Sofia Coppola’s “On the Rocks,’ which stars Bill Murray and Rashida Jones, has no release date as of now. It was rumored to premiere at this September’s Venice Film Festival but was conspicuously absent when the lineup was revealed this morning by festival boss Alberto Barbera.
However, Barbera says that it wasn’t for a lack of trying. He really wanted Coppola’s film to be part of this year’s Lido. Speaking to IndieWire’s Eric Kohn for a late afternoon chat, the Venice boss didn’t hide the fact that Coppola’s film was top priority:
“It was in discussion until a few days ago. Finally, the distributors decided not to take the risk, to postpone the release date. [According to A24, the film has not officially been dated yet.] This was a title that we desperately wanted to have for Venice. We had an ongoing discussion for months about this film, but it’s over.”
Apple and A24 have expressed interest in giving the film a theatrical release, but with the virus raging on, maybe Coppola will be open to having her film premiere directly on the AppleTV+ streaming platform, especially since Oscar eligibility rules have been changed and streamed films are now allowed to compete for next year’s ceremony.
As for the filmmaker herself, Coppola’s last film, “The Beguiled,” won her the Directing prize at Cannes 2017. “On The Rocks” represents her first collaboration with Murray since they both teamed-up back in 2003 for “Lost in Translation.” Although no official synopsis has been revealed, let alone a trailer, IMDB has the plot revolving around a “young mother who reconnects with her larger-than-life playboy father on an adventure through New York.”
The timing is interesting. The settlement talks will occur nearly a month after the $7 million-per-day ticking fee start tabulating, which puts real pressure on Paramount to get this done.