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”
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.