Film is expected to be in contention at the Oscars.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: The upcoming film Foxcatcher, which is coming off immense critical buzz from this year’s Cannes Film Festival, has been acquired by PVR Cinemas for distribution in India.
In announcing the acquisition of Indian distribution rights to the film, PVR Joint Managing Director Sanjeev Kumar Bijli told the Press Trust of India that he will try to make sure that the film’s Indian release date is the same as, if not very close to, its November 14 release date here in the US. The movie will be released on 50-60 screens in India, Bijli said.
The film has long been on the lips of many Oscar prognosticators as potentially a major awards player later this year. Originally meant for release in 2013, it was postponed by distributor Sony Pictures Classic by one year, presumably to give it a better chance at winning awards after the 2013 season became crowded by Gravity, 12 Years a Slave, and Dallas Buyers Club, among others.
The film is based on the true story of John Eleuthere du Pont, played in the film by Steve Carrell (“The Office”) in a rare dramatic performance. A wealthy multi-millionaire of French ancestry, du Pont operated the Foxcatcher Farm in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, which was used as a training facility for Olympic-bound wrestlers.
In 1996, du Pont murdered wrestler Dave Schultz, the brother of Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum, in the film) in the driveway of his home, and was subsequently sentenced to prison for the crime. du Pont tried to plead guilty, saying he believed that Schultz was part of an international conspiracy to kill him, but the real details for the motive behind the murder remain murky. du Pont died in 2010.
The film Foxcatcher will portray the relationship between du Pont and the Schultzes, and has picked up significant plaudits so far. In addition to praise for the performances of Carrell and Tatum, who has seen his star rise significantly in the last two years, director Bennet Miller also won the Best Director prize at Cannes this year.
The film also co-stars Oscar-nominee Mark Ruffalo (The Avengers), Sienna Miller (Layer Cake), and Oscar-winner Vannesa Redgrave (Mission: Impossible). Director Miller is best known as the man behind 2011’sMoneyball, starring Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill, and 2005’s Capote, which won the late Philip Seymour Hoffman the Oscar for Best Actor.
Bijli also told PTI that PVR will distribute director Stephen Frears’ upcoming Lance Armstrong film in India, as well. Frears’ last film, Philomena, garnered four Oscar nominations last year, including Best Picture.
The trailer for Foxcatcher can be viewed below: