Focus Features’ First Look At ‘The Holdovers’, ‘Drive-Away Dolls’ – CinemaCon

Jill Goldsmith, Anthony D'Alessandro and Nancy Tartaglione
·3 min read
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Universal’s Focus Features offered theater owners a first look at Alexander Payne’s New England prep school comedy The Holdovers, Ethan Coen’s Drive-Away Dolls and the last installment of My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3, giving some love, naturally, to Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City, set to bow in Cannes.

“Wes Anderson cannot make a movie that is not magic,” said Focus distribution chief Lisa Bunnell at CinemaCon, calling the helmer’s fare “the Marvel of specialty movies.”

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In the new Payne film, which reteams the director with his Sideways star Paul Giamatti, the actor plays Paul Hunham, a curmudgeon private school instructor. He’s left in charge of the students who are staying behind over the 1970 Christmas break.  The pic was shot at Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts. Trailer has a true 70s absurdist comedy vibe, a la Harold and Maude, including the Cat Stevens song “I Never” playing over it. Hunham is told by his supervisor to be kind to the kids, but he can’t help but bicker with them and hand out copious detentions. “I was praying that your father would arrive in a submarine, or helicopter…” yells Hunham. The student retorts, “My father is dead!” Da’Vine Joy Randolph plays Hunham’s co-worker who keeps his moral compass in check.

The Holdovers opens Nov.  10 with a wider break ahead of Thanksgiving.

Ethan Coen’s comic Drive-Away Dolls opens on Sept. 22 with Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan as Jamie, an uninhibited free spirit and demure friend Marian, on an impromptu road trip. The trailer has them run out of luck and looking “to get their sh-t together,” get a car and head to Tallahassee. But wrong car, things get complicated.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3, the last installment of the romantic comedy franchise written, directed and starring Nia Vardalos opens Sept. 8. A lot has happpened since the last pic. Toula’s father passed away and the family sets off for Greece to fulfill his last wish – that they visit his childhood village and reconnect with his roots. It’s a major reunion with blue sea, dancing and a house that’s way too small to fit everyone as they search for his best friends.

With John Corbett, Elena Kampouris, Andrea Martin, and Lainie Kazan. The 2002 first edition from IFC Films was a sensation, grossing $240 million U.S./$368 million worldwide off a $5 million budget. Universal released the sequel in 2016 to $60M domestic and $90M worldwide.

For Asteroid City, Focus set a limited stateside release for June 16, going wide June 23. Film is set in a fictional American desert town circa 1955 in the midst of a national Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention that is spectacularly disrupted by world-changing events. Starry cast with Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, Tilda Swinton, and Edward Norton. The ensemble is rounded out by Jason Schwartzman, Jeffrey Wright, Bryan Cranston, Adrien Brody, Liev Schreiber, Hope Davis, Stephen Park, Rupert Friend, Maya Hawke, Steve Carell, Matt Dillon, Hong Chau, Willem Dafoe, Margot Robbie, Tony Revolori, Jake Ryan and Jeff Goldblum.

CinemaCon, the annual convention of movie theater owners from around the world, runs through Thursday at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

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