Why "No Country" kicked in

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I've read this 2.22 Jessica Barbanel/Fox News story twice and I'm still not understanding how the Best Picture ascension of No Country for Old Men was primarily due to marketing. I mean, I don't buy this line for a second.

NCFOM was well promoted, yes, by producer Scott Rudin, 42 West Oscar strategist Cynthia Swartz and Miramax publicity, but nothing would have happened if it didn't have the soul and the pedigree of a major art film that also worked as a first-rate thriller/suspenser/chaser. (Until the last 20 or 25 minutes, that is, which is when the thrills stopped and thematic payoff kicked in.)

If the press hasn't pointed this out over and over, and if audiences hadn't continued to see NCFOM and make it into a bona fide hit, Rudin and Schwartz and Miramax publicity could have marketed the film until they were blue in the face and nothing -- repeat, nothing -- would have happened.

Plain old plagiarism<< previous | next >>GWTW is the lazy choice

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on February 22, 2008 at 8:52 AM

comment #1

Jay T. says ...

Why bother reading anything on foxnews.com? Seriously?

Posted by Jay T. at February 22, 2008 9:13 AM

comment #2

corey3rd says ...

if it was merely marketing that made film Oscarworthy, We'd have Larry the Cable Guy threatening Daniel Day Lewis for the golden boy

Posted by corey3rd at February 22, 2008 9:18 AM

comment #3

Kristopher Tapley says ...

No Country is the most strategic awards film in recent memory, Jeff. It's obvious.

Posted by Kristopher Tapley at February 22, 2008 9:26 AM

comment #4

Zimmergirl says ...

No way,Kris. I've seen every movie strategized every which way but you can't polish a turd. The best marketing this year goes to the Vantage team for There Will Be Blood. Maybe it was accidental but the way they built expectations on that movie was something to behold. By all rights, No Country should have been dead by summer. It wasn't. Out of Toronto, EVERYONE was hyping Atonement (which is why it's pointless to listen to anyone coming out of Toronto). Each and every film in the Oscar race was marketed. No Country stayed quiet, which worked to their advantage. I've seen other films stay quiet and disappear. I've also seen late-comers land and become unstoppable and I've seen late-comers land and disappear: it comes down to the movie.

No Country is simply a great film. Live with it. Deal with it. Even if it is upset by any other film this year, it's still the best film.

Posted by Zimmergirl at February 22, 2008 9:31 AM

comment #5

Me says ...

I think No Country is just one of those movies that sticks with you, long after you've seen it. And as other things got seen and didn't quite register the heat that a lot of people thought they would (see Atonement and Sweeny Todd), they kept thinking back to No Country.

It also didn't hurt to have Rudin (the "new" Harvey) pushing the Coens (two wildly respected guys who deserved a lot more award attention than they've ever gotten).

Posted by Me at February 22, 2008 9:32 AM

comment #6

Walter Sobchak says ...

It was Fox News so of course it was ALL LIES. LIES!!! I'm sure it was all part of an elaborate right-wing, White House-orchestrated plot to bring down democrats. More like Faux Noise Channel. (get it?!) Home of Chris Wallace, that known Republican operative and Bush stooge.

Posted by Walter Sobchak at February 22, 2008 9:34 AM

comment #7

Glenn Kenny says ...

I do love the headline, "How 'Old Men' Stole Best Picture Buzz." Because an English costume drama is an automatic Best Picture favorite by divine frickin' right or something...

My own recollection of Toronto was different from ZImmergirl's, but a look back at the roundup of reactions at Greencine at that time bear her out: everybody really WAS hyping "Atonement." What the hell were they on, I wonder. There was just no afterglow/burn on that picture, whereas the conversation on "No Country" seems in no danger of getting exhausted.

Posted by Glenn Kenny at February 22, 2008 9:56 AM

comment #8

christian says ...

"Home of Chris Wallace, that known Republican operative and Bush stooge."

NEW YORK (AP) - In a combative interview on "Fox News Sunday," former president Bill Clinton defended his handling of the threat posed by Osama bin Laden, saying he tried to have bin Laden killed and was attacked for his efforts by the same people who now criticize him for not doing enough.

"That's the difference in me and some, including all of the right-wingers who are attacking me now," Clinton said in the interview, taped Friday. "They ridiculed me for trying. They had eight months to try, they did not try."

Clinton accused host Chris Wallace of a "conservative hit job" and asked: "I want to know how many people in the Bush administration you asked, 'Why didn't you do anything about the Cole?' I want to know how many people you asked, 'Why did you fire Dick Clarke?"'

He was referring to the USS Cole, attacked by terrorists in Yemen in 2000, and former White House anti-terrorism chief Richard Clarke.

Wallace said Sunday he was surprised by Clinton's "conspiratorial view" of "a very non-confrontational question, 'Did you do enough to connect the dots and go after al-Qaida?"'

He told Wallace: "And you got that little smirk on your face and you think you're so clever, but I had responsibility for trying to protect this country. I tried and I failed to get bin Laden. I regret it, but I did try and I did everything I thought I responsibly could."

I lovd it when Bubba laid into that tool. Are you for reals telling me that pinch-faced twerp isn't another Fox conservative puppet? Holy cow man, you better smoke another bowl. And pass it my way.

Posted by christian at February 22, 2008 10:14 AM

comment #9

Dave says ...

"Did you do enough to connect the dots and go after al-Qaida?"

Ya know, I too always that was an unfair, crazy, Right-wing question to ask a former Commander-in-Chief. The gall of a journalist, asking such an obviously biased question of a public servant charged with protecting the nation.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,215397,00.html

Posted by Dave at February 22, 2008 10:29 AM

comment #10

BurmaShave says ...

There is No Movie Like No Country. Love it or hate it, it's true. Excellent tagline.

Posted by BurmaShave at February 22, 2008 10:32 AM

comment #11

christian says ...

Dave, if you watch the interview, Wallace is indeed smirking as if he's caught Clinton in some kind of trap. It's not a fair question given the pedigree of hacks like Wallace who defend Bush's incompetence on terrorism when he entered office. Ask Richard Clarke.

Posted by christian at February 22, 2008 10:39 AM

comment #12

Dave says ...

It's a perfectly fair question, for either President.

Posted by Dave at February 22, 2008 10:57 AM

comment #13

christian says ...

Except it would not be asked with such pleasue by a pipsqueak like Wallace to Bush.

"Why did you continue to read My Pet Goat while America was under attack? Have you seen the video of yourself? What was going through your mind?"

Posted by christian at February 22, 2008 11:09 AM

comment #14

Walter Sobchak says ...

"that smirk on his face".... are you for real? Chris Wallace has always had that smirk on his face...all the time...no matter what is happening... that's the way he looks.

Maybe it seemed like he "attacked" Clinton because there was such a contrast between that interview and the other series of interviews Bubba did at the time.....

"Mr. President. Is it a burden being so beloved?"
- Katie Couric

"Does it trouble you that despite your valiant efforts, you may not be able to save the entire planet all by yourself?"
- Anderson Cooper

"President Clinton, may I give you an on-camera blow job? Please? You've certainly earned one."
-Keith Olbermann

Posted by Walter Sobchak at February 22, 2008 2:18 PM

comment #15