Fox Searchlight hedged their Oscar bets today.

Now functioning with Disney, the FS label– which has a host of Oscar winners and nominees in the past– has to prove itself this fall.

So they’ve picked up Armando Iannucci’s “The Personal History of David Copperfield,” which is debuting at the Toronto Film Festival and then opening the London Film Festival. The updating of Charles Dickens’ famous novel stars Dev Patel, Tilda Swinton,Hugh Laurie, Peter Capaldi, Ben Whishaw, and Gwendolyn Christie.

FS says they’re planning a 2020 release, but if reaction in the US is strong, this could be one of their Oscar contenders. Certainly, the momentum would be there to go for a December release and shoot for awards.

Right now, FS is depending on Terrence Malick’s “A Hidden Life” to propel them into awards season. They’ve also got “Jojo Rabbit,” a satire from Taika Waititi that looks like “Springtime for Hitler.” It could be big, or a mistake. No one knows yet. Malick’s film was a hit in Cannes, but that’s with reviewers. FS will have to wait and see how it plays to audiences before dancing an Oscar jig.

“David Copperfield,” however, has all the provenance for the Oscars. Plus, “Veep” is going to sweep at the Emmys, so Iannucci will be in the news. By the looks of it, “Copperfield” could have been a Miramax Oscar entry without question. Harvey would have loved that one (except he’d have put Judi Dench in it).

So here we go. Pulses are quickening. The season is about to begin.

Morgan Spurlock is back, and he’s going after fast food again. It’s 15 years since “Super Size Me” made him a star. Now “SS2: Holy Chicken” goes after the poultry world — the chickens that come through Drive Thru windows. I always worry about the Nuggets, and I guess now we’ll know why. “SS2” isn’t going to festivals, oddly. It’s just opening on September 6th in NY and LA from Samuel Goldwyn.

Super Size Me 2 – Official Trailer from Samuel Goldwyn Films on Vimeo.

The French have come to the rescue!

Woody Allen’s “A Rainy Day in New York” has been chosen to open the prestigious Deauville Film Festival on September 6th. This is great news for a film that’s been long delayed by lawsuits and other ridiculous impairments.

It won’t be hard for Woody to attend the opening. He’s right next door, in Spain, making a new film with Christoph Waltz and Gina Gershon.

“Rainy Day” stars Timothee Chalamet and Elle Fanning. It’s unclear if any of the cast will come to Deauville. But having Woody there will be enough star power.

This was the movie Amazon Studios was supposed to release. But then the #MeToo scandals broke, and Woody was incorrectly swept into the melee. His last film, “Wonder Wheel,” suffered because of it, and then Amazon just gave up on him. Woody has sued them for $68 million for breach of contract.

“Rainy Day” opens in France in mid September. It’s already started opening across Europe. We’re waiting for a smart American distributor to pick it up.

James Gray’s “Ad Astra” is coming, and fast, like a meteor about to hit Earth. We have now have a surprise second trailer for the Brad Pitt- Liv Tyler- Tommy Lee Jones- Donald Sutherland space opera. The space visuals are very, very cool, and now the trailer really delineates the father- son relationship. Can this be Brad Pitt’s Oscar time? Everyone hopes so. It’s important for “Ad Astra,” one of the last films from 20th Century Fox, to be a hit. But there is a fear that this will be “First Man” all over again– great reviews, highly respected, and then no audience. Cross fingers against that. (And watch “First Man,” a great movie.)

Spider Man is an orphan once again, and Tom Holland, the current Peter Parker, could be out of a job.

Sony Pictures apparently refused to make a 50/50 deal with Disney-Marvel over the latter’s participation going forward with Spider Man movies. The result is that Spider Man will return to Sony without his Marvel buddies, to start his own universe. The Avengers, with whom Spider Man has been involved now for several movies including the colossus “Endgame,” will go on without him.

For eons, Spider Man had been parked at Sony getting his own movies. Then the Marvel Universe took off at Disney. The studios reached an agreement so that Spider Man could be part of the Marvel gang in Disney movies. The Marvel characters then appeared, at last, in the recent two Spider Man movies starring Tom Holland. Disney was paid a small fee for the exchange.

But now according to reports Marvel’s Kevin Feige– who waved a magic wand over Spider Man: Homecoming, and Far From Home — will not continue to work with Sony’s Tom Rothman or the studio. He’s out. Reports say Rothman wouldn’t even talk to Disney.

“Far from Home” has turned out to be Sony’s highest grossing movie ever. Sony should be sending thank you notes to Feige. After all, the last set of Spider Man movies did not work out so well. But now Sony has called for a divorce. It’s not going to end well.

Disney-Marvel and Feige must be shocked. They weaved Spider Man into their films as the successor to Robert Downey, Jr.’s Iron Man. That plot line and character arc is now gone. At Sony, their choice will be whether to proceed with Tom Holland in more movies, or cut him loose and start over again. Sony has a history of killing the Spider Man franchise when it’s successful. They did it to Tobey Maguire when they replaced with Andrew Garfield. Now they may do it again.

Don’t worry about Tom Holland. He’s 23, loaded, and very talented. The world is his oyster. But for Marvel movie fans, it’s a big loss.

Drum roll…

The title of James Bond 25 is “No Time to Die.”

It’s upbeat enough to suggest 007 will be back for more adventures after this one, and Daniel Craig’s title character will not be exiting this mortal coil any time soon.

I like it. Even though this is Craig’s last mission, we can look forward to more James Bond for eons to come.

“No Time to Die” hits theaters next April. We know the cast– Rami Malek, Christoph Waltz, etc plus Ralph Fiennes and Ben Whishaw. So now, the big question, who will sing the song? “No Time to Die” is perfect for a song title. And you can already hear Adele’s voice, can’t you? But will it be her? Or someone new?

That’s the cliffhanger!

Bruce Springsteen has already been pretty revealing in his autobiography, “Born to Run,” the book, and in his Broadway play (now nominated for an Emmy Award).

But in the trailer for the documentary he’s made about his excellent new album “Western Stars,” Bruce admits: “I’ve spent 35 years trying to learn to let go of the destructive parts of my character.”

“Western Stars” will debut at TIFF, then Warner Bros. will open it in October. “Western Stars” the album should win the Grammy for Album of the Year if it’s placed in the right category and the mysterious Grammy committee admits it’s the best album of 2019. Which it is. Not Pop, Traditional, Americana or some other nonsense. Best Album.

Here’s the trailer: