In this weekend's Times Magazine, Lynn Hirschberg profiles Newmarket Films' president Bob Berney and looks at the challenges he faces marketing The Woodsman, a film in which Kevin Bacon plays a pedophile. Here's Hirschberg on Berney's strategy:

As an independent distributor, Berney will plan a strategy for a movie's release. He will often pay for the prints of the film, pick which theaters will showcase it and create a marketing campaign. With ''The Woodsman,'' this means promoting Kevin Bacon's courageous acting and playing down the subject of the movie.


Surely, it won't be easy to propagate the "Kevin Bacon is courageous" idea to the jaded, cynical press. They won't stick to that party line, right?

In this unrelenting film, playing a pedophile, he gives one of the strongest and absolutely the bravest performance of a career studded with remarkable performances. It's time for Oscar to cuddle up to Kevin and at least say, "Hi, you're here to stay, I see!" (BACON IN A BRAVE, NEW LIGHT, Liz Smith, New York Post, Dec. 17, 2004.)

Oh, scratch that.
The Distribution Artist [NYT Magazine]
Bacon in a Brave, New Light [NYP]
The Woodsman [official site]