SHUTTER ISLAND delayed until February

August 21st, 2009 at 03:19pm Will Pfeifer

Bad news for Martin Scorsese fans (including me): Paramount has giving his latest film, SHUTTER ISLAND, the bump, delaying its release date until Feb. 19, 2010.

The insane asylum thriller, based on a novel by Dennis Lehane, was originally slated to open in October, which seemed like the perfect time of year for a movie with that sort of creepy vibe. Plus, a fall release would make sense for a movie by one of America’s finest directors and a cast that included Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley and Patricia Clarkson. Plenty of potential Oscar nominees in there, you know.

And, surprisingly, that might be the problem. According to the Hollywood buzz, the move comes because Paramount didn’t have the money to promote a movie like this the 2009 awards season. The theory goes that (a) in 2010, the studio’s finances may improve and more money will be available for promotion, (b) SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, the last film to sweep the major Oscar categories, opened on Feb. 19 (way way back in 1991) and (c) with 10 Best Picture nominees making the cut, a movie opening early in the year might have a solid shot at a nod.

Whatever. All I know is now I have to wait four more months to see it.

Here, to remind you of how promising this film looked, is the trailer…

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