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January 30, 2007
By Any Other Name
My sharp-eyed colleague Kyle Smith noticed in Variety this week that "Fast Track,'' a romantic comedy with Zach Braff, will have a new title "The Ex,'' when it opens in wide release, currently scheduled for March 9.
That's worth noting because "Fast Track'' already played under that title at the Beverly Center in Los Angeles for a one-week Oscar qualification run beginning Dec. 29. The only two reviews I can find were in Variety ("half baked'') and a somewhat more positive one in L.A. Weekly: "When it works (which is at least half the time), this antic romp has the off-the-wall, go-for-broke zaniness of that other great modern screwball comedy, 'Flirting With Disaster.' ''
It's been a long, long time since a movie has had its title changed after it's been in the marketplace. We're talking about the late '70s and early '80s, when the marketing mavens at the faltering United Artists redubbed "Chilly Scenes of Winter'' and "Cutter and Bone'' as "Head Over Heels'' and "Cutter's Way'' respectively in a fruitless search for business. UA even test-marketed a drastically cut-down version of the legendary disaster "Heaven's Gate'' under the title "The Johnson County Wars.''
Posted by Lou Lumenick on January 30, 2007 11:50 AM
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