Well, Harvey Weinstein probably needed to thin things out a bit on this year’s slate and now, after being rumored for a little while now, “Grace of Monaco” has been moved to 2014.
The film had been set for a Nov. 27 release, around the same window as The Weinstein Company’s “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” (and a corridor that has proven a good luck charm for the studio’s recent Oscar players “The King’s Speech,” “The Artist” and “Silver Linings Playbook”). The plan now is to release it in Spring of next year, away from the Oscar race, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The film was part of Weinstein’s big teaser session at Canne back in May, where HitFix reported that it was the honcho’s personal highlight. “We’ve made so many movies together,” Kidman said at the time. “It’s almost two decades of working with Harvey and I haven’t been able to do it for awhile so I’m so glad that he decided that ‘Grace’ was for him.”
Also passingly noted in the THR report is that James Gray’s “The Immigrant” has been moved to next year. HitFix has confirmed with RADiUS-TWC that it will indeed be held for a quarter one release next year. The film will have its North American premiere at the upcoming New York Film Festival.
Elsewhere, of course, there is plenty for the distributor to work with. The aforementioned “Mandela” will be an acting hopeful for Idris Elba and Naomie Harris, among other things, while “Lee Daniels’ The Butler” — a box office success at the end of the summer — is poised to potentially be a big player if it isn’t muscled out by other (better) films.
Then there’s “August: Osage County,” which could be going back to the editing room to tweak its somewhat more uplifting ending. “Philomena,” meanwhile, was a huge Venice success, scooping up a screenplay award there and potentially more than just a writing and acting possibility.
For next year, “Grace” and “The Immigrant” will join the four films TWC just picked up out of the early fall festival circuit: “Can a Song Save Your Life?,” “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him and Her,” “The Railway Man” and “Tracks.”
So cross Nicole Kidman and Marion Cotillard off your Best Actress early bets lists (if they were still there). The Best Actress category, and the Oscar race in general, just became a little less crowded.