Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana in ‘Spencer’ First Look at CinemaCon
The theater owners at CinemaCon, the annual trade show convention now at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, got a first look at footage for Spencer, the biopic featuring Kristen Stewart as a young Princess Diana.
Set in 1991, unfolds over the Christmas holiday, Spencer grapples with Diana’s (born Diana Frances Spencer) decision to end her marriage to Prince Charles.
Brit actor Jack Farthing stars alongside Stewart as the heir apparent to the British throne.
The footage, which hasn’t been made available to the general public, features fabulous suits, elaborate scenery — and a tense conversation between the Prince and Princess of Wales.
At another point in the teaser, Stewart’s Diana prances through the estate grounds and evades paparazzi, and it becomes increasingly clear that the princess is struggling to balance her private and public persona.
Every Fairy Tale Ends
Before its presentation at CinemaCon, Neon, the studio backing the film, debuted new poster with the tagline “Every fairy tale ends.”
Pablo Larrain (“Jackie”) directed “Spencer,” which was written by “Peaky Blinders” creator Steven Knight.
During Neon’s CinemaCon presentation, the company’s CEO and founder Tom Quinn took the stage to tout footage from the fantasy drama “Petite Maman,” the latest feature from “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” director Celine Sciamma, as well and the Sundance prize-winning documentary Flee.
CinemaCon is taking place amid a trying time for the theater business. After a year without a steady stream of new movies to entice audiences, the delta variant is posing a new threat to the return of moviegoing. As a result of prolonged theater closures and low attendance levels, studios have shattered industry tradition by putting their biggest movies on streaming platforms on the same day as their theatrical releases.
Not every Hollywood company has abandoned the idea of an exclusive theatrical window. Neon, the distribution company of the Oscar-winner Parasite, has released several films in theaters amid the pandemic, including “Ammonite,” starring Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan, and the Nicolas Cage-led “Pig.”
“Spencer” is slated to release on the big screen on Nov. 5 amid the awards race.
Prior to its theatrical debut, the movie will premiere at the Venice Film Festival, which runs from Sept. 1 through Sept. 11.