David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook continues its presence in the Top 10 at the US box office, almost four months after its initial release. Playbook won him and his cast a slew of awards and nominations, including a BAFTA win for Russell and an Oscar win for Jennifer Lawrence. And naturally, we’re looking forward to his next film, the untitled Abscam project (previously titled American Bulls**t).
The Abscam project will see Russell reuniting with a many of the finest of his past collaborators, with Bradley Cooper and Christian Bale taking the leading roles.
And as Playbook continues to enjoy its position at the box office, as well as the critical attention it has received in recent months, Sony Pictures have now announced that they’ll be releasing Russell’s untitled Abscam film in December 2013.
The film will begin a limited release in the US on 13th December, before opening wide across the country of Christmas Day.
Russell’s next film is based on a true story, centred around an FBI sting operation in the late 1970s and early 1980s, set up by a con artist to root out corruption in Congress.
Starring alongside Cooper and Bale will be Jennifer Lawrence, Amy Adams, Louis C.K., Jeremy Renner, and Alessandro Nivola, making for an impeccable cast.
It’s no surprise that Sony would prime the film for an awards campaign at the end of the year and the start of the next. Russell himself has three Oscar nominations to his name, and it’s not unlikely that this Abscam project could earn him a fourth – and possibly his first win.
Of course, it’s very early days yet, and we’ve got a lot to look forward to in the awards season at the end of the year.
Sony, themselves, are also set to release in the coming awards season Paul Greengrass’ Captain Phillips, starring Tom Hanks; George Clooney’s The Monuments Men, starring Matt Damon, Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Bill Murray, John Goodman, and Jean Dujardin; and Bennett Miller’s Foxcatcher, starring Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo, and Sienna Miller.
And I have a feeling that it’s going to be another year in which many of the categories will be wide open come February.
Russell will be directing from a script penned by Eric Singer (The International), with the project expected to shoot early this year.
Its Christmas Day release slot will see it opening wide against Carl Rinsch’s 47 Ronin, starring Keanu Reeves and Hiroyuki Sanada; Kenneth Branagh’s Jack Ryan, starring Chris Pine, Kevin Costner, Keira Knightley, and Brannagh; and Ben Stiller’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, starring Stiller, Kristen Wiig, and Adam Scott. Given the blockbuster scales of 47 Ronin and Jack Ryan, smart money says that Russell’s next feature won’t be topping the box office when it opens wide. But it almost definitely will have a lot of critical praise supporting it, and will likely have stronger legs, like Silver Linings Playbook.
The as-yet-untitled Abscam project will be given a limited release on 13th December in the US, before opening across the country on Christmas Day. Here’s to hoping that its UK release date will be coming in December too, because this is definitely a film I’m looking forward to.
