Waffle Iron
In a post up today, Filmmaker's Nick Dawson asks Nothing But The Truth director-screenwriter Rod Lurie if he knew in advance that the film's distributor, the Yari Film Group, was headed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
"I didn't know," Lurie responds. "I found out about 6pm [on December 12] and it was really, absolutely shocking. At this moment, I still haven't spoken to Bob [Yari] and I'm sure he's got incredibly important things to do. None of us really knows what it's really going to mean, how it's going to affect the film.
"Probably it will have it's Academy [Awards] qualifying run and [then] there's going to be a situation where it probably will have to get sold to another distributor. It's rather stunning.
"This town is littered with the corpses of movies that got trapped in bankruptcies and companies that went under and we just want to do everything we can not to become one of those films. It's very possible. I'm so proud of all the actors involved in this film, and I can't believe that I've spent over a year working on nothing but this - my whole heart is in it - and then goodbye Charlie. But hopefully it will work itself out, because the Yari people are good people. They just got really trapped in really horrible economic vise."
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on December 17, 2008 at 1:17 PM
comment #1
actionman
says ...
Sucks for all involved but these are harsh times we're living in. Everyone is being affected by the current financial mess and this situation should be a potent reminder to everyone in Hwood that even seemingly well-off movie producers are vulnerable to collapse.
I wonder if any major distributor will pick this film up considering its limited box office appeal. That said, it's one of the films that I'm most interested in seeing before the year is over and done with.
Dargis didn't seem to like it very much in her review which was posted today.
Posted by actionman
at December 17, 2008 1:40 PM
comment #2
Carter L
says ...
It seems that Yari has two films that are screwed by this terrible situation: "Nothing but the Truth" and "What Doesn't Kill You". Despite what Dargis wrote today (a pillory against NBTT not being the actual Judy Miller story), both the movies have been exceptionally well reviewed.
I can not imagine being a film maker- working for years on a project - just to be overturned because of the fiscal inefficiencies of business affairs at a so-called production company. I feel really sorry for Lurie and Brian Goodman, who directed the other film.
Posted by Carter L
at December 17, 2008 3:08 PM
comment #3
JamesShapiro
says ...
Screwed is a bit of a stretch. No one were going to see these films theatrically. We're talking less than $500k box office. Someone will buy them for dvd release, where the overwhelming majority of people were going to see the film anyway. They will have the same audience as if Yari didnt go tits up.
The director's are only screwed if they were supposed to get a piece of the backend.
Posted by JamesShapiro
at December 17, 2008 5:42 PM
comment #4
BurmaShave
says ...
I take it this is why the WHAT DOESN'T KILL YOU banners disappeared? I really liked those they gave the site a cozy feel.
Posted by BurmaShave
at December 17, 2008 5:45 PM
comment #5
Griff
says ...
Damn. I wanted to see WDKY
Posted by Griff
at December 17, 2008 6:57 PM
comment #6
The Hoyk
says ...
Yari used to release his product through Mark Borde's Freestyle Releasing before going solo - they're still partnered on the current release of NOBEL SON. Couldn't they just revive that relationship for the remaining Yari films?
Posted by The Hoyk
at December 17, 2008 7:20 PM
comment #7
clancy
says ...
This is really bad bad luck. Two excellent films - notable primarily for their performances and their endings. I am hard pressed to believe that they will ever see the light of day. Lurie certainly sounds like he is being a gentleman in reference to Yari - the most notorious deadbeat in town. I can only imagine how actors like Ruffalo and Beckinsale, after delivering the best performances of their career, must be feeling.
Posted by clancy
at December 17, 2008 7:30 PM
comment #8
janee
says ...
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Posted by janee
at May 19, 2011 4:57 AM