Jonathan Majors’ ‘Magazine Dreams’ Landing Theatrical Release From ‘Apprentice’ Outfit Briarcliff
Jonathan Majors’ bodybuilding 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, and 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 after no major Hollywood studio would touch it.
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Writer-director Elijah Bynum’s Magazine Dreams bowed at Sundance in 2023 to rave reviews for Majors’ performance as amateur bodybuilder Killian Maddox, with the actor earning early awards buzz. Disney-owned Searchlight acquired the project after a bidding war, 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. Jennifer Fox, Dan Gilroy, Jeffrey Soros and Simon Horsman produced the movie.
Majors spent 18 months training for the role, which earned comparisons to Robert De Niro’s work in Taxi Driver. The film shot for 24 days around Los Angeles, and won the creative vision jury prize at Sundance.
“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.”
Majors was once one of the top rising stars of his generation. Following his conviction, Marvel Studios dropped Majors as villain Kang the Conqueror, while Lionsgate dropped his Dennis Rodman movie 48 Hours in Vegas, before it began production. Majors has booked no studio work since, but coming up, he has the indie feature Merciless, directed by Martin Villeneuve, brother of Dune director Denis Villeneuve.
Deadline first reported the news.
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