The body building feature was previously set up at Searchlight, before the star’s criminal conviction.
The body building feature was previously set up at Searchlight, before the star’s criminal conviction.
Jonathan Majors‘ body building drama Magazine Dreams has found a path to theaters after being dropped by Searchlight in January following the star’s criminal conviction.
Briarcliff has picked up the project for distribution, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. It plans to release it in theaters in the first quarter of 2025. The Tom Ortenberg-run distributor has a history of acquiring controversial projects, and will release the Donald Trump feature The Apprentice later this month.
Writer-director Elijah Bynum’s Magazine Dreams bowed at Sundance in 2023 to rave reviews for Majors’ performance as amateur body builder Killian Maddox, with the actor earning early awards buzz. Disney-owned Searchlight acquired the project, but ultimately dropped the movie after Majors was convicted of assault and harassment, stemming from an incident involving his ex-partner, Grace Jabbari.
Searchlight returned the film to producers, and allowed them to shop it.
“It’s an all-in performance for the ages, layered with as much vulnerability as anger, and it’s to Majors’ credit that our hearts ache for Killian even — or perhaps especially — when he’s out of control,” wrote The Hollywood Reporter chief film critic David Rooney in his review. “Majors and writer-director Elijah Bynum manage the considerable feat of making us fear more for the intimidating colossus than the quivering employer he’s standing over.”
More to come.