Tuesday, February 9, 2016

"Florence Foster Jenkins" set for U.K. release on May 6


Well this is a bit of a surprise.  Most of us were assuming a late summer or more "awards-baity" release date around November/December of this year.  But instead, Florence Foster Jenkins is apparently getting a May 6 release date in the U.K.  No word as of yet when we'll see it in the U.S., but I imagine very close to that same date.

This news does not bolster confidence in me for the film's quality.  I can't imagine what the benefit of releasing it in May has, other than trying to somewhat keep it in obscurity.  May 6 is Mother's Day weekend in the U.S., but since when has that been  a major reason to push films?

I still want to be optimistic about this and yet can only imagine the feelings of absolute dread this news will instill in countless Streepers,  Although the release date seems unconventional, it's possible the marketing team at Paramount thinks this will bode well for the film's chances of success at the box office, which doesn't necessarily suggest the quality is poor.  At the very least we can likely expect a trailer relatively soon, since the release is now fewer than three months away.  More to follow.

19 comments:

  1. Oh lord - so much for the possibility of FFJ
    being of the quality awards worthy sort.

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  2. This doesn't mean the end! I wanted festivals though! My hope is a third Golden Globe win in musical/comedy for this..

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  3. I trust Stephen Frears

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  4. If this screened at a film festival in the early part of the year, it may stand a chance in the awards consideration. But a wide release in May doesn't bode well at all...I think all Streepers can forget about any 20th nomination, at least having a 90% probability!

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  5. Long Winded PessimistFebruary 9, 2016 at 9:51 PM

    Well this news certainly ruined my day. So basically now Meryl will have to sit out all of awards season next year too. So not only do we have NO projects lined up, now we don't even have this to look forward to. Nothing of real quality is released in May, with means this film and role could potentially be extremely embarrassing for Meryl. Ughh this just sucks. I still don't understand how the best actress in he world gets involved with all these mediocre projects AND apparently has nothing in development either.

    I'm already getting tired of all the "next Meryl Streep" praise lavished on all these younger actresses who haven't proven their longevity at all, and now we have yet another year where Meryl isn't reminding everyone why she's the best. So frustrating. I miss 2008/2009 when Meryl was kicking ass and taking names. She seemed so outrageously happy then. Now it's almost as if she wants to be forgotten.

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  6. If nothing else, let's just hope it'll be a commercial hit. To be honest, even as a Streep fan, I've never had high hopes that this will be an awards bait given the narrative and casting (Hugh Grant?). The only tug of hope comes from Stephen Frears as a director but now with this May release in the UK, that tug has disappeared only to be replaced by a more cautionary expectation of a commercial success (at best).

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  7. What if...IF...whoever chooses the release date of this film has a nuanced understanding of what may work best for a film of this sort. Knowing that Meryl's last summer release didn't do super well, maybe the new "senior market" is Mother's Day weekend. Maybe the film is actually really good and they have an obligation to make the most out of the box office and the data now skews more toward spring than late summer? Let's not completely lose our shit.

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    1. Absolutely, I can't believe the pessimism and frustration here! We have heard nothing of this film but judge it on an early release date? Come on!

      I disagree with there being a 'season' for baity films as well. Why shouldn't strong films come out in May?

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  9. Date may still change...? Not on IMDB and no orher news outlet has reported the release yet - Jamie

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    1. Why get so hung up on dates? My only regret will be missing the Venice Film Festival but hey ho. People are missing the fact we will have a new Meryl movie in 3 months!

      Might I add there are plenty of films that do well in awards season that have a non-traditional release date - since when did an early summer release equate to a rubbish film? May is actually quite a good time to release a movie here in the UK and early June in the US would be a good time to pick up a mature audience who get very little.

      Let's keep the fire alive!

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  10. Release date aside, this role, I hope, could serve as a watershed for Meryl's "golden years".

    I'm nervous that she is playing a role that could easily be as caricature-y as Violet Weston, Ricki "Rendazzo" or even Margaret Thatcher. Here's hoping this "spotlight" (to use a euphemism) May release showcases a nuanced role in a tightly written script.

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  11. Long Winded PessimistFebruary 11, 2016 at 2:01 PM

    Well it finally happened as I knew it would. Now Meryl's basically racially insensitive public enemy #1 for something that was taken out of context. I have to stop following Meryl. I mean, I love her, but I just can't watch as she just continues to lose respect. I just don't see her coming back from all this controversy and since she doesn't seem to care about looking for quality projects to do I feel like she's just going to continue to fall from grace at this point. So disappointing. After having a flawless reputation for 40 years, it looks like she's just going to blow it all by continuing to make bad film choices and being too careless about how she words things. I've always admired her intelligence and her ability to articulate things so perfectly but it seems like these past year she's managed to all but destroy her reputation. I know all these things have been taken out of context, but Meryl for some reason must not understand how the internet works. I feel like in the last year Meryl has basically thrown her career away and at this point I don't see it improving now that she also has age working against her and apparently we all have to hate old rich white people.

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    1. Would anyone care to explain succinctly what this post is talking about?

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    2. It baffles me that Meryl's publicists hadn't better prepared her for the inevitable questions about the current racial diversity controversy. While she has the very best of intentions, Meryl is not well versed in the language used to discuss such issues and once again a poorly phrased answer has landed her in hot water. This could have been avoided with a deft, pre-prepared answer. I can only hope that the backlash from this "We're all Africans really"-situation isn't too severe.

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  12. Meryl's poorly worded comment on diversity is akin to Caine's and Rampling's remarks on the same issue - blindsided by their own privileged status as whites. Simple as that.

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    1. I wouldn't say that at all. Meryl has nothing but the best of intentions and like the previous storm in a teacup last year her works are being misconstrued and her deeper meaning loston the more simple minds of the politically correct brigade.

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  13. I agree that Meryl's response has completely been taken out of context! It's sad that she's being attacked for something she's not culpable of....

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