Tampabay.com
JUNE 10, 2009

Parentheses make the movie, I guess: (500) Days of Summer thinks so

Got an e-mail from the Florida PR rep for Fox Searchlight who -- on behalf of the L.A. folks making a fortune worrying about such things -- reminds critics that the upcoming rom-com-that-doesn't-wish-to-be-thought-of-as-just-a-rom-com, 500 Days of Summer -- should have parentheses around the "500."

I'm pretty sure that I cost Fox Searchlight around two dozen ticket sales by not putting parentheses around the "500" in my first reference. I may have cost them more box office revenues by bringing it up. I don't know.

But if parentheses are the difference between a hit and a flop, maybe it should've been (Land of) the Lost or (Speed) Racer. Hollywood types get so paranoid about the littlest things, especially if they work for Disney. Try: (The) Proposal, Andrea of Moroch.

I haven't seen the (500) movie. If Fox Searchlight complains about commenting without seeing it, I'll refer them to my Black Devil Doll fans. But I know desperation for appealing to the Twitter crowd when I smell it.

One tip: They'll only stick around for 140 letters in the script, anyway. The trailer looks decent, though.

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About the bloggers

For new movie reviews and movie news, this blog's for you. Steve Persall, movie critic for the St. Petersburg Times, weighs in on blockbuster movies, small-budget movies, the best movies, the worst movies ever and everything in between. Steve was conceived behind a drive-in movie theater his father operated and raised in projection booths and concession stands. He doesn't care how you did it up north.

E-mail Steve Persall:
persall@sptimes.com.

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