Netflix has dated “Rustin” for a global release of November 17th, 2023. With that date, they are setting it up as one of their awards titles.
It stars the ultra-underrated Colman Domingo (check out his brilliant performance in “Zola”) and is directed by George C. Wolfe, who helmed 2020’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”
“Rustin” is a biopic of gay, civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, who organized the 1963 March on Washington — the ingredients are most definitely there for primo Oscar bait.
Most people thought this was going to come out last year, but then, last July, I reported that it was delayed to 2023. I am not entirely sure what happened to it, just that it “wasn’t ready”.
The film started shooting in November of 2021. That’s a 10-month shoot. There must have certainly been delays along the way given official word claiming that production had only wrapped in August of 2022. Rumor had it that there were some reshoots.
A test-screening for “Rustin” occurred late last year, the response was mixed, it’s said to be a token biopic, but Domingo’s central performance earned raves. He could be in contention for Best Actor, that is if a Netflix plays its cards right.
Based on what we’ve been hearing through the grapevine, Netflix only has a handful of films they might push for Oscar consideration this fall: Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro,” David Fincher’s “The Killer,” and Vasarhelyi/Chin’s “Nyad” — the latter one was actually supposed to do the TIFF/Venice/Telluride trifecta before the strike came in and rattled everything.