The costly competition for Oscar recognition was responsible in large part for the collapse of several studio specialty film units and independent production houses, Los Angeles Times columnist Patrick Goldstein contended today (Thursday). Citing studio insiders, Goldstein said that Paramount Vantage was especially hard hit by the expense of running Oscar campaigns for No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood . Of $50 million spent on marketing No Country , "a healthy portion" went to run the Oscar campaign for the movie, Goldstein said. "What the Oscars have done is create a cinematic demolition derby," he wrote, pointing out that studios now hold back their best films until the last 12 weeks of the year, "forcing them to engage in a suicidal fight."
09/10/2008
