The Mystery of James Gray

One thing I learned during my stay in France is that there is an American film director of some renown named James Gray. He came out with a film a couple of years ago starring Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg called "We Own the Night." It looked like a generic New York gangster movie, with the generic grit and violence so I didn't pay much attention. But "Two Lovers", starring Gwyenth Paltrow and Joaquin again, opened here a couple of weeks ago -- in fact its only opening is in France, it is not scheduled to open in the US.
Apparently the French are gaga for James Gray. One theater was having a James Gray film festival (he's only directed four movies).
I talked to the film prof I'm TA-ing for and he was simply gushing over this guy. The stories he tells (mostly about the Russian Mafia in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn), the mise en scène, which is apparently more French (long takes) than American (fancy editing). I asked the prof why I'd never heard of him, why America is not interested in James Gray, and he said -- "Typical American. They don't care about the auteur. Only the actor."
That may be true -- but it's also kind of weird. Dave and I saw "Two Lovers" a couple of nights ago. It's a solid movie, based on a Dostoyevsky story ("White Nights"). Phoenix plays an odd-ball -- depressive, weird -- but who has a Brooklyn-boy, neighborhood charm that catches the ladies. Gwenyth Paltrow is bad-news, in love with a married man (Elias Koteas who I LOOOOVE), and the perfect blond shiksa for the shy Jewish boy's fantasies. Anyway, I'm not going to go over the entire movie -- but it's good, I was taken. There was nothing odd or artsy about it.
So I don't understand why this movie, with fairly big Hollywood names, is not opening in the US. Will it open only after the Oscar season so it won't get in the way of the films that are really "in contention"? In any case, I'm now suspicious about this "American way" that only appreciates actors and never auteurs. I think perhaps this does not indicate an inherent American trait, but rather we are being led -- by industry scheduling priorities? -- to ignore the "auteur" to the benefit of the genre (complete with generic actors) that fits the season.