Jake Gyllenhaal says Road House was always going straight-to-streaming, while allegations that the production used AI resurface.
Road House appears on Amazon Prime Video on March 21st, and combines the talents of Jake Gyllenhaal, UFC star Conor McGregor and director Doug Liman. Exciting but with a heady dash of mayhem is how we’d describe this particular creative trio, which is pretty much the same experience you’d get when popping in for a tipple at the titular road house that features in the movie.
It wasn’t that long ago that Doug Liman announced he was boycotting the premiere because Amazon had refused to release the film in cinemas. For most productions, having the filmmaker publicly denounce the studio would be more than enough conflict for one film. Road House though, isn’t most movies, and it looks as though we’ll be getting a few more dust-ups before the party’s over.
Jake Gyllenhaal has now entered the fray, refuting Liman’s claims that the film was supposed to get a theatrical release through Amazon’s MGM label, stating to Total Film:
“I adore Doug’s tenacity, and I think he is advocating for filmmakers, and film in the cinema, and theatrical releases. But, I mean, Amazon was always clear that it was streaming. I just want as many people to see it as possible. And I think we’re living in a world that’s changing in how we see and watch movies, and how they’re made.
What’s clear to me, and what I loved so much, was [Liman’s] deep love for this movie, and his pride at how much he cares for it, how good he feels it is, and how much people should see it.”
Gyllenhall’s words towards Liman are full of flattery, but his point of view doesn’t support his director in any meaningful way at all. Not even a vague expression of disappointment that the film won’t see the inside of a cinema. Maybe it’s a good job that Liman isn’t going to the premiere, as we can only imagine the conversation that might take place between the pair.
Brace yourself, because this isn’t the only dispute currently going on with Road House.
According to Deadline, the co-writer of the original 1987 movie is suing Amazon for copyright infringement, claiming that the studio failed to make the film in time to beat a termination clause that he had to take back control of the rights to the script.
It gets worse. R Lance Hill, (who goes by David Lee Henry professionally) even makes the claim that in order to get the film completed in time to meet the deadline while the actors’ strike was ongoing, Amazon used AI to complete additional dialogue recording in the midst of the strike. It’s a rumour that first popped up in Hollywood trade outlets in December 2023 as producer Joel Silver was either fired or otherwise parted ways with Amazon, which now owns MGM.
Still, it’s a serious accusation which, if proved, could have some pretty dramatic consequences for the studio.
Amazon, it should be noted, denies the allegations.
The scraps around Road House continue, and we’ll bring you more updates as we hear them. After all of this conflict, actually watching the bone-crunching action in the film will feel like a restful break, we’d imagine.
