Director Bennett Miller has been on quite a roll since being nominated for an Oscar for directing Capote in 2006, having followed that with the similarly-prestigious Brad Pitt baseball drama Moneyball, which received six Oscar nominations in 2012.
His new movie Foxcatcher has a similarly prominent cast of Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo, Steve Carell, Sienna Miller, Vanessa Redgrave and Anthony Michael Hall, and while it’s still in post-production, Sony Pictures Classics has stepped forward to distribute it, announcing a release date of December 20.
Produced by Annapurna Pictures (The Master, Lawless and the upcoming American Hustle), the movie is based on the true story of Olympic Wrestling Champion brothers Mark Schultz and Dave Schultz, played by Tatum and Ruffalo, and their relationship with the eccentric John du Pont (Steve Carell) heir to the du Pont Chemical fortune, which eventually led to murder.
Going by past Sony Classics releases, it’s likely to get a limited or platform release and then expand wider in the coming weeks, probably in the New Year, and the release date makes one think that they’re hoping to get the movie into the Oscar race following their success with Capote.
Here is the full press release for the announcement:
Sony Pictures Classics announced today that they will distribute Bennett Millers FOXCATCHER in North America, currently in post-production. The film is produced by Megan Ellison under her company Annapurna Pictures, as well as, Miller and Anthony Bregman and will be released on December 20.
Millers prestigious cast and crew include Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo, Steve Carell, Sienna Miller, Vanessa Redgrave and Anthony Michael Hall, Screenplay by E. Max Frye (SOMETHING WILD, AMOS & ANDREW) and Dan Futterman (CAPOTE), Cinematographer Greig Fraser (ZERO DARK THIRTY), Production Designer Jess Gonchor (NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, MONEYBALL, TRUE GRIT, CAPOTE) and Editor Stuart Levy (SAVAGES, WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS) and Conor ONeill.
FOXCATCHER tells the gripping, true story of Olympic Wrestling Champion brothers Mark Schultz (Tatum) and Dave Schultz (Ruffalo) and their relationship with the eccentric John du Pont (Carell), heir to the du Pont Chemical fortune that led to murder.
Millers previous films, CAPOTE (Sony Pictures Classics) and MONEYBALL (Columbia Pictures) were both Academy Award® nominees for Best Picture.
I’ve been discussing FOXCATCHER with Michael and Tom since I began researching the story in 2005 and it’s always been my hope and expectation that they would distribute the film. Their passion and understanding of what FOXCATCHER could be and their ability to market unique and complex films makes SPC the ideal home for me. They were great partners on CAPOTE, and I’m thrilled to be back with SPC, said Director Bennett Miller.
Sony Pictures Classics co-presidents Michael Barker and Tom Bernard added, We always felt this story could be a great movie and we pursued the project the minute we heard Bennett wanted to make it. We are excited to partner with Megan Ellison and Annapurna, glad Bennett is back with us and FOXCATCHER has found its home at SPC.
(Photo source: WENN.com)
