Oscar Preview Time: The Tentative Release Dates

I was more than a little surprised to read this week that the Weinstein Company had chosen a summer release date for their Sundance pick-up Fruitvale whilst Fox Searchlight went with the Weinstein-like December 27th for Steve McQueen's Twelve Years A Slave. While summer is by no means a bad move for Fruitvale (movies without stars, instant hooks, or famous directors need time to build) and Fox Searchlight can sell a movie to Oscar with any date, it's weird to see the Weinstein Company go this route; Harvey Weinstein is more than a little responsible for the modern "DECEMBER OR BUST!" fanaticism that awards campaigns live by. For a moment I worried that they might have no faith in Fruitvale at all.

It's never been true, of course, that you have to release a movie in December to be an Oscar player but the important thing in regards to release dates is that it feels true to the studios which is why we get movie gluts every year 'round Christmas. ANYWAY... that's just the two most recent release date announcements. Here's what's coming our way -- a monthly calendar after the jump -- that might conceivably have Oscar dreams of some sort or another. (Feel free to add to the list in the comments so I can finally get around to the first Oscar predictions of the year!)

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Box Office "Rock"ed. How Was Your Easter Weekend?

Easter is quite a benevolent holiday what with the fluffy bunnies, pastel eggs and resurrection from the dead sans zombie feelings. But the world wanted big explosive violence and big muscled men at the movies. Does anyone remember on Monday how troubled GI Joe: Retaliation once was, what with the very expensive "oops, we're not going to release it after all!" that it went through last year.

The Rock was top of the box office.

1,000 + Screens
01 GI JOE: RETALIATION $41.2 *NEW*
02 THE CROODS  $26.5 (cum. $88.6)
03 TYLER PERRY'S TEMPTATION TO PUT HIS NAME IN EVERY TITLE  $22.3 *NEW* 
04 OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN  $14 (cum $54.7) 
05 OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL $11.69 (cum. $198.2) Review
06 THE HOST  $11 *NEW*  
07 THE CALL $4.8 (cum. $39.4) comment discussion
08 ADMISSION $3.2 (cum $11.7) on Tina Fey / on Paul Rudd
09 SPRING BREAKERS $2.7  (cum $10.1) False Advertising?
10 THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE $1.3 (cum. $20.5)

So the gamble to waste all that prep P&A last year and pull the movie last minute in 2012 for a safer spot pre-summer movie season in 2013 paid off. In very limited release I don't think you can say that wasting your early press and publicity efforts paid off at all.

Less Than 100 Screens
01 THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES $.2 *NEW & REVIEWED* 
02 NO $.2 (cum. $1.3) Review
03 GINGER & ROSA  $.1 (cum. $.3)
04 FROM UP ON POPPY HILL  $.1 (cum $.2)
05 ON THE ROAD $.1 (cum $.4)

Ginger & Rosa and On The Road are two more pictures to add to the endless pile of "one week qualifiers" that have worked hard to win attention at festivals and on the Oscar circuit in one year only to not let anyone spend money on them until well into the following year when people have moved on and are confused when the movie is brought up again as a "new" film. It's a strange strategy that almost never pays off and yet distributors keep trying it! Eternal optimism.

For what it's worth both pictures have plenty to recommend them even if they aren't home runs: Ginger & Rosa is a completely rare beast - a thoughtful intelligent picture about teenage girls flinging themselves into politics and hormonal indulgences with a terrific emotionally expressive performance by Elle Fanning; On the Road is beautifully shot but more hit and miss with performances but man does Garrett Hedlund ever hit it as the object of everyone's erotic and creative attention. 

Contest: "On the Road" Autographed by Walter Salles

Here's another contest for you for reader appreciation month... I have three books to give away.

"Enter to win a copy of Jack Kerouac's ON THE ROAD autographed by the film's director, Walter Salles! IFC Films and Sundance Selects Presents ON THE ROAD A film by Walter Salles Based on Jack Kerouac's classic novel Starring Sam Riley, Garrett Hedlund and Kristen Stewart

Check your local listings!"

It's okay if you're a little (okay, a lot) surprised that the movie has finally been released. In fact, just last night at a screening I was telling a friend it had come out and they were like "nope, it came out in December". But no... t'was a one week Oscar qualifier, that. So it opened Friday and will be expanding to more markets in April. Better late than never I suppose but hiding Kristen Stewart's only performance that can hold a candle to her Joan Jett work and keeping Garrett Hedlund's explosive sexiness from the world is a shame. It'll prove the turning point of his career if the right people (i.e. auteurs and casting directors) see it. Oscar traction was always going to be hard to come by since the Academy doesn't at all value youth and sexuality in men the same way they obsess over those qualities in actresses.

If you haven't read "On the Road" it's worth a read. Good for cultural literacy given it's iconic place in history.

I think of Dean Moriarty..."

To enter the contest - I have three autographed books to give away - shoot me an email with name, addy, and a sentence on the longest road trip you ever took... where'd you go?  

Oscar Date Trivia Attack. But Another Long Phase Two? Noooooo

By now you've undoubtedly heard that AMPAS has opted to bypass the February Winter Olympics in 2014 not by attacking the Globes & SAG in their comfy January berths but by waiting it out patiently until March. Sunday, March 2nd 2014 to be precise.

ESSENTIAL TRIVIA: Only one Oscar ceremony has ever been held on a March 2nd. That night the Oscar went to... Casablanca (1942) so that's good company for the upcoming winner to be in.

March is of course the most common month for Oscars to be held (with April and February taking silver and bronze). The most common night for the Oscars to be held is a tie between March 25th (From Here to Eternity, Amadeus, Dances With Wolves, Braveheart and Gladiator) and March 29th (All About Eve, Cuckoo's Nest, Chariots of Fire, Rain Man, Unforgiven) ...so if you were born on either of those days, Oscar loves you most u cute liddle adorable golden-baby!

March 2nd is a week later as shows go for his year but so are the nominations (January 16th, 2014). Which means that the 2013 Oscar race will be nearly exactly like the one we just experienced in terms of timing. What we probably won't see is all the OMG-WTF-IS-HAPPENING drama because those kind of curveballs we were thrown (Bigelow & Affleck, Les Miz's ecstatic premiere to sharp drop, Lincoln's weird frontrunner to "anything but!" trajectory, Ang Lee's second Oscar without a noisy campaign, etc...) are mighty rare.

All of which is a long way of saying that once again the time period between Nominations and Hollywood's High Holy Night will be much longer than anyone can deal with*. I've updated the embeddable widget should you love the countdown to nominations as much as I... 

but if you'd already had it on your page you know that I change it each year so that the countdown never ends.

It can't because the Oscars are eternal!

P.S. Somewhat curiously they've also announced the Oscar ceremoney date for 2015 as if to remind all of us that they have no intention of returning to March in the future. It'll be held on February 22nd, 2015 which is only 698 days from now. Set your watches. (The only other previous February 22nd Oscars went to Slumdog Millionaire. Uh oh)

*I much prefer a long Phase One, short Phase Two but what'cha gonna do?

Posterized: The Oscar Nominees (In Order of Release)

Since you all were happy about the return of "Posterized" last week, we should do it weekly as intended. So herewith, the current Oscar nominated field (links go to reviews or articles of note or Oscar charts). It's 38 movies wide.

HOW MANY HAVE YOU SEEN? And did you see them in anything like chronological order or release?

Mirror Mirror - March 30th, 1 nom (Costume Design)
The Pirates! Band of Misfits - April 27th, 1 nom (Animated Feature)
Marvel's The Avengers - May 4th, 1 nom (Visual Effects) 

Moonrise Kingdom - May 25th, 1 nom (Original Screenplay)
5 Broken Cameras - May 30th, 1 nom (Documentary Feature)
Snow White and... - June 1st, 2 noms (Visual Effects, Costume) 

lots more after the jump

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