Last week, Guillermo del Toro called out Warner Bros over Clint Eastwood’s “Juror #2” being dumped theatrically: “Why was this not released wide in the states?” del Toro posted, praising the well-reviewed film.
Warner Bros’ tiny theatrical play, with zero marketing, ahead of a planned streaming dump on December 20, has bewildered many. Matt Belloni is now reporting that Del Toro’s comments have sparked “Academy influencers” to get involved in the awards season and push Eastwood’s film into the Oscar race. Could this be the start of a movement?
Grassroots campaigns do work, just ask “To Leslie” star Andrea Riseborough, especially in the social media age. Of course, it’s still unlikely that ‘Juror’ will gain the momentum needed to earn some nods, and Eastwood not doing any press for the film surely won’t help, but Warners has now set up industry screenings for the film, which will be announced this week.
Criterion's December lineup has some great additions to the library, but the title that jumped out at me is Werner Herzog's "Grizzly Man," which officially joins the Collection on December 8.