One of Sony’s big Oscar guns has been pulled at the last minute, and has now been rescheduled for a full year later.
All the King’s Men, a remake (sort of? What’s the real nomenclature for remakes of movies that are based on books in the first place, but the movie is way more famous?) of a 1949 classic, was supposed to open on December 16. According to the studio the film, while finished shooting, had too much post-production to go and would have to be seriously hurried to reach the original date. Apparently director Steve Zaillian hasn’t even heard the score for the film yet.
Are there other reasons? I have heard that the film – which has an amazing cast – is turning out to be a real stinker. Could there be hope that more time in the editing room can tighten things up and make a better film? We’ll know more when the new release date becomes official. While Sony is now saying that they’ll release the picture next Oscar season, they may dump it out in September, a month for films no one expects to do well. It might even be close enough to Oscar time to allow anyone who has a standout performance – the cast includes Sean Penn, Kate Winslet, James Gandolfini and Patricia Clarkson – a chance at a nomination.
The movie also stars Jude Law, by the way. If the film does stink or does do poorly, can we chalk it up to an ever-increasing Jude Law curse?