The AFI Film Festival just announced their lineup and, gosh, wouldn’t ya know it, Todd Haynes’ “Dark Waters” and Sam Mendes’ “1917” are nowhere to be found. Those two films now look like they will be the last Oscar contenders to be screened before the year wraps up.
There is an October 28th press screening for “Dark Waters” happening in Los Angeles. Buzz for the film has been fairly tame.
“Dark Waters,” inspired by a true story, centers around Robert Bilott, played by Mark Ruffalo, who’s environmental suit against Dupont Company exposed a decades-long history of chemical pollution. An excellent cast has been assembled for the film. Anne Hathaway, Tim Robbins, and Ruffalo will be joined by a cast which includes Bill Camp, Victor Garber, Mare Winningham, William Jackson Harper, and Bill Pullman.
I wrote this about the film on 9.18.19:
“Haynes is a director that critics have grown to really love over the years. His decade-defining movies ("Safe," "Far From Heaven," "Carol") have only aged more beautifully. However, his last movie, 2017's "Wonderstruck," an adaptation of Brian Selznick critically acclaimed children's book, was his first critical misfire.
As for “1917,” it won’t be screening for press until late November. Mendes’ film is the most anticipated movie left this fall for Oscar pundits. It is said to have been shot to look like one long uninterrupted take. There was a secret test-screening around a month ago which earned raves from two World of Reel readers who attended the screening.
“1917” stars Mark Strong, Colin Firth, and Benedict Cumberbatch and will have the luxury of being shot by DP extraordinaire Roger Deakins.
Marvel's X-Men reboot keeps stacking bodies. Asa Germann — familiar to anyone who watched “Gen V” or sat through “Scream 7 “— is reportedly closing a deal to play Warren Worthington III, better known as Angel.