It usually takes Hollywood two years or more to turn out theatrical movies about real events and issues, but the subject of gun legislation in the U.S has been rumbling on for so long, it’s surprising a film like Miss Sloane hasn’t arrived sooner. It will surely benefit from the currently heightened profile of the gun law debate, however, and this sharp social relevance may well have influenced the decision to set its release date for the midst of awards season this year.
Directed by Academy Award nominee John Madden (Shakespeare In Love), Miss Sloane is the debut screenplay of newcomer Jonathan Perera. It stars Jessica Chastain – who has an Oscar nomination of her own – as the titular Elizabeth Sloane, who works as a lobbyist in Washington D.C. As she seeks to follow her ambitions, she takes on the influential national gun lobby and tries to secure the passage of gun control legislation. Joining Jessica Chastain in the cast are Mark Strong, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Michael Stuhlbarg, Alison Pill, Jake Lacy, Sam Waterston and John Lithgow.
The fact that such a stellar cast, and such a respected director have all seized upon the chance to bring this debut screenplay to theatres is surely testament to its overall quality, as much as it is testament to its topical subject matter. The script for Miss Sloane was ranked highly on The Black List before being whisked into production, at which point it clearly attracted the attention of filmmakers and performers who are operating at the top of their game.
For all these reasons, it’s hardly surprising that producers Europacorp and FilmNation are feeling confident enough to push Miss Sloane for an awards season release window, on December 9th, 2016. We know that Jessica Chastain is a powerhouse actress, and the production she is leading here will surely be hoping for Zero Dark Thirty-level attention.
