Say good bye to "The Conspirator," and hello to "Rabbit Hole"

In what is becoming an increasingly overcrowded year (especially in the lead actress category), some films are in danger of joining Tree of Life in 2011, despite assumptions that they would at least have Oscar-qualifying runs this year. Two films whose fates were recently questioned were Toronto selections The Conspirator and Rabbit Hole, which have both been seen by critics and the public after months of precious little promotional material. Well, for those of you keeping track, it's time to update your predictions, if only slightly.
Deadline New York has confirmed that The Conspirator has a distributor, but it won't land in theaters until Spring 2011 (in other words: good-bye Oscar chances). Meanwhile, Showbiz411 is reporting that LionsGate is very close to picking up Rabbit Hole with the intent being to get it out in theaters in time for the upcoming Oscar race.

First look at Robert Redford's "The Conspirator," and an adjustment for Damon's "Bureau"

It's about time. One of 2010's elusive period-piece Oscar hopefuls has finally come out of the shadows; IMDb provides the following premise:

Mary Surratt is the lone female charged as a co-conspirator in the assassination trial of Abraham Lincoln. As the whole nation turns against her, she is forced to rely on her reluctant lawyer to uncover the truth and save her life.

The film doesn't yet have a specific 2010 release date, though obviously it's being saved for the fall/winter to give it a bigger push for awards consideration. At this point, I'm not even sure if it's finished filming, so it could be a while before we even start to get some buzz on this project. I wasn't a big fan of Redford's Lions for Lambs (2007); I hated it to the core except for Streep and Cruise. However, this project, based on its cast (maybe McAvoy can finally score that first Oscar nomination?) and subject matter, has me intrigued. More will be posted as it arrives...and hopefully that won't be TOO long.

In other news, word has it that the Matt Damon/Emily Blunt pseudo-sci-fi thriller The Adjustment Bureau has been pushed from July 30th to September 17th. The post on Deadline Hollywood was only a list of Universal's upcoming releases and their current release dates, so there's no info as to why this delay has happened. Considering the lack of trailer, the film could either not be far enough along in post-production yet, or could be in need of a major reworking, which would be a shame considering the talent involved.