This falls crop of smaller-flicks include -- 'some disturbing and bleak storylines that will need careful marketing at time when moviegoers might want to escape the real-life reality of a failing U.S. economy,' says Variety.
I just wrote about 'Indies box-office-struggles over on my personal site: HenryCruz.com that also talked about how the -- 'line between marketing a studio movie and a specialty title has begun to blur.'
"You used to be able to cheat on a campaign for an indie film," one indie marketing exec says, "but not any more."
"The whole economic mode of a limited release has changed," that exec continues. "It's almost easier to do a wide release than a specialty film. You have to do many of the same things that you do for a wide release. A trailer still costs the same amount, whether or not it is a specialty film and you are opening it limited."
One such head-scratcher is Danny Boyle's pic "Slumdog Millionaire," which as Variety points out -- 'will take special handling. U.S. auds always have a hard time warming up to a pic like "Slumdog," which is partly in the Hindi language.'
Exec's agree that "Slumdog," despite several violent scenes and a brutal portrayal of intense poverty in India, has all the elements to score at the box office: an underdog, redemption, humor and a love story. Will be interesting to see if audiences are ready for a Walk on that Dark-Side...check out the films trailer:
