That December release never really made sense to me considering I was hearing of test screenings for Steve McQueen‘s 12 Years a Slave back in March and the film was rated by the MPAA back in April. Additional screenings have taken place recently and the reaction, according to Deadline, has been “exuberant”. Yes, a strange choice of words for what I’ve been told is a well-crafted, but difficult to watch slave drama.
Either way, the December 27 release is out and a new October 18, limited platform release is in. It’ss currently assumed the film will have its premiere at the Venice Film Festival and a Toronto appearance after that seems likely. We’ll know about both soon enough as I already know Toronto will be making their announcement on July 23.
As for 12 Years a Slave, it’s based on the 1853 autobiography of Solomon Northrup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and tells of Northrup’s tragic kidnapping in Washington DC in 1841 where, despite being born a free man, he was forced into slavery at a Louisiana cotton plantation until his rescue 12 years later.
Based on what I’ve heard, the film is great and the most surprising performance comes from Lupita Nyong’o as Patsey, a slave who is the object of both the affections and cruelty of Master Epps (Michael Fassbender).
In other release date news, here are a few other changes and additions:
- Romeo and Juliet – October 11, 2013
- Grace of Monaco – November 27, 2013
- August: Osage County – December 25, 2013
- Cinderella – March 13, 2015
- Untitled 2016 Marvel Movie #2 – July 8, 2016
