Four-time Academy Award nominated writer/director Jason Reitman has two big movies on the way.
The first is “Tully”, his third collaboration with Oscar winning screenwriter Diablo Cody (“Juno”, “Young Adult”) and his second with Charlize Theron, who starred in “Adult”. Theron plays a mom of a three who receives a “night nanny” as a gift.
This modern, indie spin on “Mary Poppins” debuted at Sundance in January to glowing reviews, especially for Theron’s performance. “Tully” will be Reitman’s first release through Focus Features. The studio is releasing it nationwide on May 4.
And Reitman’s second 2018 film is “The Front Runner”, about U.S. Senator Gary Hart (played by Hugh Jackman) and his 1988 Presidential campaign. Jackman’s supporting cast includes Vera Farmiga (reuniting with Reitman following “Up in the Air”), Sarah Paxton, J.K. Simmons and Kevin Pollak.
The film is currently in Post Production, but there is no major studio behind its distribution, nor a specific release date. I’m sure Reitman and Jackman are positioning it for Awards Season, so expect a Fall start. But as for a studio, here’s where things stand:
Fox Searchlight, which distributed Reitman’s “Juno” and “Thank You for Smoking”, only has one awards movie on the calendar – “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” starring Melissa McCarthy (Oct. 19).
Paramount, which released Reitman’s “Up in the Air”, “Young Adult”, “Labor Day” and “Men, Women and Children”, doesn’t have an awards player in the Fall.
And Focus Features does have two, but they’re opening early: “Boy Erased” (Sept. 28) and “Mary, Queen of Scots” (Nov. 2).
There is no clear “front runner” out of those three, and another studio may easily pick it up. As a fan of several of Reitman’s previous movies, I’m looking forward to seeing what these two new entries have to offer.