BEVERLY HILLS – After Cannes, Toronto, the Hamptons, Austin and Mill Valley, Jeff Nichols’ “Loving” finally had it’s moment in Los Angeles on Thursday night. The Focus Features release is an awards player mostly for stars Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton (both earned Gotham Award nominations earlier in the day), but the studio still believes it has a Best Picture player on its hands and tonight’s screening at the AMPAS’ Samuel Goldwyn Theater was a more than appropriate setting for the film to make its case.
Negga, Edgerton and Nichols were all on hand as was producer Colin Firth (yes that Colin Firth and he doesn’t have a token “executive” producer credit either), Focus Features head Peter Kujawski, Tom Ford, and Chris Pine (yes, that Chris Pine) among others.
The entire “Loving” family took the stage before the screening and it was left to Nichols to finally introduce the film.
“Ultimately we are all up here in the service of two people, Richard and Mildred Loving,” Nichols says. “As proud as I am to be up here and part of this film it is not my moment. It is there story. They did the hard work. They loved each other when people told them they shouldn’t and that just happened to be enough to change things. That’s an important thing to remember.”
The post-party was packed (more than usual) as the cast and crew mingled with the mostly guild-friendly crowd. The real test for “Loving” is when it screens for Academy members (and their guests) this weekend at the same theater.
“Loving” opens in limited release on Nov. 4.
