(l-r) Ian Hart stars as Lord Maitland, Jack Lowden as Lord Darnley, Saoirse Ronan as Mary Stuart and James McArdle as Earl of Moray in MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS, a Focus Features release. Credit: Liam Daniel / Focus Features
Hot off the news that On the Basis of Sex would open AFI Fest as its world premiere, another Focus Features film that’s been absent from the fall festivals, the rival queen drama Mary Queen of Scots, will close AFI on November 15th.
Mary Queen of Scots details Mary Stuart’s (three-time Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan) attempt to overthrow her cousin Elizabeth I, Queen of England (Oscar nominee Margot Robbie), which winds up getting her condemned to prison prior to her execution.
Beau Willimon (House of Cards) adapted the book “Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart,” by John Guy. The film also stars Guy Pearce, David David Tennant and Gemma Chan.
The 32nd AFI Fest will run November 8-15th at the TCL Chinese Theatre, the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres, the Egyptian Theatre and The Hollywood Roosevelt.
Focus Features will release Mary Queen of Scots on December 7th.
Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.
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), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) 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.