At Book Club last night, we actually talked about heading to see it together - the film adaptation of a book we read and discussed a couple of years ago called The Other Boleyn Girl starring Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman.

Boleyn was supposed to be an Oscar contender, with a release date originally scheduled for December when award season hopefuls try and sneak in under eligibility deadlines.

But quietly and curiously, the studio has pushed back the schedule and apparently The Other Boleyn Girl will not be seen until February 29th, 2008 – significant for two reasons:

First – obviously it’s not going to be making a run at the Academy

Two – January to April is when the sh-t movies come out. After awards fare and just before summer blockbuster season, the studios dump their assy projects out before gearing up for big ticket films.

The fact that Boleyn’s release is timed for no man’s season is telling. The movie clearly sucks. Which means they’ve managed to f&ck it up. Not just a little but A LOT. And truth be told, when casting was first announced, the decision to have Eric Bana play Henry VIII was indeed rather alarming.

Click here for my comments at the time (September 2006)
If you’ve read the book, you’ll recall Henry was well on his way to becoming an enormous sweaty gluttonous monster with a festering sore at the side of his leg. Eric Bana obviously doesn’t match the description, nor does Eddie Redmayne fit the bill as the horse riding hunk William Stafford - not surprisingly, two of the main reasons why the film has apparently turned out so disappointingly.

Click here for an early but scathing review.

So now the question becomes: will Bana screw up The Time Traveller’s Wife as well? On appearance and "vibe", as I"ve repeated too many times already, he is entirely unsuitable as Henry.

Am nervous. You?