Don't cry for Harvey Weinstein. The venerable mini-major movie tycoon may have just discovered he has a potential art house hit on his hands.
The Weinstein Company is distributing Justin Kurzel's “Macbeth” in the United States, but Studio Canal UK, who originally financed it, released the world's first teaser for it this morning and got a buzzworthy reception. Over eight hours after the trailer's debut, “Macbeth” was still trending worldwide on Twitter. That's pretty remarkable for yet another adaptation of William Shakespeare's 400-year-old play. A lot of that has to do with the appeal of the film's stars, Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard, and Kurzel's stunning visuals.
Frankly, much of the credit for the film's look actually has to go to cinematographer Adam Arkapaw. With recent credits including “Animal Kingdom,” the first season of HBO's “True Detective” and “Top of the Lake” (he won Emmy Awards for the latter), the DP is making quite a name for himself. Kurzel's “Macbeth” has some issues including a screenplay that feels like it takes some of the meat out of Shakespeare's original work, but no one will criticize the incredible world the filmmakers have placed it in.
Oh, and it's hard to go wrong with Fassbender and Cotillard, either.
For more on the movie read my review from the Cannes Film Festival here. You can enjoy the teaser embedded at the top of this post.
“Macbeth” is currently undated in the United States, but we're guessing that may change very, very soon.