It seems like problems surrounding The Canyons happened as soon as the film attached Lindsay Lohan to be its lead star. Tons of gossip stories have been written about the ongoings from pre-production to post-production, notably one op-ed titled Here’s What Happens When You Cast Lindsay Lohan In Your Movie was a real account that focused on the inner workings of The Canyons , and what it took to get Lindsay Lohan to work everyday.
For a shoot that only lasted about a month, it seems strange, but once the Lindsay Lohan equation worked its way in there it made sense. At the time Lohan wasn’t insurable as an actress, but despite that, and despite the reports on her reckless behavior Paul Schrader took a chance on her.
What resulted was massive attention from start to finish by numerous outlets, and the constant questioning of Lohan’s well being. Now we have stills from the film starring Lindsay Lohan and her co-star/porn star James Deen, to prove that this film is actually going to see the light of day.
The Canyons is a collaborative film between director Schrader, and writer Bret Easton Ellis ( American Psycho ), and was completely funded by the filmmakers, with a tiny aid from Kickstarter. The Canyons tells a story about a group of 20-somethings, in a contemporary Los Angeles scene in the “post-Empire” era.
For Lohan this role fit like a glove, and was also her big return to acting since her legal troubles. However, because of problems on the set, including Lohan showing up late, crying in her hotel room, and the odd relationship between her and reluctant co-star James Deen , it seemed as though the buzz ended up overshadowing a film that was trying to capture something that they were also trying to get away from.
Director Paul Shrader was of course aware of all of this, and in an interview admitted to even giving into the monster saying:
“To be honest, it’s something we created. We stirred the pot, simply with the casting of Lindsay and James. And Lindsay brings with her, her drama and then Bret, he has a very promiscuous Twitter finger, and he can always relied on to upset somebody with some tweet. We kind of stirred our town pot.”
The Canyons is set to open on August 2, and is available on the same day on VOD and iTunes. As far as catching it in the theaters, it will expand on August 9, including a special screening at UCLA.
