There has been nothing but bad press for controversial director Paul Schrader’s latest effort, THE CANYONS. Most of that is down to Lindsay Lohan’s supposedly unprofessional approach to the film, as well as the casting of real-life porn star James Deen as the male lead, which has a screenplay by AMERICAN PSYCHO author Bret Easton Ellis. I’m a huge fan of Schrader’s work, particularly TAXI DRIVER, AMERICAN GIGOLO and the underrated AUTO FOCUS, so I’m willing to give this a shot. Check out the first full trailer just below the official plot synopsis. We’ve also added some stills from the film that feature graphic nudity.
Christian is a young LA trust-fund dude who’s financing a horror film simply to keep his dad off his back about doing something with his life. He has been dating Tara for about a year — she was an aspiring actress/model who settled down with him when the reality of the business became apparent to her. She’s now just Christian’s bored plaything. Christian’s assistant Gina is casting the film with assistance from Tara. Gina is pushing Ryan, her boyfriend and struggling actor, for the lead. Unbeknownst to either Christian or Gina, Ryan and Tara were a couple three years ago. When Ryan came back into Tara’s life during the auditions for the movie, they reignited their affair. But Christian, a dangerous control-freak, finds out about the affair and starts playing cruel mind games with both Tara and Ryan, which escalate into an act of bloody violence.
The film also stars Nolan Gerard Funk, Amanda Brooks, Gus Van Sant and will be available in limited release and on VOD and iTunes on 2nd August in the US. Now word yet on UK release details.
Source: Apple/ Film Comment /The Playlist).
