"Slumdog MILLIONAIRE" is a film about the saga of an uneducated orphan who ends up winning on India's equivalent of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." But the story of the movie's release has unfolded more like an episode of "Deal or No Deal."
When Warner Bros. announced in early May that it was closing its two specialty film divisions, Warner Independent Pictures and Picturehouse, other art house distributors immediately starting telephoning around, trying to determine the fate of director Danny Boyle's film, which Warner Independent had penciled in for a Nov. 7 release.
Oddly, one person was absent from the "Slumdog Millionaire" call sheets: Fox Searchlight head Peter Rice.
Rice -- either through Fox Searchlight or parent 20th Century Fox -- had worked on five previous Boyle movies: "28 Days Later," "Millions," "Sunshine," "The Beach" and "A Life Less Ordinary." And Fox Searchlight had released "The Full Monty," written by "Slumdog Millionaire" screenwriter Simon Beaufoy.
So why wasn't Boyle's biggest Hollywood benefactor actively chasing the British filmmaker's latest movie? The studio somehow knew that "Slumdog Millionaire" would eventually make its way from Warners to Fox and that the best strategy (and smartest bargaining tactic) was to sit back and wait.
It's a way of thinking not unlike how Boyle shot his rags-to-riches movie in the disorganized sprawl of Mumbai. "If you trust it," Boyle said of his Zen-like attitude of shooting a movie in the world's largest city, "it will come back to you."
"Slumdog Millionaire" not only has come back to Fox Searchlight, which will release the film Nov. 28, but also is emerging as one of the fall's most celebrated specialty film titles. After premiering to fervent applause at the Telluride Film Festival earlier this month, "Slumdog Millionaire" won the Toronto International Film Festival's significant audience award (past winners include "American Beauty") last weekend.
Backed by an abundance of early critical praise, "Slumdog Millionaire" is now being mentioned as a contender for Academy Award consideration. With its Toronto festival acquisition of director Darren Aronofsky and actor Mickey Rourke's "The Wrestler" (scheduled to open Dec. 19), Fox Searchlight has what looks to be on paper a remarkable end of the year.
