So much for ex-United Artists marketing guy Dennis Rice‘s contention that it’s better to release Valkyrie on 2.13.09 than in late ’08 because it’ll make more money that way. A half hour ago it was announced, almost concurrent with the news about United Artists CEO Paula Wagner being in talks to leave the company, that Valkyrie has been given a 12.26.08 release date, instead of the Feb. 13 date that was previously announced.
This is the fourth release date that Valkyrie has now had. There’s no reason for me to think, having read the script and knowing Bryan Singer to be a very strong and focused director, that there’s anything seriously wrong with Valkyrie, but the release-date shuffling has been incessant and the fumes coming off this thing are malignant at this point. MGM has literally been putting out smoke signals since last summer saying “troubled! whoopsy daisy! uh-oh!”
MGM needs to stop the hemmorhaging on this thing. HE is hereby repeating its suggestion to new MGM marketing guy Mike Vohlman to screen this sucker for a few choice columnists and long-leaders (including myself, of course) and let them spread the word.
Variety wrote that “sources close to events said the move was made for purely commercial reasons, after a screening of the film went well. The studio sees it as a holiday pic and award consideration was not a factor, they say.”