Summit picked up Kathryn Bigelow’s riveting, intense Iraq thriller The Hurt Locker out of Toronto, where I interviewed the director (below). Jeremy Renner, who stars in the debuting TV series The Unusuals, breaks out with this movie, which drew raves when it opened June 26 in limited release.
Summit added 285 new screens this weekend to a total of 523; the realistic in-your-face drama is heading toward a $7 million total gross.
The film’s first eight minutes, and my Bigelow interview on the jump:
The question is, how will Summit keep the movie going all the way through Oscar season? Luckily, there are ten best picture slots this year, several of which could go to women directors. In the end, I suspect, The Hurt Locker will look like a movie that overcame considerable obstacles en route to inevitably landing on many critics’ ten best lists.
by Anne Thompson, posted to Awards, Oscars, Box Office, Summer, Directors, Kathryn Bigelow, Festivals, Toronto, Genres, Drama, Thriller, Independents, Summit, Video, Interviews on July 30, 2009 at 1:22pm PDT | Permalink | Comments (1)
Updated 11/18/2009
Comments
Great interview with a director who has continually entertained audiences, usually without the need of a large budget. Near Dark, though not seen by as many viewers as Lost Boys, was a much better film that stands the test of time and is a film I watch at least once a year. I think every person who thinks vampires “sparkle” should check out Near Dark‘s band of vamps. Strange Days is one of the most successful translations of cyberpunk aesthetic to the big screen. The story is like a mix of Douglas Trumbull’s Brainstorm, Dashiell Hammett’s Continental Op, James Ellroy, and “Shatner’s” TekWar.
I could rave more about some of her other films, but that would be just a little to fanboy-ish.