“Presumably out of ideas for the time being, Jeffrey Wells goes seeking advanced word on The Road at…IMDb,” snickered In Contention‘s Kris Tapley earlier today.

Well, there was a heavy-hitter screening of John Hillcoat‘s much-awaited film in Los Angeles a few days ago. I was told about it myself and had it confirmed by a Weinstein Co. spokesperson. The attendees were said to include Josh Brolin, Ethan Coen, Oliver Stone, David Fincher and a guy named McCarthy — probably original The Road author Cormac McCarthy, possibly The Visitor director Tom McCarthy. I contacted every one of these guys today except Coen and Cormac McCarthy to try and get reactions, willing to run their views non-attrib if they so requested. Only one replied, and not substantively.

The original tipster said “find out what they thought — don’t trust me — and you’ll have what you wrote tonight confirmed [by serious people].”