When Tom Tykwer and Andy & Lana Wachowski completed the principal photography for the adaptation of David Mitchell‘s Cloud Atlas in late December, it had no distributor. But that’s why we have film festivals like the one being held at Cannes. According to Thompson on Hollywood, Warner Bros. has picked up the distribution rights for Cloud Atlas for $20 million, and will release the movie on December 6th, which is the perfect time to release a movie if you are aiming for some awards.

But what makes Cloud Atlas so ambitious is that it will have multiple stories taking place in multiple generations with multiple characters involved. The film stars Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugo Weaving, Ben Whishaw, Susan Sarandon, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Grant, and Bae Doona, all of whom will be playing these multiple characters in these stories that span generations.

There is word that the rough cut that was screen at Cannes ran clocked in at three hours. But the report that I am reading says that the cut that was shown to buyers clocked in at 2 hours and 44 minutes. I can’t see the film’s run time being cut any lower than that because of the massive amount of stories that need to be told in order for it to be faithful to the original story.

So far Cloud Atlas will go up against Hyde Park On Hudson, but the following week it will have to contend with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and Les Miserables.

[Source: Thompson On Hollywood]