To be certain, the recent must-read New York Times Magazine article on the making of Paul Schrader's "The Canyons" brought the movie to the attention of a public that was probably not aware it was even happening. But even while movie sites and tabloids kept abreast of the developments on the low budget indie starring Lindsay Lohan and porn star James Deen, the feature article revealed not only just how painful the shoot was, but also the friction between the director, writer Bret Easton Ellis and producer Braxton Pope.
Included in the article, but not available to be shared online until now, a three minute clip for "The Canyons" pretty much explains why Steven Soderbergh offered to give it an edit. Tediously paced, a bit nonsensical and poorly acted all around (though the score by Brendan Canning isn't too bad), this is a long elaborate set up to reveal that Deen's character knows that Lohan is cheating on him. But there are a few questions: what up's with the superfluous shot of Lohan almost dropping a water bottle? Wouldn't a ringing phone be more apt to wake someone up? If you're hiding someone's phone, why would you leave the ringer on? On the other hand, that house looks really nice.
“The film is so languorous. It’s an hour 30, and it seems like it’s three hours long," Ellis complained to the magazine. We have to say, we kinda see what he means.
In case you forgot, the film was actually turned down by the Sundance Film Festival so no word yet on where or when this might show up. But see for yourself if the trainwreck hype is deserved below. [via The Film Stage]
