Martin Scorsese's chance of landing another Oscar suffered a blow after his new film's release date was pushed back
Shutter Island, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo investigating strange going ons at a mental asylum, was seen as a potential Oscar front runner. But that looks less likely to happen after it had its release date moved from October this year to middle of February next year.
Oscar films traditionally get released in Autumn, given studios time to launch their Oscar campaign. The release date must come as a blow for Scorsese, whose last film with DiCaprio - The Departed - earned four Oscars, including best director.
It's been speculated that Paramount's decision allows them to use its marketing budget on Peter Jackson's Lovely Bone's and Juno director Jason Reitman's Up in the Air instead. However, Paramount insist the change was purely down to the current economic climate.
"Our 2009 slate was green-lit in a very different economic climate and a result we must remain flexible and willing to recalibrate and adapt to a changing economic environment."