Doug Liman Skips Road House Premiere to Protest No Play – The Hollywood Reporter

Doug Lyman

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Doug Liman won’t be making the trip to Austin in March for his movie premiere RoadhouseAmazon MGM’s remake of the 1989 Patrick Swayze film that starred Jake Gyllenhaal.

The director is boycotting the premiere in protest of Amazon studio MGM’s refusal to give the film a theatrical release, as it has done with films like Ben Affleck’s film. air. The news was revealed in an article published on Delivery timeHis comments came at a somewhat inappropriate time for the film’s marketing campaign. Amazon plans to release the trailer on Wednesday.

Lyman signed on to do so Road house to MGM in 2021, before Amazon bought the studio. Following its purchase of MGM, Amazon announced its intention to invest $1 billion in theatrical films. “I can tell you what they did to me and my film Road house“Which is the opposite of what they promised when they took over MGM,” Lehman wrote.

This was stated by the film’s director Road housewhich bows March 21 on the streaming service, earned higher test scores than some of his biggest hits, including Mr. and Mrs. Smith And Bourne identity. He said he begged Amazon to either show the film in theaters, or allow him to sell it to the studio that would release it. Both requests were denied.

“Amazon asked me and the moviegoing community to trust them and their public statements about supporting movie theaters, and then they turned around and used Road House to sell plumbing fixtures,” Lyman wrote.

In recent years, projects of banners, such as air hail Napoleon And Moonflower Killers They were given traditional theatrical releases. Next, Apple Argyle It will receive a global release via Universal. Lehman himself has made films online before, and says he’s not opposed to it. He has an Apple Instigators coming.

“But I oppose Amazon destroying MGM and its theatrical business, as I would have done if Jeff Bezos had bought the company.” Washington Post “Then he destroyed the newsroom (he did the opposite),” Lyman wrote.