The weather alone — a bone-chilling 30 degrees in New York versus a blistering 85 in LA — made holding the world premiere of “Project Hail Mary” at Lincoln Center on Manhattan’s Upper West Side on Wednesday perhaps a questionable move.
Spies at the New York premiere say the film — even with its 156-minute run time — played well with the crowd. But the event itself felt disjointed due to the red carpet taking place on the Josie Robertson Plaza a good distance from the theater.
Another source said that the stars’ trek from the carpet to the theater delayed the start by an hour.
Back in LA, a less starry press screening was held at IMAX’s Playa Vista HQ on Wednesday evening for the film based on Andy Weir’s best-selling novel and starring Ryan Gosling.
But the pre-release buzz on Phil Lord & Chris Miller’s latest project is high enough that Bill Lawrence — the guru showrunner behind “Scrubs,” “Spin City,” “Ted Lasso,” “Shrinking” and more — was on hand slumming it with a mix of trade reporters and industry types.
Sources said Lawrence even generously shared instructions on how to score snacks within the office complex as treats were not part of the show. Some brave audience members went scurrying in search of the alleged nibbles, but most chickened out when they ran into an imposing-looking, “Employees Only” sign blocking a breakroom.
Also spotted at the screening was former “SNL” star Taran Killam — sporting his burly beard from current series, “Stumble” — as well as THR’s “Feinberg Forecast” scribe Scott Feinberg which brings us to the commercial and awards season prospects of the sci-fi film about a lone scientist (played by Gosling) trying to save the world.
Following the disappointing results of “Crime 101” Amazon/MGM Studios’ boss Courtney Valenti could use a win, and “Project Hail Mary” is shaping up to be just that. Tracking has the film opening in the $70–$78 million range and it currently has a 95% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
But the release weekend doesn’t exactly scream Oscar (even though Gosling is getting great reviews and the technical elements of the film would seem to make it a contender). Sources tell P6H that Amazon/MGM is hoping that “Sinners,” which opened in April and still won four statuettes including for Best Actor and Original Screenplay, could serve as some template.
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