Placing high in a number of our early 2012 Oscar prediction categories was Alexander Payne‘s The Descendants. The comedy/drama will mark the first film from Payne since 2004’s Sideways, in which he picked up the Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay Oscar. It was also nominated for Best Picture and Director, but couldn’t overcome Clint Eastwood and Million Dollar Baby. This year, Fox Searchlight will set him up for another chance as they prepare to release The Descendants on December 16th, 2011. [BOM]
Starring George Clooney, one can expect a premiere at Searchlight’s familiar Toronto International Festival home. While its December release will definitely be limited, it goes up against the big blockbusters Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, and Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked.
Synopsis:
From Alexander Payne, the creator of the Oscar-winning SIDEWAYS, set in Hawaii, THE DESCENDANTS is a sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic journey for Matt King (George Clooney) an indifferent husband and father of two girls, who is forced to re-examine his past and embrace his future when his wife suffers a boating accident off of Waikiki. The event leads to a rapprochement with his young daughters while Matt wrestles with a decision to sell the family’s land handed down from Hawaiian royalty and missionaries.
Are you looking forward to The Descendants? What are its award chances?