Toldja? Okay, maybe not quite, but we read the tea leaves on this just a couple of weeks ago, and now it's pretty much official. John Hillcoat's "The Wettest County" will now be titled "Lawless." Sorry Terrence Malick!
While no kind of official announcement has been made (yet), The Weinstein Company has quietly made changes on their media sites and we presume they are getting their ducks in a row to start a campaign for the movie, which opens on August 31st. Their official press site now lists the movie under the new title, the Facebook page has been renamed and the final bit of confirmation comes from their publicity site, which now has "Lawless" slated with the release date for "The Wettest County." And finally, the old Twitter feed for the movie has been killed off. So yeah, this is about as confirmed as it gets.
In a curious side note, "Cogan's Trade" is still going by that title for now on the Weinstein sites, despite reports that it was being retitled "Killing Me Softly" a few weeks ago. But they may not have gotten around to making those changes internally just yet, so we'll have to wait and see. Your move, Malick. Screencaps of the TWC publicity site below.
Have ot agree that it was done "for the public good", with everyone having ADD now days. They can call it what they want ….JUST RELEASE IT!! Cant get enough of Mr. Hardy work.
"Lawless" is not an inherently bad title, but it sounds better if it has some tension and and unusualness in the way it relates to the subject matter, as I assume Malick's film would have (Lawless–referring to a wild girl who can't be restrained or something?). When titling a movie about prohibition-era gangsters, though, you want a title that's evocative, that suggests why this movie is different from the 12 other projects with similar subjects this decade. "Lawless" in this context is bland and unmemorable, while "The Wettest County in the World" was fantastic and intriguing. Why does everyone assume that shorter=better????
Weinstein is an asshole.
Weinstein… Classy as always.
Way to REALLY dumb it down for the general public Weinstein. All 3 of the previous titles were better choices. This is the most generic movie title since "War." Matt Bondurant, John Hillcoat, Nick Cave and the entire cast deserve better than this. At least we should finally get to see a trailer on this now that they've succumbed to the focus group feedback of the title being to confusing and settled on the least exciting title of 2012.
*tries not to scream*
I think the title was actually better without "in the world," but "Lawless" is just so bland.
Pretty annoying. This is turning out to be the year of terrible title changes. Cogan's Trade, Nero Fiddled, Wettest County … so stupid. Doubt Malick cares though.
I'm getting a kick out of the idea of Terrence Malick in his office, yelling, "FUCK! FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK!"
Hillcoat still believes his Levi's ad was original.
lawl, i effin hate title changes, cogans trade and now this, gtfo
Hillcoat biting Malick yet again
Oh man, The Wettest County in the World was such a beautifultitle, suiting the material and somehow poetic. The Wettest County was still alright. And now they fuck it up completely with a title without anything special to it. Do they think anybody will watch a period gangster flick cause it's called Lawless instead of The Wettest County? A stupid, cowardly decision! Damn the Weinsteins!
Is Harvey bullying Terrence Malick out of a title?