on 1/22/2022, 3:59 pm
It seems that this needed to get put out a couple of weeks ago to have any possible impact in terms of the actual box office; the streaming services that NIGHTMARE ALLEY will be associated with (Hulu, HBO Max) are not going to be ones that generate single viewing fees.
Scorsese's argument is clearly taken directly from the "political" pitch for the film that del Toro and Bradley Cooper have made in a series of interviews this month. They seem to be trying to argue that their version of NIGHTMARE ALLEY is like a dark funhouse mirror version of FORCE OF EVIL or something.
But a film portraying the rise and fall of a jerk who's been twisted by the scriptwriters into a psychopathic killer really doesn't strike me as a cogent "warning bell" about current social ills. And, as ChiBob noted previously, such a characterization--even from Scorsese--doesn't seem likely to bring folks out to see a film of that type.
(Meanwhile, it's the B&W version playing in LA that added a touch of box office to the film yesterday, screening to sizable audiences whenever del Toro appears in support of the film.)
It's fascinating to watch a small, desperate cadre of folks trying to ram the film down the public's throats in such a manner. Of course, some of this activity is likely directed at industry insiders in the hopes that such a rallying cry will garner the film some award nominations, which might be the film's only chance to regain any kind of real footing in a theatrical context.
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