3:10 will arrive a bit earlier

This just in from Pamela McClintock of Variety: The much-buzzed-about Western 3:10 to Yuma will open Sept. 7 -- not Oct. 5, as originally announced -- so Lionsgate can (a) take more time to launch "a big awards campaign" (i.e., a major push for Oscar consideration), and (b) head off at the pass another star-studded Western, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (which will hit the trail starting Sept. 21.) "We certainly wanted to be the first Western in the marketplace," says Tom Ortenberg, Lionsgate president of theatrical films. Sounds like those reports of rave responses at preview screenings were correct.