On the list of Cinematical review assignments for March
17, there's a line that reads "Idlewild:
Martha." Yes, that's right: the fabled Outkast musical was supposed to be in theaters this weekend. However,
because back in January the movie was removed - for the second time - from HBO
Films' release schedule, that assignment is just sitting there taunting me, much like the brilliant trailer the company
unleashed back in January.Though this sort of pattern practically screams MAJOR, FLAMING PROBLEMS! to the general public, Outkast's Big Boi insists (as you might expect) that everything is perfectly fine. Why the delay(s), you ask? It's all about quality, and he and Andre 3000 are still working on the music for the movie. According to Big Boi, "What happened was it usually takes me and Dre a couple of years to get the music right. When we first started the movie we didn't really have a whole lot of the music done." So, though a few singles are ready now, the duo agreed with HBO to hold the release until the music is polished, rather than rush it out in time for the March open. Now, if this is true, great. I've still got a sneaking suspicion, though, that there are editing monkeys locked in a room somewhere at HBO, frantically trying to fix the movie.
The new release date is August 25, at which time HBO plans to have the movie on 2500 screens. Damn. A musical. On 2500 screens? I'll believe that when I see it.
