Go to Variety.com this morning, and chances are you’ll be greeted by a full-page For Your Consideration ad on behalf of The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford. Which is interesting, considering that when the film premiered in September, Warner Brothers all but declined to promote it, spending the bare minimum on advertising and making it virtually impossible for non-coastal critics to write reviews. Whether it’s a last-ditch salvage job or it was part of the plan all along, maybe Warner Brothers understands that this is a film with limited mainstream appeal that nonetheless deserves a chance to play in the awards game?
Maybe, maybe not. For me, the overall takeaway from the ad (I took a screencap and pasted it above, just to make sure it wasn’t an early morning hallucination) is that the studio is still working against the movie’s strengths. Looking what they’re specifically flogging in the ad: Andrew Dominik for Best Adapted Screenplay, at the exclusion of Roger Deakins for Cinematography, which should be a lock? Sounds like a contractual obligation. Maybe more egregiously, the ad has room for the names of five producers, but no push for Casey Affleck as Best Supporting Actor?

I know, I know––gift horse, mouth, blah blah blah. Tell me why I’m wrong in the comments.