Gosling and Stone in 'Squad'
Warner Brothers has quite the slate ahead of them. While Dark Shadows is gaining plenty of buzz, The Dark Knight Rises will prove to be a bigger success. Which is good, because the studio needs a great year after last year’s negative press (Green Lantern, Happy Feet 2, J. Edgar, New Year’s Eve, The Hangover Part II, and more). Now, the studio is also looking ahead at its fall slate, and has decided that two drama films will be receiving the push, but for a very good reason.
Variety reports that Argo, starring and directed by Ben Affleck, has been pushed one month to October 12th, while The Gangster Squad (previously scheduled for that same release) will see a premiere sometime before the year is up. The reason for the push is because Warner Brothers likes what they’ve seen from both films thus far, and want to put them in the prime of Oscar season as possible contenders.
Out of the two films, it certainly seems as if Argo is the better contender out of both of them. Affleck’s previous effort The Town was dubbed with a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Jeremy Renner, while numerous other awards such as the Golden Globes also deemed the film with some recognition.
Based on true events, the film is described as, “Argo chronicles the life-or-death covert operation to rescue six Americans, which unfolded behind the scenes of the Iran hostage crisis–the truth of which was unknown by the public for decades. On November 4, 1979, as the Iranian revolution reaches its boiling point, militants storm the U.S. embassy in Tehran, taking 52 Americans hostage. But, in the midst of the chaos, six Americans manage to slip away and find refuge in the home of the Canadian ambassador. Knowing it is only a matter of time before the six are found out and likely killed, a CIA “exfiltration” specialist named Tony Mendez (Affleck) comes up with a risky plan to get them safely out of the country. A plan so incredible, it could only happen in the movies.”
The Gangster Squad, meanwhile, is helmed by Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland, 30 Minutes or Less) but has an impressive cast attached. Josh Brolin, Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling, Sean Penn, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi, and more are all in the other period drama from the studio, and looks to have plenty of potential. The synopsis reads:
Los Angeles, 1949. Ruthless, Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) runs the show in this town, reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs, the guns, the prostitutes and–if he has his way–every wire bet placed west of Chicago. And he does it all with the protection of not only his own paid goons, but also the police and the politicians who are under his control. It’s enough to intimidate even the bravest, street-hardened cop…except, perhaps, for the small, secret crew of LAPD outsiders led by Sgt. John O’Mara (Josh Brolin) and Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling), who come together to try to tear Cohen’s world apart. “The Gangster Squad” is a colorful retelling of events surrounding the LAPD’s efforts to take back their nascent city from one of the most dangerous mafia bosses of all time.
If anything, fans of Gosling and Stone are sure to come out forGangster Squad as the two romance each other for the second year in a row, while the Noire appeal will be sure to drive even more in seats. Will it win awards? It’ll certainly be something to watch out for. Fleischer still gets major props for Zombieland, as that’s easily one of my favorite films in the past decade, and hopefully he can bring a similarly addictive style of filmmaking with this one. As for when the film will come out, we’ll keep you posted.
