Rush
DIR. Ron Howard /September 20
I wanted to start off saying Ron Howard hasn’t directed a film since 2009’s Angels & Demons, but I forgot about 2011’s The Dilemma. I guess I could just say Howard hasn’t directed a good film since 2005’s Cinderella Man, but I’m sure some would take exception to that and either cite Frost/Nixon as good (it’s not), Cinderella Man as bad (it’s not) or make some other subjective comment that none of us will be able to 100% agree on. So let’s just say Howard has been rather hit and miss, leaning toward miss as of late.
Well, Rush looks like the kind of film I’m personally going to love with a story that centers on the 1970s rivalry between James Hunt and Niki Lauda. Are Chris Hemsworth (Thor, The Avengers) and Daniel Bruhl (Inglourious Basterds) the right people to bring this story to the big screen? We’ll have to wait and see, but I for one have confidence in both. Looking at the talent behind the camera, I’m going to say this one has an easy chance at upwards of eight nominations.
STUDIO: Universal Pictures
CAST: Chris Hemsworth, Olivia Wilde, Daniel Brühl and Alexandra Maria Lara
SYNOPSIS: The epic action-drama stars Chris Hemsworth (The Avengers) as the charismatic Englishman James Hunt and Daniel Brühl (Inglourious Basterds) as the disciplined Austrian perfectionist Niki Lauda, whose clashes on the Grand Prix racetrack epitomized the contrast between these two extraordinary characters, a distinction reflected in their private lives.
Set against the sexy and glamorous golden age of Formula 1 racing, Rush portrays the exhilarating true story of two of the greatest rivals the world has ever witnessed–handsome English playboy Hunt and his methodical, brilliant opponent, Lauda. Taking us into their personal lives on and off the track, Rush follows the two drivers as they push themselves to the breaking point of physical and psychological endurance, where there is no shortcut to victory and no margin for error. If you make one mistake, you die.
Saving Mr. Banks
DIR. John Lee Hancock /December 20
Obviously we expect Tom Hanks to stand out in Saving Mr. Banks where he plays Walt Disney in a story focused on his 14-year attempt to attain the rights to P.L. Travers’ “Mary Poppins”. We also expect Emma Thompson to be great as Travers. However, the big question is regarding director John Lee Hancock whose work prior to The Blind Side received none of the recognition that film did and some would argue even that film didn’t deserve the attention it received. Has Hancock turned the corner and will this be more than just an actors’ showcase?
STUDIO: Walt Disney Pictures
CAST: Tom Hanks, Emma Thompson, Colin Farrell, Paul Giamatti, Jason Schwartzman, Ruth Wilson and B.J. Novak
SYNOPSIS: Based on the true story of Walt Disney’s (Hanks) 14-year courtship for the rights to Mary Poppins from author P.L. Travers (Thompson).
Serena
DIR. Susanne Bier /TBA 2013
Susanne Bier has delivered some wonderful films, but she’s largely been recognized in the Foreign Language category, but perhaps Serena will be the film to change all that. Re-teaming Silver Linings Playbook stars Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper this adaptation of Ron Rash‘s novel sound like it has all the trappings of everything the Academy is looking for. Of course, without a domestic distributor it’s going to be hard to mount a serious Best Picture campaign, but I expect we’ll hear more on that soon enough and perhaps this one will even show up in Cannes, though Toronto is more likely.
STUDIO: No Distributor Yet
CAST: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Rhys Ifans and Toby Jones
SYNOPSIS: Serena is based on Ron Rash’s acclaimed novel of the same name, which was a finalist for the 2009 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction.
The film follows newlyweds George (Cooper) and Serena Pemberton (Lawrence) who travel from Boston to the mountains of North Carolina where they begin to build a timber empire in 1929. Serena soon shows herself to be the equal of any man: overseeing crews, hunting rattle-snakes, even saving a man’s life in the wilderness. Together, this king and queen rule their dominion, killing or vanquishing all who stand in the way of their ambitions. But when Serena learns that she can never bear a child, she sets out to murder the woman who bore George a son before his marriage. And when she starts to suspect that George is protecting his illegitimate family, the Pembertons’ intense, passionate marriage begins to unravel as the story moves toward its shocking reckoning.
The Spectacular Now
DIR. James Ponsoldt /August 2
James Ponsoldt has followed-up last year’s Smashed with The Spectacular Now, which was praised coming out of Sundance this year both as a film and for its performances, most notably that of Shailene Woodley who came close to an Oscar nomination with her performance in The Descendants and will now have another shot here. While the film may not necessarily scream Best Picture contender, I’m also not discounting the fact we may be looking at an adapted screenplay nomination for Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber based on Tim Tharp’s novel.
STUDIO: A24
CAST: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Kyle Chandler
SYNOPSIS: A study of a relationship between a high-school senior and the introverted woman he tries to save.
