Warren Beatty wrapped his secret Howard Hughes movie the first week of June, 2014. That’s the last real news we’ve heard about it.
This weekend a source knowledgeable about the film says New Regency and the film’s financiers are waiting see Beatty’s latest cut. “The film will come out in 2016,” says my source. And they’d like it out well before there’s another awards season, just to give it a chance to breathe.
The movie stars Beatty, Alden Ehrenreich, Lily Collins, Haley Bennett, Matthew Broderick, Alec Baldwin, Candice Bergen, and Annette Bening, among others. It may or may not be directly about Howard Hughes, whom Beatty plays, or young people around him.
Beatty, according to my sources, showed a cut to close friends and the money people in the late fall. It was met with an overall positive response.
This isn’t the first time Beatty has been coy turning over a film for release. In fact, with all his last films– from “Dick Tracy” to “Bulworth,” “Town and Country,” and “Love Affair,” there were always long waits and a lot of mystery before the film was ready.
Of course, Beatty is a perfectionist. And his fans want the film– which still has no title– to be a hit. So we wait, but not for long. My guess is that it goes to Cannes or Venice– I would bet on Venice– and a soft opening in September. But that is just a guess.