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Jim Carrey’s ‘I Love You Phillip Morris’ back on the shelf

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EXCLUSIVE: Audiences hoping to love Phillip Morris, or at least watch Jim Carrey loving Phillip Morris, will have to wait a little longer. Or maybe much longer.

Consolidated Pictures Group, the start-up that was poised to release the Sundance title, has postponed the release once again. And this time it’s indefinite.

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The movie, which premiered at Sundance in 2009 and eventually played the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes, was originally set to be released March 26. But about a month before that date, the company delayed the release date to April 30, when it was supposed to begin a limited run before expanding several weeks later.
Now a spokeswoman for the film confirms that the movie has been delayed again and in fact won’t be coming out at the end of the month. She adds that there is no release date scheduled at this time.

The movie, which comes from ‘Bad Santa’ writers Glenn Ficarra and John Requa and focuses on a love affair between a con man (Carrey) and his cellmate (Ewan McGregor, playing the titular Phillip Morris), drew mixed reviews on the festival circuit. But it did have its champions, mainly among those who admired Carrey’s willingness to take on difficult (and partly true) subject matter

Movies can sit on the shelf without a distributor for years, but it’s rare for a title with such high-profile stars and a fair dollop of media attention not to see the light of day.

CPG, the start-up that released movies such as the indie wine-making drama ‘Bottle Shock,’ picked up the title after it failed to find a buyer at Sundance. The acquisition gave hope to some that the independent distribution market wasn’t as bleak as some said, but the postponement suggests that it may, in fact, be that bleak after all.

-- Steven Zeitchik

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