'Slumdog Millionaire' overcomes the odds

It's a rags-to-riches story, one that snatches victory from the jaws of defeat and teeters from the brink of tragedy to barrel back toward triumph. While that's an accurate description of the story told in the movie " Slumdog Millionaire," it is also the behind-the-scenes story of the film itself. When the film's initial distributor, Warner Independent Pictures, was shut down by corporate parent Warner Bros. last spring, the fate of the film became uncertain, with the possibility of it even going straight to video. Directed by an Englishman, set in Mumbai and partly in a foreign language with no American stars, the film is at first glance a tough sell. But Fox Searchlight stepped in and has carefully directed the film to widespread acclaim and growing awards heat. The success it has been enjoying seems to be for the best of reasons -- people are seeing it and liking it. Here's a partial timeline of the unusual course the film has taken in making its way to potential Oscar gold.

By Mark Olsen

January 28, 2009