Film Face-Off: Movies, Topic

White House Down, Olympus Has Fallen, and the Proud Tradition of Same-Subject Movies. Here are some favorites.

With the Washington D.C. disaster film Olympus Has Fallen currently atop the box-office standings, Columbia Pictures took the opportunity to release the poster for their own D.C.-in-peril movie, Roland Emmerichs White House Down. This kind of overlap in subject matter, leading to Competing Movie narratives, is not an uncommon occurrence. Already this year, weve got Tom Cruise and Will Smith returning to a post-apocalypse Earth in Oblivion and After Earth, respectively. As well as Helena Bonham Carter and Dominic Cooper looking to best the version of "Liz & Dick" that Lifetime and Lindsay Lohan put on TV. Yes, Same-Subject movies have a ... well, if not "proud" tradition then a loud one. Here are a few of our favorite examples.

Cinematic Subject: Alexander the Great

Competing Films: Oliver Stones Alexander; Baz Luhrmanns Untitled Alexander Project

The Story: The wide gap between Luhrmanns 2001 Moulin Rouge! and 2008s Australia is partially explained by his abandoned "Alexander" project, which had Leonardo DiCaprio attached. Once Stones film got a good head of steam and was clearly going to be finished first, Luhrmanns epic fell apart and would remain a cinematic what-if.

The Victor: Despite getting pretty terrible reviews and delivering a watered-down version of a possible romantic storyline between Colin Farrell and Jared Leto, Alexander still got made, which gives it the win by default.

Cinematic Subject: Truman Capote

Competing Films: Bennett Millers Capote; Douglas McGraths Infamous

The Story: Not only were both films to dramatize the life of the famous author and celebrity gadfly, but both were to focus on the period in his life when he wrote In Cold Blood. Infamous had the more star-studded cast, including Sandra Bullock, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Sigourney Weaver (and a pre-Bond Daniel Craig), but Capote cast Phillip Seymour Hoffman in the lead, while Infamous opted for Toby Jones.

The Victor: Capote made it to theaters earlier, was nominated for Best Picture and Best Director at the Oscars, and won Hoffman a Best Actor trophy. Infamous limped into arthouses a year later and was branded an afterthought.

Cinematic Subject: Asteroids

Competing Films: Mimi Leders Deep Impact; Michael Bays Armageddon

The Story: In 1998, blockbuster fans were offered two competing visions of apocalypse, both by the same galactic means: an asteroid headed directly for earth. Bays film was filled with his usual bombast and humor and Bruckheimer-approved cast (Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler, Owen Wilson), ultimately saving the world through One Mans Sacrifice; while Deep Impact offered President Morgan Freeman gravely preparing the world for the worst ... and then watching it happen.

The Victor: In many ways, Deep Impact is the ballsier film for actually having the asteroid hit, but it also runs a bit contrary to the Big Summer Movie ethos of big explosions followed by big victory. Maybe thats why it opened in early May. Despite getting to theaters second, Armageddon was seen as the bigger player by headlining July 4th weekend, and indeed it took in more money and is more widely remembered today.

Cinematic Subject: Snow White

Competing Films: Tarsems Mirror Mirror; Rupert Sanderss Snow White and the Huntsman

The Story: In the wake of Alice in Wonderland, big CGI/big art direction adaptations of fairy tales were in high demand, so both these films were put into motion quickly. Both projects were pretty clearly going after different takes, with Huntsman hitting darker, gothic, Kristen Stewart-y notes, while Mirror Mirror was going for full-on comedy. Both treated their Wicked Queens as the lead role, however, with Charlize Theron repping Huntsman and Julia Roberts headlining Mirror Mirror.

The Victor: Well, both were pretty well shredded by critics, both got a smattering of technical Oscar nominations, and neither one did a whole lot to help their respective leading ladies careers. Huntsman did much better business, though it was saddled with a lot of that Kristen Stewart infidelity silliness in the press. Still, it clears a low bar for success.

Cinematic Subject: Sex Friends

Competing Films: Ivan Reitmans No Strings Attached vs. Will Glucks Friends with Benefits

The Story: There are enough romantic comedies throwing darts at a wall of various scenarios to put would-be romantic partners in that eventually two were bound to hit theaters around the same time. Somehow, both 2011 "sex friends" comedies ended up starring Black Swan cast-mates Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis. Neither one was hotly anticipated by critics, who werent wild about the premise, nor about their himbo leading men, Ashton Kutcher and Justin Timberlake, respectively.

The Victor: Both films were similar-sized modest hits, but it was the Kunis/Timberlake Friends with Benefits that ended up winning critics over, albeit barely, primarily through the chemistry of the leads.

Cinematic Subject: Les Liaisons Dengereuses

Competing Films: Stephen Frearss Dangerous Liaisons; Milos Formans Valmont

The Story: Surely, a novel as rich as this one could bear two competing features. After all, it would later bear a teenage retelling (Cruel Intentions), a stage play, and a fictitious musical starring an embarrassing Sean Hayes on this season of Smash. Dangerous Liaisons not only starred the red-hot Glenn Close but also the ascendant Michelle Pfeiffer and Uma Thurman, while Valmonts cast was no less impressive, with Annette Bening, Colin Firth, and Meg Tilly (and Fairuza Balk!).

The Victor:Frearss film made it to theaters first, at the end of 1988, just in time for awards season, where it was nominated for seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actress. It won for its screenplay, costumes, and art direction. Valmont go

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