Jake Gyllenhaal shooting his new movie, Road House (Photo: Twitter)
Jake Gyllenhaal stans rise!
Artwork for Gyllenhaal’s new movie dropped yesterday, and the Brokeback Mountain star looks as smoldering as ever with his shirt open and chest on display.
Alongside Gyllenhaal, the movie features UFC fighter Conor McGregor, Jessica Williams, Billy Magnussen, and out-actor Lukas Gage.
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However, excitement around the arrival of Road House, a remaking of the 1989 movie starring Patrick Swayze, took a knock yesterday after its director penned an op-ed for Deadline.
Doug Liman is the respected director behind hits such as Swingers, The Bourne Identity, Mr. and Mrs. Smith. In the article, he explained why he’s planning on boycotting the premiere of Road House. It’s scheduled as the opening night movie at the SXSW festival in Austin, TX, March 8th.
In short, Liman says the project was initially greenlit by MGM for a theatrical release. Amazon then bought MGM. It still wanted the movie. However, it later informed Liman it would be available for streaming only. It will hit Amazon Prime March 21.
Liman is furious.
Although hardly impartial, he says, “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.”
“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?”
Some of the Road House scenes were shot during an official UFC championship meet. Queerty previously reported on leaked videos of Gyllenhaal posing as a UFC fighter at a weigh-in.
Gyllenhaal surprised attendees at the UFC fight in Las Vegas over the weekend.
“Smash hit”
Liman clearly believes his new work would be a box office hit.
“We made Road House a ‘smash hit’ – Amazon’s words not mine, btw,” he says. “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.”
Liman says Amazon’s decision, “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 recognized come award season.”
Liman says he’s not opposed to streaming. He points out he has made content knowing in advance it would be for streaming only. However, he clearly planned Road House as a communal experience for theatrical audiences.
Amazon has not responded to Liman’s protest, and its stars have also remained quiet. The studio dropped the trailer for Road House.
Check out Jake in all his shirtless glory in the trailer below.
Would you have liked to see Road House at the theater or are you fine with it going straight to Prime? Or will you be skipping it regardless?
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