The Weinstein Company has an Oscar surprise for us: “The Founder” is getting an Oscar qualifying run for a week starting tomorrow in Los Angeles.
Michael Keaton stars as Ray Kroc, the man who stole the hamburger company from the McDonald’s brothers and turned it into an empire. Keaton has had such a glowing response from advance screenings and screeners, I guess Harvey W. figured let’s go for it. Keaton is indeed superb playing a dislikeable character whom many may see Trump like qualities in.
In fact, “The Founder” is not to be dismissed as only a Keaton thing for the Oscars. The movie is very entertaining. Considering McDonald’s is such a huge part of public life, it’s really interesting to see how it all started. I know McDonald’s won’t appreciate all the attention, but John Lee Hancock has got a potential hit here.
Keaton is a likely contender for Best Actor. He’s lost once — for “Birdman” and was overlooked for “Spotlight.” If Denzel Washington, Ryan Gosling and Casey Affleck are definites, Keaton could be in the fourth or fifth slot.
If you’re in LA and don’t have a screener, go see this film.
PS Add “Lion” into the mix, already on the way to Oscar nods galore, and TWC may have two contenders in the race this year.
