theplaylist.net — If you live in Los Angeles and haven’t caught up with most of this year’s awards season titles you can breathe easy. No, screeners aren’t arriving early, but AFI Fest has added some unexpected starpower and prestige to its 2017 slate.

Joining previously announced galas “Mudbound” (opening night), “All The Money In The World” (closing night), “Call Me By Your Name,” “The Disaster Artist” and “Hostiles” are seven films that hope to make a dent in the Oscars race in various categories. These special presentations include Paul McGuigan’s “Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool,” Craig Gillespie’s “I, Tonya,” Chris Smith‘s documentary “Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond – Featuring A Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention Of Tony Clifton,” Paolo Virzi’s “The Leisure Seeker,” Aaron Sorkin’s “Molly’s Game,” Sam Pollard’s “Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me” and Guillermo del Toro’s “The Shape of Water.”

Unlike its galas, the festival did not announce when these new selections would be screening during the event. It’s also worth noting “Darkest Hour” will have a Los Angeles premiere the Wednesday before AFI Fest begins at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

AFI will also be bring back some classic films in their “Cinematic Legacy” slate including “Barefoot in the Park,” “Blow-Up,” “The Good, The Bad And The Ugly” and “Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner.”

The 2017 AFI Fest runs from Nov. 9-16 in the heart of Hollywood.

The upstart distributor Neon will open the film in New York and Los Angeles on Dec. 8, with a platform rollout continuing into January.
I, Tonya, Craig Gillespie’s hilarious and devastating Tonya Harding biopic, is officially joining the race to the 90th Oscars, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

The film will open in New York and Los Angeles on Dec. 8, with a platform rollout that will continue into January.

The film, which stars Margot Robbie (who also is one of its producers), had its world premiere on Sept. 8 at the Toronto International Film Festival, where, three days later, it became the fest’s highest-profile acquisition, selling to Tom Quinn and Tim League’s Neon for $5 million (over an even larger bid by Netflix).

After catching I, Tonya in Toronto, I wrote: “In the hands of a competent distributor, Robbie could well land a best actress nomination — she wouldn’t be the first beautiful actress to ‘de-glam’ and/or produce her own project and get recognized for doing so (see: Charlize Theron and 2003’s Monster). As for [Allison] Janney, she seems to me like a slam-dunk for a best supporting actress nom [for her portrayal of Harding’s mother] — which would be her first-ever Academy recognition, and hugely deserved.”

Source: hollywoodreporter.com

After three all-night negotiations, Neon and 30WEST tag teamed to skate off with a deal for I, Tonya, the Craig Gillespie-directed black comedy from Miramax about the epic fall from grace of Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding. Sources peg the deal at around $5 million, and Neon’s Tom Quinn and Tim League will make a strong play for the film in Oscar season. The Steven Rogers-scripted film stars Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan and Allison Janney, and came into the festival as the hottest acquisition title before it premiered Friday at 9:30 at the Princess of Wales Theatre. At a post premiere party at Ivan Reitman’s restaurant Montecito, potential buyers I spoke to were not disappointed, nor were reviewers. Robbie produced the film with Tom Ackerley, Rogers and Bryan Unkeless.

The bidding came down to the compelling choice of a traditional theatrical play (Neon) or a streaming deal (Netflix) and here the filmmakers and financiers chose the former. Beyond the strong performances by Robbie and Janney, I, Tonya has an enviable path in front of it. The film can qualify for awards, and roll out slowly with the Winter Olympics coming in February (where the Harding scandal played out in 1994) and then Oscars in March. Neon and 30WEST made a passionate pitch and this will be a big film for the upstart distributor.

In unabashed R-rated fashion, Gillespie admirably threaded the needle and balanced the sometimes outrageously funny chronicle of how Harding skated from a hardscrabble life into momentary glory followed by tabloid scandal, counterbalanced by the upsetting depiction of her being used as a punching bag by her dimwitted husband Jeff Gillooly, after she was slapped around repeatedly as a child by her tough as nails and impossible to please mother. The film shapes up as a cross between hallowed black comedies Fargo and To Die For, in characterizing the twisted things that can happen when not bright people have ambition and try to cut corners to achieve those dreams of escaping their low station in life.

In the lead up to the festival, CBS Films had made an offer said to be around $6 million, which was what Miramax Films paid earlier to acquire and make the film. Before others could step up, the sellers — CAA and UTA Independent Film Group co-brokered the deal for Miramax chief Bill Block — stuck a pin in any talks and let buyers see the film here in Toronto, or at simultaneous screenings in L.A. The clear goal was to match the film with the right distributor and put it into the upcoming awards season race. Some buyers I spoke with felt the movie could be tightened, and it seemed like Gillespie was happy with the cut audiences saw last night. Continue reading