All the talk lately about the (surprising) release date for Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds has me revisiting a post I wrote last summer about the best time of year to release a Miles Davis biopic.
Needless to say the announcement from The Weinstein Company of an August 21, 2009 nationwide release for “Inglorious Basterds” was met with skepticism.
Defamer’s STV noted that August 21 is “…traditionally the place films like Bangkok Dangerous, College and God knows what else go to die before flourishing in the DVD/Flopz™ afterlife.”
The Playlist agrees, adding, “is this counter-programming on the Weinstein’s Company’s part hoping ‘Basterds’ will wipe out the non-existent competition and kids won’t be on a last hurrah vacation before they have to go back to school (presuming they sneak into the sure-to-be R-rated film)?”
It’s an interesting debate considering the early hype for the film, but Lord knows the release date can change quickly.
I go back to a June post where I said the Miles Davis biopic does not scream summer to me. And with the Don Cheadle-as-Miles Davis part of the equation, you can definitely count on the film to hit Oscar’s radar, so a fall release might be ideal.
Defamer mentions a possible Cannes debut for ‘Basterds,’ which I had wondered about for the Miles Davis movie, and says even a Venice and Toronto opening could push the Brad Pitt flick into a “mild, mid-September prestige slot.”
We’re still a long way from discussing release dates for the Miles Davis biopic, but it’s a great topic considering the links between release date and critical/box office/awards success.
