i. love. this. film.
Donnie Darko directors cut coming to theaters this summer
Newmarket turning on light for 'Darko'
Cult hit coming back to screens with director's cut
By GABRIEL SNYDER
"Donnie Darko," which made a paltry $517,375 when it was released in
October 2001, will get a second chance.
Newmarket Films, which holds domestic distrib rights, is looking to
cash in on the pic's growing cult status by re-releasing Richard
Kelly's director's cut this summer.
New version, which includes 21 minutes of footage not in the original
release, will premiere May 29 at the Seattle Film Festival.
Newmarket topper Bob Berney said the company plans to then release
the pic on about 10 screens in the city as a test run for a wider
national release.
Newmarket will mold its national rollout of "Darko" this summer,
tentatively set for July, based on how the pic fares in Seattle.
Worst case, Berney said, "It turns out it gets an extended release
life as a midnight show." But best case, he said, is, "If it really
works in the suburbs, we decide we can release it wider in the
suburbs nationally."
Kelly, who recently completed the new cut of the pic, said it
includes some deleted scenes found on the DVD, "and some of the extra
material I intentionally left off the DVD."
"Darko," which stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a disturbed teen who may have
supernatural powers, tormented by visions of a 6-foot-tall rabbit, is
an ambiguous story open to multiple interpretations.
"Ultimately, every director's cut is self-indulgent," Kelly
said, "but I feel as though it's a more thorough and complete version
of the film." In addition to new footage, some sound and visual f/x
have been re-done.
Strong DVD sales
The pic has become a staple for theaters running midnight shows. Aud
interest also has been demonstrated by the DVD, handled by 20th
Century Fox, which, according to Berney, has grossed $10 million on
about 1 million units.
Adam Fields, a producer on the pic, said the re-release "is a
testament to the power of the homevideo and DVD market."
"In a strange way," Kelly said, "it seems like this film was destined
to fail before it could succeed."
Pandora Films financed the pic's original $2 million budget. When
talent including Gyllenhaal, his sister Maggie, Drew Barrymore and
Patrick Swayze came aboard, the figure grew to $3.4 million.
"Darko" was the hottest pic going into Sundance in 2001. But after
being screened, buyers from all the major indies passed.Four months
later, Newmarket acquired the pic and planned a platform release. But
the pic earned only $110,494 on 58 screens in its opening
weekend."People in New York were not in the mood for such a dark
film," Berney said. "And with platform releases, you're launching
films based on how they do in New York."
Kelly considered the pic a failure until a year later, when he went
to promote the pic's U.K. release in London. "Darko" has had its
strongest run in the U.K., where it was distribbed by Metrodome and
grossed $2.4 million from roughly 50 screens after unspooling
Halloween weekend in 2002.
Response was so strong it created a cult star out of singer Gary
Jules.
The Southern California-based singer-songwriter and his collaborator
Michael Andrews recorded a cover of Tears for Fears' 1982 hit "Mad
World" for the film's soundtrack. It became a No. 1 hit on the U.K.
singles last Christmas, selling more than 650,000 units in the U.K.
and holding the top spot for five weeks.
Almost three years after its first release, it remains to be seen
whether fans of "Darko" are plentiful enough to turn the pic into a
bona fide B.O. hit.
"I don't know if it'll cross over," Kelly admitted. "I joke with my
friends that this film won't die. It just won't go away. Hopefully it
won't bomb the second time around."
i hope to god it does well so i'll have a chance to see it here in suburbia. or they better put it on dvd. i'll buy it again.
Newmarket turning on light for 'Darko'
Cult hit coming back to screens with director's cut
By GABRIEL SNYDER
"Donnie Darko," which made a paltry $517,375 when it was released in
October 2001, will get a second chance.
Newmarket Films, which holds domestic distrib rights, is looking to
cash in on the pic's growing cult status by re-releasing Richard
Kelly's director's cut this summer.
New version, which includes 21 minutes of footage not in the original
release, will premiere May 29 at the Seattle Film Festival.
Newmarket topper Bob Berney said the company plans to then release
the pic on about 10 screens in the city as a test run for a wider
national release.
Newmarket will mold its national rollout of "Darko" this summer,
tentatively set for July, based on how the pic fares in Seattle.
Worst case, Berney said, "It turns out it gets an extended release
life as a midnight show." But best case, he said, is, "If it really
works in the suburbs, we decide we can release it wider in the
suburbs nationally."
Kelly, who recently completed the new cut of the pic, said it
includes some deleted scenes found on the DVD, "and some of the extra
material I intentionally left off the DVD."
"Darko," which stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a disturbed teen who may have
supernatural powers, tormented by visions of a 6-foot-tall rabbit, is
an ambiguous story open to multiple interpretations.
"Ultimately, every director's cut is self-indulgent," Kelly
said, "but I feel as though it's a more thorough and complete version
of the film." In addition to new footage, some sound and visual f/x
have been re-done.
Strong DVD sales
The pic has become a staple for theaters running midnight shows. Aud
interest also has been demonstrated by the DVD, handled by 20th
Century Fox, which, according to Berney, has grossed $10 million on
about 1 million units.
Adam Fields, a producer on the pic, said the re-release "is a
testament to the power of the homevideo and DVD market."
"In a strange way," Kelly said, "it seems like this film was destined
to fail before it could succeed."
Pandora Films financed the pic's original $2 million budget. When
talent including Gyllenhaal, his sister Maggie, Drew Barrymore and
Patrick Swayze came aboard, the figure grew to $3.4 million.
"Darko" was the hottest pic going into Sundance in 2001. But after
being screened, buyers from all the major indies passed.Four months
later, Newmarket acquired the pic and planned a platform release. But
the pic earned only $110,494 on 58 screens in its opening
weekend."People in New York were not in the mood for such a dark
film," Berney said. "And with platform releases, you're launching
films based on how they do in New York."
Kelly considered the pic a failure until a year later, when he went
to promote the pic's U.K. release in London. "Darko" has had its
strongest run in the U.K., where it was distribbed by Metrodome and
grossed $2.4 million from roughly 50 screens after unspooling
Halloween weekend in 2002.
Response was so strong it created a cult star out of singer Gary
Jules.
The Southern California-based singer-songwriter and his collaborator
Michael Andrews recorded a cover of Tears for Fears' 1982 hit "Mad
World" for the film's soundtrack. It became a No. 1 hit on the U.K.
singles last Christmas, selling more than 650,000 units in the U.K.
and holding the top spot for five weeks.
Almost three years after its first release, it remains to be seen
whether fans of "Darko" are plentiful enough to turn the pic into a
bona fide B.O. hit.
"I don't know if it'll cross over," Kelly admitted. "I joke with my
friends that this film won't die. It just won't go away. Hopefully it
won't bomb the second time around."
i hope to god it does well so i'll have a chance to see it here in suburbia. or they better put it on dvd. i'll buy it again.