"Jesse James" foot-dragging?

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How supportive and enthusiastic are Warner Bros. publicists on behalf of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, which comes out on 9.21, or right after the Toronto Film Festival? I won't name names or publications, but a definite foot-dragging attitude has been detected by reasonable moderate men as far as long-lead requests for various forms of assistance in slapping together Jesse James coverage.

It's no secret that Warner Bros. execs have been less than fully ecstatic with Andrew Dominik's western, which producer Tony Scott has described as a Terrence Malick-type feature. The rumble all along is that WB toppers and marketers consider the film some kind of loss leader (i.e., more or less doomed with the people who loved Spider-Man 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean, and who just can't wait for Evan Almighty). People like me, of course, can't wait to see it and are inclined on general principle to support it, unless it turns out to be indulgent garbage.

I'm not saying that this or that WB publicist is, in fact, slacking off on Jesse James, but that studio's upper-level marketers have long had reputations of being chillty or clueless when it comes to movies of a layered artistic bent. Remember the stories about them scratching their heads and throwing up their hands when they first saw Letters From Iwo Jima? Their decision to keep The Departed out of the Toronto Film Festival (i.e., I never believed producer Graham King's story about the film not being ready in time for that festival)?

How come the Assassination of Jesse James website is exactly the same now, content-wise, as it was six months ago? The film opens in three and a half months. Shouldn't the people running this site be turning the heat up right about now?

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on June 8, 2007 at 9:54 AM

comment #1

Noah says ...

Yes, we know Jeff, they kept The Departed out of the Toronto Film Festival just to hurt you. And it really hurt the film's chances at the box office and with the awards, right? That horse is dead, stop beating it, especially because it makes you sound idiotic after writing a good piece about THIS film, which is getting short-shrift.

Posted by Noah at June 8, 2007 10:55 AM

comment #2

ioncinema.com says ...

With only Chopper under his belt, I think WB signed onto a Plan B/Pitt film and not an Andrew Dominik feature - I doubt that WB will keep the slot of the 21st seeing that it is going head to head with Good Luck Chuck, I'm Not There, In the Valley of Elah, Penn's Into the Wild, SPC's The Jane Austen Book Club, Resident Evil: Extinction, Scorsese doc Shine a Light and Virgin Territory.

was expecting. Dominik made Chooper

Posted by ioncinema.com at June 8, 2007 11:26 AM

comment #3

erniesouchak says ...

I wouldn't read to much into that, Wells. I've encountered the same foot-dragging at WB re: every Clint Eastwood movie.

Posted by erniesouchak at June 8, 2007 12:14 PM

comment #4

erniesouchak says ...

Oops...I meant "too much," of course.

Posted by erniesouchak at June 8, 2007 12:22 PM

comment #5

wayne76 says ...

I can't wait to see this film.

Posted by wayne76 at June 8, 2007 12:58 PM

comment #6

BurmaShave says ...

They might have better luck if they retitled this Assassinations of the Jesse James: Curse of the Robert Ford.

Posted by BurmaShave at June 8, 2007 1:38 PM

comment #7

malibugigolo says ...

Warner Bros people are always lazy and inconsiderate.

Posted by malibugigolo at June 8, 2007 4:22 PM

comment #8

BurmaShave says ...

I'm actually a big fan of Pitt's, but has he ever had a major hit that was either no-brainer high concept (MR AND MRS SMITH,TROY,OCEAN'S) or with another big star (SPY GAME, SE7EN,12 MONKEYS,OCEAN'S again)? And of course he did the work of his career in FIGHT CLUB, which is a cult hit. What kind of paycheck is he pulling down?

Posted by BurmaShave at June 8, 2007 7:09 PM

comment #9

BurmaShave says ...

I'm actually a big fan of Pitt's, but has he ever had a major hit that wasn't either no-brainer high concept (MR AND MRS SMITH,TROY,OCEAN'S) or with another big star (SPY GAME, SE7EN,12 MONKEYS,OCEAN'S again)? And of course he did the work of his career in FIGHT CLUB, which is a cult hit. What kind of paycheck is he pulling down?

Posted by BurmaShave at June 8, 2007 7:09 PM

comment #10