The Hollywood Reporter - 06.11.2019

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The Report

AWARDS SEASON

2019

MOTHERLESS

: COURTESY OF WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT. WILDE: CINDY ORD/GETTY IMAGES.

HARRIET

: GLEN WILSON/FOCUS FEATURES.

HONEY

: COURTESY OF AMAZON STUDIOS.

DARK

: MARY CYBULSKI/FOCUS FEATURES. RICHARDSON: GREGG DEGUIRE/GETTY IMAGES.

best picture

#painandglory

Harriet opens strong, Edward Norton’s passion project stumbles,

and Olivia Wilde kicks ass as the race heats up November

BY SCOTT FEINBERG

Comebacks, Letdowns

and Hollywood Film Fest Honors

FEINBERG FORECAST

BEST PICTURE

Motherless Brooklyn

Edward Norton’s long-gestating passion

project, based on Jonathan Lethem’s

novel — he adapted, directed, produced

and stars in the $26 million Warner Bros.

production — grossed just $3.7 million

from 1,332 theaters, significantly less

than analysts forecasted. Mixed reviews

out of fall film festivals didn’t help.

DIRECTOR

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Shia LaBeouf

Honey Boy

After winning breakthrough screen-

writer at the Hollywood Film Awards,

LaBeouf thanked the Georgia cop who

arrested him in 2017 for “changing my

life.” (He also stars as his father in the

deeply personal film, out Nov. 8.)

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Dark Waters

While Harriet is a hit, Focus’ other

drama — the issue-driven Dark Waters,

which is based on a true story —

began screening ahead of its Nov. 22

release, and early reactions are mixed.

Directed by Todd Haynes, the film

stars Mark Ruffalo and Oscar winners

Anne Hathaway and Tim Robbins.

Harriet

Kasi Lemmons’ $17 million portrait of

Harriet Tubman surpassed projec-

tions with a $12 million debut. The

Focus Features movie outpaced 2018’s

BlacKkKlansman release with a rare

A+ CinemaScore. And on Nov. 3, star

Cynthia Erivo picked up the Hollywood

Film Award for breakout actress.

Olivia Wilde

Booksmart

The director was honored at the SCAD

Savannah Film Festival on Oct. 29 and

at the Nov. 3 Hollywood Film Awards. In

between, she prevailed in her quest to

get Delta to restore LGBTQ scenes in

Booksmart that were edited out.

Robert Richardson

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

The three-time Oscar winner heads

to Poland’s EnergaCAMERIMAGE

International Film Festival with

Quentin Tarantino to receive the

Cinematographer-Director Duo Award

for their fifth collaboration on Nov. 16.