Wednesday, October 5, 2016

"Florence Foster Jenkins" maxed out

I think it's safe to say that the 'stats' for Florence Foster Jenkins have reached their peak.  With 176 reviews counted on Rotten Tomatoes, the film sits at a strong 86%.  Its score on Metacritic rests at 71 (generally favorable reviews), with 46 counted.  A handful of theaters are still showing the movie across the U.S., but with a box office haul of $27.1 million as of yesterday, it likely will not reach $28m.  The receipts are just barely better than last year's Ricki and the Flash ($26.8m), but the critic responses fared much better for Florence, which bodes well for Meryl's chances at awards recognition.  DVD/Blu-ray and digital downloads are expected in the States sometime in December.  My understanding is that it's being released in the U.K. and Australia this week.

When Meryl said in late 2014 that Florence would be her last project for a while, it unfortunately turned out to be quite true.  That film wrapped in July 2015 and I see no reason to expect that she will film anything earlier than the second half of 2017.  Her IMDbpro page still lists Master Class as "optioned," but that isn't happening.  We know The Good House has dropped off her page (although it's still listed on the FilmNation website as "in development" with Streep and De Niro).  Since Mary Poppins Returns is not being released until Christmas 2018, for all we know Meryl's small role may not film for over a year.  I've seen nothing further on The Nix since its announcement nearly a month ago.

I'm looking forward to early December to see if Meryl squeaks into the top five for the Golden Globes and SAGs.  This quiet time in her work schedule is the worst.  At least we'll get to hear a bit form her at the Rome Film Festival later this month.


12 comments:

  1. When I first watched FFJ, I was sure she's going to nab her 20th. But now looking at the intense competition, I reckon she'll be lucky to squeeze into the top 5. It's not that she's not worth the nomination but her narrative may not be superior to the rest of the field (Viola and Annette - overdue, Ruth - OscarSoWhite, Huppert - first Oscar nom, Portman and Emmma - rave reviews, Emily - first Oscar nom + box office, Amy Adams - Glenn Close syndrome, etc.) But I'm sure she'll nab her Golden globe nom. David.

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    1. I agree with your assessment of Meryl being lucky to squeeze top 5. As great as her performance was, if this year has a lot of strong competition and Meryl gets in there will be the usual chorus of how she has a reserved spot etc. I like Streep the underdog - you just know she's going to come back at some point with something no on expected.

      In the long run I think it would strengthen her cause if she sat this one out (assuming the other nominees are worthy). Definitely a win is highly unlikely and there's little point in just collecting nominations at this point.

      I do however feel if she isn't at least nominated at The Golden Globes it's an absolute travesty. I can't imagine her being left off here though. Initially I hoped for a win but as you point out Emma Stone has raves for her musical film.
      I still feel Meryl should have been nominated for Ricki last year - I thought her work was wonderful.

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    2. I too agree with the assessment of Meryl's placement. I really can't envision a scenario in which she does not get a GG nom.

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  2. Well have read several interviews with Emily Blunt now where she talks about Mary Poppins and how they will start rehearsing in November, and start shooting in January, a total 8 month shooting process in London ,according to her. But still have no idea how big Meryl's part is...nothing official about that, and people are writing that she is in the main cast and not a cameo but no official reports of it. What do you think? This all got signed on so fast.

    /Karen

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  3. I have faith in academy voters- FFJ is way more their cup of tea than RATF. I still feel she will get that 5th spot. There may be category fraud with Davis or Bening. And I am not totally sure Hubert or Adams are sure things at all.
    As far as upcoming projects - I am also having faith that she is near the end of her vacation time and one morning I will wake up to 3 upcoming projects ( 1 of them being Nyad and maybe even The Good House again once Deniro's schedule clears)
    I have read that rehearsal for Mary Poppins will start this fall with filming beginning sometime this spring. I think it has a long post-production process.- Jamie

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    1. Agreed that she is at the end of her "vacation." If by some miracle Meryl were involved in either Nyad or The Good House, I would be thrilled. I'm excited for a new, great lead role in film. The more I read The Nix, I wonder if Meryl's time filming may not require the a same time commitment at most lead film roles, but that remains to be seen.

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    2. My hope is that is Davis, Bening,Stone, Portman and Streep for Best Actress with a Davis win.-Jamie

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    3. Agreed, Jamie. Davis winning would extra special if Meryl were nominated alongside her. Many thought Davis was more deserving when Meryl won for Iron Lady. I hope Davis's role is both large and good enough for a lead win. Looks like Portman and Stone are going to be very strong.

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  4. There's a few TV series that I want her beautiful face in anyways, including that fairy tale mash up monstrosity, medieval fantasy, and the now notoriously scary horror anthology.

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  5. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Annette Bening...she's more overdue than Davis in my opinion. David.

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  6. Looks like Florence Foster Jenkins will be released on blu ray December 13th -which is rather late. But reigniting interest during prime awards season.- Jamie

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  7. Violins Davis confirmed supporting! Good news for Meryl��-Jamie

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