerned that their star's personal problems, lots of gossip about turmoil during filming, of sackings and overspending, will jinx the film before it reaches cinemas this summer. It has, at present, all the hallmarks of Arnold Schwarzenneger's box office belly-flop 'Last American Hero'. But, of course, no one has seen the film. Costner was written off with 'Dances' and the snipers are still keen to knock him off his pedestal. Financially, they've got a good shot. ' Jurassic Park ' cost $57 million dollars to make and in America and Canada alone returned $357 million dollars. What doesn a $200 million dollar film have to make to become a 'blockbuster'? The answer is an awful lot. 'Waterworld' is a strong adventure movie. The director is Costner's friend Kevin Reynolds ( 'Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves') and is a 'Mad Max'-- on-the-water-story. The Polar ice caps have melted and the earth is submerging into the water in the post-apocalyptic future. Costner plays Mariner who sounds like something out of 'Star Trek', part human and also amphibian. Instead of Mr Spock pointy ears this hybrid sports long, shaggy hair and a beard and doesn't say a lot. The carefully guarded script has been leaked a little -- well, it would in a water movie -- and concerns Mariner rescuing a woman and her daughter who are being attacked by pirates. He takes them on a quest to find the rumoured dry land. The co-stars include Dennis Hopper( chief nasty, we can only presume at this stage) and Jeanne Tripplehorn who in the sex stakes made mincemeat of Sharon Stone in 'Basic Instinct'. The actress who also played Tom Cruise's wife in 'The Firm' is, we're told, a felony scene-stealer in the film. The screenplay is packed with action and was conceived by writers including those involved with Harrison Ford's 'The Fugitive' and Keanau Reeve's 'Speed'. However, Costner's Macintosh power book is all over the script. And although Kevin Reynolds is the director this is Costner's project. And he needs a hit. Even with Clint Eastwood as his co-star 'A Perfect World' only managed a little more than $30 million dollars in America . The U.S. domestic take for 'Wyatt Earp' was $25 million dollars and 'The War' made $16.5 million dollars. This is in an economic climate where earning $100 million dollars is around a B -. Whether 'Waterworld' could ever make the production costs back is in question. Filming began on June 27 last year on the big island of Hawaii and is not expected to end until later this month (Feb,1995). Normal production of a full-scale action film would be three or, at the most, four months. The stand-by date for the end of filming was February 10. But post-production takes at least eighteen weeks and Universal want to get 'Waterworld' in cinemas for the big American summer market. Great ' Jurassic Park ' type marketing -- Universal also bankrolled the Spielberg movie -- is planned for 'Waterworld' and will involve attractions at the the studio's theme park and inter-active computer games. And, maybe, Kevin Costner 'Sink or Swim' T-shirts.
|
|
|