Searchlight Pictures No Longer Distributing “Magazine Dreams”
During last year’s Sundance Film Festival, Disney’s Searchlight Pictures acquired a new movie, “Magazine Dreams”, which stars Jonathan Majors as an aspiring bodybuilder called Killian Maddox, who struggles to find human connection in this exploration of celebrity and violence. Nothing deters him from his fiercely protected dream of superstardom, not even the doctors who warn him of the permanent damage he causes to himself with his quest.
The film was directed by Elijah Bynum and produced by Jennifer Fox, Dan Gilroy, Jeffrey Soros and Simon Horsman.
Last month, Jonathan Majors was convicted of assault and harassment. He is currently awaiting sentencing on February 6th 2024. Following the conviction, Marvel Studios quickly severed ties with the actor, who played Kang in “Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania” and the Disney+ series, “Loki”.
During the trial, Disney’s Searchlight Pictures pulled the film from its schedule, having previously been set to be released in October 2023, and it was expected to be in contention for some Oscar awards. But now, according to Hollywood Reporter, the film has been returned to the original film-makers by Searchlight Pictures, who are trying to shop around the movie for other buyers.
It’s not a huge surprise to see Searchlight Pictures handing the movie back to the original, While Searchlight Pictures paid a reported seven-figure sum for the rights to distribute the film, the negative publicity from the film release, plus a major question mark over if the public would go to see the film, it’s not surprising to see the movie handed back. It will have to be seen if another distributor picks up the movie rights or if it will be shelved completely.
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Roger Palmer
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