Few people in Hollywood are as transparent about their belief or lack of faith in a movie than Harvey Weinstein. He isn’t afraid to make bold statements about the pictures he thinks deserve attention (like promising an Oscar win for Jake Gyllenhaal for “Southpaw” last year), but when a movie doesn’t turn out to be the winner he wanted, he’s more than content to keep punting the release date until everyone forgets the picture even existed. And that seems to be happening with “Tulip Fever.”
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Directed by Justin Chadwick (“The Other Boleyn Girl,” “Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom“) and featuring a star-studded cast including Alicia Vikander, Christoph Waltz, Dane DeHaan, Jack O’Connell, Cara Delevingne, Judi Dench and Zach Galifianakis, the long-in-development adaptation of Deborah Moggach‘s novel about romance and the tulip industry in 17th-century Amsterdam, was at one time perceived as a big-ticket project. But somewhere along the way, it seems it was a promise that couldn’t be lived up to. “Tulip Fever” was shot all the way back in 2014, and was entirely absent from the festival circuit in 2015, until the Weinsteins suddenly announced it would be released this summer, releasing a trailer for the film. But that’s where their promotion for the movie started and ended, and now they are kicking “Tulip Fever” into next year.
The Weinstein Company will now release the film on February 24, 2017, where it will face off against the J.J. Abrams-produced “God Particle” and the Jamie Foxx action flick “Sleepless.” And while some may speculate that Harv could give “Tulip Fever” a whirl at Venice, Telluride, or TIFF, don’t bet on it. TWC is already facing money trouble and are likely saving all their upcoming promo dollars to campaign for Michael Keaton in “The Founder” and give “Lion,” their big awards-season hope, a major push. Instead, “Tulip Fever” is starting to smell like another recent star-studded Weinstein picture that mostly flamed out: last year’s restaurant drama “Burnt.”
If you’ve been waiting for “Tulip Fever,” this news is a bit of a bummer. Just keep your fingers crossed that Harv and co. stick with the new release date and don’t move it again.