One of this summer’s most highly-anticipated movies is Warner Bros'.Suicide Squad, which will provide an origin story for the members of Task Force X in the studio’s DC Extended Universe. When that movie hits theaters on August 5, it will be going up against a much different origin story, The Weinstein Company’sThe Founder, which charts the origins of fast food giantMcDonald’s, and its founder,Ray A. Kroc, played byMichael Keaton. Today we have the first trailer forThe Founder, which shows how a salesman turned one hamburger stand into a worldwide empire.
In the 1950s,Ray Kroc(Michael Keaton) was a lowly milkshake maker salesman from Illinois who came across a Southern California hamburger restaurant dubbed McDonald’s, run by two brothers, Mac (John Caroll Lynch) and Dick McDonald (Nick Offerman). Impressed by their speedy system of making what would become known asfast food, and their signature golden arches, he soon became partners with the McDonald brothers, but their partnership didn’t last long.Kroceventually acquired the company from them in 1961, turning it into a global sensation. We get to see some of this history unfold thanks to the first teaser courtesy ofUSA Today
The supporting cast includesLinda Cardellini,Patrick Wilson,Laura DernandB.J. Novak. Before the film started production, the script byRobert D. Siegel(Big Fan,The Wrestler) was being compared toThe Social NetworkandThere Will Be Blood. It’s easy to see how those comparisons were made by watching the first trailer, especially since two brothers came up with the original idea for both Facebook and McDonald’s, but it took an outside visionary, like Ray Kroc and Mark Zuckerberg, to take it to the next level.
John Lee Hancockdirects fromRobert D. Siegel’s script, withJeremy Rennerserving as a producer alongsideDon HandfieldandAaron Ryder, although the actor-producer doesn’t appear in front of the camera.John Lee Hancockis well known for bringing true stories like this to life, having taken the helm on movies such asThe Rookie,The Alamo,The Blind SideandSaving Mr. Banks, which are all based on real people. We’ll have to wait and see ifThe Founderis as big of a hit as the rest of his movies.
In addition to the trailer, we also have a new poster forThe Founder, to get fans ready for the August 5 release. Since a biopic like this will obviously attract a much different audience thanSuicide Squad, it will surely make for an intriguing box office showdown this summer. Take a look at thefirst trailerand poster below forThe Founder.
