Awards season has transformed into pretty much a 12 month a year event (outside of maybe a few weeks in June) which means there is news to report about some of the more anticipated prestige players of 2015.
Fox Searchlight announced today that John Crowley's acclaimed romantic drama “Brooklyn” will hit theaters in platform release on Nov. 6. The tearjerker was one of the big surprises at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival where it screened out of competition (read my review here). Stars Saoirse Ronan, Michael Zegen, Domhnall Gleeson and Julie Walters are all potential acting category contenders and Nick Hornby delivers another wonderful screenplay adaptation after last year's “Wild.” Screenings at Telluride or Toronto seem likely, but a slot at the New York Film Festival just makes too much sense, doesn't it?
Tom Hooper's “The Danish Girl” also found a release date today as Focus Features announced it will open in New York and Los Angeles on Nov. 27. Currently in production, the biopic finds Best Actor winner Eddie Redmayne playing Lili Elbe, one of the world's first publicly recognized transgender women. The adaptation of David Ebershoff's acclaimed novel centers on the relationship between Elbe and her wife, Gerda Wegener (Alicia Vikander). Matthias Schoenaerts, Ben Whishaw and Amber Heard round out the cast.
Steven Spielberg's “Untitled Cold War Thriller” now has a title. “Bridge of Spies” will hit theaters on Oct. 16. The third collaboration between Spielberg and Tom Hanks, this thriller is centered an a U.S. lawyer (Hanks) who finds himself recruited to assist the CIA on a rescue mission in the middle of the Cold War. Alan Alda, Amy Ryan and Billy Magnussen (“Into the Woods”) round out the cast.
Bill Condon's “Mr. Holms” earned positive notices at the 2015 Berlin Film Festival and now you can get your first glimpse at his reunion with Ian McKellen in the trailer embedded at the top of this post. Condon directed McKellen to a Best Actor nomination in 1999 for “Gods and Monsters,” a film for which he earned an Oscar for Adapted Screenplay. The Miramax and Roadside Attractions release doesn't have a specific release date yet, but “Summer” probably means sometime before Aug. 1.
Speaking of trailers, if you haven't seen the latest preview for “Ex Machina” you can find it embedded at the bottom of this post. Alex Garland's Sci-Fi thriller probably isn't a true awards season player, but judging by some of the rave reviews out of the UK it might make a lot of critics top 10 lists. It also screens at SXSW later this month. Oh, and surprise, it also stars familiar faces Oscar Isaac, Vikander and Gleeson.