Although it’s too early to have a firm grasp on this year’s Best Actor Oscar race, a few names have started to pop up, including the obvious one, Tom Cruise (“Digger”), as well as Ryan Gosling (“Project Hail Mary”), Sebastian Stan (“Fjord”), and even Jaafar Jackson (“Michael”).
Here’s a curveball: someone who has been on absolutely nobody’s radar but will now have to be kept an eye on in the coming months.
According to The Playlist’s Gregory Ellwood, “Elsinore,” directed by Simon Stone, is emerging as a potential fall awards-season contender. The StudioCanal-backed drama stars Andrew Scott as acclaimed British actor Ian Charleson (“Chariots of Fire”), focusing on the final years of Charleson’s life and his celebrated 1989 stage performance in “Hamlet” while seriously ill with AIDS.
According to sources, the film has generated exceptional buzz, getting into every festival to which it has been submitted, with several executives reportedly believing Scott is not just an Oscar contender but the current frontrunner for Best Actor.
The film also stars Olivia Colman, Johnny Flynn, Joe Locke, and Billy Piper, with Piper also receiving praise for her performance. “Elsinore” is also being viewed as a likely multiple Oscar nominee and a possible Best Picture contender, although this is purely Elwood relaying internal industry enthusiasm.
Scott is coming off performances in “All of Us Strangers,” “Blue Moon,” “Wake Up Dead Man,” and “Pressure.” If the industry buzz reported by Ellwood turns out to be accurate, it could become a defining chapter in Scott’s career.
U.S. distribution rights for “Elsinore” are still available, with CAA reportedly managing a competitive bidding process expected to conclude soon.
Who's "they," exactly? The Illuminati? The Deep State? Hard to say. The film premiered at Italy's Matera Film Festival on November 10. No reviews have trickled in yet.