It's a rags-to-riches story, one that snatches victory from the jaws of defeat and teeters from the brink of tragedy to barrel back toward triumph. While that's an accurate description of the story told in the movie "Slumdog Millionaire," it is also the behind-the-scenes story of the film itself. When the film's initial distributor, Warner Independent Pictures, was shut down by corporate parent Warner Bros. last spring, the fate of the film became uncertain, with the possibility of it even going straight to video. Directed by an Englishman, set in Mumbai and partly in a foreign language with no American stars, the film is at first glance a tough sell. But Fox Searchlight stepped in and has carefully directed the film to widespread acclaim and growing awards heat. The success it has been enjoying seems to be for the best of reasons -- people are seeing it and liking it. Here's a partial timeline of the unusual course the film has taken in making its way to potential Oscar gold.
'Slumdog Millionaire' overcomes the odds
Nov. 5, 2007: Filming begins in Mumbai.
May 8, 2008: It is reported that Warner Bros. is shutting down its specialized unit Warner Independent Pictures. Among those films mentioned as being left without a home is "Slumdog Millionaire," for which WIP had paid $5 million to distribute.
Aug. 14, 2008: In the Los Angeles Times, Patrick Goldstein reports that "Slumdog" is for sale. "We're not going to give it away," says Warner chief Alan Horn. He added, "I like the movie. I just don't know how big the audience is for it."
Aug. 20, 2008: Variety reports that Fox Searchlight will partner with Warners on the release of the film, sharing costs and revenue as well as taking a distribution fee.
Aug. 30, 2008: "Slumdog Millionaire" has its first public screening at the Telluride Film Festival. John Horn of the Los Angeles Times later reports, "the response inside the sold-out theater could not have been much more enthusiastic."
Sept. 1, 2008: Writing in Variety, critic Todd McCarthy speculates that the "tasty item looks to catch on in a big way with young, adventurous and merely curious viewers in wide specialized release."
Sept. 13, 2008: The film is announced as the winner of the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Nov. 12, 2008: "Slumdog" opens to critical praise, with Manohla Dargis of the New York Times calling the film "a gaudy, gorgeous rush of color, sound and motion" that "doesn't revel through the lower depths, it giddily bounces from one horror to the next," while adding it is a "modern fairy tale" and a "sensory blowout."
