Surprise Attack from ‘Amelia’

One of my WAMG spies out in Hollywood has told me of a rushed and hushed screening. Right out of the Clint Eastwood/’Million Dollar Baby’ playbook, a surprise screening from Fox Searchlight for ‘Amelia’ has flown into some LA theatres and apparently at the last minute too. However, according to IMDB, the Hilary Swank biopic on the doomed aviator, Amelia Earhart, isn’t slated until October 2009. Same actress…coincidence??? I think not.

According to my spy’s description of the film, “From director Mira Nair (‘The Namesake’) AMELIA stars two-time Academy Award ®-winner Hilary Swank as Amelia Earhart, the legendary aviatrix and enigmatic symbol of the American free spirit, and Golden Globe winner Richard Gere as her partner, publisher, and lover George Putnum. Earhart’s aviation triumphs and meteoric rise to fame and fortune were propelled by her tempestuous relationship with Putnum. Bound by mutual ambition, admiration and, ultimately a great love, their bond could not be broken even with her brief passionate affair with Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor). AMELIA embodies the soaring romance and adventure at the heart of all American heroes.” The movie has not yet been rated but will most likely  see a  Ã¢â‚¬ËœPG-13′ from the MPAA.

Well, I guess it could be a reeeally early screening, but it feels so far off. Could be that it’s a mess and they need to make changes. If Fox thinks that by hurrying this out, its gonna grab another Oscar, they might want to think carefully. A 3rd statue in just 10 years (and a tie with Ingrid Bergman) for Ms. Swank would be a hard sell, especially when there are many deserving actresses that don’t even have one yet – like Kate Winslet and Annette Bening. This would have to be one phenomenal performance by Swank to convince anyone to give it to her again. Lets hope the Academy doesn’t lose its mind over the Pacific, and give Swank another Oscar. We’ll let you know what our WAMG insider had to say about ‘Amelia’ after the LA screening.