The Weinstein Co. is banking on their Founder to come through — and I’m not referring to Harvey Weinstein, either. Micheal Keaton stars as Illinois salesman Ray Kroc, who transformed McDonald’s into a thriving fast-food empire. The actor is in the midst of his second wind following his Golden Globe-winning, Oscar-nominated performance in Birdman, and he helped the director and cast of Spotlight snag last year’s Academy Award for Best Picture.
We’ll have to wait and see if his performance in The Founder can grab similar awards buzz, but a new release date for the film makes it poised to do so. According to Deadline, the film will now open in December with plans to release it on the 16th in select theaters before going with a wider run beginning on January 20.
This is the second time the studio pushed back The Founder. The film was initially scheduled to open in theaters for Thanksgiving, but the studio moved it to August 5.
John Lee Hancock (Saving Mr. Banks) directs the film based on a screenplay by Robert D. Siegel (The Wrestler). The cast also includes Linda Cardellini, Patrick Wilson, Nick Offerman, Laura Dern, and B.J. Novak. The story centers on Kroc, who pushed original McDonald’s founders Mac and Dick McDonald out of business.
Here’s the official synopsis:
Written by Robert Siegel (BIG FAN), THE FOUNDER is a drama that tells the true story of how Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton), a salesman from Illinois, met Mac and Dick McDonald, who were running a burger operation in 1950s Southern California. Kroc was impressed by the brothers’ speedy system of making the food and saw franchise potential. He maneuvered himself into a position to be able to pull the company from the brothers and create a billion-dollar empire.
