“The Reader” and the Oscar Race
The dispute between producer Scott Rudin and mogul Harvey Weinstein about the release date for “The Reader” has been resolved. The movie — an emotional World War Two story — based on a Bernhard Schlink novel, adapted by David Hare, and starring Kate Winslet (pictured) — will be released on December 12. This qualifies it for Oscar consideration. Rudin has another Oscar-bait movie, “Revolutionary Road,” starring Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, opening on December 26th. Academy Award prognosticators worry that Winslet’s pictures will cancel each other out. It’s possible, but based on what I’ve been hearing about the two movies from people who’ve seen them I’d be willing to bet that “The Reader” (which is still in heavy post-production) will be more likely to put the actress in serious consideration than will “Rev Road” (which is further along). The actress category is shaping up to be very competitive this year — Angelina Jolie, Anne Hathaway, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Sally Hawkins are getting lots of buzz.
