Here”s a bittersweet win for the 59-year-old Kevin Costner: The American Association of Retired Persons will pay tribute to the “Dances with Wolves” and “JFK” actor during their annual Movies for Grownups Awards. He”ll receive the organization”s Career Achievement Award at the noteworthy ceremony, taking place on Feb. 2, 2015 at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel.
Making this a slightly bigger deal than it seems, news comes in from Relativity Media that Costner”s Oscar-hopeful “Black or White” has a solid date before year”s end, bumping him into the awards contenders pool. Relativity made it clear when they picked up the Toronto Film Festival premiere that an awards push was in the cards, and now it”s official: “Black or White” will open in a limited engagement on Dec. 3, 2014.
Our review of Mike Binder”s racially charged drama didn”t have too many kind things to say about the performances or the script, but the film has its champions pulling for Costner to slip into the top five. He could with support from an aging voter base, to whom the AARP awards ceremony could register. On top of the Career Achievement award, Costner will also appear on the cover of AARP Magazine”s “Academy Awards Issue” in December and the organization will screen the film with a Costner Q&A during their 2014 Movies For Grownups Film Showcase fest which began this week. The AARP are all in on “Black or White.”
AARP”s Movies For Grownups Awards enter their 14th year in 2015. Past Career Achievement Award winners include Sharon Stone, Robert de Niro, Robert Redford, and last year”s winner, Susan Sarandon.
The past few years have seen the Oscar-winner (Best Picture and Director for “Dances with Wolves”) slowly climbing back into the spotlight, with appearances in “Man of Steel” and “Jack Ryan” leading to starring roles in “Draft Day” and “3 Days to Kill.” “Black and White” could be the cap of a comeback. His next drama, the inspirational sports movie “McFarland USA,” will open just a week before the Academy Awards in February.
After its awards-qualifying release, “Black or White” will receive a platform release on Jan. 23, 2015, expanding wider on Jan. 30.