Quite frankly, I am not eagerly anticipating Lost River, the directorial debut of meme subject Ryan Gosling. I do not respond to him as an actor, and the early reviews coming out of Cannes did nothing to pique my interest. When it was picked up by Warner Bros., I at least thought I would give it a shot in the theater. What could that hurt?
Well, it looks like that will not be happening. Not that I will not see the movie, but I, or anyone, will not be seeing it in a theater. Warner Bros. has decided to scrap the film’s theatrical release and instead will go with a home video release in April.
I find this rather surprising. This seemed like the kind of movie that could at least do well in art house theater circles. There are enough Gosling fans out there, I think, for this to recoup their money, which I am assuming was not much. And there would be some nerds heading out to see Matt Smith (who was on that “Doctor Who” nonsense). Well, now people will not have to leave their home to check this out.
I know the shift to home video consumption is happening. The VOD success of The Interview will only turn people that way. It makes me sad, because the theater is still the best place to see a movie. Even if you have horrible audience members with you, and I’ve had my share, I would not trade seeing a movie in a theater. Even if I was not looking forward to Lost River, I at least wanted to see it in the venue it was made for.
Original report from Variety.
