By all accounts, Jake Gyllenhaal's next film, Demolition, looks like textbook Oscar bait. He plays a hotshot, emotionally detached investment banker who, after the sudden death of his wife, has to look inward, reevaluate, and eventually, destroy his old life—sometimes literally—in order to build a new one. He does this with the help of a stranger (Naomi Watts) and her son, who will no doubt help him discover the Things That Really Matter.
The movie was directed by Jean-Marc Vallée—who made awards favorites Wild and The Dallas Buyers Club—and will have its premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, typically the starting block for the Oscar race. And yet for some reason, Demolition is hitting theaters on April 8, disqualifying it from awards contention, despite the fact that it looks like Jake Gyllenhaal's Jerry Maguire. Hopefully, the Academy is impressed by shredded abs.
