The Founder (John Lee Hancock, 2016)

[domino harvey]

Michael Keaton's Ray Kroc biopic will also star Nick Offerman as one of the McDonald brothers and probably Laura Dern as Kroc's first wife

[mfunk9786]

I can see the burger flipping montage set to "Too Darn Hot" right now just by closing my eyes, I've beaten the system!

[flyonthewall2983]

Trailer

[captveg]

Gets a bit trailer-y there at times, but looks good. Keaton seems to be giving the solid performance I expect, but Offerman also seems to be doing some strong work here as well.

[Luke M]

I like it but I was hoping for more bite. Perhaps the fight isn't the main focus of the film.

[domino harvey]

Weinsteins have moved the release date to December 16th, so they must sense award potential

[Ribs]

I am increasingly infuriated with the new trend of numerous movies waiting until January to go wide. It didn't work for Carol and I wish this utter and total failure for trying it yet again.

[movielocke]

I am increasingly infuriated with the new trend of numerous movies waiting until January to go wide. It didn't work for Carol and I wish this utter and total failure for trying it yet again.

It is definitely not a new trend, it's been common practice since the seventies

[domino harvey]

It is a bit weird for this movie though, as from the looks of it I bet it plays better for wide audiences than art houses

[captveg]

I think they initially moved it to August in hopes of decent box office as counter programming to summer blockbusters, but now that tracking shows that Suicide Squad should be a substantial hit (it's tracking at $100-125m) they've decided to abandon that idea. Probably the smart move. Many audiences have been trained to go see dramas in "drama movie season" (Nov-Feb) only.

[Ribs]

It's happening on a mass scale now; it's not that it didn't used to happen, but rather that now they do it to more and more titles. It's a side effect of the success of American Sniper; studios are now rushing to put anything that has both four-quadrant appeal and the chance of awards love in that period. This won't be the last such title this year, but I'm already looking at the wide release schedule and seeing Tom Cruise's drug running picture Mena and Peter Berg's Patriots Day and Ben Affleck's latest and thinking no one will have time for any of these let alone the actual more traditional art-house/prestige pictures like this.

This was originally programmed in The Butler slot. The Butler made its money back but got nothing nomination-wise, even the perceived lock for the long-overdue Oprah. Weinstein seems to be risking it on the same model as Carol's failure of a campaign, and I don't think this'll pay off for him.

(If this wins Best Picture I am sorry)

[domino harvey]

Without anyone having actually seen it at this point, I still doubt this is really going to be up for anything but Keaton, but expect him to get campaigned hard unless this is like Big Eyes again

[Ribs]

I really, really am hoping he becomes this perennial bridesmaid at the Oscars so that when Beetlejuice 2 inevitably happens he can win Supporting Actor for that.

If it's testing real well as reports say then maybe it's better than just him but if that's all they want they really should model themselves off Trumbo.

Also, Amy Adams WON for Big Eyes at the Golden Globes.

[domino harvey]

Variety calls the film a "moral parable for the Trump era"

[mfunk9786]

I totally forgot this was coming, which is probably a bad thing considering the fact that I listed out how many prestige or possible prestige movies are still on the way in 2016 just a few days ago

[Ribs]

Yeah, the buzz from screenings has been very negative, though some seem confident Keaton could still be a player in the awards race which seems increasingly unlikely now that the other players in the race seem to be solidifying their place.

[domino harvey]

I don't think the buzz has been "very negative" at all-- the film's received cautious praise, almost all of it for Keaton

[domino harvey]

What even happened to this? Did it get a qualifying run last month?

[knives]

Nope. It's getting released at he end of this month instead.

[domino harvey]

Article examining the film's implosion-- tl;dr: Weinstein was too broke to release and market it properly

[knives]

I thought everyone knew that already. You just need to look at their release schedule to know they are in dire straits.

[Brian C]

Probably true, but it sure seems as if the Weinsteins have been doing this kind of thing since forever.

[captveg]

Saw this tonight.

Pretty great performances and a good root story are underserved with too lethargic of pacing; it really needed a shot of energy that the material was ideal for, but is conspicuously absent. Not helping matters is one badly distracting plink-and-plunk music score of the bad TV Movie variety. The positives make it worth catching, but it's a mixed results experience. 6/10

[aox]

Caught The Founder last night. It's not a great film. But, it's fun and informative (I know nothing about the history of McDonalds). Michael Keaton certainly keeps a weak script afloat. He's an asshole, but manages to be "Michael Keaton" likable.

SpoilerShow

I thought it was a smart move not to show Ray's early years, and was surprised it didn't keep going into the 1980s. I also felt the exchange of wives was under-developed and not handled well.

[domino harvey]

The Weinstein Co. is being sued over the distribution mess