"If a film fell in the multiplex, and no one was there to see it..."

Limited release: such a simple phrase, and yet two words that all but indicate to a majority of moviegoers that whatever it is they want to see may or may not escape the confines of a NY/LA run before the film in question comes to them by way of Netflix mere months later.

Meanwhile, screens upon screens across the nation are filled by the likes of the same stars and the same stories, with the same special effects and the same happy endings, leaving the smaller films, the different films, the better films to slip through the distribution cracks, as it were.

Among their number falls The Promotion, a film which we've admittedly supported ad nauseum to the oh-so-ironic tune of $365,928 on a grand total of 81 screens. It opened just this past weekend in my market, Orlando, Fla., on a single screen, for a whopping four days, with a grand total of eight showings, before being shuffled off to make room for that other Jason Bateman co-starring comedy-drama hybrid.

It was the first day of July, and the last night for the film. Having enjoyed it twice before and driven by - I don't know - a sense of romantic futility, I turned out for that final showing. Lo and behold, I wasn't alone...

Charlie Kaufman is notorious for challenging audiences with his brain-bending screenplays; now, the screenwriter's directorial debut, Synecdoche, NY, faces a challenge even getting to audiences.

The film concerns a playwright (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who uses a grant in order to stage a life-size re-enactment of his life within a massive hangar. Our own James Rocchi referred to the film as "a sprawling, messy work of inspired brilliance and real humanity, a film that enthralls and affects even as it infuriates and confounds"; Kim Voynar put it much more simply: "man, is that film two hours of mental-mindf*ck."

So, as might be the case with another lengthy high-profile Cannes premiere greeted by praise but no distribution, Kaufman is considering trimming the film down from its current 124-minute length to something a bit leaner ... which is saying something about a movie whose first cut, according to the Hollywood Reporter, ran just over four hours.

What say you, readers? Having seen the likes of Adaptation and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, would you rather greet Synecdoche in all its full-bore glory, whether in theaters or on DVD, or would you be willing to settle for a tighter version?

[via Hollywood Elsewhere]

We knew something was just a tad off when the only poster for the soon-to-be-released indie horror flick All the Boys Love Mandy Lane hit streets only two weeks before the flick was supposed to land in theaters. Not to mention the marketing campaign was non-existent (Cinematical has spent more time hyping up this film than The Weinstein Co. or Dimension Films). And so I'm not surprised to hear (via Shock Till You Drop) that rumor has it Weinstein/Dimension has officially dropped Mandy Lane from its July 20 slot. Keep in mind this hasn't been confirmed, and there's no information on whether the film will be released at a later date instead, but all signs are pointing to ... Mandy Lane getting screwed, but not loved.

The film, which first premiered at last year's Toronto Film Festival (to rave reviews from our own James Rocchi), focuses on a pretty girl (Amber Heard) who's invited to a weekend party at a secluded ranch. However, once there, partygoers begin mysteriously disappearing one by one -- and, well, so it goes. Could this hesitation on Dimension's part have something to do with the negative attention horror films have been receiving lately, and/or the box office failure that was Grindhouse? And what does this mean for the other fantastic horror-related films The Weinstein Co. picked up from various festivals throughout the year -- like, say, Teeth (which is a film I absolutely loved and haven't heard a peep about since seeing it in Berlin back in February)? Chalk this one up as rumor for now; we'll let you know when more info is revealed.

One of the most disarmingly clever genre deconstructions I've ever seen is Scott Glosserman's Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon -- which is just another way of saying "It's a horror mockumentary created by folks who definitely know their old-school slasher flicks, and aren't afraid of being a little irreverent while paying homage to the genre that Jason (and Michael and Freddy) built." I saw the movie with a very enthusiastic crowd back at last March's SXSW Film Festival -- and then once again at the Alamo Drafthouse on Halloween Night when I happened to be back in Austin for reasons of a more personal (to say nothing of curvier) nature.

And after two sessions with Leslie I can tell you: This flick really works, but only if, as a child, you used to love sneaking HBO peeks at Friday the 13th Part 4, Halloween Part 5 and Freddy Part 6 while your parents were off doing more, ahem, parental things. Bolstered immeasurably by the fantastic lead performance of Nathan Baesel (and kept consistently afloat by Glosserman's witty screenplay), Behind the Mask is a certifiable hoot for the horror crowd. If the "meet the hot young slasher" mockumentary idea doesn't sell you at first, I'd also remind you that Behind the Mask delivers genre veterans like Robert Englund, Scott Wilson and Zelda Rubinstein. And if you're still not curious, then fine: You're officially off my list of true-blue horror geeks.

So here's some good news: Not only has Anchor Bay purchased Behind the Mask for distribution, but they'll be doing it in a theatrical capacity! Yep, Anchor Bay is gonna bang out some prints and distribute the flick on January 5 -- although obviously it's going to be a fairly limited-style release pattern. But don't worry; I hear those Anchor Bay guys do some pretty fine horror-work on the DVD front as well.

Though it took a little while -- the film had its world premiere this past spring at Tribeca -- it's no surprise that Jake Kasdan's The TV Set has finally been picked up for US distribution. After all, it probably came fairly cheap (I realize it's all relative, but you know what I mean), and stars big names like David Duchovny and Sigourney Weaver; ThinkFilm certainly can't be blamed for taking a flyer on the thing.

A behind-the-scenes comedy about the television industry, the film stars Duchovny as a naive writer who "steers a fictional skein through a gantlet of stars, managers and a severe network exec (Weaver)." Kasdan spent the early part of his career in television (he directed episodes of both Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared), and the TV Set reviews in the trades all mention the impressive accuracy of his depiction of that world. However, they reviews also wonder how funny such an insider story will be to the general public; we'll all get to decide for ourselves when the movie hits theaters next spring.

Last time I reported on the confusing family known as Viacom, I mentioned that MTV Films and Nickelodeon Films were being adopted (consolidated) by Paramount Pictures. Well, I was sorta wrong. In continuing my allegory, let me just say that MTV and Nickelodeon are not being sheltered so much as they are growing up -- although like many young grown-ups these days, they will continue to live with their parents.

In case you ever paid attention to the corporate logos preceding an MTV or Nickelodeon movie, you likely noticed that in addition to the MTV or Nickelodeon logos, the Paramount Pictures logo also flashed on the screen. This is because Paramount distributed the films. But now MTV and Nickelodeon are adults and can distribute themselves, just like Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics and Dreamworks. They're still part of the Paramount/Viacom family, of course, but they are trusted more than they were as children (er, production companies). Best of all, like the adultalescents they are, MTV and Nickelodeon get to retain their cool status as brands for teens and kids, respectively.

Producer Scott Aversano has been hired as president of both labels.

Remember how, last week, Fox News reported that Disney was shopping distribution rights to Mel Gibson's Apocalypto, hoping that someone else would figure out how to hell the handle the thing? Well, according to Disney execs, the whole thing was just a big lie, and they'll be rolling the film out, as planned, on December 8. Freaking liberal media. Oh, wait ...

As others have said, what will be fascinating will be the marketing of this movie. Since its entire cast is made up of unknowns, the only recognizable name associated with it is Gibson's, and there's little doubt that Disney originally intended for him to be the keystone of their publicity campaign, hitting talk shows and whatnot. So will he still go and joke with Jay? Will it be a mea culpa/Apocalypto tour? Or will the studio instead hedge its bets, relying instead on TV ads, posters and public curiosity?

Walden Media is an incredibly busy (do a search for "Walden" here and you'll see what I mean), generally successful producer of films aimed at the youth market -- everything they make is rated either G or PG, and most of their films make money. Now that their first-look deal with Disney has expired, Walden has been working with a variety of studios on the distribution and marketing of their films, though the company's Disney connection is still strong, as evidence by the fact that Disney will handle the upcoming Narnia films. Apart from those films and Charlotte's Web (set up with Paramount), however, everything from Walden will now be distributed by Fox, thanks to a new agreement between the studios.

Though no one new will be hired, a joint company in charge of marketing will be developed; all production matters remains under Walden control, and distribution stays at Fox. Among the films affected by this deal are the wonderfully-named Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (Say that out loud and tell me your day didn't get a little bit better.), The Dark Is Rising and City of Ember from Monster House director Gil Kenan.

According to the ever-reliable Fox News (those of you who get all upset about our Brokeback posts better appreciate this), Disney, currently slated to release Mel Gibson's Mayan epic Apocalypto in December, is now quietly searching for a new distributor for the film. The one name being mentioned thus far is Lionsgate, a studio that, as the Fox article points out, has been successful with a handful of other abandoned/difficult projects, including Kevin Smith's rather abrasive Dogma (not to mention the much loved, straight-to-video release Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood).

Ever since the details about Gibson's arrest came out, there has been speculation about whether his public fall would impact the release of the already difficult-to-market Apocalypto; it would certainly be understandable if Disney simply wanted to wash their hands of the whole thing. More details when/if they emerge.

[via Risky Biz]

I think we can all be forgiven for our general ignorance of the fact that Exodus Film Group has been developing an animated feature about crayons. After all, in what context could that possibly have come up? "Oh, that shirt is such a pretty color! That reminds me, have you heard about that crayon movie?" I mean, it just doesn't flow naturally into the conversations of anyone over eight. (Actually, does anyone know any eight-year-olds? I bet this is all the rage among that set.)

The crayon movie -- yes, it's really happening -- is called The Hero of Color City, and is described in Variety as "[following] the adventures of a diverse band of crayons as they strive to protect their magical, multihued homeland from an evil tyrant." That part sounds sort of Teletubbies (NOT, by the way, a bad thing. I dig Teletubbies.), except with an evil guy on the horizon. But there's more: The crayons leave their home world (Color City) every day and go to work at a preschool in our world, which sounds a whole lot like Monsters Inc. to me. And also, it must be said, extremely cool -- my only concern is whether a story about crayons (which, let's face it, can't really be all THAT expressive, what with no limbs or hair or clothes or anything) can be sustained for a full 90 minutes. Happily for Exodus, the people at Magnolia have no such concerns, and they've picked up distribution rights to the movie, which they see as "a potential family franchise."