"Stick around pal, I've still got a lot to teach you"
The teaser trailer for Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps arrived in January, slyly commenting on the differences between then and now.
As Gordon Gekko is released from prison, his belongings - including an oversized, 80s vintage mobile phone - are returned to him. In voiceover, he remarks, "Someone reminded me, once I said, 'Greed is good.' Now it seems it's legal."
The full-length trailer arrived soon after, soundtracked - aptly - by Sympathy For The Devil. It's easy to get in, it's hard to get out," promises Gordon Gekko.Oh, the irony.
On 10th March, Fox confirmed that the original 21st April release date was being pushed back to 24th September.
Officially, the reason given was that the film was better suited for an Autumn release where it could avoid the congestion of a packed summer schedule, with studios already navigating an anticipated fall in attendances worldwide - if not America - while the World Cup is on.
It no doubt helped that a similar delay certainly didn't harm Shutter Island from achieving career-best box office for Martin Scorsese and a generally favourable reception from critics. With cameras still warm from the end of the shoot, the delay provides Stone with extra time to fine-tune his edit.
“I think they decided September, the fall, was always a better time for that picture," Michael Douglas suggested recently. "It was always relatively unrealistic for a picture that was finishing shooting just before Christmas to be released in April."
Meanwhile, industry insiders such as Variety reported rumours that another reason for the postponed release was the possibility of a prestigious slot at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.
On 15th April, that speculation turned out to be well-founded, as Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps was announced as Cannes' closing night gala premiere.
Amazingly, it's Stone's first film to strut its stuff on the Croisette - proof, if any more were needed, that Gordon Gekko remains a significant cultural force. Greed, for want of a better word, est bon.
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps premieres on Sunday, 23rd May.
Like This? Then try...
Sign up for our free weekly newsletter here.
Follow us on Twitter here.
Comments