august poster
Returning behind the camera for his sophomore feature, John Wells is looking more and more like a contender for the coming awards season with his adaptation of August: Osage County.
The film had its world premiere out in Toronto at the start of the week, and the early signs have been encouraging, whilst simultaneously split amongst lovers of the original play.
The first trailer debuted way back in May, at a time when we still weren’t sure when it would be arriving in the UK. And with just a matter of months separating us from its arrival on both sides of the Atlantic, the second trailer has landed over on Yahoo Movies.
The story of the strong-willed women of the Weston family, whose lives have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the Midwest house they grew up in, and to the dysfunctional woman who raised them.
The cast is absolutely stellar, led by Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, and Ewan McGregor, with the ensemble cast completed by Chris Cooper, Abigail Breslin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Juliette Lewis, Margo Martindale, Dermot Mulroney, Jack Nicholson, Sam Shepard, and Misty Upham.
Wells (The Company Men, ER) is directing from a script penned by Tracy Letts, who adapts his Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name.
Following the film’s TIFF debut, Wells has been speaking to the LA Times and notes that the ending is still being debated. Without going into any spoilers, they have two versions of the finale edited, and whilst the one that played at TIFF had the blessing of Weinstein executives, Wells himself isn’t yet sure which will be screening in theatres.
August: Osage County will be released in the US on Christmas Day. Here in the UK, it’s set to begin with a West End run from 13th December, before expanding on Boxing Day, and then opening wide on 17th January.
