Rumor Has It


Now sitting amongst the ranks of our Oscar contenders, we have our Munich, our Memoirs, our Walk the Line, our King Kong. But one movie that perhaps should not be completley counted out is Rumor Has It. Really, it has worthy components leaning in its favour.

Big Director? Most definitly. Rob Reiner checks in, as perhaps the guy sitting in the background of the Speilberg, Marshall, Clooney, Jackson hype. No doubt he has enough credentials to give the film respect.

Big acting? Theres Jennifer Aniston, the girl next door of the year, whos itching to have a breakout role. Everyone basicly on the planet loves her. With the Friends barrier already being surpassed by appearances in Office Space, Along Came Polly, Bruce Almighty, and now Derailed, she has her own identity. But can she pull it off? Maybe. No worries though, as shes not the only hype actor in the bunch. Taking the male lead is Kevin Costner, who has won plenty awards for directing and etc. for his work helming the Best Picture winner Dances With Wolves, but he has never picked up any for his acting work. After formerly being on the A-list, he has been out of the spotlight for a while, but with The Upside of Anger getting good reviews earlier this year he looks to be on the comeback trail. Also filling out the cast is another up who has been hailed as a guy with a future in Mark Ruffalo, and Shirley MacLaine the veteren screen legend who has also made a slight comeback as of late with Bewitched and In Her Shoes. Aniston as the lead is probably the weak link of the bunch, but its not to say the film can't still surge.

Big industry tie in? In this case, yes there is. The movie ties along its storyline with The Graduate, which as a 'classic movie' is sure to give it a bit more edge over the regular romcom.

Big box-office? Opening on Christmas day, and with the appeal and stars that it has, many are predicting it to have a good run with definite prospects at 100 mil+. Aniston has her fans. With Along Came Polly, she took a bad Ben Stiller straight-man comedy and helped it to 27 mil opening. In comparison, Ben Stillers other straight-man comedys didn't come close. Envy opened to like 6 mil, Duplex to like 3. Now obviously it wasn't all on Anistons back, but she certainly gave it a push. With Bruce Almighty, well that was Jim Carrey all the way, but she provided an adequate female partner. With Derailed, she helped to to an above expectations 12 mil opening in the face of bad reviews. The trailer for Rumor Has It was also terrific. Costner doesn't hurt the gross either, Upside of Anger did just ok in the box-office, but it kicked ass in its DVD numbers. Hes still a very big name, and in a big release like this he will give it a push.

Big studio support? For its studio, its being released by Warner Bros., which is also giving us Good Night and Good Luck and Syriana. While both are slightly in the hunt, neither one of them is a 'super-player' like Munich or Memoirs. Good Night and Good Luck has already been released to great reviews, but it came out early and the tone of the film and the black and white thing might turn off some voters. Syriana is coming out in a couple weeks, but it might be looking to politically charged especially considering its tagline is the crappy 'What is the price of oil?'. Both GNAGL and Syriana are slightly in, but neither are locks. Rumor Has It will already have a pretty good marketing campaign as it will be going for a big bo anyways, and if it gets spectacular reviews the studio might just swing its way. I'm not saying it will, but its not a dead chance.

Overall, Rumor Has It is not one of the big contenders. Its probably not in the top 10 as of now. But then again, Million Dollar Baby wasn't really on the radar last year either, and GNAGL was nowhere until it got its 95% RT rating and solid support. Its got the director, acting credentials enough, a tie-in with a classic film, a box-office, and a studio that doesn't have a locked up big contender yet. The excellent trailer shows that there is confidence in this film. If it comes out swinging with an 88% RT score or so and raves all around, it should most definitly not be counted out. Not at all.

wonder how will this do at the easier to get nominated - Golden Globes.

I really, really think we *can* count it out, Shack.

There's no way that this troubled (i.e. all the production problems with director changes, rewrites, etc.) sitcom episode of a movie, with Rob Reiner at the helm has a shot with critics or the academy. Rob Reiner has, seemingly, lost any aptitude he once had for directing. Did you see North? The Story of Us? Alex & Freakin' Emma?

I suspect the major critics are sharpening their knives as we speak.

If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, but this smells more like a disaster (quality-wise) than any Oscar contender. Plus, Warners seems to be throwing most of their Oscar eggs into the Syriana basket; if they had a contender here, they would know about it, and by the laws of Oscar campaigning, so would we.

I could be wrong but I doubt Warners is so convinced it will be a disaster. It is opening on one of the most high-profile dates of the year, after all.

I am sure it is not a disaster, but I am also quite sure that it is not going to grab any noms either.

Yeah, I'm surprised it's even being tossed around as a possible Oscar contender.

It is?

I'm not saying Warners thinks it will be a disaster (No, I'm the one who thinks it will be a disaster).

What I am saying is that Warners doesn't seem to think they have a contender.

What makes anyone think that Warner thinks this is a contender?

Not every movie opening in the Holiday season is trying to vie for some Oscar nods. It is one of the most, if not the most, profitable release times of the year!

Warner doesn't think its a contender. Thats Syriana and GNAGL. This isn't even in the top 10, probably not top 15.

But if any film can shock out of nowhere with huge reviews and huge support and come up like a beast that noone sees coming, I'd say its this film.

King Kong winning best actor is more likely then this.

or The Family Stone doing better at the award season.