Got your EXPENDABLES 3 tickets yet? There are screenings Thursday night, even well before midnight, so grab some friends after work and SEE IT so it can have a nice B.O. return this weekend! We were at the Hollywood premiere and will have coverage about that soon... but now we have news about MAGGIE's premiere! It will screen at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September.
Here's the description: A Midwestern farmer (Arnold Schwarzenegger) stays by the side of his beloved teenage daughter (Abigail Breslin) even as she slowly turns into a cannibalistic zombie, in this audacious, genre-bending debut feature from director Henry Hobson.
This is really a different kind of film for Arnold-- it's obviously a zombie themed movie, but much more focused on drama and characters than action, and should have some creepy horror aspects, too, so it makes sense to have a different tactic for premiering and marketing the movie. It also has a MUCH lower budget, estimated at $8 million (less than Arnold's fee alone on other projects) and a first-time feature director, Henry Hobson. This is all great news, as it means we could be in for something special and a new kind of performance from Arnold. He's pushing himself in his acting and it's a risky move, but we all know that Arnold lives to take risks and challenge himself in new areas. Hopefully, this one will pay off!
The TIFF takes place Sept. 4-14, and the list of films has been announced, but no set schedule, so we don't yet know which day MAGGIE will screen. We also don't know about a solid release date in theaters yet, but October would make sense for a zombie movie. Since it is more of an independent "art-house" film, it will likely be a limited release at first, then spread wider if it does well. That will make it even more important for us fans to seek it out and spread the word to others. It has big potential with the zombie craze alive and well, and this would give people something different than just high body counts and special effect-laden set-pieces. It might even get people's attention who have not cared to check out Arnold's return to action roles, and maybe get some award nominations. We'll keep you informed as the premiere gets closer!
To help you get pumped for all of Arnold's upcoming films and celebrate Franco Columbu's birthday, here is Arnold Radio News (ARN) episode 3!