Road House remake director Doug Liman slams Amazon as online giant preps streaming release
Doug Liman, the director of the remake of 80’s cult classic, Road House, is set to boycott the film’s premiere after Amazon Prime Video binned a cinema run and opted for a streaming only release.
The movie stars Jake Gyllenhaal as an ex-UFC fighter who ends up working in a roadhouse in the Florida Keys, and soon discovers that things are not as they seem.
In an open letter published by Deadline, Liman, whose CV includes The Bourne Identity, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Edge of Tomorrow, and American Made, said that he will not be attending the film’s premiere in Texas at the SXSW festival in March.
“The movie is fantastic, maybe my best, and I’m sure it will bring the house down and possibly have the audience dancing in their seats during the end credits. But I will not be there,” he writes.
“My plan had been to silently protest Amazon’s decision to stream a movie so clearly made for the big screen. But Amazon is hurting way more than just me and my film. If I don’t speak up about Amazon, who will?”
He added: “When Amazon bought MGM, one of the few remaining studios making big commercial films for theatrical release (movies like Bond, Creed) they announced that they would put a billion dollars into theatrical motion pictures, releasing at least 12 a year.”
“They touted it as “the largest commitment to cinemas by an internet company.” I can tell you what they then did to me and my film Road House, which is the opposite of what they promised when they took over MGM.”
“The facts: I signed up to make a theatrical motion picture for MGM. Amazon bought MGM. Amazon said make a great film and we will see what happens. I made a great film.”
Liman argued that, contrary to its public statements, the e-commerce giant has no interest in supporting cinemas.
“Amazon will exclusively stream Road House on Amazon’s 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.”
“That hurts the filmmakers and stars of Road House who don’t share in the upside of a hit movie on a streaming platform.”
“And they deprive Jake Gyllenhaal — who gives a career-best performance — the opportunity to be recognised come award season. But the impact goes far beyond this one movie. This could be industry shaping for decades to come.”
“If we don’t put tentpole movies in movie theatres, there won’t be movie theatres in the future. Movies like Road House, people actually want to see on the big screen, and it was made for the big screen.”
“Without movie theatres, we won’t have the commercial box office hits that are the locomotives that allow studios to take gambles on original movies and new directors.”
“Without movie theatres we won’t have movie stars. Film executives are also at risk. Box office revenues are the war chests that allow studios the resources to make movies. It’s no surprise you see layoffs across the industry including at Amazon – without movies in theatres, there’s no revenue coming in.”
“And once the theatres go out of business, it could take decades for the business to recover, if ever.”
Liman concluded: “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 theatres. 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 theatre – and if Amazon has its way, future audiences won’t know either.”
Road House will debut on Prime Video on 21st March .The film also stars Daniela Melchior, Conor McGregor, and Billy Magnussen.
Continue reading…