'Nine' Soldiers On Despite Apathetic Reaction, Returns

I really wanted to like Nine, and it felt as though everything could align in its favor. Look at the cast, the source material, and the director, whose Chicago is the most recent musical to win a Best Picture Oscar. However, it just didn't work out very well. Still competently made, beautifully photographed, and featuring a couple knock 'em dead musical numbers, Nine is a few good parts supporting a movie that has nothing else to offer. Not bad, exactly, but certainly not a must-see. The film was similarly received by the majority of critics, and audiences heeded their words. No, critics can't deter people from seeing New Moon, but some movies rely on positive press, and the lack of it kept Nine in the lower tier of the top ten films of the weekend, making only $5.5 million. Oh...the movie cost $64 million, according to Reuters. I'd read higher numbers for the budget, but $64 makes the case just as well. What case? The one in which Nine joins The Road as embarrassing financial failures for The Weinstein Company, a studio that can ill afford to take major damage. And yet, there's this from TWC operations executive David Glasser: "At this moment in time there has been no plan between us nor the theater chains that we deal with to cut any theaters. We are going to hold our theaters as planned. The movie is working." Really? A per-screen average less than The Blind Side, currently in its sixth weekend, and Nine is "working"? Under what conditions could any of this be seen as a success? Well, last year around this time, The Reader looked like it might lose a bunch of money, but having Kate Winslet win a Golden Globe and an Oscar, as well as getting a much-disputed Best Picture nomination, helped the film become something of a substantial international hit for Weinstein, even if it did spend tens of millions of dollars advertising it for awards. So, maybe Nine will perform better overseas. I'm kind of sure of it, in fact, given the continental appeal of most of the stars and the European affinity for Fellini, upon whose 8 1/2 this film is ultimately based. But the other component of that success is an awards run. And realistically, Nine only has chances in the broader Best Picture race, Best Cinematography, Best Song, and possible acting nominations for Marion Cotillard and Penelope Cruz. But it won't win any of them, save maybe Best Song. Oh, it could do better at the Golden Globes, where a Best Picture win in the musical/comedy sub-category is not outside the realm of possibility, but that's still three weeks away. How long does TWC hold on to 1,400 theaters, especially if the movie sits around $20 million in the US by then? Couple that with The Road, which has taken in under $6 million on a $20 million budget and is on its way down already, and you have a pretty uninspiring awards season run by the men who made the current promotion-heavy November-December window the common practice. Yes, Harvey and Bob still have Inglourious Basterds, but one big success doesn't do much to balance out two large failures.

Comments

[CM]

Rob Marshall did not win an Oscar for Chicago. Roman Polanski won for The Pianist

[Get The Big Picture]

The film won Best Picture; that's what I was implying, but I see that I phrased it incorrectly. Thanks...

[Replica bags]

I have been keeping track of your site for a long time I read these articles, this is an interesting reading I will continue to pay attention to it more
gucci online shop
chanel bags