I was planning to see a bunch of awards contenders in the coming two months, but my hopes are quickly fading.

As reported by Variety, Paramount Pictures decided to push back Joe Wright’s upcoming drama “The Soloist” to March 13, 2009. The film starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx was originally scheduled to hit Nov. 21, 2008.

For Paramount, money is apparently more important right now than a shot at some serious awards. The trade says the studio saves many millions by moving the flick’s release date to next year.

But that’s not all. Paramount is also postponing Edward Zwick’s upcoming war drama “Defiance,” which was scheduled to open Dec. 12. The film will open in limited release Dec. 31 to qualify for an Oscar run, but the wide release is now set for Jan. 16.

Release date changes have been quite frequent this year. “The Road,” “Twilight,” “Quantum of Solace, “Bolt” and “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” were all moved up or pushed back from their original scheduled openings.

The one I am worried about most is “The Soloist,” however. Trailers and TV spots have been running for quite a while now, and if Paramount doesn’t step up promotion close to the film’s new date, people will forget all about it.

At this stage, there is hope though. Paramount’s Rob Moore told Variety they will give the flick an “aggressive wide release.” Whatever that means…

I know qualifying for awards is not the most important thing, but I was seriously looking forward to see Wright’s latest work next month. I know that sounds selfish, but with all those routine Christmas flick invading theaters in a couple of weeks, I need something solid with enough substance to help me get through all this.