Michael Keaton's 'The Founder' to get early Dec awards-qualifying run

PanARMENIAN.Net - Director John Lee Hancock's The Founder will get a one-week awards-qualifying run in Los Angeles that commences Wednesday, Dec. 7 The Weinstein Co. said Tuesday, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The movie will open nationwide Jan. 20 as previously announced.

In The Founder, Michael Keaton plays McDonald's impresario Ray Kroc, who transformed what was a tiny burger shack into an empire. FilmNation produced the biopic, which co-stars Laura Dern.

Originally, The Founder was set to open Nov. 25 - during the heart of Oscar and Golden Globe campaigning - but TWC relocated the film to August after deciding to open Lion on the November date instead. TWC later moved The Founder to January but said it would still get a qualifying run, although no official date was announced.

"This film has a unique relevance to our current times. You have a persistent and, at times, calculating entrepreneur representing both the best and worst of American businessmen and who ultimately created the fast food industry as we know it today," TWC co-chairman Harvey Weinstein said in a statement. "It's up to audiences to determine if he's a visionary, an opportunist or a crook and how that fits in our society. I think everyone is going to want to see this story and ultimately decide for themselves."