One of the most talked-about Sundance movies from this year’s festival finally has a home, as Searchlight Pictures has acquired “Magazine Dreams,” Elijah Bynum’s sophomore feature starring Jonathan Majors (“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” “Creed III”). The movie won the Sundance Jury Award for Creative Vision.
Haley Bennett, Taylour Paige, Mike O’Hearn, Harrison Page and Harriet Sansom Harris also star in the intense drama. “Magazine Dreams” is described, in the official synopsis, as following “aspiring bodybuilder Killian Maddox (Majors), 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.”
Our review of the film out of Sundance was mixed positive, with praise being heaped on Majors’ performance. “Anchored in his greatness, ‘Magazine Dreams’ can get away with most of its flaws,” the review read.
“We are very proud to bring Elijah’s powerful film to the world,” said Searchlight Presidents Matthew Greenfield and David Greenbaum in an official statement. “Jonathan’s tour-de-force performance, both physically and emotionally, affected us in profound ways.”
The film was written by Bynum and produced by Jennifer Fox, Dan Gilroy, Jeffrey Soros and Simon Horsman. Executive producers are Majors, under his production banner Tall Street Productions, Luke Rodgers and Andrew Blau. The crafts team is rounded out by director of photography Adam Arkapaw, editor Jon Otazua, production designer Freyja Bardell, and costume designer Bex Crofton-Atkins.
Majors is having quite the year, with “Magazine Dreams” winning him critical acclaim. Giant franchise plays like “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and “Creed III” are keeping him in the public eye. There are assumptions that he will show up in the second season of “Loki,” slated to air later this year, given his presence in the first season.
