Director Doug Liman wrote a compelling and nuanced op-ed presented at Deadline on Wednesday, elucidating the case for his boycott of the upcoming SXSW premiere of his new movie, Road House.
In the article, Liman details how Amazon slated the movie for a streaming release, thus reversing the film’s initial theatrical prospects following the company’s acquisition of MGM into its library back in Spring of 2022. He also highlights the importance of sustaining theatrical releases to maintain the film industry at large, citing a number of things including film performance positives on streaming platforms resulting from theatrical windows, to computers lacking the “experience of laughing and cheering and crying with a packed audience in a dark theater”.
It’s a fascinating read and worth bearing in mind as the film approaches its opening night premiere on March 8, followed by its March 21 launch on the streamer. As such, the upcoming reimagining of Rowdy Herrington’s 1989 bar room brawler has an official trailer following Wednesday’s poster reveal.
In this adrenaline-fueled reimagining of the 80s cult classic, ex-UFC fighter Dalton (Jake Gyllenhaal) takes a job as a bouncer at a Florida Keys roadhouse, only to discover that this paradise is not all it seems.
Based on the Motion Picture “Road House” Screenplay by David Lee Henry and Hilary Henkin.
Story By Anthony Bagarozzi & Charles Mondry and David Lee Henry.
Jake Gyllenhaal stars along with Daniela Melchior, Billy Magnussen, Jessica Williams, Joaquim de Almeida, and Conor McGregor, along with Lukas Gage, Arturo Castro, B.K. Cannon, Beau Knapp, Darren Barnet, and Dominique Columbus.
Enjoy the trailer, and if anything, let’s hope the film actually retains a theatrical window after this. I’m kind of hoping it does.
