Wells to Paramount publicity: About a week ago Variety‘s Jeff Sneider tweeted that Paramount has decided to change the title of Martin Scorsese‘s Hugo Cabret to Hugo. And now Rope of Silicon‘s Brad Brevet has just gone with Hugo in a preview piece. Did I miss an official confirmation?

If Hugo Cabret‘s title has indeed been dumbed down, is it because Paramount marketing research indicated that your average rural American might be thrown and perhaps turned off by the word “Cabret”? As in: “Hmmm…sounds kinda French. How d’ya say it….CaBRETT? Hugo CaBRAY? Arty-farty…right? Later.”

This echoes last April’s decision by Sony Classics to simplify the title of Roman Polanski‘s adaptation of God of Carnage into just plain Carnage. With no explanation offered it was speculated in this corner that (a) “perhaps the Polanski name plus the God of Carnage title might turn off a certain segment of the audience, and so they’re playing it safe” and (b) Sony Classics “is [perhaps] afraid that God of Carnage sounds too much like a video game. And just plain Carnage doesn’t?