When the news is sluggish and the domestic releases don’t feel all that exciting, run an evergreen piece. This one, amusing and well-reported and written by Newsweek ‘s Devin Gordon, is about what an expensive cumbersome pain-in-the-neck movie premieres have become in the eyes of studio publicists and talent-reppers. I knew that “a perfectly serviceable premiere can be arranged for about $100,000″ but not that “most cost at least three times that.” The piece echoes the mixed, not wondrously happy emotions voiced in that Variety piece I linked to yesterday that asked whether the big-studio Cannes premieres were worth it. But who really wants to see premieres go away? As Gordon’s piece indicates, the talent would feel dissed if the studio didn’t throw one in honor of their new film. Besides, the industry generally loves them for their ritualistic aspects. I know a lot of women in Los Angeles who would feel lost at sea and without much to do with their lives if there were no premieres to haunt every week.

• Tweet