UP TO ‘SPEED’ : Chills, Thrills, Mayhem, and Still Only $1.10 a Ride

This summer’s “Speed,” dubbed “Die Hard”-on-a-bus by those who have seen it, has gathered so much positive buzz that 20th Century Fox has already begun discussions of a sequel.

In the words of one Fox source, “they’re banking the store on this one,” with the studio already pushing up its Aug. 5 release date to June 10.

The last overly ambitious producer to begin hustling a sequel before the first even hit the screen was Arnon Milchan’s New Regency Productions and its “Made in America” for Warner Bros. But that $25 million-plus offbeat romantic comedy, which starred Whoopi Goldberg and Ted Danson, sputtered last summer, garnering only $41.8 in domestic box office, far short of Warners’ expectations.

Fox isn’t fazed by the “Made in America” experience, although studio insiders and “Speed” producer Mark Gordon say that they are broaching the sequel subject cautiously.

Sources involved with the production say that studio executives met last week with representatives of two of the film’s stars, Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock, to begin discussions on a sequel.

While Gordon says he and Jan De Bont, who makes his directorial debut, are excited about the film’s possibilities, he cautions, “We just want to get this one out first. There is always talk about sequels and there are characters in this movie that could easily go into a sequel. But for now, we want to focus on this one doing well.”

De Bont is the veteran action cinematographer who shot “Die Hard,” “Basic Instinct,” “Lethal Weapon 3” and “The Hunt for Red October.”

The film, which cost roughly $25 million, is an action-packed thriller, minus much of the gore and violence of the genre, thereby appealing to women, early test screenings show. “There is violence, but not to the level most people are used to seeing,” says one Fox executive.

Driving Graham Yost’s story is Jack Traven (Reeves), a Los Angeles cop and member of the SWAT team, who must disengage a bomb placed on a speeding L.A. bus by sociopath Howard Payne (Dennis Hopper) and his crime pal Harry (Jeff Daniels).

As the bus speeds through streets, freeways and tunnels of the city’s new Metro Rail system--the speedometer can’t drop below 50 m.p.h. or it will trigger the explosion--Traven enlists the help of passenger Annie (Bullock), while two bad guys threaten mayhem to other transit lines. There are plenty of breathtaking sequences, including Traven trying a little bus-hopping at high speeds.

“This is not a movie where a lot of people get killed,” says Gordon of the picture, which is in post-production. “It’s wildly exciting, but not a lot of violence and that’s why we think it appeals to women. But you’ll find out soon--the trailers will be on screens everywhere in the next 10 days.”

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