r80 quite frankly, much of what's spoken of now... is likely an exaggeration by someone that was barely knee high, if born at all, around the time it came out. (or yes, even someone older). We've all seen this revisement of history taken to extremes in recent years.
It was always going to be a sleeper film. Frankly, the same could be said about many of RDJs projects up to this point and playing much of the same character.
Douglas was the protagonist but Tobey was the central character.. a gay kid that doesn't commit suicide and isn't a camp gay. Frankly, neither was rdj's some of the time gay character (look at how mainstream major films treated lgbt subjects at the time. . . which were bloody awful.) . . . plus that 'relationship' wouldn't fly for advertising, even less now. Also, put in perspective that it came out as American society was transitioning from the sex positive/safer sex 90s to the participation trophy and purity contract/rings 2000s. It would be akin to the problems Saved! (2004)just a few years later would have - Albeit, many, many more reasons as to why and even if it was a far more limited released, ,it was mostly advertised as a Michael Stipe film with Mandy Moore, appearing in that film did more damage to her career, largely christian audience, than if she had become tabloid fodder as many of her contemporaries at the time. . . albeit, differnt issues, especially being in your face about christian hypocrisy and the humanity in flawed people, all the characters being flawed...
The other aspects of the Wonder boys, though, story would be difficult to sell to an American audience. . . college professor and literary hasbeen in a failing marriage, cheating on his wife with a married woman, who is also his boss, the mock father/son relationship for the introverted prodigy in his class that allows him to grow up decades after he should have been, the blunt honest student living in his house that has a crush on him, the depressed and equally unsuccessful editor that comes to town faking his fabulousness... all of them either trying to escape something in their lives or struggling to reach a destination rather than just existing... and Q the oblivious, self involved, successful, ego maniac that we hate because he's just happily living his life unaware of everything under the surface.
I find the people that truly enjoy that film is because they know that situation, or really, more what it's like when you have these kind of festivals and dealing with the 'celebs' in your own social circle... that underlining competitiveness and dysfunction, insecurities and ego, these inane contradictions that make the mundane seem crazy.
in truth, he was the really only easily named, more widely known, actor in the film. . . I would wager they were hoping they could just put him on the poster and leave it at that.
You know, Brokeback Mountain was successful largely because it's advertising sucked... most of the people that saw it only thought it was a western/cowboy film and were unaware of the gay content or other details of the story. I was surprised how many were drawn into it. of course, there were some complaints but not as many exits as one might have expected. So, sometimes that method is more effective.
