The Final Cut

[El Duderino]

Release Date
NY/LA September 2004, wide release in October.

Written and Directed by
Omar Naim (Documentary: Grand Theatre, A Tale of Beirut)

Cast
Robin Williams
Mira Sorvino
Jim Caviezel

Synopsis
A Zoë Chip is chip placed in your brain at birth to record your entire life. When you die, the footage from your life is edited into a "Rememory"-- a film shown at your funeral pieced together by an editor. A toy for the privileged, Zoë Chips are changing the face of human interaction, but there are those who are against this emerging technology, and believe that memories are meant to fade.

Alan Hackman (Robin Williams) is the best "cutter" in the business, his ability to grant the corrupt absolution of the sins of his clients, has put him in high demand. However, his talent for viewing life without emotion has shaped him into a cold distant man and has made him unable to experience life in the first person. He believes he is a "sin eater" and his work provides him with the ability to absolve the dead of their sins

While cutting a Rememory for a high-powered colleague, Alan discovers an image from his childhood that has haunted him his entire life. This discovery leads him on a high intensity search for truth and redemption.



Trailer Here in Media Player format

[ono]

Excellent premise.  The bad thing, though, about excellent premises is they are so hard to live up to and execute effectively.

[modage]

quicktime trailers up at apple: http://www.apple.com/trailers/lions_gate/the_final_cut/

[MacGuffin]

[meatball]

I'm looking forward to this one.  8)

[SiliasRuby]

Me too.

[cron]

that poster makes Robin Williams look like an 80s pop idol.

[matt35mm]

Hahaha, that made me "lol."

[MacGuffin]

Lions Gate Tries Digital Roll-Out for Film

In a first of its kind, independent movie distributor Lions Gate Films is releasing "The Final Cut" this Friday only on new digital systems in AMC theaters that offer a low-cost way to reach mass audiences.

The move tests a nascent process for distributing films via digital systems linking theaters on high-speed networks, and it could offer low-budget films a more effective way to compete with Hollywood, industry experts believe.

"We're always looking to do new, imaginative and cost- effective things at Lions Gate, and 'Final Cut,' due to the theme of the movie, is the perfect kind of film to launch digitally," said Tom Ortenberg, president of Lions Gate Film Releasing.

"Final Cut," which stars comedian Robin Williams and Mira Sorvino, centers on a digital chip implanted into peoples' brains that records their memories. But problems arise when people want to edit their memories, prompting questions about truth and personal redemption for the main character.

Lions Gate, a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment, is initially putting the movie in 117 theaters linked to AMC's Digital Theater Distribution System, or DTDS.

Ortenberg said by distributing the film in digital form it avoids the expense of printing film copies, which can cost around $2000 per print. He said that taking into account other distribution costs, such as shipping, savings ran from $300,000 to $400,000 for the one digital run of "Final Cut."

Lions Gate will also release the film traditionally in a broader number of theaters later this month.

For AMC, a unit of AMC Entertainment Inc., the movie becomes a good tool around which to promote its digital theater system that has been built gradually over the past few years.

Low-budget filmmakers get a way to put their movies in a larger number of theaters to compete with Hollywood movies whose marketing budgets run in the tens of millions of dollars

For years, theater owners, equipment makers and the studios have talked about building sophisticated digital cinemas, but high-end projection systems, which promise a sharper picture for audiences, can cost more than $100,000 per movie screen.

The expense has stalled a widespread digital roll-out, but AMC and rival Regal Entertainment Group, have installed systems using less costly, lower-end digital projectors.

Both have generated new revenues by showing advertisements before movies and beaming in music concerts via satellite.

The low-end projectors, however, sacrifice picture quality on screen, which Ortenberg said was a "valid concern" and "something we are going to look at after we open."

[Ghostboy]

This isn't the first movie to do this. AMC distributed some indie family drama called Evergreen last month in the same way. At the press screening, the satellite feed screwed up and the movie stopped -- and because of the way the feed worked, they couldn't just pick up where it left off when they restarted it. They had to start the whole thing over again.

If I was a director, I'd be PISSED. These projectors look terrible...I was still a projectionist for AMC when the DTDS systems were installed last year, and they are pretty lousy. It's bad enough watching that pre-show advertising, but watching an entire feature would be headache inducing. This is one case where it would be far more advantageous to just wait for the DVD.