WB Says "No" to NYFCC, NBR on Extremely Loud

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Roughly three hours ago New York Film Critics Circle honcho John Anderson informed the membership that Warner Bros.will not be screening Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by this coming Sunday, 11.27, and will therefore not be meeting the org's deadline to allow it to vote yea or nay on Steohen Daldry's 9/11 drama by Tuesday, 11.29.

Anderson wrote that he's been told that the film won't be shown any time before December 2nd. "This despite my having received assurances before that they would [work within our deadline]," Anderson wrote. "Draw your own conclusions."

National Board of Review members have also been told of this decision, which obviously means that Extremely Loud is out of the running as far as their voting is concerned, which will happen on Thursday, December 1st.

A Warner Bros. source declined to be quoted but explained the following on a background basis: (a) Extremely Loud was never promised for a screening within the NYFCC or NBR deadlines, (b) This early deadline was not made by us but by somebody else, (c) It won't be completely done until after the deadline, (d) The film will begin to be screened in early December, (e) Filmmakers need to fulfill their process and finish their films to their satisfaction, and (f) We want to show it to everyone but filmmakers need to fulfill their process...that is the moral of this story.

A publicist from the same side of the fence who also didn't want to be quoted said there was a theoretical contingency plan of showing the film on Sunday, 11.27, but that this date eventually fell out due to post-production requirements which couldn't be met in time. "We love critics groups. but nobody wants to compromise a director's vision," she said. "We never promised that the 11.27 screening was a done deal...we said 'maybe, could you see it on Sunday?'...and then we had to alter that. I don't know why John Anderson has reamed us, but it's a witch hunt...I wish we could have had it ready earlier."

I'm told that N.Y. Post critic Lou Lumenick said in a message this morning to NYFCC members that WB's decision "would invite speculation that WB doesn't think [Extremely Loud] stands a chance."

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on November 21, 2011 at 11:26 AM

comment #1

Krazy Eyes says ...

How about the crazy idea that if you want to present a "Best Film Released in 2011" award you wait until 2011 is actually over.

Posted by Krazy Eyes at November 21, 2011 12:16 PM

comment #2

dayXexists says ...

Hmmmmmm. Interesting. Despite its awards' chances, I don't think I can sit through that child's narration/performance for 2 hours.

Posted by dayXexists at November 21, 2011 12:31 PM

comment #3

raygo says ...

Agreed. You should wait until year's end to vote on the best of the year.

Posted by raygo at November 21, 2011 12:32 PM

comment #4

Gabe@ThePlaylist says ...

Even as one of the ranks, if there's anything obnoxious about critics, it's that they're releasing Ten Best Of The Year lists with movies that the general public hasn't seen or, in some cases, even heard about. It further establishes that bullshit "we're special, and you're not hierarchy."

The fair thing to do would be for these organizations to push their voting back once again, maybe a week or two. But no, it's more important to be first than to be best.

Posted by Gabe@ThePlaylist at November 21, 2011 12:33 PM

comment #5

Colin says ...

Why act like you care? The NYFCC was never going to pick 'Extremely Loud' anyway.

Posted by Colin at November 21, 2011 12:47 PM

comment #6

bfm says ...

Agreed. Smacks of "we're so special we have to see all the December films earlier than anyone else and if you can't meet OUR deadline it must mean your film is crap".

Posted by bfm at November 21, 2011 12:59 PM

comment #7

RobbyH says ...

OMG. I'm in heaven seeing this giant new Kirsten Dunst FYC on your site. (:

Posted by RobbyH at November 21, 2011 1:02 PM

comment #8

JR says ...

I agree with the points being raised here, but...the NBR puts out a top 10 list, and it is a fairly big deal as these kinds of pronouncements go...and the studios and distributors know it, and are aware of the voting date (was the same date last year, I am pretty sure).

I think it is ridiculous that the critics groups are in such a hurry to be first - frankly nobody gives a shit what they think anyway...

Posted by JR at November 21, 2011 1:11 PM

comment #9

alynch says ...

Sure, set a too early deadline that hamstrings the filmmaker, and when they fail to meet said too early deadline, publicly deem it evidence that their film is probably shit. And fuck off while you're at it.

Posted by alynch at November 21, 2011 1:26 PM

comment #10

berg says ...

I think it is ridiculous that the critics groups are in such a hurry to be first - frankly nobody gives a shit what they think anyway...

I concur ... I belong to a CG and all I've heard today is how certain members could not get half way through their screeners of Cotagion and Rampart (for whatever reason) ... the wuss factor with critic's groups is in the red

Posted by berg at November 21, 2011 1:39 PM

comment #11

Gaydos says ...

The good news is that with "Extremely Loud" out of the way, "Bucky Larson" can now get the full attention of the NYFCC.

Posted by Gaydos at November 21, 2011 1:54 PM

comment #12

Dean says ...

The NYFCC should be embarassed.

Posted by Dean at November 21, 2011 1:56 PM

comment #13

cinemascopian says ...

WB's math is simple: After The Social Network won most critic groups' awards but lost the Oscars to The Kings Speech last year, they'd rather have a King's Speech then a Social Network. Thus making NBR and NYFCC irrelevant to their release process.

It's also a game of chicken: If either NBR or NYFCC think ExtLoud is a major awards contender, they'd have to move their voting to December or fear that by being so prissy about who's first they'd become irrelevant. WB know that and probably delight in having these bodies dance to the sound of their flute.

I wouldn't bet against Stephen Daldry, no matter what Lou Lumenickl says.

Posted by cinemascopian at November 21, 2011 2:13 PM

comment #14

Krillian says ...

Yeah, Daldry's 3 for 3 in getting a Best Director nod for his efforts. He must be incredibly charming at parties.

Posted by Krillian at November 21, 2011 2:47 PM

comment #15

chilledstate says ...

I don't know what the game is here but I'm glad that the filmmakers' decision that they put the completion of the film in their priority over just to get viewed by the critics. WB may now have liked it but it's rediculous to comprimise the process for an award chance.

Posted by chilledstate at November 21, 2011 3:05 PM

comment #16

MickTravisMcGee says ...

Off-topic, I realize, and hopefully it hasn't already been covered, but this parody of the "Drive" trailer is pretty fuckin' funny.

Would've been funnier two months ago, but it's still pretty fuckin' funny. The gags with the Hamburglar and the King mask kill me.

Posted by MickTravisMcGee at November 21, 2011 3:23 PM

comment #17

MickTravisMcGee says ...

Take two!

Off-topic, I realize, and hopefully it hasn't already been covered, but this parody of the "Drive" trailer is pretty fuckin' funny.

Would've been funnier two months ago, but it's still pretty fuckin' funny. The gags with the Hamburglar and the King mask kill me.

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2011/11/drive-thru.html

Posted by MickTravisMcGee at November 21, 2011 3:23 PM

comment #18

Mike Ock says ...

I give a shit. Critics are SOOO important!!

Posted by Mike Ock at November 21, 2011 3:24 PM

comment #19

Rorark says ...

Loumenic's ham handed politicking is particularly obnoxious. Basically threatening a raft of bad reviews, buzz, gossip, whatever if WB doesn't hurry up and make Daldry finish his film in time to appease a bunch of entitled NYC blowhards. As if any of this is going to matter in four months.

Posted by Rorark at November 21, 2011 3:31 PM

comment #20

Rorark says ...

Lumenick's. Oops. Jesus.

Posted by Rorark at November 21, 2011 3:32 PM

comment #21

Mike Ock says ...

@ Rorark - This is how they play the game in NY. I've seen them do this for years. The whole Awards process has become a joke.

Posted by Mike Ock at November 21, 2011 3:36 PM

comment #22

roland1824 says ...

"Draw your own conclusions."

WB and Daldry don't think a NYFCC award means squat, so neither should we.

Posted by roland1824 at November 21, 2011 3:37 PM

comment #23

Bob Hightower says ...

I see this as a principled protest by the filmmaker and the studio against the critics' groups' childish attempts to be early with their voting rather than inclusive and representative of the year's actual films. If the NY critics don't rearrange their schedule to see this film, it invalidates their choices otherwise.

Posted by Bob Hightower at November 21, 2011 4:22 PM

comment #24

LexG says ...

ABSOLUTELY GUARANTEE this is going to WIN Best Picture.

Take that to the bank. They shouldn't even bother nominating anything else. This is the one.

Posted by LexG at November 21, 2011 5:05 PM

comment #25

George Prager says ...

The LORENZO'S OIL of 2011. It, like BRIDESMAIDS, won't be nominated for anything.

Posted by George Prager at November 21, 2011 5:10 PM

comment #26

LexG says ...

Hanks. Bullock. Von Sydow. Kid. Daldry. U2. 9/11. Guaranteed WINNER, not just nominee. My spider antennae are telling me this. The ONE SHOT in the trailer of Bullock crying ALONE guarantees a BP win.

Plus since it's WB it's the least filtered, clearest, most brightly colored movie Daldry's ever made, which is encouraging. It looks so HANDSOME and CLEAR TO THE EYE, as opposed to most of the other things.

Posted by LexG at November 21, 2011 5:16 PM

comment #27

George Prager says ...

i didn't realize that Daldry was some kind of Oscar-winning powerhouse. Turns out he's won as many Oscars as Brett Ratner, that is, ZERO OSCARS.

Posted by George Prager at November 21, 2011 5:23 PM

comment #28

LexG says ...

This is his year.

The Year of the Daldry.

BANK. It is amusing, of course, that people say "THE ACADEMY LOVES DALDRY" and "he's nominated 100% of the time... Has there ever been ONE KID EVER who's applied for film school or rented a Red camera or bought a copy of Final Draft because he was such a big Stephen Daldry fan?

Posted by LexG at November 21, 2011 5:36 PM

comment #29

George Prager says ...

It's like someone going to film school and saying "I'm here because my idol is Peter Medak."

Posted by George Prager at November 21, 2011 5:45 PM

comment #30

Joe Leydon says ...

Hey, lay off Peter Medak. Let Him Have It is terrific. And The Ruling Class is a freakin' masterpiece.

Posted by Joe Leydon at November 21, 2011 5:49 PM

comment #31

George Prager says ...

You forgot THE KRAYS and NEGATIVES (you were able to rent this at Blockbuster back in the day).

Okay, Richard Benjamin then.

Posted by George Prager at November 21, 2011 6:02 PM

comment #32

Joe Leydon says ...

Oh, i dunno. My Favorite Year was pretty dandy as I recall.

Posted by Joe Leydon at November 21, 2011 6:14 PM

comment #33

George Prager says ...

So they match up perfectly. They both have made one good movie (Daldry's is BILLY ELLIOT).

Posted by George Prager at November 21, 2011 6:17 PM

comment #34

Gaydos says ...

May I suggest that until the Daldry film is ready, you all Netflix Clint Eastwood's "Breezy?"

Just watched it for the first time and enjoyed the hell out of it. I'll bet that when 2011 wraps up, it's still in my ten best films I've seen this year.

And it's kind of "Mad Men" for keeps in its own early 70s kind of politically incorrect but spiritually accurate portrait of May meeting December, back when bellbottoms, beads and bongs were starting to replace martinis and Kents.

Posted by Gaydos at November 21, 2011 6:18 PM

comment #35

George Prager says ...

Saw it on cable years ago. Kay Lenz is in it, so of course it was on my radar. A delightful piece of cinema. Is LAST SUMMER on Netflix?

Posted by George Prager at November 21, 2011 6:25 PM

comment #36

Mike Ock says ...

I dunno Lex, you're usually pretty reliable, but didn't you say that Tower Heist was gonna open with at least 75 million? And that it was the must see movie for African Americans?

Posted by Mike Ock at November 21, 2011 6:48 PM

comment #37

berg says ...

I second BREEZY .... Clint's 3rd film and the first one he didn't appear in (?). Bill Holden embraced the role .... you know Holden died two weeks before Natalie Wood

Posted by berg at November 21, 2011 8:07 PM

comment #38

Gaydos says ...

I love that "Breezy" takes care to register every tiny seismic tremor in the relationship as it develops and THAT becomes the story, ie it values the relationship as the dramatic journey and takes it seriously and the more impossible it seems, the more Holden seems flummoxed by the foolishness of the whole thing, the more we have invested in the importance of the chance it represents for both him and Lenz.

"You can keep the dog. Just do me a favor. Don't teach him to roll over and play dead."

- Kay Lenz to Bill Holden in Jo Heims' screenplay for "Breezy"

FYI: I read some interviews with Clint over the years. Sounds like he's still pissed off at how the film was dumped in the marketplace after almost a year on the shelf!

The executives are the gone. The film remains.

Posted by Gaydos at November 21, 2011 9:42 PM

comment #39

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Posted by Daisy at November 21, 2011 9:59 PM

comment #40

filmsofdusts says ...

No way EL&IC wins Best Picture.

It is the cheap contrivance of "pure cinema" and fluoride-ridden watered-down sentimental "emotion cinema" that Jeff recently warned about.

Absolutely awful in every way.

Saying EL&IC will win is like saying August Rush should was robbed in 2007.

Posted by filmsofdusts at November 21, 2011 10:04 PM

comment #41

Jason S. says ...

Don't see EL&IC winning either. Not for 2011. It it was released withing 5 years of 9/11 - Absolutely. Today - not so much. I don't see it doing much box office either.

But what do I know? Who'd have thought THE HURT LOCKER would have took BP nearly two years back? A movie so dull it nearly put me to sleep, btw. Took my two attempts to get through it.

Posted by Jason S. at November 22, 2011 9:25 AM

comment #42

LicentiousMaximus says ...

"We love critics groups. but nobody wants to compromise a director's vision,"

Yes, the deep artistic vision offered by a movie starring Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock. Excuse me, but I forgot to flush the artistic genius of my last bowel movement.

Posted by LicentiousMaximus at November 22, 2011 9:59 AM

comment #43

Catherine says ...

I have another theory..because I know for a fact the film is done...that WB is just trying to keep the decks clean for J Edgar....they don't want anything to try and take any of Clint's...uh..whatever Clint and this film have in the way of momentum or chatter. (I personally didn't care for the film)

Besides the one screening last week..they know Soderbergh won't 'campaign' like most directors insist on doing who are at all 'in the hunt'...so by keeping ELIC out of it for as long as they can...well good. and I'm sure the film stinks.

Posted by Catherine at November 22, 2011 2:57 PM

comment #44