Sony delays release of ‘King’s Men’

Sony’s Columbia Pictures has shelved a planned December release of its highly anticipated remake of “All the King’s Men,” removing one of the studio’s potential Oscar contenders.

The release will likely be delayed about a year, said Michael Medavoy, chairman of Phoenix Films, which is producing the remake of the movie based on Robert Penn Warren’s 1946 classic roman a clef about Louisiana politician Huey Long.

Medavoy said writer and director Steve Zaillian was still reviewing footage from shooting that ended this spring in Louisiana and had yet to hear the soundtrack. Still, early screenings of the work-in-progress have been held, and a trailer has been posted on Internet movie sites.

“We were rushing it to make a date, and we just weren’t ready,” Medavoy said. “I would say we were 30 days too ambitious, and the 30 days makes the difference between whether you make it or not.”

The movie stars Sean Penn as Willie Stark, the Louisiana “hick” reform politician who falls into corruption himself. The movie is narrated by Jack Burden (Jude Law), a former journalist who links his star to Stark.

The 1949 Robert Rossen version won three Oscars.