Two New Oscar Contenders have emerged after Fox Searchlight picked up Steve McQueen's "Twleve Years a Slave" and Wes Anderson's "The Grand Budapest Hotel."
Fox Searchlight announced on March 28th that they would distribute both films. The studio wrote via Twitter that they would release McQueen's new film on December 27th. The film tells the true story of Solomon Northup, a free black man who is tricked back into slavery, and faces a grueling life under several owners and has to go court to reclaim his status. "Slave" will feature an outstanding ensemble of actors including Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Scoot McNairy, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Giamatti, Paul Dano, Sarah Paulson, Garret Dillahunt, Ruth Negga, Taran Killam, Adepero Oduye, Alfre Woodard, Quvenzhané Wallis,Dwight Henry,Michael K. Williams and Brad Pitt.
Fox also announced they were distributing Anderson's new film but did not schedule a release date. They stated that they were aiming for a late 2013 to early 2014 release. The film tells the story of a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars and his friendship with a young employee who becomes his trusted protégé. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting, the battle for an enormous family fortune and the slow and then sudden upheavals that transformed Europe during the first half of the 20th century.
The film stars Owen Wilson, Bill Murray, Adrien Brody,Tilda Swinton, Ralph Fiennes, Edward Norton, Jude Law,Harvey Keitel, Jason Schwartzman, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Saoirse Ronan, Mathieu Amalric, F. Murray Abraham, and Bob Balaban.
Fox Searchlight is known for massive Oscar campaigns and has a good track record in leading many films to Best Picture nominations. Previously they distributed Oscar nominees "Beasts of the Southern Wild," "The Tree of Life," "The Descendants," "Sideways," "Black Swan," "127 Hours," "Juno" and "Little Miss Sunshine." They also led "Slumdog Millionaire" to its Oscar win.