Oscar screeners do their part

Weinsteins push Blanchett with highlight reel

By TIMOTHY M. GRAY

Hollywood studio execs have script coverage, so they don't have to read the entire screenplay, and they have clipping services so they don't have to read the entire newspaper. So why not a highlights reel so they don't have to see the entire film?

The Weinstein Co. included a DVD in the Feb. 6 issue of Daily Variety that includes all of Cate Blanchett's scenes from "I'm Not There." The disc shows 40 minutes of the 135-minute film, and includes the actress's performance as Bob Dylan so Oscar voters can see it before casting their ballots.

Director Todd Haynes was actively involved in assembling the DVD, considering it his love letter to her.

Is this a trend? Perhaps before final ballots are turned in Feb. 19, voters could see a Reader's Digest condensed version of Paul Thomas Anderson's 158-minutes movie whittled down to a half hour. ("There Will Be a Little Bit of Blood"?)

Or the 160-minute "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" shortened to "Jesse Jim, Bob Ford."

And God only knows what would be included in the highlight reel of the NC-17 "Lust, Caution."

Every year, some studio starts a campaign innovation that is copied (Q&A sessions, DVD release parties, eco-friendly packaging, et al).

But kudos strategists at rival companies doubt this will inspire copycats next year, because there are few films it will work for. Like Blanchett, Viggo Mortensen reps the sole nom for his film, "Eastern Promises," but his performance might lose something if his scenes were taken out of context.

The point of any awards campaign is to get people to see the work, and the Weinstein Co. has taken an unusual tack.

"It's a little shocking," says one rival awards campaigner. "But if she wins, it's a genius idea."