Cle(a)ver First Poster And Release Date For Hitchcock

Fox Searchlight have released the first poster for HITCHCOCK, starring Anthony Hopkins, along with the release date.

Hitchcock will be casting his famous silhouette in US cinemas from the 23rd of November, so one imagines his shadow will reach UK theatres around a similar time. HITCHCOCK is based on Stephen Rebello’s book ‘Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho,’ but will feature as its core, the relationship between The Master of Suspense and his wife Alma Reville, played by Helen Mirren.

It features a superb cast with Scarlett Johansson as Janet Leigh, Jessica Biel as Leigh’s PSYCHO co-star (psycho-star?) and on-screen sister Vera Miles, James D’Arcy as Anthony Perkins and two pieces of curious and wonderful casting: Ralph Macchio (The Karate Kid himself!) as PSYCHO’s screenwriter Joe Stefano and Michael Wincott (one of THN’s favourite silver screen villains) as Ed Gein, the real life psychopath upon whom Norman Bates is loosely based. Gein was also the inspiration for the characters in THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE and, to a point, Dr Hannibal Lecter, most famously portrayed by Anthony Hopkins, who here plays Hitch himself. Neat.

Speaking of cinematic coincidences, this is not the only film about the great director and one of his most celebrated works to be seen this year, as Toby Jones will also be starring as Alfred in HBO’s THE GIRL (more details and a trailer here), also starring Sienna Miller as Tippi Hedrin and based on their peculiar relationship whist making THE BIRDS. This is the latest in a long line of two films tackling the exact same subject coming out at the same time, ARMAGEDDON/DEEP IMPACT (1998), A BUG’S LIFE/ANTZ (also 1998), MIRROR MIRROR/SNOW WHITE & THE HUNTSMAN (2012) to name a few. Curiously, Toby Jones has done this exact thing before, ie. playing a real life person in a bio-pic at the same time as a bigger named star plays that exact same character in a competing bio-pic on a bigger scale, for Jones played Truman Capote in Douglas McGrath’s INFAMOUS which came out a year after the more well known CAPOTE, remembered for an Oscar winning performance from Phillip Seymour Hoffman as the eponymous writer.

However, back to the business at hand. HITCHCOCK is adapted from Rebello’s book by John J McLaughlin (BLACK SWAN) and directed by Sacha Gervasi (writer of Spielberg’s THE TERMINAL). It will hopefully be reaching us by the end of the year. Good evening.

Source: Coming Soon