Why was the remake of 'The Intouchables' never released?
Originally set to be released in March, the movie might never make it to the theaters in America.
On both sides of the Atlantic, there was an excitement in September 2017 as The Upside, the English-language remake of French box-office hit Intouchables, had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. At the time, the producer of the comedy even mentioned a potential campaign for the 2018 Oscars for his two lead actors, Bryan Cranston and Kevin Hart. The producer in question: Harvey Weinstein…
A month after the world premiere and some good reviews from the US press, the release of the comedy was put on hold as Harvey Weinstein became the face of sexual abuse in Hollywood with over 80 women who came forward and made allegations against the producer of the film. On January 18, the Weinstein company announced that it had pulled three films from its 2018 release dates, in anticipation of the company changing heads. Among them was The Upside, which was supposed tro be released on March 9.
Since then, some producers that worked with the Weinstein Company for upcoming films have been trying to make a deal to gain back the rights of their films. The producers of Hotel Mumbai succedeed last Friday in exchange of an undisclosed amount of money.
The movie could never be released
As for The Upside, it’s currently tied up with the bankruptcy of the company, filed back in March. On May 2nd, the Weinstein Company was sold to private equity firm Lantern Capital, which also acquired all the projects that were currently on hold at the Weinstein Company, including the remake of Intouchables. The deal is still waiting to be approved by a federal court in Delaware. It’s only then that Lantern Capital will decide what to do with The Upside. Worried that the project is too closely associated with Harvey Weinstein, the producers could be tempted to release the movie straight on VOD or on a streaming platform like Netflix to avoid any bad press, especially if the actors refuse to promote the movie in order to avoid discussing Harvey Weinstein's involvement in this film.
But with an A-list cast that also includes Nicole Kidman and Julianna Marguiles, The Upside could also act as the first box office hit for new company Lantern Capital, acting as a way to assure the movie industry that the Dallas-based private equity fund would be a new player in Hollywood.
