Michael De Luca Movies
With his name attached to some of the most successful films of the 1990s, film producer Michael De Luca built a career while teaming with some of the biggest names in the business. The Brooklyn native's electrician father fed his son's love of film early on by sneaking him into local movie theaters, and soon after skipping the eighth grade, De Luca enrolled in the N.Y.U. film studies program at the age of 17. Inspired by such filmmakers as George Lucas and Martin Scorsese, De Luca abandoned his education just four credits shy of graduation to accept an unpaid internship at New Line Cinema, where he was taken under the wing of New Line founder Robert Shaye. De Luca had the good fortune to be involved with A Nightmare on Elm Street -- the film that would ultimately put the fledgling production company on the map -- and he was soon promoted to director of development at New Line; by the age of 29, he was a production executive.New Line was acquired by Ted Turner and Time-Warner shortly thereafter.De Luca gained a reputation for using his funds efficiently, and his subsequent involvement in the production of The Mask finally established him as a true Hollywood player. Such films as Dumb and Dumber (1994) and Seven (1995) launched both his career and New Line's, reputation, but subsequent failures, including Last Man Standing and The Island of Dr. Moreau (both 1996) -- and his ejection from an industry party for public indecency -- threatened to sidetrack him. Though he was teetering on oblivion, De Luca was soon back on track after friends and co-workers voiced concerns about his erratic behavior. It wasn't long before he was once again reliving the success of his prime, and with such releases as Boogie Nights (1997), Pleasantville (1998), and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, the studio was more successful than ever. In 2002 and 2003, De Luca made Premiere magazine's "Power 100" list, and, in 2003, he left New Line to become the president of production at DreamWorks Pictures. In addition to his work as a producer, De Luca wrote screenplays for such films as Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991) and In the Mouth of Madness (1994). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Hyperactive mayhem results when a mild-manned banker discovers an ancient mask that transforms him into a zany prankster with superhuman powers in this special-effects-intensive comedy. The wildly improvisational Jim Carrey plays Stanley Ipkiss, a decent-hearted but socially awkward guy who one night finds a strange mask. Carrey's trademark energy reveals itself after Stanley puts on the mask and the banker transforms into The Mask, a green-skinned, zoot-suited fireball. The rubber-faced Mask possesses the courage to do the wild, fun things that Stanley fears, including romancing Tina Carlyle (Cameron Diaz). In addition to Carrey's physical talents, the film makes effective use of digital visual effects that bestow the Mask with superhuman speed, insane flexibility, and popping eyes out of a Tex Avery cartoon. The larger narrative, involving the efforts of Tina's gangster boyfriend to destroy Stanley and use the mask's powers for evil, prove less interesting than the anarchic comic set pieces, including a particularly memorable dance number to "Cuban Pete." The film delivered enough laughs to become a surprise hit and, along with the same year's Dumb and Dumber, establish Carrey's status as a comedy superstar. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jim Carrey, Cameron Diaz, (more)
- 1993
- PG13
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The Lethal Weapon series and the rest of the buddy-cop genre receives the parody treatment in this low-brow comedy. Emilio Estevez stars as Jack Colt, the Mel Gibson-like loose cannon, while Samuel L. Jackson assumes the Danny Glover role as Wes Luger, his exasperated partner. Together, Colt and Luger investigate the murder of Luger's former partner (Whoopi Goldberg) and discover a criminal conspiracy led by the nefarious General Mortars (William Shatner). Hoping to mimic the success of the Naked Gun films, director Gene Quintano (of Police Academy 4 fame) loaded the film with broad visual gags, deadpan slapstick, and gratuitous parodies of The Silence of the Lambs, Basic Instinct, and other movies. The attempt to mimic successful parodies proved ineffective, however, as critics and viewers alike found the parody stale and the juvenile humor dreary. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emilio Estevez, Samuel L. Jackson, (more)
Laurence Fishburne plays no-nonsense LAPD narc Russell Stevens, Jr., who has worked all his life to expunge the memory of his dope-addict father, whom he saw die in a liquor-store robbery. DEA agent Jerry Carver (Charles Martin Smith) orders Stevens to work as an undercover operative on a major case. The cop is to pose as a dealer in order to get the goods on South American drug lord. Stevens is so convincing as a dealer, that he fast works his way up through the ranks and gains the trust of lawyer and narcotics dealer David Jason (Jeff Goldblum) and his sinister associates, all lackeys to the kingpin who is the target of Stevens' assignment. Through a series of fantastic but credible circumstances, Stevens eliminates the lower echelon, getting closer to his quarry, but in the process he finds himself so deep into the sinister and seductive world of the drug trade that he may never get out. In a surprise move, and just when he is about to bring the ringleader down, the DEA pulls the plug on his assignment, because the top dealer, an influential Latin American politician, may someday be useful to the State Department. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laurence Fishburne, Jeff Goldblum, (more)
- 1991
- R
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The producers insisted that this sixth entry in the Nightmare on Elm Street series marked the last; no points for guessing that additional sequels followed. This time, homicidal wraith Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) decides to extend his reign of terror past Elm Street. His agent-on-earth is his own long-lost daughter Maggie (Lisa Zane, sister of Phantom star Billy Zane). Securing a job as a dream therapist for troubled teens, Maggie is able to "open up" the minds of her patients so that Freddy can exercise his usual bloody prerogative. In a garish, 3-D climax, Freddy himself becomes the victim of the vengeful Maggie. Since what happens in this picture is laid out in the title, we can't possibly be accused of giving the ending away. Watch for cameos from Roseanne and her then-husband Tom Arnold, Alice Cooper, Elinor Donahue, and Johnny Depp, one of the stars of the very first Nightmare. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Englund, Lisa Zane, (more)
