Hopefully you've enjoyed the first couple of days of coverage from Cannes as we have a trio of correspondents on hand. Between Greg, Guy and Drew, few stones are likely to be left unturned. One of the goodies on display will be another look ahead at The Weinstein Company's fall offerings.
Harvey Weinstein first gave this a shot two years back with a big event featuring footage from “Django Unchained,” “Silver Linings Playbook” and “The Master.” It's interesting in hindsight that of the three, it was “Silver Linings Playbook” that drew the more muted response, with many seeing it as simply a broad comedy. I'm not saying it turn out to be just that, but it certainly found its way in the editing over the next couple of months before landing at Toronto as a bonafide Oscar player.
Last year the event doubled in size as Harvey showed off goodies from “Lee Daniels' The Butler,” “The Grandmaster,” “One Chance,” “August: Osage County” and “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.” You'll also recall he had Nicole Kidman in tow to help pre-hype “Grace of Monaco,” which went on to open this year's fest and promptly die on Wednesday.
So what does he have in store this time? According to Deadline, Friday's presentation will feature a preview reel with material from “Begin Again” (nee “Cann a Song Save Your Life?”), “The Giver” and “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.” The newly whittled-down “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby,” playing in the Un Certain Regard section of the fest, will get a new trailer as well.
Also presenting new trailers are Ted Melfi's “St. Vincent De Van Nuys,” Tim Burton's “Big Eyes” and Saul Dibb's “Suite Française,” and “Paddington,” while Morten Tyldum's “The Imitation Game” will present a clip.
Finally, there will be an “in production” montage of stills from Antoine Fuqua's “Southpaw,” Justin Chadwick's 'Tulip Fever” and Simon Curtis' “The Woman in Gold.”
Suffice it to say, that's a bigger smorgasbord of Weinstein wares than we've seen at Cannes yet. When the dust settles on the event, maybe – just maybe – there will finally be some serious grass on the awards season playing field.