The folks at Relativity are getting their 2012 calendar in order, and that means shifting the release dates of a few movies, and in the case of one picture, moving it all the way to next year.
First up, John Cusack's "The Raven" is getting out of the way of the Disney juggernaut "John Carter," moving from March 9th to April 27th. James McTeigue takes the director's chair, blending (some) fact with (mostly) fiction, with Cusack starring as the famed Edgar Allan Poe, in a story where the author teams up with a detective (Luke Evans) to track down a murderer who mimics his work. In addition to ripping through his books for ideas on how to kill people, the murderer will also kidnap Poe’s fiancée, played by Alice Eve. The R-rated flick will offer up some counterprogramming against the rom-com "Five Year Engagement" and the Jason Statham flick "Safe."
Meanwhile, we keep forgetting about this movie, but Jennifer Lawrence made a thriller called "The House At The End Of Street." Originally slated to arrive just a few weeks after "Hunger Games" on April 20th, the studio is wisely leaving (a lot) of breathing room, with a September 21st date now stenciled in. Directed by Mark Tonderai (”Hush”) and written by David Loucka, and co-starring Elisabeth Shue and Max Theriot, the compact little thriller tells the story about a new kid in town who unearths a dark secret about the new home in which she lives. It turns out it was the home where a double murder took place, and even stranger, she's befriended one of the survivors of the incident. Will this be the "Dream House" of 2012? Loucka did write that movie too, so… We'll find out when it squares off against "Dredd" and "Hotel Transylvania." And btw, that's obviously not an official still above, but a reminder that whoever dressed Lawrence in that getup for the Oscar nominations this morning, needs to be fired.
Finally, hot on the heels of an Oscar nomination, "Rango" is returning to theaters…for a one week run….at the Hollywood Arclight, starting this Friday. So, a very small victory lap for the Oscar hopeful.