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Chances are, regardless of where on planet Earth you’re reading this post, you’re likely not too far away from one of the many, many Golden Arches that symbolize McDonald’s, the fast food chain originally founded in 1940. Official figures reveal that there are currently more than 36,000 restaurants operating worldwide, but in a few weeks’ time, The Weinstein Company and director John Lee Hancock will be shedding light on the story behind the empire with The Founder.

Already screening in select Us theaters to ensure Hancock’s biopic is in contention for awards season, The Founder is on course to expand nationwide on January 20, when we’ll be introduced to Michael Keaton’s Ray Kroc, a relentless and indeed ruthless salesman who comes into contact with impresarios Mac and Dick McDonald during the 1950s. Back then, the McDonald’s brand was little more than a modest diner, but Kroc sensed franchise potential,...

For the third year on the trot, Michael Keaton will find his name attached to a potential awards vehicle with The Founder, John Lee Hancock’s biopic that chronicles the meteoric rise of McDonald’s and, ultimately, the fast food industry as we know it today.

Set to open nationwide on January 20, The Weinstein Company today announced that The Founder will get a one-week awards qualifying run in Los Angeles over the coming weeks, and though he’s considered a left-field choice at the moment, the news ensures Keaton’s name will be in the mix when awards season kicks off in earnest.

As for Hancock’s true-life drama, The Founder centers on Ray Kroc, an Illinois salesman struggling to make ends meet in 1950s America. Upon crossing paths with impresarios Mac and Dick McDonald in southern California, Kroc senses potential in their humble burger shack, and would go on...

It seems that director John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side, Saving Mr Banks) likes a good reality-based tale, and in this specific trend continues to attract top-level talent to his projects. Such is the case with The Founder, which is about to begin production with a 2014 Blacklist script by Robert Siegel. It is a dramatic re-telling of the phenomenal rise to global domination of the McDonalds restaurant chain, and the man that masterminded its success, Ray Kroc.

Kroc – a Chicago-born entrepreneur who drove Red Cross ambulances in the first World War – spotted the franchise potential of a restaurant operation run by Richard and Maurice McDonald. After opening the inaugural location of McDonalds Inc in Illinois, Kroc quickly built a reputation for aggressive business strategies, and eventually managed to take the empire from the brothers – building it into a worldwide success. Kroc was married three times, and two-time Academy Award nominee...