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'Weird Time In Our Industry': Richard Linklater Opens Up About The Challenges Of Glen Powell’s Hit Man Theatrical Release
Glen Powell stars in Hit Man, a romantic action comedy facing industry skepticism. Despite acclaim, it found a home on Netflix, premiering June 7, 2024, after a limited theatrical release.
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Hit Man faced multiple rejections from studios before Netflix acquired it
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The film stars Glen Powell and Adria Arjona
Glen Powell is known for his recent role in Top Gun: Maverick and Anyone But You. This time around, he plays the lead in the romantic action-comedy film Hit Man. The highly anticipated movie premiered at this year’s 80th Venice International Film Festival; it received critical acclaim. It will be available on Netflix worldwide shortly before being shown on limited release.
How Hit Man came to be
Despite its success at the film festival, many obstacles had to be overcome before hitman could get to its audience. According to Texas Monthly, Director Richard Linklater disclosed that the studios were skeptical of the Glen Powell-Adria Arjona starrer. Even though the movie got an overwhelming response from many people, they still found it difficult to buy.
Linklater said Netflix bought it through a $20 million acquisition. He also admitted that other studios’ unwillingness to acquire it stunned him by saying, “The studios could have had it,” he added, “but despite the overwhelming audience and critical response, they just acted like they weren’t totally convinced. It’s a weird time in our industry—not as good as it once was, put it like that.”
Netflix takes control
When no one else would take a chance on this risky venture, Netflix stepped forward as its champion. The streaming service backed this project completely. Commenting further on Netflix’s commitment to the project, Linklater revealed that “Netflix was the company that stepped up with the right attitude, like, ‘Hey, we love this film, and we want to make sure everybody sees it.’”
It came out in some theaters last Friday and will be released on Netflix on June 7, 2024 (Hit). Linklater hopes that people will go watch his film in cinemas but acknowledges that he cannot do much with their limited distribution capacity. He lamented, “I also know that by the time a lot of them hear about the movie, it will be out of theaters.”
Musing from Glen Powell
Glen Powell who co-wrote the script as well as one of the stars in the movie reflected on the challenges they went through. He talked about being rejected by Hollywood in a Collider interview. Powell said that both he and Linklater were optimistic and were shocked when it became an industry rejection.
“We actually took this thing out, and everybody said no. We were kind of confused because we thought, ‘This movie is awesome; we loved writing it.” Powell explained. From these disappointments, however, Powell learned that sometimes you have to trust yourself even in situations where everything is unsure.
In police stings, Hit Man follows a college professor into being an undercover assassin. Everything goes terribly wrong when he falls for a woman who has hired him to kill her husband causing a meshed web of treachery and violence.
Hit Man has been hailed as one of the best romance-action films. It is more than Glen’s acting abilities that have led to his newest venture, it also shows his staying power in Hollywood. On June 7, 2024, Netflix will premiere this film to its viewers guaranteeing them not only a thrilling experience but also suspenseful moments throughout their lives.
ALSO READ: Glen Powell To Helm Remake Of Oscar-Winning Heaven Can Wait? Here's What Report Says
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