So there's this new movie coming out. It was written and directed by Mike Judge. You've heard of him. It stars Luke Wilson. You've probably also heard of him.

But there's a good chance you haven't heard of this movie. It has no publicity, no trailer - not even a website, as far as IMDb and I can tell. We haven't received a press kit, and Tabari tells me it was taken off his list of local movie screenings. (He also tells me I'm not the first to ask him about the movie.)

I can't figure it out. I'd like to think that 20th Century Fox execs are trying a new approach to marketing, letting Mike Judge's fans create their own buzz ... but I doubt it. (Even though it's kind of happening - people are starting to say, "What is this movie and why don't I know anything about it?")

One rumor is that the movie is just bad (see the linked Wikipedia entry), but it's got a 73% rating on Rotten Tomatoes right now - and besides, it's not like poor quality has ever stopped a studio from releasing/promoting the hell out of a film if they think it'll make big money. (Which this movie could totally do, seeing as how it's "from the man who brought you Office Space" and all.)

The other theory is that the lack of publicity is due to pressure from a few corporations who don't like the way they're portrayed in the film. I guess this, combined with poor initial reviews, would be enough to give a studio pause ... but they're releasing it anyway, just not with any fanfare. At all.

Ah, well. Just let it limp through its theatrical run, and in a few months or years, it'll become a DVD phenomenon.

(Esquire has an interesting article on Judge and his studio struggles.)