Posted on 01/21/2006 6:21:27 PM PST by Jet Jaguar
Officials: Film’s absence due to timing, not subject matter
“Brokeback Mountain,” the movie about a gay cowboy love affair that recently won four Golden Globe awards and is expected to be in the Oscar hunt, will not play in any U.S. military theaters in Europe.
And not because it’s a gay cowboy love story.
The movie, which has received almost universally glowing reviews and was the nation’s top grossing film per theater last week, suffers from the same problem that kept many of last year’s Academy Award winners — “The Aviator” and “Sideways” among them — out of AAFES theaters: It was released late in the year by a small, independent movie studio.
When the Army and Air Force Exchange Service selects first-run movies, films from independent studios usually aren’t considered, said John Walters, AAFES motion picture program manager.
Arrangements for first-run movies, shown on military bases within two weeks of their stateside openings, require that distributors send AAFES 11 prints of the film. But movies such as “Brokeback Mountain” — which open on a relatively few screens, unlike blockbusters like “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” and hope to build momentum — do not have an adequate number of copies.
Distributors send prints to theaters in New York, Los Angeles and Seattle, where they think they can maximize profits — not to AAFES, where ticket prices are far less, Walters said, and the audience demographic more challenging.
“There’s a big investment on the distributors’ part. It’s a gamble,” he said. “In the last eight years, I don’t think there’s ever been an independent offered on a first-run.”
“Brokeback Mountain” is being shown on 683 screens in the U.S. By contrast, “Narnia,” a major studio release, is showing on 3,224 screens.
“All the major studio first-runs are pretty much available,” Walters said. “Walk the Line” was a first-run. “Casanova” was a first-run. “The Chronicles of Narnia” generated a lot of discussion and it was on the first-run program, he said.
In addition, AAFES chooses its first-run movies two months in advance, hoping for a movie with broad appeal, based on “studio buzz,” before it can be known how well the movie is received, either by audiences or reviewers.
The timing has to do with advertising. AAFES advertises first-run movies 30 days in advance, Walters said, unlike most theaters, which advertise their offerings only a week or so in advance. Why AAFES must advertise so early, Walters said, “is the million-dollar question.”
If a movie such as “Brokeback Mountain” or “Sideways” does pick up momentum and opens on more and more screens, more prints become available from the distributor, including those that have left stateside theaters for newer movies. Those movies may then appear at AAFES theaters — if they’re deemed to have wide AAFES customer appeal — some weeks or months later, in what AAFES calls regular release.
But if the movie becomes available within 30 days of its home video and DVD release, AAFES doesn’t book it. While “Brokeback Mountain” is due for an April DVD release, theoretically it could be selected for regular release. But, Walters said, “I’ve already committed to movies up through April for Europe.”
The Navy has no plans to show the film at its theaters either. According to its policy, it does not select for presentation any movie that is more than seven weeks old, according to Ron Rossman, director of the Navy Motion Picture Service.
“Brokeback Mountain” is currently in its sixth week of release.
Yeah those gay cowboy movies are so popular these days. lol
Really crap movies have sold more tickets in an opening weekend than this crap shooting sheepherder movie has.
"Sheepherders are NOT cowboys."
Amen! and if the idiots don't even know that difference how could anything else about the stupid movie be believable. It drives me crazy to hear about the "cowboys" and their sheep. A hundred years ago in this country they would have gotten the stuffing knocked out of them if they coouldn't tell the difference. The last cattlemen attack on sheepmen in this country occured in 1909, and believe me they knew the difference.
Oh the other hand if you don't know the difference between males and females..............
Okay, I'm tired of "Brokeback Mountain" being called a "gay cowboy" movie. They're SHEEPHERDERS. Obviously, this would open up too many jokes.
Yeah, it's the nation's top gross-out film of the week. Or maybe of the decade. Century, perhaps. Millenium. All time...
How about "Don't View, Don't Spew"?
"Per theater" is another way of saying that the film didn't show at a lot of theaters across the country, but stayed mainly in city theaters with medium to large homosexual audiences.
...has received almost universally glowing reviews...
"Glowing reviews" won't fill theater seats with a film that turns off the average person. Most people I know, both young and old, won't go to see it, nor do they have any plans to by the DVD.
Now that they are advertising this propaganda/brain-washing on tv, the VO talks about romance etc. but the cuts all make it look like the romance is between the men and their wives/girl friends.
Needing the box office in straight cities/communities, they know they have to appeal to females, so they're promoting hetero romance and scenery in their previews.
Doubt it will fly as a chick flick.
I prefer either "Buttbuddy Mountain" or "Barecrack Mounting" myself.
Can't win on the field of play, just move the goal post.
Yup I will bet that movie, Brokback Mountain, is at that top of their list of movies to see.
I'm currently overseas, retired military but working out of a air force base. If you brought Brokeback in...there would be about 40 people to show up to watch the one and only evening show...mostly school teachers and teenage dependents. The exchange service wouldn't make enough money to make it a major showing.
And I'm willing to guess that throughout small-town America...its the same story. In the state of Alabma...its probably showing in Birmingham, Mobile, and Huntsville...for 3 or 4 days, and then moves on. This blaze of claimed viewership...probably is a California thing only.
I would guess that in communities not in the grip of BDS it would be a flop. I've also heard rumors of "phantom" ticket buyers intent on inflating "Per Screen" numbers.
Much easier if you're on a small number of screens.
Kind of like taking the odds on a long-shot horse at the track from 40 to 1 to 10 to 1 with a single $5000 dollar bet.
Yes, that was a great movie. I wait until they are on tv or at least dvd. It is some 50 miles to a town where there is a theater in this area, so I'd have to be really inspired to want to see one. This movie ain't it!
Hey, keep the homophobic sports comments to yourself. :D
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