Road House remake director boycotting his own movie

Doug Liman – director of the Road House remake that stars Jake Gyllenhaal – is boycotting his own movie, refusing to promote it at the SXSW premiere.

The original Road House is the very definition of a cult movie. Starring Patrick Swayze as James Dalton – a philosophizing bouncer working at a rowdy honky tonk bar – the movie was released in the summer of 1989, to largely negative reviews. The movie carries a Rotten Tomatoes score of 41%.

In spite of that critical drubbing, the movie was a modest hit, and its reputation has only grown since, thanks to a ridiculous plot, endlessly quotable dialogue, wonderfully homoerotic undertones, and some extraordinary violence that has to be seen to be believed.

Edge of Tomorrow helmer Doug Liman directed the remake – which stars Gyllenhaal in the bouncer in question – for MGM. But now Amazon is releasing Road House direct-to-streaming… and Doug isn’t happy.

Road House remake director boycotting his own movie

The Road House remake receives its world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin in March. But director Doug Liman won’t be in attendance, due to the movie no longer receiving a theatrical release.

In an op-ed for Deadline, Liman wrote: “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. 

“When Amazon bought MGM, one of the few remaining studios making big commercial films for theatrical release (movies like Bond, Creed) they announced that they would put a billion dollars into theatrical motion pictures, releasing at least 12 a year. They touted it as ‘the largest commitment to cinemas by an internet company.’ I can tell you what they then did to me and my film Road House, which is the opposite of what they promised when they took over MGM.”

Liman states that he signed up to make the film for MGM. Amazon then bought MGM. Amazon told him to make a great film and “we will see what happens.” The movie then apparently tested through the roof, with Amazon telling Liman he had a “smash hit.”

But as Liman explains: “Contrary to their public statements, Amazon has no interest in supporting cinemas. Amazon will exclusively stream Road House on Amazon’s Prime. 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.”

You can read the full statement here – in which Liman claims “This could be industry-shaping for decades to come.” While Road House debuts on Prime Video on March 21, 2024.