Clint Eastwood’s ‘Juror #2’ to World Premiere as AFI FEST Closing Night Film Followed by November Release
The American Film Institute (AFI) announced today that the world premiere of Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2 will close the 38th edition of AFI FEST presented by Canva. The Warner Bros. Pictures film stars Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, J.K. Simmons, Chris Messina, Gabriel Basso, Zoey Deutch, Cedric Yarbrough, Leslie Bibb and Kiefer Sutherland. Juror #2 will screen as the AFI FEST Closing Night Red Carpet Premiere at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre on October 27.
“There is only one Clint Eastwood – and AFI is proud to present the World Premiere of this next chapter in his historic canon,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI President and CEO. “We are honored to bring the community together once again – artists and audiences – to celebrate an American icon.”
The film follows family man Justin Kemp (Hoult) who, while serving as a juror in a high profile murder trial, finds himself struggling with a serious moral dilemma…one he could use to sway the jury verdict and potentially convict – or free – the accused killer.
The premiere of Juror #2 continues the long relationship between Eastwood and AFI, which launched the world premieres of American Sniper, J. Edgar and Richard Jewell at AFI FEST. In 1996, Eastwood received the 24th AFI Life Achievement Award – the highest honor for a career in film, and in 2009, AFI conferred an Honorary Degree upon Eastwood for contributions of distinction to the art of the moving image.
Juror #2 is written by Jonathan Abrams; produced by Eastwood, Tim Moore, p.g.a., Jessica Meier, p.g.a., Adam Goodman and Matt Skiena; and executive produced by David M. Bernstein, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein and Jeremy Bell. The film features the work of Yves Bélanger, director of photography; Ron Reiss, production designer; Joel Cox, David Cox, editors; Deborah Hopper, costume designer; Mark Mancina, original score; and Geoffrey Miclat, casting.
The film will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, who give the film an initial limited theatrical release on November 1.
The 38th AFI FEST runs October 23-27, 2024 and is sponsored by Canva. As previously announced, the world premiere of the documentary film Music by John Willians will open AFI FEST on October 23, the world premiere of Robert Zemeckis’ Here will be the Centerpiece Screening on October 25, and the world premiere of Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl will screen on the afternoon of October 27.
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
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