Director Doug Liman To Boycott SXSW Premiere Of His Jake Gyllenhaal-Starrer 'Road House' Releasing In March

Jake Gyllenhaal's upcoming film, 'Road House,' is set to premiere on OTT platform Amazon Prime Video on March 21, without a theatrical release.

Its director Doug Liman, known for hit films like 'The Bourne Identity,' 'Mr. and Mrs. Smith' and 'Edge of Tomorrow,' has said of this remake of 1989 Patrick Swayze-starrer film that, "The action is ground-breaking. And Jake Gyllenhaal gives a career-defining performance in a role he was born to play."

The official plotline of the movie reads: "In this adrenaline-fueled reimagining of the 80s cult classic, ex-UFC fighter Dalton (Gyllenhaal) takes a job as a bouncer at a Florida Keys roadhouse, only to discover that this paradise is not all it seems." As per MMA Fighting, Gyllenhaal filmed some scenes for the movie during UFC 285 in March, 2023. He took part in weigh-ins and also choreographed battle with UFC veteran Jay Hieron.

Liman believes that his film, chosen as the opening-night film for SXSW film festival, has been dealt a blow by Amazon MGM Studios with a Prime Video release.

He told Deadline, "When 'Road House' opens the SXSW film festival, I won’t be attending. The movie is fantastic, maybe my best, and I’m sure it will bring the house down and possibly have the audience dancing in their seats during the end credits. But I will not be there." He continued, "My plan had been to silently protest Amazon’s decision to stream a movie so clearly made for the big screen. But Amazon is hurting way more than just me and my film. If I don’t speak up about Amazon, who will?"

According to him, he was asked to sign up to "make a theatrical film for MGM. Amazon bought MGM. Amazon said make a great film and we will see what happens. I made a great film." He stated that he made a movie for Amazon to put out on the big screens. He continued, "Amazon asked me and the film community to trust them and their public statements about supporting cinemas, and then they turned around and are using 'Road House' to sell plumbing fixtures."

Liman concluded by saying that, "I’m not opposed to streaming movies... But a computer doesn’t know what it is like to share the experience of laughing and cheering and crying with a packed audience in a dark theater."

Starring Daniela Melchior, Billy Magnussen, Jessica Williams, Joaquim de Almeida, Conor McGregor, Lukas Gage, Arturo Castro, B.K. Cannon, Beau Knapp, Darren Barnet, Dominique Columbus, Bob Menery, Catfish Jean, Kevin Carroll, Travis Van Winkle, Hannah Lanier, the film can be streamed March 21 onwards.