Margo Martindale (left) and Meryl Streep descend some stairs following a funeral service during the filming of "August: Osage County" in Oklahoma last fall.
It was a couple of weeks ago that I told my editor that we might likely know a release date for "August: Osage County" within the week following the Oscars.
Six days after the ceremony, when the Weinstein Company no longer has to keep up a hard-charge Oscar campaign on behalf of its movies "Silver Linings Playbook" and "Django Unchained" (both winners), they are looking ahead to their Oscar lineup for the coming year.
"August: Osage County" has been scheduled for release on Nov. 8, a prime spot from which to position the film for the awards season. Will it arrive in Tulsa on that date? Hard to tell.
While the picture has the incredible cast to open wide, it feels like an awards platform plan might be in order, with a New York/Los Angeles opening on that Nov. 8 date and then going wide for, perhaps, the week of Thanksgiving.
If you recall, "Silver Linings Playbook" opened Nov. 16 in a small release, but did not reach Tulsa until the week of Christmas, to the chagrin of many.
But who says that if the company thought it was important to film "Osage County" in Osage County, that they might not stage a premiere of some sort in our area or at least let Tulsa in on the Nov. 8 date with a couple of the largest markets.
The movie that was filmed in Osage County and the Bartlesville area in September through November is expected to be a major player at the next Oscars.
Expectations for the movie are so high that it will be a disappointment if Meryl Streep isn't nominated for best actress as the pill-popping matriarch of the family depicted in Tulsa native Tracy Letts' award-winning play.
The same may be said of Julia Roberts as the oldest daughter of Streep's character, a role that is perfect for framing Roberts' return to awards-caliber acting.
At the 2008 Tony Awards, Letts took home the prize for best play, and "August: Osage County" also won for best actress (the Streep role), the equivalent of best supporting actress (the role of the sister to Streep's character, being played in the film by Margo Martindale) and best director. There were five wins in seven Tony nominations. That's in addition to a Pulitzer Prize for Letts.
The "August: Osage County" cast also includes Chris Cooper, Benedict Cumberbatch, Juliette Lewis, Ewan McGregor, Abigail Breslin, Dermot Mulroney, Julianne Nicholson, Sam Shepard and Misty Upham.
Of course, Harvey Weinstein won't have to put all of his campaigning into "August: Osage County," as the studio released the opening dates for four films later this year. All must be considered contenders at this point.
They include: "Fruitvale" (the Sundance Film Festival winner of both the audience and grand jury prizes) for Oct. 18; "August: Osage County" for Nov. 8; "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom" (a biopic starring "Luther" lead Idris Elba) for Nov. 29; and "Grace of Monaco" (the Grace Kelly biopic, with Nicole Kidman portraying the actress who would become a princess) on Dec. 27.
