I’ll be here in LA covering AFI Fest once again this fall. Typically it’s another chance to play catch-up on this title or that, but the festival does score its fair share of intriguing bows. This year, it looks like Edward Zwick’s “Love & Other Drugs” starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Best Actress hopeful Anne Hathaway will get opening night honors on November 4. Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan,” meanwhile, will close out the fest at a November 11 gala.
The press release, in part:
“Ed Zwick and Darren Aronofsky honor us by premiering their films at AFI FEST,” said Bob Gazzale, President and CEO of the American Film Institute. ”As alumni of the AFI Conservatory, both men symbolize a perfect fusion of the Institute’s national mandate to educate the next generation of storytellers and to honor the artists and their work.” David Lynch, who serves as the festival’s Guest Artistic Director, is also a graduate of the AFI Conservatory.
“AFI is where it began for me, and where I return as often as possible, to teach and to learn,” said Edward Zwick. “I’m honored to open the festival, and to join Darren, David, and so many alumni for whom this marks a kind of coming home.”
“As an alumnus of the AFI Conservatory, it’s always a thrill to partake in the wonderful festival AFI puts on,” said Darren Aronofsky. “The fact that we get to show at my favorite theater in the world, the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, adds to the honor.”
[Photo: 20th Century Fox]
Comments
10 responses to “‘Love & Other Drugs’ to open AFI Fest”
I like that Hank Azaria is in both this movie and The Smurfs.
Jake Gyllenhaal is also getting some “Best Actor Hopeful” buzz too so you could have mentioned that.
Not in my circles. Hathaway has kind of charged to the front as the real possibility.
Kris, it will be very interesting if Hathaway gets incredible press reviews ( she is already getting good test screening reviews) bumping ( or equaling) Natalie Portman and Annette Bening, plus great box -office success for “Love And Other Drugs”. This would make a a very interesting Best Actress Oscar race- even more fascinating.
P.S. If this film becomes critically acclaimed with good box-office , 20th Century Fox was smart not to release this movie at Cannes, Venice, or TIFF- because of too much competition and a proper ” wait and see ” approach.
I can’t see this doing that well at the box office. $50-$60 mil tops. Of course, everything is relative and that figure is probably slightly less than what the 5 films currently in Kris’s Best Actress slate will gross combined.
I actually think that anne has less chances to get a nomination than jake because she belongs to a tough category in this years race. It seems both of them are really good but the actor category is not locked at all. If the movie had been released last year Im sure both actors and the movie itself would´ve been strong candidates ( it reminds me of Up in the air ).
Guys, Gyllenhaal might be charming as all get-out in the film, but one look at the trailer can tell you who’s got more to work with.
Just saw Love and Other Drugs at an advanced screening—not good. It had way too much going on, just like the trailer. Hathaway might have been good, but I was too blinded by how tasteless and scattered the rest of the film was to really notice her performance.
Suzanne, what about Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance?
The way some people who have seen the film describe it–it sounds like “Porky’s Meets the Pharmaceutical Industry Meets an Afterschool Special on Parkinson’s.”
Not much to say about Gyllenhaal’s performance. His character makes some far-fetched emotional leaps within the narrative. While that’s mostly a writing issue, he doesn’t really do anything to help. Hathaway is much better, but again, the movie’s so bad it’s hard to really appreciate her performance.
That description sounds about right. It’s just too comedic in some areas, too heavy in others. It comes off as almost disrespectful…