Crock pot campaigns

Timing, as they say, is everything. Or is it? It explains why Ringo walked off the "Regis" set today (song too long -- segment too short), but doesn't quite cut it when we consider the headliner for this summer's Coachella rave in the desert. Rogers Waters? Really?

But, as we often do, we digress.

As we continue to ponder the Oscar noms, because that's another thing we do, we see the timing that worked in favor of "Juno" -- released at the peek of awards season and broadened at precise moments to reach potential fans in the fly-over states who'd by then caught wind of this teen tale with a twist.

Fox Searchlight's Nancy Utley and her team marinated this movie in the "Little Miss Sunshine" juice, and then watched it plump. It's a crock pot (no, not crack pot) campaign, likely to send the dramedy well over the $100 million mark. And maybe it'll pick up some gold, too.

The kind of heat that's now surrounding "There Will Be Blood," we can't help but think, would not have been possible if it had launched in some other window. It's also been skillfully/surgically marketed as the weighty film it is. It may end up drinking everybody's milkshake.

The lesson here? Don't be early, don't be late. Make enough noise, but not too much. And that explains "Sweeney Todd's" virtual shutout...how? We could discuss it for days.

Comments

[Mike]

That is exactly what happened too Zodiac, released too early, but a truly great film.

It should have replaced Juno for best film if released later in the year.