In his arts/entertainment column in the Toronto Star today (Saturday August 13), Martin Knelman reports that the producer of Joel Bender's Karla (formerly titled "Deadly"), Michael Sellers, is planning to hold a private screening for the movie in Toronto during the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Knelman also reports that Jeff Sackman, president and CEO of Toronto-based distributor THINKFilm (Think Film Company Inc.), "sent an email to fellow distributors urging them to pass on Karla. 'I hope that we remain united in our membership (and community) that no one would pick this up,' Sackman argued. He describes Sellers as 'a third-rate so-called producer at best.'" Sackman admits that he hasn't seen Karla. He himself was one of the executive producers of Mary Harron's American Psycho, which was based on Bret Easton Ellis' eponymous novel - reputedly Paul Bernardo's "bible". (Apropos, here's a quote (dated May 23, 1998) from Canadians Concerned About Violence in Entertainment (C-CAVE) chair Rose A. Dyson regarding the decision by Sackman - then president of Lions Gate Films Inc. - et al. to produce Harron's American Psycho: "Considering that Clifford Olsen tortured and murdered eleven children in this company's home province, it is callous, cold-hearted and grossly irresponsible for Lions Gate to bring the 'bible' of another serial killer, Paul Bernardo, to the big screen.") Also, according to Knelman, "ThinkFilm spent months trying to acquire DVD rights to Vlad, a low-budget horror film directed by Sellers, after it won prizes at two film festivals."
Note that Karla won't be playing at TIFF. Two versions of the movie apparently were submitted to TIFF but, for reasons not made public, it didn't select either for its line-up. Last year, however, its line-up included such controversial works as Lukas Moodysson's fictional movie A Hole in My Heart (Ett hål i mitt hjärta) and Zev Asher's documentary Casuistry: The Art of Killing a Cat (which contained real cat-gutting footage from 2004 Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts winner Istvan Kantor's 8-piece video album Catastronics).
Karla apparently stars Laura Prepon as Karla Homolka, Misha Collins as Paul Bernardo, Cherilyn Hayres as Tammy Homolka, Sarah Foret as Kaitlin Ross (formerly Kaitlyn Frost) = Kristen French, and Kristen Swieconek as Tina McCarthy (formerly Leah Macarthy) = Leslie Mahaffy. (Twitch's source for the new names of the Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy characters is the blog of Global News reporter Seán O'Shea - specifically, the June 20th entry "Deadly the Movie: Exclusive First Look" and June 23rd entry "Deadly The Movie: Part Two".)
Homolka and Bernardo have already been the subjects of several books, including Stephen Williams' Invisible Darkness: The Horrifying Case of Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka and Karla: A Pact with the Devil.
Trailer (downloadable 5.6 MB MOV file)
Official website
does nobody pick out the fact that this film is directed by the man who gave the world GAS PUMP GIRLS in 1979? and not too much else besides that. and Karla was previously rejected from TIFF in 2004.
Yeah, everything about this film sounds to me like a man with a mediocre film manufacturing and manipulating a controversy to generate free publicity ... it was shot a good while ago, think it's a coincidence that he suddenly started pushing it and retitled it at the same time Homolka was released? It's crass in the extreme ...
And as far as suggestions that it's being rejected because of content ... well, the examples cited make it clear that's not the case. Casuistry generated a huge stink last year but was played because because it was actually trying to make a serious point. If it was anything more than exploitation it would've been picked up by a distrib ages ago ... probably one like Lion's Gate which has shown in the past that they're perfectly comfortable with small, controversial films ...
it's about karla, i already hate this movie.
From everything I've heard about this film (especially the dreadful original title "DEADLY") this film was never meant to be anything more than 'TV MOVIE OF THE WEEK' type material...it's only due to the recent re-surfacing of the whole affair due to Ms. Holmolka's release from prison that is driving this forward...I wouldn't expect much from this film, and a lot of people are getting their backs up on this over what is prbably nothing at all...
Has Lions Gate seen Karla? Which other distributors have seen it?
In the first paragraph of his June 20th blog entry "Deadly the Movie: Exclusive First Look" (which I provided a link to in my article above, and in both of my previous articles on Karla), Global News reporter Seán O'Shea wrote: "To date [i.e., as of June 20th], I am the only person outside of the production company, Quantum Entertainment, to have seen the film." In his June 6th Playback article "Deadly divides", Sean Davidson wrote that "the U.S. shot feature has not yet been shopped on either side of the border - it's still in post at L.A.'s Quantum Entertainment and will be until the end of June", and that "so far, only one Canadian has actually seen Deadly, says Quantum president Michael Sellers, and it was Global TV reporter Sean O'Shea, who recently flew down for a screening."
As was noted in my article above, THINKFilm president and CEO Jeff Sackman - who was the president of Lions Gate Films Corp. (was Lions Gate Films Inc. from January 29, 1998 to May 27, 1998) for approximately 3 1/2 years, and executive vice president of its predecessor, Cinepix Film Properties Inc. (existed from June 8, 1994 to January 29, 1998), for about the same length of time - has called upon his fellow distributors not to pick up Karla, even though he hasn't seen the movie. In fact, in Simon Houpt's article "Karla showings defended" in today's The Globe and Mail, Sackman is quoted as having recently admitted to the newspaper that he has launched a personal crusade to convince others not to distribute Karla "regardless of whether it has any commercial or artistic merit" (emphasis added).
In Nicole Sperling's July 13th The Hollywood Reporter article "AMC doesn't get dirty joke", Sackman was quoted as having said the following, with regard to AMC Entertainment Inc.'s decision not to screen Paul Provenza's The Aristocrats (which is being distributed in the U.S. by THINKFilm) at any of its theatres: "The real problem is somebody is deciding on a personal basis what's appropriate and what isn't." Apparently, "somebody" means somebody other than Sackman.
Did Karla producer Michael Sellers manipulate Premier Dalton McGuinty and Minister of Consumer and Business Services Jim Watson into urging the public to boycott the movie - which, need I mention, neither McGuinty nor Watson has seen? (Both politicians apparently are disappointed by the fact that, due to the Superior Court of Justice's ruling last year in R. v. Glad Day Bookshops Inc., the Government of Ontario no longer has the power to ban Karla - or, for that matter, (the integral versions of) Catherine Breillat's Fat Girl (À ma sœur !), Virginie Despentes and Coralie Trinh Thi's Baise-moi, Tinto Brass et al.'s Caligula (Caligola), Ron Mann's Grass, Ryû Murakami's Tokyo Decadence (Topâzu)....) Did producer Peter Simpson of Norstar Filmed Entertainment Inc. manufacture and manipulate the controversy that surrounded his planned movie on Paul Bernardo - including the (successful) campaign to prevent it from being made?
I wonder how many of those who have passed judgement on Karla without having seen it have hypocritically looked down upon other people for doing the same with regard to other movies (e.g., Provenza's The Aristocrats, Breillat's Fat Girl, Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, or Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11)?
While I don't know who specifically has seen the film the claim that only one person in the country has is obviously false and obviously nothing more than propoganda. The film was rejected from the Toronto Film Festival back in 2004 and, apparently, again this year. Obviously the people in Montreal have seen it too. So that's two large groups of people who have definitely seen it. And the simple fact that Thinkfilm is petitioning people to say no to it says that the guy is actively shopping it. No point in protesting something that's not out there in the first place.
Obviously Montreal caved to sponsorship pressure, which is a bad thing and sets a very bad precedent for them. But I don't believe for a second that Toronto passed on it due to possible controversy. Look at their screening list in any given year and you'll find a handful of films sure to spark up hostility from some sectors and, as has already been pointed out, they were actively picketed and had a media campaign run against them last year over their decision to screen Casuistry and they didn't blink. If they felt the film had merit it would have played TIFF, instead its been rejected twice.
This guy's working the media for free publicity. Doing a good job of it, too, as I've seen the 'Canadian controversy' brought up in the US press a few times now ... who do you think pointed out the controversy to them? It's not like the US media makes a habit of reading Canadian papers ...
I think that it is very important that our teenage children can be educated to the dangers of our society. we are no longer safe anywhere, even in Canada. I will see this movie and so will a lot of others. The interest of human nature will force us to watch this freak of nature, if only to see if there is any possible chance we can make sense of what she has done. Of course, we will walk away from the movie shaking our heads and without explanation, and this beast will still be walking amongst us, free to go where she wishes, live where she wants and possibly in a neighbourhood near you. What will you think of the movie then?