John Hillcoat’s The Road Finally Gets a New Release Date

Posted by on May 1st, 2009   Filed under: Books/Comics, Drama, Thriller
Source: Rope of Silicon

theroadoctoberrelease

Hey, what do you know… looks like one of my most anticipated movies of 2008 is finally going to be released — in October 2009! John Hillcoat’s adaptation of the Cormac McCarthy novel The Road starring Viggo Mortensen was originally slated for release sometime near the end of last year, with early buzz pegging it as a possible Oscar contender. Then The Weinstein Company hit some financial troubles, Hillcoat asked for a little more time, and they quietly decided to push it back to 2009.

After a long period of radio silence, Rope of Silicon informs us that The Weinstein Co. website has finally updated the official release date to October 16th, 2009. I didn’t quite expect it to take another full year for the movie to hit theatres, but I’m guessing that at this point it’s more a matter of marketing rather than necessity. The summer usually isn’t the right time to release a gritty and bleak post-apocalyptic thriller. Plus, no sense in wasting the Academy Award potential, right? I suppose I should probably be using all this extra time to actually read the book beforehand. What do you say… are you excited about The Road?



  • I am very excited. This was one of my most anticipated last year and I started the novel, but then it fell of the map. Glad to hear a new release date is set.

  • 1138

    Glad to hear it too. Though the material sounds damn bleak. I have not the book but now I might have to before the movie comes out.

  • Aaron

    Although it’s the right move, this is killing me. It’s the only movie I was looking forward to in 2008, and now 2009 I guess. Incredibly dark picture in one of my favorite movie genres. It will be perfect for Fall and a perfect set-up for Oscar potential. Early buzz says the actor playing the Son is supposed to be out-of-this-world good. Here’s to hoping!

  • mike

    i read the book and im looking forward to see how the is

  • mike

    i read the book and im looking forward to see how the movie is

  • Ross

    Also one of my favorite genres. I weaned on Pat Frank’s book Alas Babylon in high school, and the movie The Omega Man (which I think was creepier than I am Legend).

    I don’t think I’ve ever seen a movie who’s R-rating includes warnings of Infanticide and Cannibilism. The novel was bleak, believeable greatness. And leaving out a reason for the world’s destruction was smart; it allows the reader or viewer to fill in the cause himself.

    October is a good month for a release, earlier in the month rather than later. This movie is going to be a glorious downer (Schindler’s List or Das Boot, anybody?), and I can’t imagine holiday movie goers flocking to it much past early November.

    I want to see it NOW though *groan*.

  • Goon

    I loved No Country for Old Men and sought out the book.

    Gave up on it partway through. Call me a plebian or whatever you will, I just hated the way it was written, couldnt stand it.

    Will gladly watch the movie instead.

  • swarez

    Funny how nobody uses the argument that is used when other films have been shelved or held back. “There must be something wrong with it.”
    There is usually a reason for this happening, just a bad movie or the company has no faith in it. Since it’s Weinstein it’s probably about money than anything else.

  • mrbenning

    Re: Goon

    I won’t call you a plebian. Cormac McCarthy’s style is pretty devisive. Sometimes he turns it up to 11, when it really needs to be at 5.

    The nice thing about reading ‘The Road’, even if you don’t like McCarthy’s prose, is that you can get through it in an afternoon. Big font + short chapters + short book = quick run through a decent story.

  • Goon

    I tend to like movies where characters dont have names – half the time most people dont remember names anyways. When its a book stuff like “The Man” and “The Boy” annoys me to death, same goes for Heart of Darkness. Most people can give good reasons why some authors would write like that, but personally it pulls me out of the book immediately.

  • Nicole

    I’m excited to hear a date has been set. When I first heard about it here, I went out and bought/read the book and thoroughly enjoyed it. I would recommend reading the book to anyone interested in this project. I’m most interested in seeing how the father/son relationship will be played out of screen.

  • Mojo

    About damn time. I read the book before I knew there was a movie in the works and can’t wait to see it on the screen.