The New York Film Festival is still rocking along, but the final player on the awards season festival calendar is finally beginning to show its cards. AFI FEST already announced that Warren Beatty’s “Rules Don’t Apply” will open the festival on Thursday, Nov. 10. Today, AFI revealed that Taylor Hackford’s “The Comedian” will have its world premiere on Friday, Nov. 11th.
A passion project of Robert De Niro and screenwriter Art Linson, “The Comedian” focuses on a former comedy star (De Niro) who can’t deal with audiences who just love him because of a popular character that made him famous on television. De Niro’s co-stars include Leslie Mann, Patti LuPone, Danny DeVito and Harvey Keitel. Sony Pictures Classics recently acquired the indie for a December Oscar qualifying run and will officially release the film this January.
In a release from AFI, Sony Pictures Classics co-president Michael Barker remarked, “AFI FEST has always been one of the best places to launch a major film. Taylor Hackford’s accomplished and biting comedy is a perfect premiere for the festival. Robert De Niro and Leslie Mann have never been better, and the supporting cast is constantly surprising.”
Classics’ strategy is a smart one, as De Niro could easily earn a Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy Golden Globe nomination. That’s a tremendous amount of free media attention for a below-the-radar indie. As for the rest of the film’s awards prospects? We’ll find out on Nov. 11.
Other films that could potentially screen for the first time at AFI FEST this year include “Hidden Figures,” “Silence,” “Fences,” “Patriots Day” and “Live by Night.”
AFI FEST will run Nov. 10-17 in the heart of Hollywood.
