LOOK: Coen Brothers’ ‘Hail, Caesar!’ to Open 2016 Berlinale; Cast Photos Are Divine

The Coens usually go to Cannes, but the film’s Feb. 5, 2016 release date means a big get for the Berlinale. Anything the brothers do, whether it hits theaters in the depths of winter or the heart of awards season, is sure to pique the interest of the cinephile set, and “Hail, Caesar!” is no different.  

Set at the height of Hollywood’s Golden Age, the high-gloss period comedy follows a single day in the life of studio fixer Edward Mannix (Josh Brolin) on the fictional Capitol Pictures lot.

The film also features George Clooney as movie star Baird Whitlock, kidnapped in the course of filming “prestige” epic “Hail, Caesar!”; Ralph Fiennes as director Laurence Lorenz; and Tilda Swinton as real-life gossip columnist Hedda Hopper. (By the looks of it, she could give Helen Mirren’s Hopper, in “Trumbo,” a run for her money.) 

Channing Tatum shows up in a sailor suit singing, dancing, and grinning from ear to ear, while Scarlett Johansson turns her accent to full Brooklyn as a performer with a streak of femme fatale. In short, it’s closer kin to “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” than “Inside Llewyn Davis,” and it looks like a helluva lot of fun.

In 1998, the Coen Brothers presented “The Big Lebowski” in competition at the Berlinale, and “True Grit” opened the festival in 2011. “Hail, Caesar!” will be distributed by Universal Pictures worldwide. Check out more stills from the film below.