Plus A First Look Photo Of ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love’
While everyone is turning off the phone, putting down the Blackberry, wrapping presents and getting ready to slow down for the holidays, Warner Bros. is busily making some last minute adjustments to their 2011 schedule before clocking out for the year. The studio has settled on and retweaked the release dates to four upcoming pictures and done some general shuffling around.
The biggest news perhaps comes on the front of “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” the Steve Carell-led dramedy co-starring Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Marisa Tomei, Kevin Bacon and John Caroll Lynch which was set to hit theaters in April of 2011, but the film has apparently tested so well, Warner Bros. has moved up the release to the heart of the summer.
Directed by “I Love You, Phillip Morris” filmmakers Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, from a script penned by Dan Fogelman (“Tangled,” “Bolt,” “Cars“), “Crazy, Stupid, Love” is now set for July 29, 2011, shifting from its previous April 22 date. The film centers on a father’s life (Carell) which unravels while he deals with a marital crisis and tries to manage his relationship with his children. Ryan Gosling plays a lothario who helps the dad get back on his feet after reeling from a divorce and cheating wife (Julianne Moore).
But what’s good for “Crazy, Stupid, Love” perhaps isn’t so good for “Horrible Bosses,” another WB film. The picture, directed by “The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters” filmmaker Seth Gordon, was originally in that July 29, 2011 spot, but Warner has now slated it for a vague summer 2011 release. Both films are two of our most highly anticipated comedies of next year, but if we had to pick one “Horrible Bosses” has the edge and seems darker with more sardonic bite. Furthermore, one of our spies actually caught a test screening of “Crazy, Stupid, Love” and while they said Gosling and Carell had “fantastic chemistry on screen” and the picture was “fun” it also had “significant evidence of pandering to the largest audience possible.”
“Horrible Bosses” centers on three friends (Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis) who enlist the help of a scam artist called Motherfucker Jones (Jamie Foxx) to help murder their awful bosses (Colin Farrell, Kevin Spacey and Jennifer Aniston) when they realize they are standing in the way of their happiness. Sounds pretty awesome and we hope the picture lands a firm release date soon. But perhaps it’s a strategic move and the broad appeal of “Crazy, Stupid, Love” will compete better against Universal’s “Cowboys And Aliens” which is also booked for the end of July.
One more WB date has been adjusted and one has been announced for the first time. The former is “Something Borrowed” starring John Krasinski, Kate Hudson and Ginnifer Goodwin about a Manhattan attorney (Goodwin) who becomes involved with her best friend’s (Hudson) fiancé (”Melrose Place” star Colin Egglesfield). Once scheduled for May 6, 2011, the film has now been bumped a month to June 10, 2011. Probably doesn’t indicate anything bad at all and in fact, likely quite the opposite, but it seems like a counter programming move against Paramount’s/J,J. Abrams‘ “Super 8” which is skedded for the same weekend. The latter WB film is the “Arthur” remake starring Russell Brand. Frankly, this writer doesn’t care for this idea at all. The film is now slotted for April 8, 2011 release which will pit it against Universal’s “Your Highness,” Focus Features‘ “Hanna” and Fox‘s animated film “Rio” voiced by Anne Hathaway, Jesse Eisenberg and Neil Patrick Harris. Best of luck to it, but something tells us the cards are already stacked against it.