With the wide full release of 3:10 To Yuma (which mark my words… will be getting a lot of talk come Oscar time) heading into theaters this Friday, it’s coming to light that there was a lot of disagreement between Lionsgate and Russell Crowe concerning the marketing and release date for the film.
Apparently “Crowe did not want to muddy the waters by opening 3:10 to Yuma too close to American Gangster’s release on Nov. 2.” Crowe’s camp is said to have wanted the film to be moved to 2008, at which time he would be more cooperative in promoting the film if Lionsgate agreed, but they obviously didn’t.
3:10 to Yuma was originally set to be released in October, but being that close to Universal’s American Gangster didn’t appeal to the smaller distributer as they knew competing Crowe ads would not work too well and that Uni would far outspend the smaller Lion.
Lionsgate’s primary concern however didn’t appear to be American Gangster as Masters points out it was a focus on coming out before another Western, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford starring Brad Pitt, which releases on September 21 and it already receiving good word of mouth.
The marketing for the film has been weak for certain. A film like this (just un-bloodly-believably good) with 2 of the biggest stars in Hollywood right now should be on everyone’s lips… but it not uncommon to talk to people who still haven’t even heard about it yet. And let’s face it… this isn’t exactly the type of movie Lionsgate is used to doing… so some fumbling should be expected.
I really hope for good thing for this film. Such high quality stuff. It deserves to be watched… it deserves to be recognized… it deserves to be a hit. Make sure you get out and see it. (source: RopeOfSilicon)
Unforgiven was great! Clint Eastwood…very solid. However, 3:10 ROCKED! James Mangold can direct a movie. The camera work on the eyes alone was AWESOME! Go see this movie as soon as you can and if your a Dad bring along your son and you’ll both have a blast.
And John, where’s your review?
@Tyler
Well, in Campea’s defense, I’m not exactly over the moon about Crowe, but I thought he was excellent. I thought Bale more than held his own, which is amazing considering he had the sort-of “white-bread” role, and I thought that Ben Foster will send me running away in terror if I ever run into that creepy bastard on the street. Take note, Nolan! Put that guy in Batman 3!
i rented unforgiven the other day to get ready for this.
pumped!
Two very strong performances but the film itself is nothing special. Costner’s Open Range from a few years back was far superior. I think Campea’s love of Russell Crowe may be fogging his view of this maybe.
Gotta agree with Dermis. I thought the film was good but not great, and considering how hard it is it get westerns made, they need to hit it out of the park. I really liked the posters for the films (except for the one above). I hope the film does well but it doesn’t come close to Unforgiven or Open Range.
Well, I completly disagree with oscar talk. As fan of the original, and the short story, I’m a little dissapointed. Especially with the ending. But that doesn’t mean it want a well made movie. I have to say, the action in this is just absurd. It’s honeslty like watching Die hard or transformers except, in the west. I thought Christian Bale was excellent like always. There were a lot of little boys in the theater i was in. If you enjoy it, I can completley understand why, but for you John to say you smell oscars is very strange. I don’t see this movie getting any nominations. And I havn’t heard oscar talk from any critic, like were hearing about Jesse James. If anynoe might gets a nom, it will be Bale or Crow. Probably Bale. But the movie won’t get any nods. I’ll bet my life on that, LOL.
I SOLIDLY stand behind Campea with my love for this movie. I saw it last night, and I’m still thinking about it. I don’t even like westerns, but this film is fantastic. FANTASTIC! You guys will not regret seeing this, trust me.
The problem is awards season. Crowe is always a contender and this year he could find himself sitting out if votes are split for two strong performances.