THE BABBLE IS ABOUT BABEL

THE BABBLE IS ABOUT BABEL

The success of Babel, which took in $365,000 in just seven theaters -- or $52,143 per theater -- had everyone talking over the weekend. "Sounds like people were sitting on laps!" L.A. Weekly columnist Nikki Finke commented. Today's Los Angeles Times observed that it amounted to a "spectacular showing" and has made Paramount Vantage (formerly Paramount Classics) "a bona fide competitor" among the studios' specialty divisions. The newspaper quoted Robert Newman, a top agent at International Creative Management (ICM) as saying, "The company has become a real force." Much of the credit is being bestowed on Paramount Vantage President John Lesher, himself a former agent -- at Endeavor -- who, referring to Babel, remarked, "It really speaks to what we're trying to do." (No indication whether the pun was intended.) Lesher, the Times observed, plans to slowly roll out the movie, expanding to 1,200 screens by Nov. 10, in the hope that it will build an audience from strong word of mouth and Oscar buzz. The newspaper quoted the film's director, Alejandro González Iñárritu, as noting that because the film is very complex and is told in five languages, "promotion is suicidal."

30/10/2006