Betty Anne Waters: Fox Searchlight’s Oscar Bait for 2011?

Fox Searchlight have made their first “public appearance” with Betty Anne Waters –  a simple send out to all the media with the pic below and a mention of a fall release. As I mentioned before, I think they are hedging their bets early underlining that they thought they had a leader of the pack pick with Hilary Swank in Amelia and are looking to make amends with a picture that fans of Crazy Heart and The Blind Side might like. Tony Goldwyn directed the picture and his early career is filled with torment-friendly family drama films such as A Walk on the Moon (99) and Someone Like You… (01). Here is the synopsis you can find on our preview page for the film – spoilers included.

Scripted by Pamela Gray, this is based on the true story of a high school dropout (Swank) who represented her brother in a murder case. It tells how Waters, an unemployed single mother of two, saw her brother (Rockwell) begin serving a life sentence in 1983 for murder and robbery. Convinced that he was innocent, she spent the next 12 years taking the steps to earn a law degree, and in 1995 she began focusing on her brother’s case. Challenging the conviction with DNA evidence, she proved her brother’s innocence, and in March 2001, Kenneth Waters walked out a free man.