If you thought next month's calendar of movie releases was tight, you ain't seen nothing yet as December 2012 is already shaping up to be veritable car crash of Oscar contenders and blockbusters movies, with one more now stepping into the fray.
Kathryn Bigelow's untitled Bin Laden movie aka "Kill Bin Laden," has now been slated with a December 19, 2012 release. Initially pegged to get an early start with a October 12, 2012 slot, the movie was pushed back last month. Whether it was to avoid claims of partisanship by releasing a such a politically charged movie just weeks before the next election or simply the fact that the movie has not even cast up yet or started production (or both), wasn't made clear, but there shouldn't be any doubt that the film will be a big player next fall.
Jason Clarke has officially landed one of the roles in the film that has a bevy of big names being tossed around as contenders for other roles, including Tom Hardy, Jennifer Ehle, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba, Rooney Mara and Nina Arianda (Carol from "Midnight In Paris"). The Mark Boal-penned film will focus on the hunt for the terrorist leader that ended this summer with a forty-minute battle on his compound in Pakistan, resulting in his death. Undoubtedly a story many will be eager to see on the big screen, but there will be a few movies battling for your dollar that weekend.
December 19 is a Wednesday, and on the Friday Judd Apatow's "This Is Forty," Ang Lee's "Life Of Pi," Antoine Fuqua's "Hunter Killer" and Brad Pitt's "World War Z" will all roll into theaters. And oh yeah, this will only be a week after the monumental "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" opens. And oh yeah, less than a week after Bigelow's movie hits theaters, Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained" and Baz Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby" both roll into the multiplex on Christmas Day. Decisions, decisions.
It's an insanely packed schedule, but we're still over a year away and plenty of films could be moved around in that time (if we were to make a wild guess, we'd wager the already wrapped "This Is Forty" will move up, and perhaps "Hunter Killer" will get out of the fray as well). But 2012 is going to be bountiful for movie lovers it seems, with plenty more still to come. [BoxOfficeMojo]