Actions of Travolta, Cage Cross Paths

It was a bit of a surprise a couple of years ago when it was announced that John Travolta would continue the revival of his career in an action movie, “Broken Arrow.” Likewise when Nicolas Cage, mostly known for a series of either quirky or very actorly roles, was named as a co-star of “The Rock.” The rest is action movie history. “Broken Arrow,” directed by Chinese mayhem-meister John Woo, grossed over $70 million domestically. “The Rock” did even better, grossing more than $130 million. Travolta continued to diversify his comeback, also starring in “Phenomenon” and “Michael,” but Cage stuck to his guns--he followed up “The Rock” with his current film, “Con Air,” which has grossed about $50 million in its first two weeks. Now, the two actors cross paths in another action film, “Face/Off,” which opens Friday. Woo once again directs Travolta, this time as an FBI agent who exchanges identities with terrorist Cage. That’ll wrap up the summer for Cage, but Travolta will next be seen in August in “She’s So Lovely,” a drama directed by Nick Cassavetes. Cage has reunited with “Red Rock West” director John Dahl in the comedy “A Simple Plan,” but no release date has been set. Next year, however, Cage takes the leap from action hero to comic strip hero--he’s slated to be the next big screen “Superman.”

Lollapalooza Has Marquee but Few Names

With the seventh annual Lollapalooza tour set to kick off Wednesday at the 19,000-capacity Coral Sky Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, Fla., the music industry is wondering if this year’s lineup can live up to its predecessors. Lacking in marquee names, the core main-stage bill of Tool, Korn, Tricky, James, Julian & Damien Marley and Snoop Doggy Dogg--the show-closing slot will rotate among Orbital, Orb, Devo and Prodigy--is expected to play to about 60% to 70% of capacity at Wednesday’s opener, according to the promoter. “A lot of people are worried about this tour,” says Gary Bongiovanni, editor in chief of Pollstar, a trade publication that tracks the concert industry. “I just don’t know how strong it’s going to be. There isn’t any one overwhelming act on the bill. Snoop is probably the biggest marquee name, but rap’s ability to sell tickets has always been suspect.” The 37-date trek is scheduled to wind up Aug. 17 in Southern California. Originally scheduled for the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, the site for the local show apparently is no longer definite. An announcement--including date of ticket sales--is expected this week.

Post-Doolittle Era of SCTA Ready to Dance

The opening of the Joffrey Ballet at the Ahmanson Theatre on Thursday [6/26] launches the first season in which James A. Doolittle’s Southern California Theatre Assn. is the official long-term dance-producing tenant of the Los Angeles Music Center. However, Doolittle’s sudden death from a heart attack on Feb. 1 at age 82 made implementing that season unusually complex. For starters, he’d signed only one contract (with the Houston Ballet) and had plans to produce more companies than the five now on the schedule. “The board didn’t want to take on an enormous amount for the first season,” says Serena Tripi, recently appointed SCTA general manager and a Doolittle associate since 1992. “They asked me which companies Jimmy had talked with at greatest length and these were the five.” Tripi estimates that financial guarantees to the participating companies and other costs for the season are thus far roughly $750,000--plus an extra $200,000 for the Matthew Bourne “Swan Lake” (the last project Doolittle verbally committed to before his death), which she says the SCTA will recoup. “Everything seems to be going along very smoothly,” she comments. “As much as Jimmy was called a one-man band, everybody in the office knew what was going on, so nothing unexpected popped out after he was gone. Doing five shows back to back is a little overwhelming, but fun. I can hardly wait until Thursday.” Her headache du jour? Major injuries and illnesses at the Joffrey that have already sparked discussions of deletions and substitutions in the two repertory programs here.