Barrymore's Directorial Debut, 'Whip It!' Has a Release Date and Distributor
It will be interesting to see how good this one is
Fox Searchlight Pictures is set to release Drew Barrymore's Whip It! for a wide release on on October 9, 2009.
The film marks the directorial debut for Barrymore and stars Ellen Page (Juno) as Bliss, a rebellious Texas teen who throws in her small town beauty pageant crown for the rowdy world of roller derby. Marcia Gay Harden (Mystic River, Pollock) plays Bliss' disapproving mother, while Kristen Wiig (Saturday Night Live) and Juliette Lewis (Old School) play roller-derby stars. Whip It! also stars Eve, Jimmy Fallon, and Daniel Stern.
The film is based on the Shauna Cross novel "Derby Girl" and Cross also adapted the screenplay.
I am actually anxious to see how this one turns out. The fact Searchlight picked it up and will distribute it wide is good news for the film, but the October release is a bit of a no man's land territory so I guess we will just have to wait and see. Of course, this year's October has the potential to be quite strong with the Coens' A Serious Man and Scorsese's Shutter Island opening on October 2, Where the Wild Things Are on the 16th and then Amelia on the 23rd. It's beginning to look like there isn't a month worth over-looking any longer as even March has been staked out for at least one blockbuster each year and Taken made January look like a month worth owning in 2009 as did Paul Blart: Mall Cop. If you make (and it's decent) they will come.
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i disagree about October being a no-mans land release month…a lot of good movies come out in the month of october
Yeah, lay off October.
Sure, October 2008 was a disappointment, but so was 2008 in general.
October 2007 brought us Michael Clayton and Gone Baby Gone, October 2006 brought us The Departed, Babel, The Prestige, Flags of our Fathers…..
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Ellen Page + Kristen Wiig + Marcia Gay Harden = a must-see for me, even though I'm sure Jimmy Fallon won't be able to keep a straight face for his scenes.
Ellen Page. That's all it takes. I'm in.
I'm in for the subject matter. There's 300ish roller derby leagues in the U.S. Around 20 in Canada. If they partner with the leagues in their marketing and bring in THEIR audience, things could go well for the film. Roller derby leagues in Minnesota, Oregon, Washington, New Jersey and L.A. are drawing four digits regularly.
the date is a LOT better than JUne 12th, which is what I heard was the original release date. Hopefully this will bring in more fans to derby.
The Original TXRDonald
Don't forget Zoe Bell! I can't wait to see what she does as 'Bloody Holly' =D
CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!
LOVE YA ELLEN PAGE!!!!!!!
I'm an extra in several roller derby scenes and all I can tell you is this movie Rocks! and kicks Ass!
The fight scenes are Awesome! Drew Rules! You guys are gonna Love this movie! Pass the word.
Oh yea! All I heard was Ellen Page…'nuff said. It gots my view.
Great actor, great person…
October won't be a bad time for this movie. Regionals and Nationals are in the fall, so it will be a great time for this movie to be promoted all over the country as leagues across the nation compete for the championship. I'm excited!!
Hey Robbin'! Checked out a DDD video; tried to guess which one was you. Thanx for the positive vibe. All the action you see in Whip It! is legit. All the actresses did most of their own stunt work, and they had the bruises to prove it. I think if the roller derby leagues around this great country of ours enjoy this as much as I think they will, and give it their backing, it's going to get an awesome response. Thanx again; check you in October!
Detroit Denny