YouTube and Roadside Attractions will partner up to theatrically release “Viper Club” starring Susan Sarandon, Matt Bomer, Edie Falco and Lola Kirke.
“Viper Club” will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and will be released in theaters on Oct. 26, as well as being available on YouTube Premium next year.
The theatrical partnership is a left turn — and a traditional one — for the service, as only a year ago they were prepared to disrupt the release window with a splashy $3.5 million Sundance acquisition, TheWrap previously reported.
YouTube Red bought Morgan Spurlock’s “Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken,” with the intent to stream the film exclusively on their service for 6 months, then split profits down the middle with Spurlock for SVOD and international deals. Plans were scrapped after Spurlock posted a complicated account of a sexual experience where his partner said she did not consent, as well as admitting he’d paid a settlement to an employee accusing him of sexual harassment.
“Viper Club” was co-written by Maryam Keshavarz and Jonathan Mastro and directed by Keshavarz, and follows veteran ER nurse Helen (Sarandon) who secretly struggles to free her son from a terrorist group. She then discovers a group of journalists and philanthropists to help her.
“Viper Club” is Keshavarz’s second feature film following “Circumstance,” which won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival in 2011. “Viper Club” was produced by Anna Gerb, Neal Dodson, and J.C. Chandor.
“Susan Sarandon’s emotional, tour de force performance anchors ‘Viper Club,'” said Roadside’s Howard Cohen and Eric d’Arbeloff. “She brings incredible humanity to a woman who, after being slow-walked by the government, takes matters into her own hands in a clandestine effort to free her captive son. It’s a compelling, timely story brilliantly captured and told by Maryam, and we are excited to be partnering with YouTube to bring the film to theaters this fall.”
Added Susanne Daniels, Global Head of Original Content, YouTube: “Susan Sarandon immediately drew us into this emotional drama, and Maryam Keshavarz lends her unique perspective as an Iranian-American filmmaker. The extremely talented cast delivered powerful performances and we are thrilled to debut this film at the Toronto International Film Festival and partner with Roadside to bring the film to theaters this fall.”
Howard Cohen negotiated the deal to acquire the film for Roadside.
'Thelma & Louise' 25th Anniversary: 9 Things You Didn't Know About Classic Movie (Photos)
It was 25 years ago when Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis sped off in a 1966 Thunderbird and steered their way into the annals of movie history in "Thelma & Louise," directed by Ridley Scott.
The landmark 1991 film, which celebrates its silver anniversary on Tuesday, May 24, earned just one Academy Award, for Best Screenplay, and another five nominations.
The film also marked Brad Pitt's breakout role as a womanizing thief. There are a lot of surprising behind-the-scenes details about his memorable part, along with more facts about movie that you probably didn't know.
MGM
1. It Was Down to George Clooney and Brad Pitt. Clooney auditioned for the role of J.D. multiple times before it went to a relatively unknown actor named Brad Pitt. For years, Clooney couldn't bring himself to watch the film, joking in 2011 that he was still "upset" about it: "When I saw it, I thought actually that was the right choice. ... [Brad] was really good in it, and I would have f---ed it up somehow."
ABC/MGM
2. But the Role First Went to Billy Baldwin. Baldwin dropped out of "Thelma & Louise" to take a part in "Backdraft," leaving room for Pitt to eventually get cast.
Universal Pictures
3. Scott Sprayed Shirtless Pitt With Evian. "He did a lot with a very tiny role," recalled Sarandon in a 2014 interview. "His attitude, his swagger, his inventiveness -- everything was much more than just a pretty face and a great body."
But that body was fretted over by director Ridley Scott during Pitt's love scene with Geena Davis -- much more so than the actress herself. "Ridley's also very much into the look of things," said Davis in another 2014 interview. "He was personally spraying the Evian on Brad's stomach for the shots where you see his abs and I'm like, 'Hello!'"
MGM
4. There Was a Real-Life Re-Coupling. Thelma's rude and dimwitted husband Darryl was played by Christopher McDonald -- Davis' real-life ex. The actor, once engaged to Davis, called the experience "really cathartic" in a 1992 interview.
6. Davis Originally Wanted to Play Louise, not Thelma. After Sarandon got the role, Davis said she thought, "What was I thinking? How could I possibly play Louise?"
MGM
7. Davis Gunned for the Part. "I had my agent call Ridley every week for almost a year," Davis said in 2011. Once she landed a meeting, she recalled, "We had an hour's worth of notes on why I should play Louise." Of course, she was cast as Thelma.
MGM
8. That Famous Ending Isn't What You Think. "To me the end of the movie was never meant to be a literal," said writer Callie Khouri, who won an Oscar for the screenplay. "It was a way of saying that this was a world in which they didn't believe there was the possibility of justice for them. ... I never saw it as a suicide."
MGM
9. Davis "Earned the Right to Die." It was decided before filming that Louise (Sarandon) would definitely die at the end of the movie. But Thelma's fate wasn't as clear. "You may push her out of the car at the last minute,'" Sarandon remembered Scott telling her. "But I earned the right to die!" Davis added in the same 2014 interview.
MGM
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How Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis and Brad Pitt got their roles — and more
It was 25 years ago when Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis sped off in a 1966 Thunderbird and steered their way into the annals of movie history in "Thelma & Louise," directed by Ridley Scott.
The landmark 1991 film, which celebrates its silver anniversary on Tuesday, May 24, earned just one Academy Award, for Best Screenplay, and another five nominations.
The film also marked Brad Pitt's breakout role as a womanizing thief. There are a lot of surprising behind-the-scenes details about his memorable part, along with more facts about movie that you probably didn't know.