Clive Barker’s web site reports that Lionsgate may be curtailing the theatrical distribution of The Midnight Meat Train, perhaps to a scant 100 screens. In response has come a grass-roots campaign by “movie-lovers for its full theatrical release.”
Barker writes: “I am very excited about this possibility and I would passionately encourage everybody who cares about my work to use this chance to change the minds of the folks at Lionsgate.
“This is exciting! I really think, this late in the day, that grassroots support for our movie could significantly improve our chances of reaching a much bigger audience theatrically. The picture is worth the effort, I believe.”
This IMDB message board has contact information for Lionsgate, as well as a sample letter to send.
The 85-minute film, based on Barker’s short story by the same name, is currently scheduled for release on 1 August 2008. It stars Bradley Cooper and Vinnie Jones, with supporting actors including Brooke Shields and Roger Bart.
For more discussion on the film, see this page and its links on Barker’s web site. Their synopsis of the film follows:
Next stop, death.
When his latest body of work—provocative, nighttime studies of the city and its inhabitants—earns struggling photographer Leon Kaufman (Bradley Cooper) interest from a prominent art gallerist (Brooke Shields), she propels him to get grittier and show the darker side of humanity for his upcoming debut at her downtown art space.
Believing he’s finally on track for success, Leon’s obsessive pursuit of dark subject matter leads him into the path of a serial killer, Mahogany (Vinnie Jones), the subway murderer who stalks late-night commuters—ultimately butchering them in the most gruesome ways imaginable.
With his concerned girlfriend Maya (Leslie Bibb) fearing for his life, Leon’s relentless fascination with Mahogany lures him further and further into the bowels of the subways and ultimately into an abyss of pure evil—inadvertently pulling Maya right along with him.