TOUGH ACT TO FOLLOW 

But it is even more difficult to follow up the act with something worthy of the record-making studio. There is no doubt that Sony’s 1997 performance is one tough act to follow.

Even though the Sony team has publicised the fact that they have more than 30 films in the making between now and the end of 1998, speculation is slowly reaching a pitch. And John Calley, COO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, admits that anything he does now is likely to be compared to the 1997 record, and criticised. But despite accusations that Calley’s team is nervously dithering about what to do next, Calley points out that he has given the green light to as many as nine films in the past nine months. They are Jakob the Liar (starring Robin Williams), The Party, Stepmom (Julia Roberts, Susan Sarandon), Spice World (a Spice Girls movie), Godzilla (Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno), Replacement Killers (Mira Sorvino, Chow Yun Fat), Mask of Zorro (Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins), The Big Hit (Lou Diamond Phillips) and Madeline (Frances McDormand). Sequels to Men in Black, Godzilla and Jumanji are also being developed.