In case you missed the drama (all 24 hours of it) Caveh Zahedi's I Am A Sex Addict was pulled from Landmark Theaters just days before it was set for its West Coast premiere (via IFC First Take). The film was pulled by Mark Cuban (owner of Landmark Theaters). While one might have flashbacks of Ted Turner going moral (e.g., delaying Cronenberg's Crash), the reasons are pettier. Details, including a comments from Cuban himself, found here. Crazy stuff. The drama ended (I hope) on Tuesday afternoon. David Hudson of GreenCine reports the fallout.
My $0.02 analysis: Score one for film blogging. Via his blog, Caveh is able to get the word out quickly about the problem. On a philosophical level, the little guy gets his voice heard just as loudly as the big guy. (Though perhaps Cuban thinks of himself as the little guy when compared with Comcast?) On a practical level, Caveh's able to secure a new theater... fast. He finds out from IFC about the cancellation on yesterday and by 6:30pm (eastern time) the next day, Caveh has a new theater lined up. While, as David Hudson notes, the stakes have been high, this kind of success for a film that is one step-above self-distributed is quite a victory. We're not talking about Star Wars VI. The film in question is entitled I Am A Sex Addict.
End analysis.
Meanwhile, in less dramatic news, I Am A Sex Addict will premiere in New York on April 12 at the IFC theater. I'm guessing that that screening will go off without a hitch. An interview with Caveh will run here on April 12 to coincide with the NY opening.
ADDENDUM:
Predictably, Scott Kirsner and Anthony Kaufman have smart things to say about the situation.