I’ve been hearing about Robert Zemeckis‘s Welcome to Marwen (Universal 12.21) since last summer. It opens on 12.21 (19 days hence) and I haven’t heard zip about screenings.

We all know the drill: It’s about the true saga of Mark Hogancamp (Steve Carell), a photographer and model builder who was attacked 18 years ago by a group of neo-Nazi ruffians. (Hogan camp went to a blue-collar bar and brilliantly mentioned being a cross-dresser.) He suffered severe brain damage and a near-complete loss of memory, and had to re-learn how to walk and speak. As a form of therapy he created a small-scale, World War II-era Belgian village which became a kind of alternate-universe environment for the guy.

Formerly called The Women of Marwen, pic costars Leslie Mann, Merritt Wever, Janelle Monae, Gwendoline Christie, Diane Kruger and Eliza Gonzalez.

The script by Zemeckis and Caroline Thompson is based on Marwencol, Jeff Malmberg‘s 2010 documentary about same.