Brenda Starr (film)
| Brenda Starr | |
|---|---|
U.S. theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Robert Ellis Miller |
| Produced by | Myron A. Hyman |
| Written by | Noreen Stone & James D. Buchanan (screenplay) Jenny Wolkind (aka Delia Ephron) (screenplay) Noreen Stone & James D. Buchanan (story) Dale Messick (characters) |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Johnny Mandel |
| Cinematography |
Freddie Francis Peter Stein |
| Edited by | Mark Melnick |
| Distributed by | Triumph Releasing Corporation |
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Release date
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May 15, 1989 (France) April 15, 1992 (USA) |
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Running time
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93 min |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $16,000,000 |
| Box office | $67,878 |
Brenda Starr is a 1989 adventure film, based on Dale Messick's Brenda Starr comic strip. The film was directed by Robert Ellis Miller, and stars Brooke Shields, Timothy Dalton, and Jeffrey Tambor.
Mike is a struggling artist who draws the Brenda Starr comic strip for a newspaper. When Brenda comes to life and sees how unappreciated she is by Mike, she leaves the comic. To return her to her rightful place and keep his job, Mike draws himself into the strip.
Within her fictional world, Brenda Starr is an ace reporter for the New York Flash. She is talented, fearless, and smart, and a very snappy dresser. The only competition she has is from the rival paper's top reporter, Libby Lipscomb.
Brenda heads to the Amazon jungle to find a scientist with a secret formula, which will create cheap and powerful fuel from ordinary water. There, she must steal the formula from her competition and foreign spies.
The project originally envisioned Jessica Lange as Brenda Starr. Other actresses considered were Anjelica Huston, Melanie Griffith, and finally Brooke Shields.
The film was shot in 1986; however, it was not released for three years, due to lengthy litigation over distribution rights.
When the film was released in the United States in 1992, it bombed at the box office, making $30,000 in its first week. Negative reviews were blamed and the film was pulled from theatres shortly after its theatrical distribution.
Brooke Shields later recalled she "loved" making the film:
I was so thrilled that it was happening. I think in hindsight the problem was that it was never backed by a studio. It was [Menahem] Golan and [Yoram] Globus, and it was all sort of fishy to begin with. We also were the first of that kind of comic-book movie, and unfortunately it took seven years to get released, by which point Batman and Dick Tracy and every other superhero and cartoon-inspired movie had already come. We were originally going to be part of that first batch. I always thought it was unfortunate, because the idea and the cast were both so good. Timothy Dalton! But the direction fell short, and it got legally tied up, so to me it was such a shame. I think that movie could’ve been… It was really fun, and I thought it was unique. And I loved playing that character. She’s still one of my favorites.
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