The upcoming Robert Zemeckis mystery thriller, Flight, starring Denzel Washington is set to close out the 50th Edition of the New York Film Festival. The announcement may suggest that Paramount has high hopes the film will be a major Oscar contender come award season.
Last year,the New York Film Festival closed with Alexander Payne’s The Descendants, which later proved to be a big winner at this years Academy Awards. Premiering Flight on the closing day could be a move to alert the Oscar press that the film is worthy of similar attention.
Written by John Gatins (Real Steel), “Flight” is about a commercial airline pilot (Washington) who manages to land a severely damaged plane and save 98 of the 106 people on board. While deemed a hero, the pilot is troubled by the scrutiny of his behavior the night before the mid-air catastrophe. Denzel Washington will be supported by a cast that includes Don Cheadle, John Goodman, Melissa Leo, Bruce Greenwood and Kelly Reilly.
Zemeckis’ thriller marks the first time the Oscar winning director has worked with the Oscar winning actor. Judging by the trailer, the movie looks like it has impressive visual effects, and Washington appears to have delivered a top notch performance as usual. But is it possible that his performance was good enough to raise the eyebrows of the Academy and earn him another best actor award. This remains to be seen until the film has its world premier at the New York Film Festival on October 14th.
Flight is due out in theaters on November 2. Watch the riveting trailer here.
