“Nickel Boys”
Are you ready for another heart-stopping Colson Whitehead adaptation? Barry Jenkins already transformed Whitehead’s “The Underground Railroad” into a Peabody Award-winning series. Now, Oscar-nominated filmmaker RaMell Ross is making his narrative feature debut with this adaptation of Whitehead’s 2019 thriller. Set primarily in the 1960s, it follows Elwood Curtis (Ethan Herisse), a teenager falsely convicted of auto theft who is sent to the notorious Dozier School For Boys. While battling abusive administrators, he bonds with Turner (Brandon Wilson) as the pair attempt to escape the compound. Partially produced by prestige tastemakers Plan B, the Amazon MGM Studios release also stars Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Hamish Linklater, Daveed Diggs, and Fred Hechinger. – Greg Ellwood
“The End”
Another documentary director making his first jump into narrative waters is Joshua Oppenheimer, and “The Act of Killing” filmmaker is coming out swinging. His debut is “The End,” an original musical co-written by Rasmus Heisterberg, set in an underground bunker where a family reflects on their contributions to this new post-apocalyptic world. A buzzworthy cast is ready to sing and dance (reportedly), including Tilda Swinton, Michael Shannon, Moses Ingram, and George MacKay. Also selected to screen at TIFF, the good news is NEON already has U.S. distribution rights, so it should be arriving in theaters sooner rather than later. – GE
THE END.
— NEON (@neonrated) August 29, 2024
A film by Joshua Oppenheimer.
Official Selection | Telluride Film Festival 2024. #TellurideFilmFestival pic.twitter.com/9wJ8BF5vXm
“Better Man”
Is Michael Gracey ready to prove the skeptics wrong again? Not many believed in the Aussie visual effects artist turned movie musical director before “The Greatest Showman” arrived in theaters in 2015. Massive box office and a pseudo-cultural phenomenon later, he was seemingly vindicated. Now, seven years later, he returns with another unexpected proposition: a movie musical based on life or the life of U.K. pop star Robbie Williams. Wait, you’re not familiar? Best known in Britain and Australia, and initially as a member of the boy band Take That, Williams has sold 75 million records worldwide. A younger Williams will be portrayed by Jonno Davies, and, at some point in the film, Williams will portray himself (we think). Paramount Pictures has domestic rights to the movie, which, in theory, will be arriving in theaters on Dec. 26. The film will also be screening at TIFF, but at publication, there isn’t one official image, and very little is known about the project beyond its cast and logline. That means most of the Telluride faithful will have the surprise of going in blind. The film opens in select theatres on December 25, and nationwide on January 17, 2025. – GE
“The Piano Lesson”
A third acclaimed August Wilson play is coming to the big screen. Well, it’s coming to Netflix, so whether it’s on a big screen is on you. That being said, audiences at Telluride (and eventually TIFF) will be able to view Malcolm Washington’s adaptation of “The Piano Lesson” in a cinematic setting. Originally staged in 1987, the Pulitzer Prize-winning story is set in 1936 as a Pittsburgh family deals with the repercussions of the Great Depression and battles over the ownership of a family heirloom piano. The movie is a Washington family passion project with Denzel producing, his son Malcolm directing, and his other son, John David Washington, starring in a leading role. The cast is rounded out by Ray Fisher, Danielle Deadwyler, Corey Hawkins, Erykah Badu, and Samuel L. Jackson, who earned a Best Featured Actor in a Play nomination at the 2023 Tony Awards for a celebrated revival of the production. – GE