Less than six weeks away from its opening, Shutter Island [SHISL] had its release date from October 2, 2009 to Feburary 19, 2010. The well-cut trailer has already been building anticipation and buzz for the thriller touted as a year-end awards contender. Reportedly, Paramount "doesn't have the financing in 2009 to spend the $50M to $60M necessary to market" it and "the release date of February 19th... is when Silence Of The Lambs came out back in 1991".
Newsflash to Paramount: The Departed came out on October 6, 2006 and had no problems winning multiple Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director for Martin Scorsese.
Even if Paramount doesn't feel Shutter Island is Oscar-worthy, a Martin Scorsese [MSCOR] directed film starring Leonardo DiCaprio [LDCAP] doesn't deserve to be treated like an unwanted, troubled film, leave that for the likes of The Wolfman [WOLFM].
Source: Deadline Hollywood Daily
Tag(s): SHISL, MSCOR, LDCAP, WOLFM