FOCUS FEATURES Announces Release Dates For First Half Of 2012

BEING FLYNN, SEEKING A FRIEND FOR THE END OF THE WORLD,
MOONRISE KINGDOM OPENINGS SET

Three previously announced Focus Features movies for 2012 release have been assigned confirmed domestic opening dates for the first half of the year. The company made the announcement today.

Being Flynn is the new dramatic feature from Academy Award-nominated writer/director Paul Weitz (About a Boy). Adapted from Nick Flynn’s 2004 memoir Another Bulls—t Night in Suck City, the movie explores bonds both unbreakable and fragile between parent and child. Paul Dano (Little Miss Sunshine and There Will Be Blood) portrays Nick Flynn, a young writer seeking to define himself. He misses his late mother, Jody (four-time Academy Award nominee Julianne Moore), and her loving nature. But his father, Jonathan, is not even a memory, as Nick has not seen the man in 18 years. Jonathan Flynn (two-time Academy Award winner Robert De Niro) has long defined himself as a great writer, “a master storyteller.” Suddenly facing eviction from his apartment, Jonathan impulsively reaches out to Nick and the two come face-to-face. Being Flynn will open in select cities on Friday, March 2nd.

Golden Globe Award winner Steve Carell and Academy Award nominee Keira Knightley star in the comedy Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, which marks the feature directorial debut of screenwriter Lorene Scafaria (Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist). Set in a too-near future, the movie explores what people will do when humanity’s last days are at hand. As the respective journeys of Dodge (Mr. Carell) and Penny (Ms. Knightley) converge, the two spark to each other and their outlooks – if not the world’s – brighten. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World will open in theaters nationally on Friday, April 20th.

Moonrise Kingdom is the new feature from two-time Academy Award nominee Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore). Set on an island off the coast of New England in the 1960s, the film follows a young boy and girl (newcomers Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward) falling in love. When they are moved to run away together, various factions of the town mobilize to search for them and the town is turned upside down – which might not be such a bad thing. Bruce Willis plays the town sheriff; two-time Academy Award nominee Edward Norton is cast as a camp leader; and Academy Award nominee Bill Murray and Academy Award winner Frances McDormand portray the young girl’s parents. Also in the cast are Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton and Jason Schwartzman. The original screenplay is by Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola (The Darjeeling Limited). Moonrise Kingdom will open in select cities on Friday, May 25th.

In addition to the three newly dated films, current and upcoming Focus Features releases include writer/director Dee Rees’ contemporary drama Pariah, which world-premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival; Sam Fell and Chris Butler’s ParaNorman, the new 3D stop-motion comedy thriller from animation company LAIKA, which was previously announced for a 2012 nationwide domestic release on August 17th; the historical tale Hyde Park on Hudson, directed by Roger Michell and starring Academy Award nominees Bill Murray and Laura Linney; Joe Wright’s epic romance Anna Karenina, adapted from Leo Tolstoy’s classic novel by Academy Award winner Tom Stoppard and starring Keira Knightley, Jude Law, and Aaron Johnson; and Tomas Alfredson’s thriller Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, starring Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, and Tom Hardy.

Focus Features and Focus Features International (www.focusfeatures.com) comprise a singular global company. This worldwide studio makes original and daring films that challenge the mainstream to embrace and enjoy voices and visions from around the world that deliver global commercial success. The company operates as Focus Features in North America, and as Focus Features International (FFI) in the rest of the world.

Focus Features and Focus Features International are part of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment television networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. Comcast Corporation owns a controlling 51% interest in NBCUniversal, with GE holding a 49% stake.