Fox Searchlight Nabs "Shame"

Fox Searchlight picking up Steve McQueen's festival hit "Shame," (which could easily take the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival awards, handed out this weekend) is hardly a surprise given that we knew the independent distributor always picks up films around this time ("Black Swan") and they were known to have been circling the wagons for a few days now. 
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There have been doubts recently about the awards-season prospects for "Shame," but clearly Searchlight believes there are, because a film about a sex addict doesn't appear primed to storm the domestic box office. 
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Personally, I just hope this doesn't dwarf the potential for "Martha Marcy May Marlene," a truly magnificent, unsettling debut from Sean Durkin. Attention for Elizabeth Olsen is pretty much assured, but this isn't simply a performance-showcase film, it's pretty much one of the best things you'll see this year when it releases in October.