Paramount delays 'Soloist,' 'Defiance'

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- Hollywood's Paramount Pictures has delayed the theatrical release dates of two high-profile films -- "The Soloist" and "Defiance."

The Los Angeles Times said the release date of "The Soloist," starring Jamie Foxx as a homeless violin player and Robert Downey Jr. as a journalist who discovers and writes about him, has been pushed back from Thanksgiving week to March 13, eliminating it from the 2008 awards season competition.

The release date for the World War II movie "Defiance" starring Daniel Craig has also been changed from mid-December to a limited Dec. 31 release, followed by a wide expansion Jan. 16, the Times noted.

To qualify for consideration in the next Oscar race a movie must open by or on Dec. 31.

The Times said the studio declined to comment on the scheduling changes, but the newspaper quoted unnamed studio executives as saying the current economic climate and competitive fall-winter release field could be behind the switches.

Paramount said this week it will only release a maximum of 20 movies a year in the future.