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SALT LAKE CITY -- It would seem as if movie execs got together years ago and managed to shift calendar dates around to make sure that 11-11-11 would fall on a Friday. What better marketing tool than the uniformity that is 11-11-11 for the day a majority of films are released.
Hollywood has picked the eleventh day in the eleventh month of 2011 to debut films such as the Clint Eastwood directed bio-pick "J. Edgar," and what will surely be one of the greatest comedies of our generation (please insert sarcastic eye-roll) "Jack and Jill." The unusual date will also mark the release of the Greek epic, "Immortals" which has made sure to make the date 11-11-11 prominent in all of its ads.
Another film destined for theaters this Friday is "11-11-11." Yes, that is the actual name of the film. The film follows a man who becomes obsessed with the number 11 and finds out that the date 11-11-11 is not just another day, but a warning.
It may sound like an OK weekend for films, but let's take a look. Many had high hopes for "J. Edgar" but the reviews are less than favorable. But critics are critics and both Eastwood and DiCaprio have pretty good track records as of late.
I'm not sure anyone was expecting "Jack and Jill" to break down social barriers and change the world, but I'm also not sure anyone assumed it would be posting a zero-percent on Rotten Tomatoes on the eve of its debut.
"Immortals" isn't boding well with preview audiences and its similarities to "300" may be too much to overcome. And all we can say about "11-11-11" is that it opens tomorrow and producers have done no early screenings. The only reason studios usually hold back previews is because they know the movie will be horrendous and don't want to kill the film before it opens. To give you an idea, "Snakes on a Plane" had no early screenings. And let's face it; "11-11-11" isn't nearly as cool of a title as "Snakes on a Plane."
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Harry Potter and his wand wielding friends have also taken advantage of the date and decided to release the last movie on DVD and Blu-Ray on Friday instead of a Tuesday like most DVD releases.
Video games are also usually released on Tuesday's, but the makers of "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" decided to wait a few more days. However, the fact that 11-11-11 was on a Friday may actually just have been good fortune for the Elder Scrolls folks, considering "Modern Warfare 3" was released Tuesday.
So, if you have no plans for 11-11-11 you have a few options. You can go see what could very well end up being a very disappointing movie. Watch all eight Harry Potter films at home. You can pick up "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" and play into the wee hours of the morning, or you could just keep playing MW3. The choices are nearly endless.
But let's focus on what is probably the most exciting thing about 11-11-11. The date has been dubbed as "Nigel Tufnel Day" in honor of the lead guitarist of the British heavy metal band Spinal Tap. So, if we really want to make it a special day, just pull out your ax and crank the dials up to 11.
