Writer Dan Fogelman is the man behind cheery romcom Crazy, Stupid, Love and less-inspired fare like The Guilt Trip and Last Vegas. We’ll soon find out whether the latter pair of flops were down to the director’s interpretation of Fogelman’s scripts, as the scribe has completed work on his directorial debut Danny Collins.
Loosely based on a true story, the drama follows Al Pacino’s old school rocker who opts to make big changes in his life when he receives a letter from John Lennon. The tagline running on the poster cashes in nicely on the fact that Lennon posted the letter forty years prior, yet it only reaches Collins as he teeters on the cusp of old age.
Along for the jaunt is an impressive supporting cast that includes Annette Bening, Jennifer Garner, Bobby Cannavale and Christopher Plummer, all of whom can be seen in the first crop of images that have arrived for the pic. The premise and cast are two factors here that lift this movie from typical guff to interesting drama, which I for one will be looking forward to.
With a release date for Danny Collins set for March 20th, 2015, expect to see the first trailer very soon for this quirky drama. For a look at those new images and the one-sheet poster, have a scroll through the gallery below, before scanning the official synopsis.
Aging 70s musician Danny Collins (Pacino) is still living fast – drugs, sex, and a way-too-young-for him girlfriend. He’s playing sold-out arenas every night where he performs his “sell-out” music (his words) in front of an ageing, rabid audience.
When, on his 64th birthday, Danny discovers an undelivered letter written to his 19-year-old self from his hero John Lennon, he is inspired to straighten his life out, rediscover the music he originally set out to make, and most importantly; reconnect with the forty-year-old son he’s never known.
Leaving his luxury lifestyle behind, Danny moves into a small New Jersey hotel and befriends Mary (Bening), the hotel’s down-to-earth manager, who helps inspire him to continue on his journey. As Danny reconnects with his son, Tom (Cannavale), and Tom’s young family, he experiences life without the sparkly, rock ‘n’ roll facade, and discovers that, in the words of Lennon’s letter, “love… is all that matters.”
In Fogelman’s words, “DANNY COLLINS is, a little bit, kind of based on a true story,” that shows it’s never too late to be inspired by your music and your family…or to get a second chance.