Welcome to New York

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A look at the rise and controversial fall of French economist and former head of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn

Kicking off with Dominique Strauss-Kahn's departure from the IMF headquarters in Washington for the fateful mid-May weekend in New York, the picture is divided in two parts. The first part captures the events surrounding Strauss-Kahn's arrest and is based on reports and video footage in the public domain, gathered by Abel Ferrara who studied the case for two years. The second part, set and shot against the backdrop of the luxury Tribeca home where Strauss-Kahn spent four months under house arrest with Sinclair by his side, is pure fiction. Depardieu's character is not referred to as Strauss-Kahn but rather Mr. Deveraux, described in Wild Bunch's sales brochure as "a man driven by a frenzied and unbridled sexual hunger. A man who dreamed of saving the world and who cannot save himself."


Directed by Abel Ferrara
Written by Abel Ferrara and Christ Zois
Starring Gerard Depardieu, Jacqueline Bisset, and Juliette Binoche
Release Date - March 27, 2015 - Theatrical and VOD

(Trailer removed)

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IFC Films Acquires New Abel Ferrara Film
via blu-ray.com

IFC Films has acquired the U.S. distribution rights to acclaimed director Abel Ferrara's (Bad Lieutenant, King of New York) latest film, Welcome to New York, starring Gérard Depardieu, Jacqueline Bisset, Marie Mouté, and Natasha Romanova. The film, which is currently in the post-production phase, was promoted by French distributors Wild Bunch at the Cannes Film Festival.

Welcome to New York chronicles the rise and fall of French economist and former head of the International Monetary Fund Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

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Abel Ferrara's 'Welcome To New York' Going VOD Only In France, Could Be Late Addition To Cannes Lineup
via The Playlist

Abel Ferrara and theatrical distribution mix like oil and water. His films always seem to be hard to find on the big screen, usually slotted with a smaller distributor who doesn't expand his films beyond the few screens they manage to snag in New York City and Los Angeles. And for his latest, "Welcome To New York," French producers The Wild Bunch are forgoing a theatrical release entirely.

The company has decided that Ferrara's latest will be going straight to VOD in France, and the company views the exercise as an experiment they hope will pay off. "We've wanted to experiment with online distribution for some time and 'Welcome To New York' – which is one of the most anticipated films of the year in France – seemed a perfect opportunity," Wild Bunch co-chief Vincent Maraval told Screen Daily. "Up until now, people have experimented with smaller films but we said if we really want to know the true potential of online distribution, we needed to try with one of our strongest titles, otherwise we'll never know."

"We don't like the term VOD and prefer instead Ecinema. The promotional campaign, costing some $1m, will be on a par with a theatrical one, even bigger. We'll be doing posters, trailers and TV ads. It will be a proper release, a bit like how RADiUS brought out 'Bachelorette' in the US," he continued.

Okay, so it's a roll of the dice, but admittedly, one that could work. Gerard Depardieu has the lead role in the flick that tells the tale of the disgraced former IMF chief Dominique Strauss Kahn. And depending on what happens in the next few weeks, the movie could get an even bigger boost.

According to the trade, Cannes Film Festival honcho Thierry Fremaux is seeing the final cut of the movie next week, and is keeping the option open to include it in the Official Selection (and it should be noted there are one or two Competition slots still up for grabs). And if that happens? Maraval wants to drop the movie online right after the premiere, where anyone with 7 euros can watch it themselves.

So, no theatrical for Ferrara in France, but it seems "Welcome To New York" is going to be available to much more people, all at the same time. As for a stateside release, no one has picked up the movie just yet.

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New Trailer

Way weaker than the old one.

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UK Blu-ray from Spirit Entertainment on October 20, 2014

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Venice: Director Abel Ferrara Attacks IFC "Punks" Who "Don't Give a Shit About Movies"
via The Hollywood Reporter

The controversial director says his distributor is demanding a re-cut of racy 'Welcome to New York'

More than a year ago in Cannes, IFC Films picked up rights to Abel Ferrara's Welcome to New York — a retelling of the downfall of former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn starring Gerard Depardieu. But now the controversial director known for such sexually explicit films as Bad Lieutenant is speaking out against his distributor, accusing executives of trying to compromise his film.

Ferrara is bristling at a letter he says he received from IFC svp Arianna Bocco telling the filmmaker to deliver an R-rated version of Welcome so that it could match the version to be released on Showtime during its pay TV window. The film, which screened in Cannes in May, is currently beyond the R-rated threshold (The Hollywood Reporter's review described it as a cross "between performance piece and soft-core porn").

For Ferrara, there's no backing down. "Welcome to New York is not being distributed in the U.S. because of this company, IFC, which I'm totally disgusted with," Ferrara tells THR in Venice, where he's promoting his latest film, Pasolini, a biopic of Italian filmmaker, poet and novelist Pier Paolo Pasolini. "They knew from day one when they bought this film that they had the final version and that it wasn't going to be changed."

But sources say sales agent Wild Bunch, which sold the film to IFC based on a 10-minute trailer, is contractually obligated to deliver an R-rated cut.

Ferrara, 63, who'll be in Toronto for the Sept. 8 screening of Pasolini, sees the issue as indicative of a larger problem facing independent filmmakers. "I've f—ing had it with this corporate assault on the artists and the freedom of the artist, period. It's like a war against movies," he says. "Because 90 percent of the marketplace is owned by five guys masquerading as corporations. They're vultures and they're vampires, and they're trying to suck the blood out of the life of the filmmaking community."

IFC Films is owned and operated by AMC Networks.

"F— them and f— IFC and the Center. Any filmmaker that's worth anything should go and burn that theater down," he continued, referencing the New York cinema owned by IFC, which has been home to many of his works in the past.

"And as for my brother and sister filmmakers, don't roll over to these punks," he continued. "And don't let Arianna Bocco and (Sundance Selects/IFC Films president) Jonathan Sehring and the other thousand just like them come on as big friends of the independent film community. They don't give a shit about movies or the people that make them."

IFC wouldn't address Ferrara's accusations directly. But Sehring says IFC still plans to bring the film to the big screen despite the filmmaker's criticism. "We have been fans of Abel Ferrara for years and think he is an incredible filmmaker," Sehring said. "We supported his work on this particular film over several years in the production process and plan to release this riveting film early next year for U.S. audiences."

But Ferrara sees parallels between his own struggle and his latest subject, Pasolini. "If there's anything to learn from Pasolini, it's that he died for his films, man," says Ferrara. "To re-cut these films is to destroy them. And to not give back to the film community is to destroy it."


Venice: Abel Ferrara Movie Backer Responds to IFC "Punks" and "Vampires" Rant
via The Hollywood Reporter

"It's very unfair," says Wild Bunch head Vincent Maraval

While in Venice promoting his latest film Pasolini, director Abel Ferrara attacked his U.S. distributor IFC Friday for asking him to recut Welcome to New York, his well-received film about Dominique Strauss-Kahn's fall from grace, starring Gerard Depardieu. "They don't give a shit about movies or people that make them," Ferrara had told The Hollywood Reporter, noting that he was "disgusted" with IFC for trying to alter his film before its U.S. release.

Shortly after the story broke, Wild Bunch head Vincent Maraval, one of the financiers of the film, reached out from Toronto to tell his side of the story.

"First of all, I think it's wrong what he says, and I think it's not fair to attack IFC," Maraval tells Hollywood Reporter.

Welcome to New York involved a much bigger stake for Wild Bunch than their average investment. Maraval claims that because of this, they made it clear to Abel from the beginning that they would need to sell an R-rated version of the film in the U.S. in order to get it out to as wide of an audience as possible. "In the contract we did with Abel, he agreed to do an R-rated version," says Maraval. "It was something he accepted originally in order to have the film financed."

Maraval shopped around a trailer for the film last year in Cannes, resulting in a buyer frenzy. Although there was a higher bid for the U.S. from an unknown buyer, Wild Bunch went with IFC because of their close relationship with Ferrara. IFC closed the deal for more than half a million dollars. The company has worked with the director for the past decade, distributing his previous works, including 4:44 Last Day on Earth, Go Go Tales and Mary.

According to Wild Bunch, IFC never asked for the cut. It was something that was a given from the start. "This is not between Abel and IFC," says Maraval. "It's between Abel and us. We've worked with Abel since 'R Xmas. IFC has always supported him, even when the U.S. market said he was too difficult to work with. It's very unfair that he's blaming them. They are people that respect cinema very much, and especially his cinema."

This past spring, according to Maraval, IFC watched the film and noted scenes that could be a problem for the U.S. distribution. Wild Bunch contacted Abel and asked him if he wanted to make the changes himself before the film's release in Cannes. When he refused, Wild Bunch made the changes themselves.

The changes are "very minor," according to Maraval, and "help the film's flow." Most of the cuts involve a shortened version of the hotel orgy scene at the film's beginning. Ferrara refused to watch the new cut.

Wild Bunch showed the edited version to the film's financiers and cast. "Depardieu said this film is even better than the original, and he wanted the newer version to be shown in Cannes," says Maraval. "Everyone who saw it, who saw both versions, said the new one is better." IFC also liked the new version and said it would receive an R rating.

Maraval reached out to Ferrara again and offered to pay more if Ferrara wanted to cut his own version. He says the director never replied.

"We contacted his lawyer and showed him the contract where he had agreed to deliver an R-rated version of the film," says Maraval. "So his lawyer said 'OK, I'll try to convince him to change the film.'"

Maraval says he asked Ferrara 10 times to watch the new version, but the director, already working on his new film Pasolini, refused. "I think the attack of Abel is pure attitude, trying to look like the poor director that people abuse. But it's not at all true," says Maraval. "IFC never decided to cut the film behind his back."

Wild Bunch released the film on VOD in France after Cannes, selling 200,000 clicks at $10 a pop, making it one of the top five all-time most profitable VOD releases in the country. "If you compare that to previous theatrical releases in France, 20,000 for 4:44 Last Day on Earth or 35,000 for Go Go Tales, it was a huge success," says Maraval, who says the film was profitable for both Wild Bunch and for Ferrara.

Reached by e-mail, Ferrara commented on Maraval's response. "Anyone who touches my film is in trouble legally, karmically and spiritually," he says. "And anyone who bothers seeing such bullshit is more guilty than they are," he says about the unapproved version of his film. 

As of today, IFC is planning to release the edited Welcome to New York early next year in the U.S.

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^ In short, ol Abel hopes IFC, AMC Networks and anyone who sees the edited version of his film are all in the same streetcar, and it blows up.

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via The Playlist:

A new, U.S. trailer is here, but be forewarned, the movie has been cut from the international version.

As you might recall, last fall Ferrara revealed that IFC Films was pressuring him to cut down the film, and he was not happy about it. "F— them and F— IFC and the Center. Any filmmaker that's worth anything should go and burn that theater down," the director said at the time. "And as for my brother and sister filmmakers, don't roll over to these punks. And don't let Arianna Bocco and [Sundance Selects/IFC Films president] Jonathan Sehring and the other thousand just like them come on as big friends of the independent film community. They don't give a shit about movies or the people that make them." But unfortunately, it looks like Ferrara lost the battle.

While "Welcome To New York" screened at film festivals around the world in its original runtime of 125 minutes (which we reviewed at Fantasia), the official press release from IFC for this trailer notes a significantly shorter runtime of 108 minutes. It's shame because while the longer version certainly isn't perfect, it's also a picture we called, "an otherwise fascinating depiction of another kind of 'Wolf of Wall Street,' one whose endless hunger is only matched by his vile soullessness."

"Welcome To New York" opens on VOD and in cinemas on March 27th.

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US Blu-ray on August 11, 2015