By Gianluca Caccialupi
Searchlight Pictures has made the decision to delay the theatrical release of Yorgos Lanthimos’ highly anticipated film, “Poor Things.”, but the movie will be presented in the official selection of Venice International Film Festival.
The delay is aimed at giving Hollywood stars Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, and Willem Dafoe the opportunity to promote the film during its commercial rollout. Fortunately, fans will still get to see the film premiere at the prestigious Venice Film Festival.
To accommodate the promotional efforts of the A-list cast, the commercial release of “Poor Things” has been pushed from September 8 to December 8. This extra time is essential because the film industry is currently dealing with historic strikes from SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) and the Writers Guild of America.
The movie is a story of “love, discovery and scientific daring” set in the Victorian era, based on an adaptation of Alasdair Grey’s novel of the same name.
Stone plays Belle Baxter, a Frankenstein-like woman who is brought back to life after her brain is replaced with that of her unborn child.
She stars opposite Willem Dafoe, who plays the brilliant, yet unorthodox, scientist who resurrects Belle from the dead. Her ghostly pale skin in the trailer hints at her character’s predeceased origins.
“Poor Things” also marks the second of three collaborations between her and Lanthimos. In 2018, she starred in his period drama “The Favourite”. She is also among the cast for Lanthimos’ upcoming movie “And,” alongside Dafoe, Jesse Plemons, Hong Chau, Joe Alwyn, Mamoudou Athie, and Hunter Shafer.
