Could Keira Knightley be angling for her second Oscar nomination this fall? You can bet Focus Features and Joe Wright hope so (and we're predicting she will) as "Anna Karenina" now has a solid release date lined up, with "The Cold Light Of Day" getting a new date and "Lola Versus" now appearing on the calendar.
First up, the experimental and likely to be eye-popping take on Leo Tolstoy's literary masterwork has now been pegged for a November 9th limited release (the same weekend "Skyfall" opens in the U.S.) But perhaps more agonizing for those looking forward to the pic stateside, is that date will be a full two months after it opens in the U.K. on September 7th. Either way, we'll grin and bear it as this one is boasting a wealth of talent — Jude Law, Aaron Johnson, Kelly Macdonald, Olivia Williams, Ruth Wilson, Holliday Grainger — in an ambitious undertaking that has apparently been shot largely on a single soundstage, and yes, those are English accents you'll be hearing. We're intrigued and the Oscar season date likely means a) Focus thinks they've got a contender and b) we'd wager a full run on the fall festival circuit is being prepped.
Meanwhile, the John McClane and Clark Kent thriller "The Cold Light Of Day" has been bumped all the way to the fall. The latest effort from "JCVD" director Mabrouk El Mechri follows a young American (Henry Cavill) whose family is kidnapped on vacation in Spain. He’s got hours to find them, while also unraveling a government conspiracy in the process, and learns his Dad (Bruce Willis) actually works for the CIA. Together they face off against a baddie played by Sigourney Weaver. Originally slated for an April 6th bow, it will now be out in limited release on September 7th with virtually no competition in the way. For now.
Finally, the promising indie "Lola Versus" will land on June 8th, making for a difficult choice at the arthouse as "Safety Not Guaranteed," "Bel Ami" and "Peace Love And Misunderstanding" will be battling for your attention. But our choice is this one, directed by Daryl Wein ("Breaking Upwards"), and written by Wein and Zoe Lister-Jones. Starring Greta Gerwig, Hamish Linklater and Lister-Jones herself, the story follows Lola (Gerwig), a New Yorker who gets dumped by her fiancé mere weeks before their wedding. With the help of her close friends Henry (Linklater) and Alice (Lister-Jones), Lola embarks on a series of unexpected encounters in an attempt to find her place in the world as a single woman approaching 30. The film will premiere first at the Tribeca Film Festival in April. [BoxOfficeMojo]
