The Coasts Can Wait
N.Y. Times guy Michael Cieply on Sony Classics' unusual (and perhaps trend-setting) plan to open Baghead in Austin, and then, according to SPC co-topper Tom Bernard, "probably" Dallas, Houston and maybe Portland. The New York and L.A. openings won't happen until sometime in July or August. The first group of non-coastal cities, says Bernard, “tend to connect with what’s new and different.â€Â
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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on June 3, 2008 at 3:45 PM
comment #1
errolmorrisfan
says ...
Roadside Attractions actually did this exact same release strategy with the Duplass Brothers last film, The Puffy Chair. The film opened in Austin, Portland and a couple other cities before opening New York and LA. It would be nice if The New York Times actually did any research on their stories before declaring something "groundbreaking."
Posted by errolmorrisfan
at June 3, 2008 3:55 PM
comment #2
stickybump
says ...
yay Austin! Maybe I'll go see this one and rub everyone's nose in it. Or just give a report.
Posted by stickybump
at June 3, 2008 4:09 PM
comment #3
shawn
says ...
"The Puffy Chair" played a first-run theater in downtown Portland for *months*: as in Austin, there's a natural harmony of the Duplasses' aesthetic with the Portland moviegoing sensibility. I think "Baghead" will hit it as well: maybe even better.
Posted by shawn
at June 3, 2008 5:02 PM
comment #4
berg
says ...
MARK AND JAY DUPLASS are tentatively skedded for a houston press tour, Baghead is listed as opening at the Angelika july 18
Posted by berg
at June 3, 2008 5:35 PM
comment #5
rockne
says ...
Don't quite understand why this is groundbreaking...
As Shawn said, these movies jive with a certain movie-going aesthetic...the areas they open first will be where they will most likely do the most business.
Woody Allen, were he an independent, I'm sure would do much better in areas like New York and Boston and Chicago (?) than the Duplass brothers...
Posted by rockne
at June 3, 2008 7:42 PM
comment #6
Fien Print
says ...
The best part of the story, which tries to make it sound like there's trendspotting afoot, but then admits that freakin' "Chumscrubber" (plus a dozen different religiously themed movies and, if memory serves, "Idiocracy") had a semi-similar pattern, is the reference to the Seattle-first release for "The Stunt Man," complete with Janet Maslin's utterly-missed-the-point pan.
"The Stunt Man" is just one of those classics that you don't hear people mention nearly enough...
Posted by Fien Print
at June 3, 2008 9:18 PM
comment #7
Webster
says ...
Having seen "Baghead" at Sundance, I'd be surprised if it finds much of an audience outside of L.A. and a few hipster pockets of America. It's a narcissistic comedy--think "Swingers" meets "Scream"--with a cast that makes Jason Segel look like George Clooney.
Posted by Webster
at June 3, 2008 10:38 PM