Shocker: Bruce Willis/50 Cent Movie ‘Set Up’ Going Straight-To-DVD
It’s no secret that Harvey Weinstein aka Harvey Scissorhands likes to maximize the movies under his roof to make sure they make the most bang for their buck. There is already the case of Tom Hooper‘s “The King’ Speech” which was edited without his consent down to a PG-13 rating for a post-Oscar re-release. And Harvey admitted he was thinking about tinkering with Richard Ayoade‘s “Submarine” before it his theaters earlier this year (though wisely, he ultimately kept his hands off). But one recent acquisition has undergone a major overhaul on its way to theaters this fall.
Thompson On Hollywood reveals that director Abe Sylvia has worked with Harvey in reshaping the Juno Temple starring “Dirty Girl” into a 90-minute version “to broaden its appeal” down from the original running time of 109 minutes. Co-starring Milla Jovovich, William H. Macy, Dwight Yoakam and Mary Steenburgen, the film follows a raunchy high school girl who runs away with her closeted gay classmate and drives from Oklahoma to California to find the father she’s never met. The film premiered at TIFF last fall and recently took home the HBO Audience Award at the Provincetown Film Festival, but it looks like Harvey wants to trim down the rough edges before dropping it in theaters on October 7th.
While we’ll have to see whether or not this nearly 20 minute shorter version still works, it seems that Harvey is trying to change the movie into something it never was. But again, Harvey is one of the savviest folks in the game and while he may be meddling here, he also stood firmly behind Derek Cianfrance and his cut of “Blue Valentine” during that whole ratings debacle (though, yes, it was a great bit of awards season promo at the same time) so maybe he knows what’s best for the movie in this case. Anyway, HitFix has dropped the poster which you can see below — a trailer is likely around the corner.
In somewhat related news, it shouldn’t be any surprise that the 50 Cent/Bruce Willis movie “Set Up” is going straight-to-DVD. VideoETA confirms a September 20th release date and you can pre-order the probably awful movie over at Amazon right now. In case you care, the movie is about a diamond heist gone wrong and if you watched the trailer before it was pulled earlier this year, you know just how terrible it looks. Here’s the official synopsis:
A group of friends plan out a detailed heist that turns deadly when one betrays the other by taking off with the goods. Taking matters into his own hands, Sonny seeks out his revenge teaming up with the most dangerous mob boss in town to get back what is rightfully his. When he finally comes face to face with his longtime friend he will be forced to make a life changing choice.
\”Let Them Talk\” is the stupidest tag line imaginable for Dirty Girl\’s one-sheet. What the fuck were people thinking when they put that through? \”Gee, a second lobotomy would really hit the spot about now!\”?
@zxcvb I totally see where you\’re coming from, but trust me that Harvey is cutting the soul out of this movie. The cut I saw was perfectly paced and maintained the integrity of the script\’s sexuality, for lack of a more accurate term.
It\’s weird, but cutting down a film is the one area in which I almost always side with the soulless studio execs.
Most movies — even good ones — are too long. I think it\’s because filmmakers understandably have trouble letting go of footage they\’ve spent months and years putting together…even if it dilutes the overall quality of the film.
I saw this film at TIFF. It was great!!! one of the most commercial films I saw there. I don\’t know what they could possibly take out to make it better
In Weinstein we trust……to fuck up!
I saw a cut of this film recently and when I was told it was being released by Weinstein, I KNEW he\’d be cutting it up. What he\’s going to cut out are the homosexual elements, namely because they involve an overweight teenager, and who wants to see homosexuality if it\’s in an unattractive form?
The 109 cut of the film is PERFECT and hilarious and Weinstein is just going to fuck this up.