Brokeback Mountain will not screen at U.S.
military theaters in Europe, reports Stars and
Stripes, an independent daily newspaper published for
U.S. military personnel stationed overseas. But the
apparent snub has nothing to do with concern over the
gay love story at the heart of the award-winning film,
according to John Walters, motion picture program manager
for the Army and Air Force Exchange Service. The
absence has to do with timing.
Walters told
Stars and Stripes that many critical
favorites (including last year's Academy Award
winners The Aviator and Sideways) are
overlooked because they're released too late in
the year by small independent studios.
According to the
report, AAFES chooses first-run movies two months in
advance based on broad audience appeal and "studio
buzz" and then screens them within two weeks of
their stateside openings. Apparently, AAFES film
selections were made before Brokeback had a
chance to prove itself at the box office (it was the number
1 movie in America after winning four Golden Globe
awards on January 16).
Also, in making
arrangements for first-run movies, AAFES requires that
distributors send 11 prints. According to Walters, many
independent studios do not have an adequate number of
copies. "There's a big investment on the
distributors' part," he was quoted as saying.
"In the last eight years, I don't think
there's ever been an independent offered on a
first run." (Advocate.com)
