When I interviewed Clint Eastwood in June about the status of American Sniper — the much-ballyhooed movie he stepped in to direct after Steven Spielberg stepped out — Eastwood said that he not only had already finished shooting the movie but hoped it would be ready by the end of the year. Last week, Warner Bros. confirmed that timetable.
Sniper — the fact-based, Bradley Cooper-starring tale of a sharpshooting Navy SEAL killed by a troubled veteran — will hit US theatres on Christmas Day and expand on January 16, the studio said.
The scheduling move is notable for several reasons. It makes the film a late entrant into the award season. It means that after the recent Jersey Boys, Eastwood will have two movies in the same calendar year (that last happened for the prolific director in 2008 with Changeling and Gran Torino).
And Cooper will now have a shot at being nominated for an Oscar three straight years. (Incidentally, that’s happened only to nine male performers in history — to the likes of Marlon Brando and Gary Cooper — and last occurred in 2001 when Russell Crowe completed the hat trick.)
The move also comes with, and perhaps sets off, a series of other changes from Warners. With Sniper now going wide on January 16, the sci-fi remake Man From U.N.C.L.E is being moved off that date all the way to August 14 next year, while another remake, the surf stoner do-over Point Break, will move up slightly so it can have more breathing room, from August 7 to July 31.
Other film releases
Though only a limited release, Sniper won’t exactly have a clear path on its new date. Also debuting in theatres on December 25 are prestige plays such as Tim Burton’s Big Eyes and Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken, and broad entertainments Into The Woods and Hot Tub Time Machine 2. And Annie and Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb will have been in theatres less than a week.
There’s been something of a game of release-date musical chairs for autumn films lately. Yet another movie Sniper will jostle with for film fans’ attention on Christmas is Seth Rogen’s North Korea comedy The Interview; That film was recently rescheduled for the high-profile date from October 10.
Shortly after, the Brad Pitt World War II drama Fury was moved up to October 17 from its initial date on November 14. A lot of movies over a short period of time — and now, thanks to Eastwood’s brisk work pace, one more.
