Man, what a shame. It’s been a bad week for director Jon Hillcoat, actor Viggo Mortensen and the Weinstein Company. Hell, it’s been a bad week for this Oscar season. It looks like the adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road,” is moving to to 2009 like reports have suggested it might.
First came the news that Hillcoat’s film might not be ready and then came a test screening that was met with mixed results. The screenings suggested that “The Road” still had some technical clean-up stuff to do, but if you take all the reports into account, they sing mostly praiseworthy, but of course it’s the first and loudest report (a negative one from a CHUD reader), that seems to have done the most damage to the film’s rep.
An announcement was expected this week whether the film would vie for a 2008 release or not and now according to a Hollywood Reporter report from last night, a 2009 release seems like a forgone conclusion. THR says no new date has been set, but a February or March release looks likely. Ouch. Almost dumping ground season? Is it that bleak? Does it need that much work? Couldn’t they save it for Oscar season 2009?
The Weinstein company has fallen on hard times, and some will suggest they’ll be putting all their might behind, “The Reader” and “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,”* instead and might have no choice to release “The Road” in early 2009, as they might not have a Q1 film in theaters otherwise. The economy continues to effect everyone.
The Weinsteins refused to comment, but THR says, “those involved with the film have decided that the movie will benefit from both more post-production time and a less crowded theatrical calendar,” and apparently the film straddles the line between a “commercial” and “prestige” release.
With “The Soloist” also moved to 2009, and “Defiance” basically doing the same (it will receive a very-late December opening just to Oscar-qualify), it appears as if studios are saying: Oscars are nice and all, but not necessarily driving the bottom dollar, if we can release a strong film in Q1, it might make us much more money that it would during Oscar season – and right now that might be all that counts.
*Expect the Weinsteins to campaign hard for Penelope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.” Rebecca Hall is great too, but she would be a supporting role too and they wouldn’t want to dull their chances.
Alright then, new top 5 movies to see this season are: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Australia, Milk, Revolutionary Road, and what the hell, Quantum of Solace, although the shot in the trailer following Bond and the badguy through the glass roof of a building turns me way off. Slumdog Millionaire should bump Quantum, but i’d have to see a trailer. Too bad for The Road.
I’m not going to be a doomsayer, but I’m just going to put out my early prayers that this doesn’t lead to less Oscar-baiting fare and more Transformers. Bad enough that the indie film industry’s a harder strait to navigate than it ever was.
This won’t lead to less Oscar Baiting and more Transformers. It’s all about politics (in the Dreamworks/Paramount case of the Soloist) and money in the case of “The Road.” The Weinstein’s can only afford to mount so many Oscar campaigns and with the Road perhaps not being Oscar-baity enough (that’s prolly what the “commercial” suggestions mean), not ready and maybe not that Oscar-worthy, so they have to count their losses and release it at a time that it’ll be profitable.
It’s probably more emblematic of the economy right now. Movies cost a shitload to make and a shitload to market. Then an oscar campaign on top of that? that’s like marketing the film twice.