It’s official: David O. Russell’s star-studded “original romantic crime epic” will be titled Amsterdam when it’s released on November 4. That’s the word from Disney executive Tony Chambers, who announced the news at CinemaCom this week. The picture is being released under the 20th Century Studios label, owned by Disney. It was shot in Los Angeles in early 2021.
Given the raft of talented luminaries who have signed on to appear in the cast, it’s more than likely that Amsterdam will figure prominently in next year’s Oscar balloting. The cast includes (in alphabetical order): Christian Bale, Robert De Niro, Rami Malek, Mike Myers, Alessandro Nivola, Timothy Olyphant, Andrea Riseborough, Margot Robbie, Chris Rock, Zoe Saldana, Matthias Schoenaerts, Michael Shannon, Taylor Swift, Anya Taylor-Joy, and John David Washington.
Despite the huge list, the story will focus upon the adventurous exploits of three friends, played by Bale, Rock, and Swift. They will portray a doctor, a nurse, and a lawyer who cavort through the interwar Amsterdam of the 1930s. On the trailer, Christian Bale’s declaration is heard in voice-over: “We formed a pact and swore to protect each other no matter what.
But sometimes life is perfect until it’s not.
” The trailer ends on a provocative note with Rock, Bale, and Swift looking into a coffin holding the body of Swift’s father as Rock comments: “You have a dead white man in the box.
… Who do you think is going to get in trouble for that? The Black guy.”
Taylor Swift is a relative newcomer to the big screen. She made her film debut in Valentine’s Day in 2010 and won accolades for her performance in Tom Hooper’s Cats in 2019.
Russell, a five-time Oscar nominee, has been celebrated as the director of such pics as Joy, Silver Linings Playbook, and American Hustle. In introducing the project at CinemaCom, Tony Chambers told attendees that Russell “brought together an all-star cast in ‘Amsterdam,’ which is an original romantic crime epic about three close friends who find themselves at the center of one of the most shocking secret plans in American history.