The buzz about the big Oscar biz

The calendar has finally closed in on March, the month of the Oscars. But, unlike years of the recent past, when Oscar-nominated films were re-released in India (Gladiator, for instance) and movies were screened to cash in on nominations (Training Day in 2002), activities are on the slow side this time round.
The reason is not too far to seek. Big-time Hollywood studios with a presence in India seem to have lost out to speciality film unit banners such as Miramax, Newline Cinema and Focus Films, which have grabbed most of the nominations.
While Miramax has four films in the fray, including Chicago, Hours and Frida, only Chicago will make it to the big screen before March 23.Similarly, Newline Cinema, which has About Schmitz under its belt, has no distribution deal in India. Ditto for Focus Features, which has The Pianist in the running.
"If one compares the situation with the way things were last time round, there has been a definite slowdown," says Tushar Dhingra, head of programming for PVR Cinemas, "The only film we will re-release in March is Lord of The Rings: Fellowship Of The Ring, just in case the audience wants to watch it before seeing The Two Towers." In plain-speak, the Oscar odyssey will be limited to just two films: Chicago (13 nominations), which releases three days before Oscar night; and Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers (five nominations), which releases on March 28.
"The whole idea of Oscar nominations is that they create a buzz around a particular film. We hope that The Two Towers strikes it big on Oscar night —this will take the film to a different level," says an official of Warner Bros, which is releasing the film in India.
Meanwhile, Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, though it is on the Oscar-nominations list, will have to wait till April to see the light of theatres in India. Gone are the days when the city was treated to an Oscar high for the eye. But then, like with the actors, movie-makers and studios in the Oscar race, there’s always a next time for the audience too.