L I M I T E D * R E L E A S E * and* ** O S C A R * S C H E D U L I N G *T H E O R I E S
Keira Knightley and her emerald dress slink into a few new cities today as Atonement expands (a little) and should attract some Golden Globe buzz ticket-buying. In theory at least. The other notable mini expansions are the Globe snubbed Margot at the Wedding and Frank Langella's acclaimed turn in the adaptation Starting Out in the Evening.
Borrowing from an earlier discussion I had in a comment thread now ~ If you ask me both should have opened much earlier. If you're in a tiny, strange, or intimate film and/or you're not an A list Entertainment Tonight ready red carpet star, the best way to attract Oscar talk is to open before all the deafening Oscar buzz. Less competition equals more talk and more time to settle in as an assumed contender. Perception is everything. This strategy paid off superbly for Terrance Howard and Ryan Gosling in the past couple of years. It might be paying off for Viggo Mortenson right now (cross those fingers for a best actor shortlisting), not to mention Julie Christie and Marion Cotillard. This isn't that complicated. Why do so many Oscar strategists miss this? Frank Langella (Starting Out...) is not a big enough star to get Oscar traction while people care about nothing so much as whether or not Johnny Depp can sing like a pro whilst slitting throats.
Big stars and huge prestige epics are fine in December. They're probably smart to wait. Everyone will want to see them, including the Oscar voters. Challenging, subtle, intimate or non star-driven stuff? Those movies are better off finding a good seat before the crowds start rushing in. No Country For Old Men played it exactly right I think. Michael Clayton was also in a smart position (though it probably could've benefited from a couple of weeks of platforming). December frustrated though I always am, I should admit to this painful fact: yes, you can come out too early just as the common wisdom suggests. I need quality films all year round so it pains me to admit this defeat. But what the hell happened to Zodiac ? The critics are turning as forgetful as the Academy is assumed to be.
--->Will Smith searches in vain for Oscar hopefuls. Sorry, Big Willie, they don't go wide until January... if ever.W I D E
In the larger world out there, the world beyond awards-junkies and prestige fare (I know ... it seems like such an alien desolate place) they're probably not even talking about the Golden Globes. Maybe they've just purchased tickets to see computer generated chipmunks or Will Smith as the last man standing on gods
But that is not my world. I'd rather watch literary meta epics or Romanian abortion dramas than sit through singing chipmunks. Any day of any week. But I might be persuaded to watch Will Smith kick some ass.
____might.
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