First there was the news that Bennet Miller’s Foxcatcher had been delayed until next year. Then we heard that Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street had officially moved to Christmas Day from its original November 15th release date. Now we have word that George Clooney’s The Monuments Men is being pushed into 2014, with the film now looking to be released sometime in February.
The reason behind the sudden change is rather simple: the film will not be ready on time to meet its original December 18th release date. The move will give the crew the needed time to put the finishing touches on the $65 million dollar project.
In a recent interview, Clooney revealed the change, saying:
If any of the effects looked cheesy, the whole movie would look cheesy. We simply don’t have enough people to work enough hours to finish it. All we’ve ever said, from the very beginning, is that we wanted to make a commercial, non-cynical piece of entertainment.
While I can’t wait to see the film, I’m glad they’re deciding not to rush its completion to meet the awards deadline. The trailers have looked fantastic so far, and the cast, which includes Clooney, Matt Damon, John Goodman, Bob Balaban, Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett, Jean Dujardin, and Hugh Bonneville, is stellar. Let’s also not forget that Clooney is behind the camera on this one, and that he’s given us some great films before including Good Night, and Good Luck and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.
So what is this going to mean for the Oscar race? Well, one less competitor I suppose. It was already assumed that the film would be a major contender, so it looks like it will just have to be considered next year. Anyways, Sony still has David O’Russell’s American Hustle and Paul Greengrass’ Captain Phillips in play for this year. Would anyone be surprised at this point if the former got delayed?
We’ll be keeping an eye out for the new release date for The Monuments Men, so be sure to check back for that.
Source: The Film Stage
