Some eyebrows were raised when Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” skipped Venice, Telluride, and TIFF. It’s still a tad puzzling, but hey— Anderson has been upfront about his dislike of festivals, and that might have been the dealbreaker here.
That said, I can confirm the film will screen for NYC critics next Friday, Sept. 5, with the social media embargo lifting the following Monday at 10 p.m. PST / 1 a.m. EST. The catch? Many of the city’s top critics will be in Toronto for TIFF, likely missing this much-anticipated showing.
I take this as a show of confidence: Warner Bros. is rolling out this $150M+ gamble more than 20 days ahead of release. But why not also hold a press screening at TIFF, where a large contingent of New York critics will already be? It would make perfect sense.
Criterion's December lineup has some great additions to the library, but the title that jumped out at me is Werner Herzog's "Grizzly Man," which officially joins the Collection on December 8.