'August: Osage County' release delayed until Christmas Day
By MICHAEL SMITH World Scene Writer on Jun 22, 2013, at 2:00 AM Updated on 6/22/13 at 6:54 AM
We're going to have to wait a little longer to see the big-name stars as well as the Osage County, downtown Pawhuska and Bartlesville locales featured in "August: Osage County."
The Weinstein Company has shifted the film's release date to Dec. 25, and it will be among a crowded field of movies coming out for the holiday.
The original Nov. 8 date had the movie based on Tulsa native Tracy Letts' prize-winning play opening against "Thor: Dark World" and "About Time," a comedy from Richard Curtis ("Love Actually") that stars Rachel McAdams.
"August: Osage County" will now open against the Ben Stiller comedy "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"; the Tom Clancy-movie reboot "Jack Ryan" with Chris Pine; and the Keanu Reeves action-drama "47 Ronin."
This would appear to be a sound move for the film, as "August: Osage County" producers George Clooney and Grant Heslov took home Oscars last year for "Argo" and are looking to repeat.
Recent history is showing that the later your film comes out in the year, the more notice for awards your film receives, despite that making no sense whatsoever in regard to quality.
The later date also means fresh buzz once awards start being handed out in late December.
The October-released "Argo" won last year, with a big boost from fresh buzz after the Oscar nominations were released, when director Ben Affleck was snubbed in the directing category.
The upside in all of this is that the studio and the filmmakers have the kind of confidence in "August: Osage County" that they are willing to release it amid many other films and still expect it to shine.
Original Print Headline: 'August: Osage County' gets Christmas Day release date
