Eisenberg's "The Debut" Closes London Film Festival with Oscar Buzz — SkimNews
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- The Debut, written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg, closed the London Film Festival Sunday night at the Royal Festival Hall, with Moore starring as a shy New Jersey housewife who lands a role in a local theater production of a fictional musical called "Nosy Neighbors."
- Julianne Moore called the script "one of the best scripts I've ever read in my entire life" and an "incredible gift," while Eisenberg said he wrote the lead role specifically for her, calling her his "favorite person."
- Paul Giamatti was absent from the U.K. premiere because he has COVID-19, according to Eisenberg, who called the actor "the greatest guy" and said Giamatti had been one of his favorite actors since childhood.
- The cast also includes Eisenberg, Halle Bailey, Colton Ryan, Bonnie Milligan, Bernadette Peters, Lilli Cooper, Maulik Pancholy, and Havana Rose Liu, with the film set to hit theaters Dec. 11 via A24.
- The film premiered at Telluride Film Festival last month, where it earned rave reviews and Oscar buzz for Moore, with Variety chief critic Owen Gleiberman likening it to "'Waiting for Guffman' made by the Coen brothers at their most rivetingly unhinged."
- Eisenberg said acting alongside Moore and Giamatti was "the thrill of a lifetime" but also "very strange," joking he was "my worst self" and hoped to "never act alongside them again."
Why it matters: With Moore already collecting Oscar buzz and Variety's chief critic drawing a Coen brothers comparison, A24's Dec. 11 theatrical release positions "The Debut" as an awards-season contender built on a deeply personal screenplay that Eisenberg drafted with Moore in mind from the start.
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