Given the word about Joe Wright‘s The Soloist possibly being a bit “schmaltzy” and boilerplate concerns about Ed Zwick‘s Defiance that I presume don’t need explaining, I wasn’t completely surprised to read a 10.17 story by the Hollywood Reporter‘s Carl DiOrio that both pics have had their wide-release dates delayed into ’09.
The Soloist‘s postponement seems particularly dramatic with its 11.21.08 wide opening being pushed back to 3.13.09. Defiance, which had a previous release date of 12.12.08, will now open wide on 1.16.09.
Defiance will be given a late-December Oscar-qualifying run, reports DiOrio, and it’s possible (though not likely) that The Soloist might be given a similar limited unveiling. But from HE’s perspective it’s looking as if both films have been all but yanked from the Oscar race by their respective distributors, DreamWorks/Paramount and Paramount Vantage.
The Shine-like story of Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez‘s relationship with a homeless musician, The Soloist — a DreamWorks/Universal co-production — was looking at the very least like a possible uptick opportunity for costars Robert Downey and Jamie Foxx regarding possible year-end acting honors and distinctions.