Nicole Kidman as Grace Kelly in Grace of Monaco – Courtesy of Warner Brothers
Will America ever see Nicole Kidman as Grace Kelly in theaters?
The future of Grace of Monaco in question as DVD goes on sale
Back in May 2014 the Grace of Monaco movie starring Nicole Kidman as Grace Kelly was all over the news as it opened the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, virtually footsteps away from the Principality of Monaco that became that the home of Princess Grace after she got swooped away from Hollywood at the height of her career. Unfortunately, the movie touted as a potential award-winning biopic did not receive favorable reviews, partly due to a weak script that was nowhere as exciting as the real story revealed in the book “My Days with Princess Grace of Monaco“. The feud between the American producer/distributor Harvey Weinstein and the French director Olivier Dahan (which could itself be turned into a movie) led to releases of Grace of Monaco all over the world, except in Grace Kelly’s home country of the USA.
Harvey Weinstein is known in the industry for re-editing films and making them Oscar contenders – but he may have met his match with Grace of Monaco. His tendency to restructure movies to his liking for theatrical release has earned him the nickname “Harvey Scissorhands”, but in this case, instead of his customary shortening of films he was actually wanting to add footage that reportedly would have gone a long way towards appeasing Prince Albert of Monaco who represented the family in denouncing the film.
Perhaps there is no salvaging this movie, as it still does not show on the Weinstein Company’s slate of upcoming releases, which lists release dates of movies into 2015 – in fact, the movie does no longer appear anywhere on their website, having already suffered the embarrassing pushing back of release dates that often dooms the success of a film. A glimpse of hope came when the Japanese version of Grace of Monaco was a contender to open the Tokyo Film Festival (Nicole Kidman had attended the Chinese opening of Grace of Monaco and surprisingly China recorded the largest box office intake of any international country – including the director’s one country of France).
Could Japan serve as a testing ground for Weinstein? Publicity for the film is being augmented by a traveling road show of the Nicole Kidman/Grace Kelly costumes in Grace of Monaco. There is also a new movie trailer for Japan that takes a totally different angle – unfortunately seeming to imply that the movie is historical, rather than the completely fictionalized account that is actually is. In Japan there is also a special Grace Kelly Photo Exhibit, as well as an exhibition honoring the wedding of her son, Prince Albert, to the present Princess of Monaco, Princess Charlene.
Grace of Monaco Blu Ray – Courtesy of Amazon
But with an apparent October 13, 2014 DVD release date of Grace of Monaco in the UK (and region-free Blu Ray), the possibility exists that Americans may never see a full screen release of Grace of Monaco in the USA. (iTunes is releasing Grace of Monaco even earlier – Sep 29) It was originally speculated for an early October release in the US to coincide with the October 8th Princess Grace Foundation Gala taking place for the first time in Hollywood itself, and the re-release of a book that has been re-titled Grace of Monaco by Jeffrey Robinson (which is really a re-shuffled reprint of his 1989 book Grace & Rainier). But now even this book has been post-poned again – to December 2nd – so the earliest possibility we could see Nicole Kidman in Grace of Monaco is early December, on the heels of another Nicole Kidman movie “Paddington” (from the producer of Harry Potter).
A little known fact is that Harvey Weinstein was in Monaco at the same event with Prince Albert in late July of 2013 and a more know fact is Harvey’s cordial relationship with Nicole Kidman – so it is plausible that an understanding has been made to burry Grace of Monaco – another tragic death. For now, we may have to be satisfied with the selection of Grace of Monaco video clips (available at www.beyondgracekelly.com/grace-monaco-movie-clips/) , or with the new DVD collection of Grace Kelly movies, or the soon-to-be-released new book on Princess Grace that lets you know the real person behind the tiara – and the truth about her relationship with Prince Rainier (from www.PrincessGraceofMonaco.com)
My Days with Princess Grace of Monaco Book – Courtesy of www.PrincessGraceofMonaco.com
The best way to stay in touch for all the latest news: Twitter @GraceKellyNews
Source: http://www.beyondgracekelly.com/grace-monaco-movie-usa-release/
