When Oscar Hype Goes Wrong, Vol. MMCXLII: Miramax Fakes 'Doubt' Blurb
With at least one major exception, it's been a relatively modest cycle for manufacturers of Oscar-season buzz. But one day into 2009, the new "hybrid quote" looks to revolutionize the Fine Art of Hype.
NY Post critic Lou Lumenick complained Thursday that Miramax had blended a portion of his Doubt review with that of his colleague Cindy Adams, resulting in yesterday's ad blurb in the NY Times: "This is what movies used to be and should be. Doubt is heart-stopping. A feast of great acting.'' Naturally Lumenick was a little disappointed with this unprecedented awards-season license, but we love the audacity and hope to see more — and more creative — instances of its usage in the months and years to come.
In that spirit, we've formulated a few of our own multi-party blurbs for some of last year's reviews and commentaries on Defamer. Feel free to borrow at will, Hollywood, or just compose your own with the handy links provided:
· The Dark Knight: "So ambitious and epic and so expensive-looking. The Departed with bat-gadgets. I want overturned big rigs!"
· Revolutionary Road: "Screenwriter Justin Haythe digests Richard Yates's piercing dialogue into compact, Oscar-clip-compatible bursts. A quasi-pedigreed patina reveling in excruciating emotional turmoil. $40 million of DreamWorks' money!"
· Milk: "Well-made prestige Oscar bait. Sean Penn deserves credit for appearing likable on screen! I'm a gay man, and you're not."
· Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: "It was engaging-ish. This is no ordinary quartz skull that looks like an alien head! What about the cactus-LaBeouf-cockballtorture sequence? I mean, my friend liked it."
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