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"Grace of Monaco" is moving to March, Harvey Weinstein has said, because "it's just not ready." Director Olivier Dahan has vehemently disputed that, telling French newspaper Liberation that he considers the film finished and strongly disapproves of the cut Weinstein is seeking. (The Weinstein Co. declined to comment.) A move to early next year, as "The Monuments Men" is doing, signals a lack of faith in awards attention. While the holiday season is the one of the most prestigious and lucrative times of the year to release a film, the early winter months are typically considered the doldrums of the moviegoing year. But it also means much more room at the box office. In late December, "The Monuments Men" would have had to compete with, presumably, "The Wolf of Wall Street," Ben Stiller's "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," "August: Osage County," "Anchorman 2: The Legends Continue" and the 3-D action film "47 Ronin." The competition will be far less stiff when "The Monuments Men" opens next year. It will hope to follow the playbook of a few other recent awards season emigrants: Scorsese's "Shutter Island" ($294.8 million worldwide after a Feb. 18 debut in 2010) and "The Great Gatsby" ($348.8 million worldwide with a release last May). Aside from "The Wolf of Wall Street," awards contenders yet to premiere include David O. Russell's Abscam drama "American Hustle" and the Disney tale of the making of "Mary Poppins," "Saving Mr. Banks." Riding in with acclaim from film festivals will be the Coen brothers' Greenwich Village folk tale "Inside Llewyn Davis," Alexander Payne's Midwest road trip "Nebraska," Spike Jonze's futuristic romance "Her" and the Texas HIV drama "Dallas Buyers Club." A lot can change between now and the 86th annual Academy Awards on March 2. But even in October, some things are locked. "Awards don't make your movie more pretty or more ugly," says Cuaron. "You've already finished it. The rest is not in my hands."
[Associated
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