The Big Shot

Loosely based on the life and times of several R&B artists (The Dells, The Temptations, Frankie Lymon, Sam Cooke and others) The Five Heartbeats traces the rise and fall of a popular African-American 1950s singing aggregation. The story is told from the point of view of one of the "Heartbeats," played by Robert Townsend (who also co-produced, directed and co-wrote the script with Keenan Ivory Waynans). The film is an amalgam of anecdotes drawn from real-life experiences: the long struggle upward, the first rush of success, the dishonest record-company executives, the hard-nosed but nurturing managers, the sex, the drugs, the isolation and the precipitous downward slide. The film begins and ends in the 1990s, as the middle-aged "Duck" (Townsend) ruminates on the past and makes the best of the present.

Theatrical producer Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel) was once the toast of Broadway. Now he lives in his seedy office, cadging cash contributions from wealthy old ladies in exchange for sexual favors. Even worse, he's reduced to wearing a cardboard belt. Max's new accountant, Leo Bloom (Gene Wilder), the soul of honesty, suggests that Max produce a hit to try to recoup his losses, but Max knows that it's too late for that. Offhandedly, Leo muses that, if Max found investors for a flop, he could legally keep all the extra money. Suddenly, Max's eyes light up – and in that moment, Leo Bloom is gloriously corruptible. "I want everything I've ever seen in the movies!" cries Leo as Max embraces him. Together, Max and Leo conspire to select the worst play, the worst playwright, the worst director, and the worst actor to collaborate on their guaranteed flop.

Director Martin Campbell, well-known to the action arena after 1995's GoldenEye, teams up with executive producer Steven Spielberg to bring the first Hollywood production of creator Johnston McCulley's Zorro in over four decades to the big screen. With scenic 18th century Mexico as a backdrop, Anthony Hopkins plays the original Zorro, a.k.a. Don Diego de la Vega, intent on revenge after rival enemy Don Raphael Montero (Stuart Wilson) murdered his wife and took his daughter, Elena. After being imprisoned for 20 years, the fabled hero removes his mask and takes on a tarnished young apprentice, Alejandro Murieta (Antonio Banderas), to infiltrate Montero's plan to take control of California from Santa Anna.