By This morning saw the film’s poster released with the first trailer for the movie set to arrive tomorrow, but Amazon MGM Studios’ upcoming remake of famed 1987 film “Road House” remains stuck in controversy over its release strategy.
The film is set to open SXSW film festival ahead of its March 21st streaming debut. In an editorial piece posted on Deadline this afternoon, filmmaker Doug Liman has offered a lengthy explanation as to why he’s boycotting his own film’s premiere.
Previously it was reported that tension was high between Amazon and those who made the film (including Liman, star Jake Gyllenhaal and the producers) because the streamer was refusing to give the movie a theatrical release – even with rave test scores.
In his piece for the outlet, Liman says the marketing and test scores for the film are already through the roof:
“We made Road House a ‘smash hit’ – Amazon’s words not mine, btw. Road House tested higher than my biggest box office hit, Mr. and Mrs Smith. It tested higher than Bourne Identity, which spawned four sequels. I’m told the press response has been Amazon’s best since they bought MGM.
Road House has a strong tie-in to the UFC, which has a rabid and loyal fan base that has spawned over 1.5 billion social media impressions for the film, and marketing hasn’t even started yet.”
He then goes on to slam Amazon as having “no interest in supporting cinemas,” opting to instead exclusively stream “Road House” on Amazon Prime.
He cited the bravery of the likes of Chris Nolan and Tom Cruise insisting their films get theatrical runs to prove audiences are still there – and they were. He also wants to make it clear this isn’t an anti-streaming rant:
“I’m not opposed to streaming movies. I made one of Amazon’s first original movies for streaming, and during the pandemic sold a streaming movie to Warner Bros. I’m currently making Instigators for Apple. But I am opposed to Amazon gutting MGM and its theatrical business.
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.”
He says the “reality is there may not be a human villain in this story – it may simply be an Amazon computer algorithm.” The lack of even a limited theatrical release for a week beforehand is surprising as Friday March 15th has no new theatrical releases at this time.
We’ll get our first look at “Road House” either way in the film’s trailer launch tomorrow ahead of the movie hitting Amazon Prime Video on Thursday March 21st. For the full piece, head over to Deadline.
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