"Great Debaters," Oprah, test scores
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on November 07, 2007 at 11:26 AM
With all the late-night talk shows doing re-runs because of the WGA strike, movie marketers are losing out on the big promotional bumps that come from celebrities visiting Leno, Letterman, O'Brien, Ferguson and Ellen DeGeneres. No way you can't call that a signficant hurt factor. But the Oprah Winfrey show isn't affected by the strike (it's technically regarded as a news show, like Larry King's) and so the attention she'll be giving to The Great Debaters (Weinstein Co., 12.25), which she's one of the producers of, will be unaffected also. I've been told that research screenings have been "through the roof." One report said that the number of people checking the top two boxes (very good or excellent) were in the low 90s, and that the "definite recommend" factor was 84%.
Last updated: October 3, 2007
Obviously I'm light in several categories.
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BEST PICTURE: Australia (20th Century Fox), The Argentine (Focus Features), Guerilla (Focus Features), Milk (Focus Features), Seven Pounds (Sony), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount/Warner Bros.), The Soloist (DreamWorks), Body of Lies (Warner Bros.), Revolutionary Road (Paramount Vantage/DreamWorks), The Changeling (Universal Pictures), Frost/Nixon (Universal), Doubt (Miramax), Blindness (Universal Pictures), Defiance (Paramount Vantage), The Duchess (Paramount Vantage), Valkyrie (MGM-UA), The Reader (Weinstein Co.)
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BEST ACTRESS: Kate Winslet (Revolutionary Road), Angelina Jolie (Changeling), Keira Knightley (The Duchess), Nicole Kidman (Australia)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Leiv Schreiber (Defiance), Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon), John Malkovich (Changeling and Burn After Reading), Bill Nighy (Valkyrie), Robert Downey Jr. (The Soloist), Robert Downey Jr. (Tropic thunder), James Franco (The Pineapple Express), Alan Alda (Nothing But the Truth)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Meryl Streep (Doubt), Amy Adams (Doubt), Vera Farmiga (Nothing But the Truth)
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who (20th Century Fox)
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Charlie Kaufman (Synecdoche, New York)
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Michelle discovers a couple of comedy films thanks to the power of Netflix.
Adam joins the Elsewhere crew from the Windy City and hits the ground running this week.
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Comments
Didn't "Antwone Fisher" get similar advance numbers? It turned out to be a modest hit, but hardly a blockbuster.
Posted by: Mike Schaefer![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at
November 7, 2007 12:20 PM
Is it true the original title for this film was The Master Debaters? Sorry, couldn't resist...
Posted by: Jay T.![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at
November 7, 2007 12:24 PM
I think Ellen is staying on the air, just no monologues.
Posted by: Reedyb![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at
November 7, 2007 01:41 PM
Yep Ellen just didn't do Monday's show, but her show will go on...BTW, about those research screenings, if it's a feel good, inspirational story, you'd have to have a really black heart to not like it, no?
Posted by: Andrew![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at
November 7, 2007 03:28 PM
Andrew, was that the most offensive pun ever? If so, congrats.
Posted by: BurmaShave![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at
November 8, 2007 11:24 AM
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