FastTrack Tagged Articles at Cinematical

As I mentioned when I talked about the trailer for Fast Track in Trailer Park awhile ago, I'm very much looking forward to Open Hearts, Zach Braff's next directorial effort. He's a funny guy, as one might glean from the following quote regarding The Golden Globes: "Didn't win, but I met P. Diddy, so who u calling a loser?" In the meantime, Fast Track looked like a decent enough helping of Braff-ness to tide me over until he's back in the director's chair. Last I heard the film was to open on January 19, so why haven't I been seeing TV spots for it?

Well, according to Braff's blog, the film's release has been postponed because Braff, Jason Bateman and Amanda Peet are all too busy at the moment to hit the promotional trail. "It was supposed to come out this week," Braff blogged bodaciously, "but between promoting the Scrubs musical and shooting Scrubs and sleeping and doing all my other projects, it became impossible to get out there and plug it. And you can't release a movie without the stars of it going out and telling the world about it."

Perhaps even more interesting, though, is that the film is undergoing a last minute title change. According to Braff, the studio has always hated the title Fast Track because it does little or nothing to describe the actual film. Since the film is about the ex-boyfriend (Bateman) of Braff's character's girlfriend (Peet) making life hell for Braff, it's been decided that The Ex is a more appropriate title, and the film's premiere has been pushed back to mid-March. The trailer has been in circulation for awhile now with the Fast Track title, which I can see confusing the public. I can't say for certain whether this sort of thing has a precedent. Can anyone out there name a film whose title was changed after the release of the trailer?

[Via Moviehole]

"Hey Scott, you wanna see a screwball comedy starring Zach Braff, Jason Bateman and Amanda Peet?"

Hell yes I do, Got a trailer for me?

"Sure do, buddy. Here you go!"

Oh cool, lemme just settle in here ... OK, so ... yeah. Hmm, it's about a guy in a wheelchair who tries to woo the wife of his inter-office nemesis? Sounds watchable... Yeah, it's... Wow, it's gonna be extra slapsticky, right? Sure looks like it. Oh. Oh jeez. The biggest set piece in the movie is when one guy drops a paraplegic man down a flight of stairs.

"Yep, what's wrong? Don't you love Zach Braff in Scrubs and Jason Bateman in Arrested Development?"

Of course I do, and damn you for even questioning those things. But those shows come from people like Bill Lawrence and Mitch Hurwitz...

"Yeah, and?"

And this desperate-looking flick was written by the guys who did, well, they've done nothing so far. And if Fast Track is little more than "watch the cripple kick butt/fall down" gags, I think I'll just stick to my Scrubs and Arrested Development DVDs.

"What about that supporting cast?"

Donal Logue, Charles Grodin, Mia Farrow, Paul Rudd, Fred Armisen... OK, not bad at all. Didn't see a whole lot of 'em in the trailer, though...

"So you could be completely wrong about this movie."

Yep, marketing's a tricky game. Guess we'll find out on December 29.

"(Limited.)"

Yes, limited. January 17 is the wide release. Rated PG-13 for sexual content, brief language and a drug reference -- because nowadays I guess it's not considered "violence" when someone drops a handicapped man down the stairs.