The 2015 awards season has found a casualty in the Hanks Williams biopic I Saw the Light. The Sony Pictures Classics title- starring Tom Hiddleston (Crimson Peak) and Elizabeth Olsen (Avengers: Age of Ultron)- had been set to open in theaters on November 27th in an effort to make an impression the awards season. The film will now open in 2016. Marc Abraham (Flash of Genius) directed and co-write the film which had its world premiere at the 2015 Toronto Film Festival.
The major factor in the release bump, according to Sony Classics, appears to Hiddleston‘s availability. With the actor set to appear in the big-budget Kong: Skull Island, Hiddleston may not be around as much to adequately promote the film. The notices that came out of Toronto likely didn’t help much either. Variety‘s Andrew Barker wrote of the film: “Despite committed performances from Tom Hiddleston and Elizabeth Olsen, Marc Abraham’s Hank Williams biopic is dull, unfocused slog.” The film currently logs an unimpressive 31% on review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes.
I Saw the Light stars Hiddleston as music legend Hank Williams, a a major talent who passed away at the age of 30 in 1953. Olsen portrays Williams’ first wife Audrey Mae Willaims. The ensemble cast includes David Krumholtz (Hail, Caesar!), Cherry Jones (Erin Brockovich), Maddie Hasson (God Bless America), Josh Pais (The Awkward Moment) and recent Emmy winner Bradley Whitford (Transparent). Abraham wrote the screenplay based on Colin Escott’s biography.
The film is now slated on open March25, 2016.
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