George Clooney's 'Monuments Men' Gets Oscar-Ready Release Date; Spring Set For Malick, Almodóvar & More

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by Kevin Jagernauth
December 7, 2012 4:23 PM
4 Comments

Well, duh. A WWII story with a cast that includes Daniel Craig, Cate Blanchett, Bill Murray, Jean Dujardin, John Goodman, Matt Damon Hugh Bonneville, and Bob Balaban, George Clooney's "Monuments Men" (which he'll also take a role in) is now slated for a "Hey-pay-attention-to-me-awards-season" date of December 20, 2013. The picture is a big-budget adaptation of Robert M. Edsel's "The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History," that tells the true story of a hand-picked group of American and British art experts chosen by the U.S. government to try to retrieve artwork stolen by the Nazis. So file it under the "Argo" slot of highly entertaining, thrilling true history and then wonder why we always have to cram these movies together in December as the picture will be opening against another awards heavyweight on the same weekend, "Saving Mr. Banks," with Tom Hanks as Walt Disney.

Meanwhile, this spring brings to screens a few auteurs. An April date was previously reported to be in the cards and now FilmNation says Terrence Malick's "To the Wonder" will hit theaters on April 12, 2013. That's almost two full months after it lands first in the U.K. on February 22nd, but such is the way of uncoordinated international bows. Malick's latest is also likely his most divisive, but we liked it, though cynics will once again make a joke about wheatfields or whatever. All we can say is, see it for yourself.

The production company is also saying Jeff Nichols' "Mud" and Pedro Almodóvar's "Los amantes pasajeros" (also known as "I'm So Excited") are coming in spring 2013. For the former, that makes sense given it already did the festival thing and is now just waiting for a release from Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate. But as for Almodóvar -- is he skipping the festival circuit altogether? It seems so. It's a straight up comedy so we doubt the director feels compelled to take it Cannes, and indeed, with the movie opening in his native Spain in March, the festival likely wouldn't want it (they usually prefer to be the first place anything screens). So we'll see, but perhaps Sony Pictures Classics will give it this year's "To Rome With Love"/"Midnight In Paris" slot. Final dates though, have not been slated for either.

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More: To the Wonder, Monuments Men, I'm So Excited, Mud

4 Comments

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Taylor Jones | December 8, 2012 2:15 PMReply

In March 2009, "Broken Embraces" opened in Spain before its in-competition bow at Cannes in May. So, there's at least an AlmodÃ³var precedent. Like Loach, but more...explicable, he'll never be turned away, unless he like premieres it in Berlin.
TheWub | December 7, 2012 4:58 PMReply

There is literally a wheat field joke in almost every Malick article you guys write.
Yod | December 9, 2012 10:32 PM

I was going to say the same thing. Kevin is one responsible for that lame joke in almost every article. I've never come across it anywhere else.
iheartsubtitles | December 7, 2012 4:31 PMReply

Hey Kevin --- you want to place a wager on whether Pedro goes to Cannes or not?