Movie Guys: Tune in to Ed TV, Titanic opening

Thursday, Nov. 6, 1997 | 7:35 a.m.

* C'est la vie: French film fans consider themselves the world's most sophisticated cinephiles. They also like snails and despise everything American (except Jerry Lewis and Mickey Rourke). Consequently, they tend to have a strong disdain for American films. According to Cine Chiffres, which compiles French box office figures, of the top 10 box office hits in France in the past 25 years, only three American movies made the grade: "The Lion King" (3rd), "E.T." (6th) and "Aladdin" (10th). Viva la France!

* 'Titanic' opening: James Cameron's watery epic "Titanic" was screened last weekend in Tokyo at the city's International Film Festival. In attendance were star Leonardo DiCaprio and director James Cameron, who dedicated the film to the 1,500 passengers who died onboard the real Titanic.

According to the Internet newspage "The Drudge Report," the day before the Tokyo screening, the film was shown to Paramount brass on the studio's lot. The response was extremely positive. In fact, studio executives reportedly "wept" when they saw the finished product up on the big screen. Apparently, no one got up to leave during the three-hour, 14-minute epic. Not bad!

THE MOVIE GUYS, starring Jeff Howard and Dave Neil, appears every Friday in the SUN. You can also find their capsule reviews of movies in Scope magazine and listen to their reviews and commentary every Saturday and Sunday at 4 p.m. on their radio show "Quiet on the Set" on KBVC 105.1-FM.