It screened for the first time more than a year ago, debuted in theaters last July and already is available at Blockbuster. By most objective measures, "Little Miss Sunshine's" moment in the spotlight should have long since gone.
Yet as countless other Oscar contenders and pretenders went off the rails, the ensemble comedy grew only stronger, and will enter the Academy Awards with a strong chance to win the best picture trophy.
Rather than shout from the rooftops how fantastic its movie was (see DreamWorks' handling of "Dreamgirls," or Paramount's efforts for "World Trade Center"), distributor Fox Searchlight let "Little Miss Sunshine" do its own talking.
The company organized more than 100 word-of-mouth screenings. It sent its cast and producers to host showings at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and pretty much everything in between.
Searchlight was the first outfit to ship "Little Miss Sunshine" screener DVDs to awards voters. If a Hollywood guild or some awards organization wanted a "Little Miss Sunshine" question-and-answer screening, the filmmakers, actors or producers would show up — even for an audience of just 10 people.
Wrapping the whole operation in a catchy, ubiquitous yellow, Searchlight even dispensed "Little Miss Sunshine" cupcakes and hired VW vans to tool around town with the logo "Little Best Picture" emblazoned on their sides.
It may not ultimately propel the movie past "Babel" or "The Departed," but the effort nonetheless pushed "Little Miss Sunshine" a lot further than even its makers ever thought it would go.
— John Horn
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