Alexander Payne’s ‘The Holdovers’ at Cannes?

Back in January, it seemed to be set in stone that Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers” would do the fall festival circuit and then get released in November, but things can definitely change in just a few months.

What seemed like an improbable Cannes bow, given its fall release date, has now turned into a possibility. The mysterious Oscar-nominated U.S. director in Cannes competition, that no trade has spoken about, is NOT Richard Linklater or Ethan Coen.

Payne’s “The Holdovers” going to Cannes would be a wonderful addition to a stacked competition lineup that will most likely include Wes Anderson, Yorgos Lanthimos, Todd Haynes, Alice Rohrwacher, Jeff Nichols, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Michel Franco, Robin Campillo, Ken Loach, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Matteo Garrone, Abdherrane Sissako and more.

Let’s hope Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest” sneaks in there as well.

Back in August, I had mentioned some surprising, but VERY welcome news. Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers” was test-screened to enthusiastic reactions in Los Angeles. As someone had told me, it was a total return to form for Payne in what was being described as a smaller-scaled film.

The following month, “The Holdovers” privately screened for buyers on a Sunday at the Scotiabank Theatre in Toronto, with, as The Wrap reported, one attendee left feeling that he had seen the best movie playing at the festival, even though it wasn’t part of the official selection at TIFF.

Not many people knew the screening was happening. Just 24 hours after that screening, Focus Features bought “The Holdovers” for a whopping $30 million. It was by far the biggest deal at TIFF, possibly ever for the festival.

According to The Wrap, there was interest from “multiple parties” before Focus won out in the auction.

We should not be surprised by the buzz surrounding this film. Payne is a great filmmaker with a filmography that includes “Election,” “Nebraska,” “Sideways,” and “About Schmidt.”

The release date for “The Holdovers” is November 10, 2023. We also have an official synopsis:

From acclaimed director Alexander Payne, THE HOLDOVERS follows a curmudgeonly instructor (Paul Giamatti) at an elite New England prep school who is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go.  Eventually he forms an unlikely bond with one of them -- a damaged, brainy troublemaker (newcomer Dominic Sessa) -- and with the school’s head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam (Da’Vine Joy Randolph).