“Iron Cross” filmmaker Joshua Newton didn’t get the Oscar buzz and distribution deal he was expecting from a major ad buy in Variety gone wrong, but he has a consolation prize: the Visionary Filmmaker Award from the Boston Film Festival.
The film will sneak preview as the closing night movie on Tuesday, when Newton will be presented with the award, voted by the festival's advisory board, after the movie is shown.
Newton directed, wrote and produced the thriller, starring the late Roy Scheider as a retired police officer and Holocaust survivor who comes across the man he believes is the aging SS Commander (Helmut Berger) who murdered his family during World War II.
Newton sued Variety for fraud and breach of contract over a negative review of his film that he claims undermined a $400,000 advertising campaign orchestrated by the trade last year. The suit claimed Variety promised that its campaign would help him secure distribution and awards buzz, but that fell apart when the scathing review appeared on the same day the campaign began.
