Sony Classics is putting together their release schedule for the first half of the year and have announced a pair of dates for two highly anticipated features.
First is a May 24 release in New York and Los Angeles for my most anticipated film of the year, Richard Linklater's Before Midnight reuniting the writer/director with his co-writers and stars Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy for the third film in the Before franchise.
Delpy and Hawke return as Celine and Jesse, nine years after their last rendezvous in Before Sunset. Almost two decades have passed since their first encounter on a train bound for Vienna, and we now find them in their early forties in Greece. Before the clock strikes midnight, we will again become part of their story.
The film received high marks out of Sundance and I can't wait to see where they go from here.
Next is a New York and Los Angeles release date for Pedro Almodovar's I'm So Excited. The 30,000-mile high comedy will hit theaters on June 28. The ensemble comedy follows a group of people who are on the verge of a disaster with the whole film set entirely on a plane. You can click here for a look at the trailer and the cast listing.
The films will likely slowly expand nationwide following their limited premieres, but no official roll out schedule has been announced.
Finally, Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine will arrive on July 26 in New York and Los Angeles. I have to assume they will take the film to Cannes the same way the did Midnight in Paris and You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, but that is yet to be confirmed.
The film centers on characters played by Cate Blanchett and Sally Hawkins with a massive list of co-stars that includes Alec Baldwin, Peter Sarsgaard, Louis C.K., Charlie Tahan, Alden Ehrenreich, Tammy Blanchard, Michael Stuhlbarg and Bobby Cannavale.
In addition to these release dates a few other films have been shuffled lately. Here's a look:
- About Time - Originally set for May 10, will now release on November 1, 2013
- Mr. Peabody & Sherman - Originally set for November 1, 2013 will now release on March 7, 2014
- Me and My Shadow - Originally set for March 7, 2014, is now undated.
- Last Vegas - Originally set for December 20, will now release on November 1, 2013
'All is Lost' (2013) Movie Review - Cannes Film Festival
'Only God Forgives' (2013) Movie Review - Cannes Film Festival
'Before Midnight' Location Map - Celine and Jesse Vacation in Greece
Cannes Podcast #3: Reviewing 'Only God Forgives' and 'All is Lost'
'Nebraska' (2013) Movie Review - Cannes Film Festival
'We're the Millers' Red Band Trailer and Poster
Vince Vaughn is the Baby Daddy in 'Delivery Man' Teaser Trailer
First Clip from Cannes Hit 'All is Lost'
Trailer for Joseph Gordon-Levitt's 'Don Jon'
I'm 41 and I've Loved Only You
I've really got to check out Before Sunrise and Before Midnight. A few years back, I caught about a half hour of Before Sunrise on TV and really liked what I saw. Maybe I'll get those from my library this week.
Before Sunset.* And they truly are fantastic. Hope you enjoy them. :-)
Yup, meant to say Before Sunset. Heard nothing but praise for them.
You're in for a treat, my friend. I just watched them last week. Fantastic!
How many prequels does this movie have and what are they? I would like to watch them before watching this in May.
Before Sunrise and Before Sunset.
Naveen, It's really surprising to find someone who doesn't quite know about the films. Anyways I will help you in getting familiar with it, here's what I call my ode to Before Sunset which I wrote some while back .. http://www.cinemaconfessions.com/2012/08/nostalgia-before-sunset.html
Hope you like it and also, it encourages you to watch both the films.
I'll be seeing Before Midnight in about a month at SXSW. Very excited!
Is there a date for widerelease yet?
I just watched Before Sunrise for the first time last week and quite liked it. I'll probably watch Before Sunset at some point in early April to spread the films out. I'm so excited for Before Midnight, considerably more excited than how excited I am for I'm So Excited, which is not very excited.
I couldn't be more happier that I will not have to wait for long. Otherwise, the wait was so killing me that I was planning to drive down to Austin to check it out at SXSW.
Though i am little intrigued by Sony Classics strategy here. With many oscar experts like Kris Tapley and people at Indiewire already reconfirming my belief that the film has a very good shot at getting few nominations including Best Picture, I was wondering if they could have released it late around fall. But this is not a bad strategy either, because films like these play better in retrospect. They want a conversation around the film which obviously takes time to build, and most probably help that with the release DVDs around the awards season time. Also, since such films are as good a watch on TV as in theatre, I think overall Sony Classics is heading in the right direction.
Always look forward to an Almodovar movie. Hope Allen gets back on track after the awful "To Rome with Love," though the very presence of Cate Blanchett makes it something special.