WSJ - Sailing Over Hollywood's Edge

June 25, 2004

WALL STREET JOURNAL

REVIEW & OUTLOOK

Sailing Over Hollywood's 'Edge'

June 25, 2004; Page W11

Phileas Fogg, the famous inventor in Jules Verne's "Around the World in 80 Days," is a dreamer, willing to wager a stunning sum that he can accomplish his global crossing. So it's somehow fitting that the man who brought us the latest big-screen version of that book (which opened in theaters this month) is another Phileas: a dreamer making a big bet that Americans still want to watch good, clean family movies.

Philip Anschutz made his fortune in oil, railroads and telecommunications. But several years ago he went to work on a more personal interest. The billionaire had noticed that his grandchildren were surrounded by products of a Hollywood that prized edginess and shock value over all else. Since 2000, it has turned out more than five times as many R-rated films as those rated G, PG or a soft PG-13.

A mogul bets on family fare, like his company's remake (seen above) of "Around the World in 80 Days."

So Mr. Anschutz decided, as he said in a speech in February, to stop "cursing the darkness" and do something. The result was two production companies -- Walden Media and Bristol Bay Productions -- whose mission is uplifting films for the whole family. Not only do their creations eschew sex, bad language and violence but many of them even provide the Hollywood unthinkable: moral messages.

"Around the World in 80 Days," co-starring Jackie Chan, is just the latest Anschutz release. Last year kids delighted over "Holes," the story of Stanley Yelnats (palindrome, anyone?), a cursed boy who finds buried treasure at his youth detention camp. Disney distributed both films and is also working on the Anschutz project with the most buzz: turning C.S. Lewis's Narnia books into movies, starting with a $150 million "The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe" for Christmas 2005.

Mr. Anschutz is at bottom a hard-charging executive, so it's not surprising to learn that traditional themes are often smart business. Of the top 20 moneymaking films of all time, not a single one is rated R (and of the top 50, only five have R ratings).

Research from The Dove Foundation also shows that, for movies released from 1988 to 1997, the average G-rated film produced a 78% greater rate of return on investment than the average film rated R.

As for the Anschutz productions, "Holes" counts as a success, costing $30 million and taking in $67 million at the box office. But several other releases disappeared without a trace, and "80 Days" has had a slow start. Still, Mr. Anschutz shows no signs of quitting.

Or, as he said in his February speech: "My friends think I'm a candidate for a lobotomy, and my competitors think I'm naive or stupid or both. But you know what? I don't care. If we can make some movies that have a positive effect on people's lives and on our culture, that's enough for me." A sentiment worthy of that great dreamer, Phileas Fogg.

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