Two anticipated fall movies will be getting new release dates - although, at this point, both films should be used to the torturous path from script to screen. First up, P.T. Anderson's The Master - which has been slowly gaining notice thanks to some impressive trailers, will actually be coming to theaters sooner before later, now arriving on September 14th (good news, for once). Meanwhile, Killing Them Softly, the new crime drama from Assassination of Jesse James filmmaker Andrew Dominik, is facing yet another change to its release date.

The Weinstein Company is behind both halves of this latest release date juggle; scroll down for details on the films and how they will fit into their new slots.

Killing Them Softly will now be in theaters on October 19th, a month later than the September 21st release date it carried up until now. The film re-teams Dominik with his Jesse James star Brad Pitt, in a crime drama about a Mob enforcer named Jackie Cogan (Pitt) who is called in when a card game under mob protection gets heisted. The film is based on the novel by Gorge V. Higgins and stars some familiar mob movie types like James Gondolfini (The Sopranos) and Ray Liotta (Goodfellas). Check out this clip from Killing Them Softly.

Brad Pitt as Cogan in Cogan's Trade

The film originally flew under the title of Cogan's Trade and was initially aiming for an early 2012 release before it landed a fall 2012 release instead - which has now, of course, been shifted. Dominik is a uniquely-styled filmmaker (the love/hate divide over Jesse James stretched far and wide), and despite its premise, there's little doubt that Killing Them Softly is not the easiest sell. An October release seems appropriate enough for an arthouse take on a genre flick; however, the movie will have big competition like Paranormal Activity 4 and Alex Cross crowding the theater, while other indie offerings like Sopranos creator David Chase's Not Fade Away will be more direct competition. Still, it's nice to know that - thanks to Not Fade Away and Killing Them Softly now opening on the same weekend - we'll be getting a double dose of Tony Soprano on the silver screen.

The Master has had its own stumbles - mostly in securing funding - no doubt due to the fact that it shares some not-so-subtle parallels with the real-life story of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. Thanks to emerging Hollywood power-player Megan Ellison (True GritLawlessKilling Them Softly), Anderson got the funding he needed to make the film, which trailers suggest focuses more on the account of a lost soul WWII vet named Freddie Sutton (Joaquin Phoenix).

master trailer pt anderson joaquin phoenix

With Phoenix giving what looks to be an arresting performance - matched by Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams as fictional versions of Hubbard and his wife - no doubt the Weinstein company wants The Master out there early to start building the sort of awards campaign that Harvey Weinstein is (in)famous for. The Master now opens against Finding Nemo 3D and Resident Evil: Retribution, with more direct arthouse competition coming from Perks of Being a Wallflower (with Harry Potter alum Emma Watson) and Liberal Arts (headlined by rising actress Elizabeth Olsen).

The Master will be in theaters on September 14, 2012.

Killing Them Softly will be in theaters on October 19, 2012.

Source:  Variety