Martin Scorsese's 'Silence' Lands Oscar-Season Release Date
Liam Neeson in Martin Scorsese’s ‘Silence’ (Paramount)
Silence, Martin Scorsese’s passion project about Jesuit priests in feudal Japan, has snagged an awards-season release date, signaling that Paramount Pictures believes it has an Oscar contender on its hands.
Related: Facing Tough Voting Deadlines, ‘Silence’ Officially Enters the Oscar Race
The religious epic will debut in limited release on Dec. 23, before expanding in January. There are no films scheduled to debut on that date, but it is a crowded time of year as studios are fielding a number of prestige films and commercial projects, all trying to take advantage of the holidays. The animated musical Sing, video game adaptation Assassin’s Creed, and Passengers, a sci-fi romance with Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt, hit theaters two days before Silence debuts.
Related: Leonardo DiCaprio Honors Martin Scorsese at Award Bash: ‘My Director, My Collaborator, My Friend’
Silence boasts a cast that includes Andrew Garfield, Liam Neeson, and Adam Driver, as well as a screenplay by Jay Cocks, Scorsese’s collaborator on Gangs of New York and The Age of Innocence. The film has been in development for over two decades, with the likes of Daniel Day-Lewis, Benicio del Toro, and Gael García Bernal all involved at various points before they left for other projects. Lining up financing for the $50 million production was a herculean task.
Related: Martin Scorsese to Receive Japan’s Praemium Imperiale
Scorsese has been nominated 12 times for an Oscar, winning best director in 2007 for The Departed, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, and Jack Nicholson. If Silence is going to emerge victorious it will have to hold off the likes of La La Land, a musical with Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling that has drawn raves; Manchester by the Sea, Kenneth Lonergan’s portrait of a family tragedy; and Fences, Denzel Washington’s adaptation of August Wilson’s beloved play.
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