UPDATE: Briarcliff has set a March 21, 2025 release for “Magazine Dreams.”
EARLIER: Briarcliffe Entertainment strikes again! A month ago, the distributor had already bought one film nobody else wanted (“The Apprentice”) and they’ve just helped save another one from oblivion by acquiring “Magazine Dreams,” starring Jonathan Majors, from Searchlight. The plan is to release this one in the first quarter of 2025.
“Magazine Dreams,” directed by Elijah Bynum, is a grim character study featuring an astonishing performance from Majors. The film tackles an amateur bodybuilder (Majors) struggling to find human connection as his relentless drive to be recognized pushes him to the brink of insanity. It’s a film that takes inspiration in Taxi Driver’s Travis Bickle — an oddball loner starving to get recognized and slowly losing his mind
“Magazine Dreams is a visceral experience that challenges the perceptions of ambition and identity,” Briarcliffe’s Tom Ortenberg told Deadline in a statement. “Elijah’s film made a well-deserved splash in Sundance and Briarcliff is looking forward to taking his story to the big screen across the country in early 2025.”
Last fall, Searchlight pulled “Magazine Dreams” from an intended December 8 release date, as Majors was embroiled in a domestic violence scandal. Majors’ trial lasted a few weeks, and the actor was eventually found guilty of assault and harassment.
It was just a few months ago that THR’s sources had reported that the chances of seeing “Magazine Dreams” on the big screen were “highly unlikely”. Even a dump on Hulu wasn’t happening as the film would likely be too “problematic.”The trade added that Majors would have “100 percent been in the awards conversation” had it not been for his legal troubles. They’re not wrong. Searchlight was prepping a massive campaign for Majors.
Majors, who was just honored with a “perseverance award,” and was recently cast in a new low-budget sci-fi thriller, directed by Denis Villeneuve’s younger brother, has not been shy in his insistence that he’d like to mount a comeback in acting.
A real shocker. There are some people you think will live forever, and Sir Patrick Stewart was one of them. The legendary actor has passed away at the age of 86. We’ve lost one of the greats.