Slate‘s Kim Masters has taken a poke at the Valkyrie postponement, reporting the United Artists position that the bump to the Presidents’ Day weekend “represented an opportunity to cash in, [although] many see the move as a very bad sign, and, indeed, the buzz on the film is not good.
“What’s not in dispute is that filming remains unfinished, which is remarkable for a movie that started shooting in September 2007. One piece not yet shot is a battle sequence that begins the movie. An insider says director Bryan Singer will film a scaled-back version of what was originally conceived as a Saving Private Ryan-type opening.
“According to this source, the sequence was abandoned at one time as a cost-saving measure — and this movie is racking up the bucks — but when it became clear that the film was too talky, the battle was reinstated.”