Road House director Doug Liman to boycott premiere over streaming release
Liman says Amazon doesn’t care about movie theaters, just movies to help sell “plumbing fixtures”
Aux News Road House
To quote the great, throat-ripping NYU-educated philosopher, Dalton, “Nobody ever wins a fight.” But maybe Doug Liman can get a few shots in.
Liman, the director of the upcoming remake of Road House starring Jake Gyllenhaal, will be boycotting the film’s SXSW premiere over issues with Amazon MGM’s release strategy. In an op-ed for Deadline, the prolific filmmaker criticizes Amazon for pushing Road House to streaming and accuses the company of setting a dangerous precedent for theatrical releases and failing to live up to agreements.
“Contrary to their public statements, Amazon has no interest in supporting cinemas,” Liman writes. “Amazon will exclusively stream Road House on Amazon Prime. Amazon asked me and the film community to trust them and their public statements about supporting cinemas, and then they turned around and are using Road House to sell plumbing fixtures.”
Liman says he “signed up to make a theatrical motion picture for MGM,” and when Amazon bought MGM, Bezos’ behemoth promised to put “a billion dollars into theatrical motion pictures, releasing at least 12 a year.” It was touted as “the largest commitment to cinemas by an internet company,” he says, and Liman was told if he made a great film, a theatrical release wasn’t out of the question. After testing higher than his previous hits and despite the film’s “strong tie-in with UFC, which has a rabid and loyal fan base,” the company decided to dump the film on streaming.
The director sees this as an existential threat to movie theaters but doesn’t blame the Amazon film execs, who he believes to be “good people who are trying to do their best.” That might not be the problem:
The reality is there may not be a human villain in this story – it may simply be an Amazon computer algorithm. Amazon will sell more toasters if it has more subscribers; it will have more subscribers if it doesn’t have to compete with movie theaters. A computer could come up with that elegant solution as easily as it could solve global warming by killing all humans.
But a computer doesn’t know what it is like to share the experience of laughing and cheering and crying with a packed audience in a dark theater – and if Amazon has its way, future audiences won’t know either.
This isn’t the first post-production hiccup for Road House. Last year, producer Joel Silver was reportedly removed from the film and another Amazon release for allegedly verbally abusing two female executives. Silver’s representatives dispute that he was fired or asked to leave but that his job was done. Variety reports that Silver was—get this—“incensed over the release strategy of Road House.” Silver, they write, wanted the film to go to theaters. The trade’s sources say those close to Silver say Amazon wanted to use A.I. to finish the movie, which he objected to.
Previously, it was reported that the film’s producers requested Amazon film head Jennifer Salke show the film to CEO Jeff Bezos on his yacht, which sounds like one of the Ben Gazara scenes from the original Road House. Bezos reportedly opted to push the film to streaming.
The A.V. Club has reached out to Amazon for comment.
80 Comments
The only thing I care about is avatar. No. Not the movie. Give me back my effin’ avatar!
Yeah when exactly did this happen and also what’s going on?
They were fine on Monday, so it’s only the past 48 hours or so.
The avatar removals will continue until morale improves
We are experiencing Late-Stage Kinja.
Yep. The heat death of Kinja continues. Sad.
Just a nitpick, but Jeff Bezos is not the CEO of Amazon.
Probably pretty much is a nitpick, since you know Bezos doesn’t care who has the actual title (in this case Andrew Jassy, who is such a high-profile CEO I had to look him up). Roadhouse wasn’t screened on Jassy’s yacht!
HR’s org chart lists him as “Overlord”.
Headline: Doug Liman Boycotts “Road House” Premiere Because of StreamingFollow-Up: Audience Boycotts “Road House” Because It’s Yet Another Shitty Remake No One Asked For
No one asked for the “no one asked for this” meme, and yet here we are. 😀
No one asked for “no one asked for the ‘no one asked for this’ meme”!I’m dizzy.
Turtles all the way down.
I did, but I was wasted at the time.
Say, “Say, ‘Bitter, much?’ much?” much?
Be recursive, until it’s time to not be recursive.
recursion, n.: see “recursion”
Ehhhh… I like Gyllenhaal and I’m sort of interested in the MMA-specific approach. I didn’t ask for it and I wouldn’t see it in a theater, but I *am* interested.
bingo
Someone asked for this: MGM studios, their board of directors, and the producer of the film. Your only voice in the process is to buy a ticket or not.
Except it’s not going to theaters
Sure. I slipped from the specific to the general somewhere in there. I’m just so tired of all the crying and wailing about “WHO ASKED FOR THIS?!” from so-called fan culture.
That would be a one-sentence distillation of the studio system, yes. Boy howdy.
That’s a big word for someone who direct a remake of existing property
He’s wants for his paid hackery the kind of respect that only comes with a proper theatrical release. Preferably in 70mm, but he’d settle for a 35mm release.
Yeah, him not good speaker man like you.
and Liman was told if he made a great film, a theatrical release wasn’t out of the question.In retrospect, he’s gotta admit they left a little wiggle room in there.Enough wiggle room to drive a fleet of billionaire yachts through.
“A little”??? I’m sure Liman thinks all of his movies are great films, but if you demand a theatrical release then FFS get it in the contract! Written, on paper, with signatures and proscribed monetary damages for breach! What is he, 12?
Live. Die. Renegotiate.
You realize he never negotiated with Amazon, right?
Whoever he negotiated with, if he had made sure it was in the contract, whoever bought MGM would have had to honor it.
Awww, sweetums, When you get out of 3rd grade you might learn something about real life.
“MGM would have had to honor it.”
That’s adorable. You’re an idiot.
That’s not actually the case. The fine print of film contracts usually has some clauses that nullify or allow amendment of the contract in the case of the company going out business, being bought out, merged, etc.
Well that’s a bummer. I wonder if he had a release clause in there.
It’s clear you’re not in the “movie business” by how little of an understanding you have of it’s most basic elements.
Yes, but Amazon is hardly the only studio selling content to streamers (or in its case, streaming on its own platform). This has been a risk for a while.
I saw SLEEPER in the theater, Mr. Liman.People are allowed to disagree.
Exactly. I can smell the bullshit from here and I’m not even a movie business veteran like Liman.
I feel like this has more to do with not a whole lot of people giving a shit about this remake
I decided to boycott it for a different reason. Don’t want to see it.
Oh look, Doug Liman pissed off somebody else.
Road House!
The A.V. Club has reached out to Amazon for comment.Asking your Echo Dot doesn’t count, guys.
The A.V. Club has reached out to Amazon for comment.UPDATE! Amazon has reach back out: “I think you have the wrong number”
“Playing songs like ‘Roadhouse Blues’ by The Doors, and other similar artists.”
What a coincidence, I’m boycotting it, too!Well, not boycotting so much as “not watching a stupid attempt to improve on perfection.”
These comments are less original than the remake itself.
I like Liman and Gyllenhaal’s respective work quite a bit, and cannot understand why they would buy into doing a remake of an arguable cult classic (okay, I’m not sure if that’s the right classification, but you know what I mean), especially one that no one ever considered worthy of a do-over. Sadly, I can only assume both needed a fat paycheck, because they certainly didn’t make it for artistic reasons.Again, creative bankruptcy wins the day.
If they promised him a theatrical release then he has a real beef. But maybe a remake of a cheesy 80’s action film that most people saw on VHS or cable is not the hill to die on.
But they didn’t. They said it “wasn’t out of the question.”
YEah, he shouldn’t care what happens to the movie he has spent the past two years making.
It was just a few years ago, but at one point the original Road House was the most played movie on basic cable which just goes to show you how worthless basic cable really is.https://www.avclub.com/sorry-shawshank-but-road-house-and-jumanji-were-the-m-1844458907
Shawshank would be the top if it had some nekkid boobies in it.
That would suggest cable is a national treasure though. If it *wasn’t* the most played movie, then you would have an argument that cable was worthless.
Or maybe it’s a remake no one asked for, a decade past any nostalgia for the original, and dumping it to the stream just cut the losses on a bad idea?
Liman might think it’s painful for this movie to go to streaming, but someone should remind him that pain don’t hurt.
Deserves more stars.
Don’t worry, Doug – there’s always barber college.
As long as I’ve still got Swingers, Go, and Edge Of Tomorrow in disc form on my shelf, I’m good.
on top of this it ALSO seems like a shitty choice to premiere at sxsw. amazon should not be showing a road house remake there, they should at least have a fake indie movie.now that i think about it – shouldn’t they be the ones buying movies from sxsw, not premiering them?
Has anyone tried the argument on him that the sooner it comes to streaming the sooner the Rifftrax guys can take it down like they did the original?(The original Mike-only riff is quite good. I like the full three guys edition but prefer some of the Mike-only jokes.)
“Liman was told if he made a great film, a theatrical release wasn’t out of the question.”Friend, that’s why you need lawyers to look over your contracts before you sign them. If this is what they told you, it was never contractually binding and you shouldn’t have believed them. If having it released theatrically was important to you, you should have made sure it was in the contract.
“I’m sorry, we hade the film measured, and it fell 200 mili-plaudits short of ‘Great’.”
More like ‘Mr Liman, you do realize that we’re paying you actual money to remake an ‘80s movie that people only like ironically, right? And you expected more charity?’
Cool, dug the original movie, and I enjoy Jake’s work, he usually makes solid picks for films, so I expect him to bring something interesting to this. I can take off my nostalgia goggles and give this a look.
Why does he think anyone want to see this in the theater? I don’t want to see it for free on tv.
I want to see it in the theater.
The real question is why you think your opinion represents anyone but yourself.
Sounds like he should have signed a contract that assured him a theatrical release, or maybe made a better movie.
Director of “Jumper” (2008) Displeased With Soulless Corporation’s Release Strategy For Cynical Remake
Either way, this movie will not be my regular Saturday night thing. I just re-watched Road House and you cannot remake mulleted perfection. But you can watch the original with a RiffTrax riff, which I recommend.
On the one hand? Fair points!OTOH, yeah, streaming is probably the right place for a completely-unasked-for remake of Road House starring Jake fucking Gyllenhaal.
yes. but this garbage movie could probably do really well internationally.
This is the kind of movie that will do great on streaming. This isn’t fucking citizen cane here.
Whatever happened to the Ronda Rousey remake of this? Did it get made, or die in development hell?
It died in development years ago. I don’t think it got far in development either like I don’t think a script was even written.
Fair play by the director, because I was planning on boycotting the movie’s entire existence.
A Road House remake seems like a pointless endeavor. People like the original it because it’s got this particularly just-silly-enough tone that can’t be duplicated. If you play it any straighter it’s boring, and if you play it even one scintilla sillier it’s a parody. Looks like they went for boring.
“Previously, it was reported that the film’s producers requested Amazon film head Jennifer Salke show the film to CEO Jeff Bezos on his yacht, which sounds like one of the Ben Gazara scenes from the original Road House.”
You realize that Jeff Bezos hasn’t been the CEO of Amazon for two and a half years now. He stepped down before Amazon purchased MGM.
Was Ben Gazara the guy from those John Casavetes movies?