Fox Searchlight has just informed us that the big screen adaptation of Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk’s Choke has been pushed back to September 26th 2008. When the company snapped up the film for a hefty $5 million at Sundance, they immediately announced an August 1st release date.
The last Friday of July/first Friday of August is Fox Searchlight’s magic date. They opened films like Little Miss Sunshine and Garden State in that calendar spot to much success. The plan usually is to open the film in a couple markets, slowly expand throughout August, and open wide in September. But for some reason, Searchlight has decided to move the release back to late September. And this might not be a bad move. This will give Choke breathing room from the other high-buzz late Summer indie releases like American Teen, Towelhead and The Wackness. Palahnuik also has a huge young adult following, so opening the film up right after College is back in session might help the film’s marketing strategy.
Official Plot Synopsis: Victor Mancini (Sam Rockwell), a sex-addicted med-school dropout, keeps his increasingly deranged mother, Ida (Anjelica Huston), in an expensive private mental hospital by working days as a historical reenactor. At night he runs a scam where he deliberately chokes in upscale restaurants to form parasitic relationships with the wealthy patrons who “save” him. When, in a rare lucid moment, Ida reveals that she has withheld the shocking truth of his father’s identity, Victor must enlist the aid of his best friend, Denny (Brad William Henke), a recovering chronic masturbator, and his mother’s beautiful attending physician, Dr. Paige Marshall (Kelly Macdonald), to solve this mystery before the truth of his possibly divine parentage is lost forever.
May 14th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Normally a push in release date evokes fear but I will give Fox Searchlight the benefit of the doubt considering their track record with independent movies.
May 14th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
It should also be noted that I’ve seen the movie two times now, and it is very good indeed.
May 14th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
Sure, rub it in! Ha.
May 14th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
I’m in line right now. I’ll be posting from my cellphone giving minute by minute updates for the next 4 months.
May 14th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
I saw the new cut a few weeks ago at the USA film fest in Dallas. I haven’t laughed so hard at a film in a long time. You definitely don’t need to worry about the quality of the film.
May 14th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
I’m glad to hear people are liking it. I love the book and I’ve been having doubts about the movie, but you’ve restored my faith in it.
May 14th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
So it opens the day before my birthday; all I can hope is the Alamo Drafthouse is going to have some cool event for it so I can celebrate my bday there (and hopefully by then all the locations will be serving liquor…one can only hope)
May 14th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
… give Choke “breathing room”
Glad to hear this film doesn’t disappoint.
May 15th, 2008 at 10:12 am
Normally id be pissed but thats totally my birthday weekend. Sweet!!! 27 is lookin pretty good.
May 15th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
great news….what about Invisible Monsters & Survivor, are they still being made?
I heard that the director of I Am Legend is trying to make Survivor, I hope this isn’t so