American Murderer

American Murderer is a 2022 American true crime drama film, written and directed by Matthew Gentile in his feature directorial debut. It stars Tom Pelphrey, Idina Menzel, Ryan Phillippe, Jacki Weaver, Paul Schneider, Shantel VanSanten, Kevin Corrigan and Moisés Arias. The film tells the story of Jason Derek Brown and premiered on June 27, 2022, at the Taormina Film Fest in Sicily.[1] The film was theatrically released in the United States on October 21, 2022, and received positive reviews, with particular praise for Pelphrey and Weaver’s performances and Gentile's direction.

American Murderer
Poster
Directed byMatthew Gentile
Written byMatthew Gentile
Produced by
  • Kevin Matusow
  • Carissa Buffel
  • Gia Walsh
  • Kara Baker
  • Jennifer Konawal
  • Adeel Ahmed
Starring
CinematographyKalilah Robinson
Edited by
  • Matt Allen
  • Christopher Young
Music byScott Gentile
Production
companies
  • The Traveling Picture Show Company
  • Gigi Films
Distributed byLionsgate/Saban Films (US & Canada), Universal Pictures (International)
Release dates
  • June 27, 2022 (2022-06-27) (TFF)
  • October 21, 2022 (2022-10-21) (United States)
Running time
101 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Cast

Production

Writer/Director Matthew Gentile had first learned about Jason Derek Brown when he was about fourteen years old: "Before I wanted to be a filmmaker, I wanted to be an FBI agent. I had heard about Jason's case because I used to go on the FBI website and I would look at the top 10 fugitives. Jason's face stuck out because on the Top 10 list you have menacing faces, Whitey Bulger, Osama Bin Laden, and then this surfer dude from Southern California. I was immediately interested in the story."[2]

After graduating film school at the American Film Institute over a decade later, Gentile learned Brown was still missing and became inspired to tell this story as his first feature film. Inspired by dark, gritty character studies such as Star 80, The Honeymoon Killers, and Vengeance is Mine, Gentile wrote the screenplay on spec.[3]

In 2018, he completed a proof of concept short film with Jonathan Groff in the main role and Amanda Crew which served as a calling card for the screenplay that was sold to Traveling Picture Show Company and GiGi Films.

In December 2020, it was announced Tom Pelphrey, Idina Menzel, Ryan Phillippe, Jacki Weaver, Paul Schneider, Shantel VanSanten, Kevin Corrigan and Moisés Arias had joined the cast of the film.[4][5]

Principal photography was completed on a tight schedule (22 days) at the height of the pandemic, in November/December 2020, with pick-ups and second unit photography done in early 2021.[6]

Release

It premiered at the Taormina Film Fest in Sicily on June 27, 2022, where it was nominated for the Cariddi D'Oro.[1][7]

After early screenings at multiple festivals including Newport Beach, Boston, Fayetteville, and Buffalo—the film won the Artistic Director's Award at the San Diego International Film Festival in October 2022, Best Narrative Feature at Fayetteville Film Fest, and Best Actor (Tom Pelphrey) and Best Music (Scott Gentile) at the Boston Film Festival.[8]

On July 19, 2022, it was announced in Variety that Saban Films bought the rights to distribute American Murderer in the United States and Canada. It had a limited theatrical release on October 21, 2022, before coming out on digital/demand on October 28, 2022.[9][10][11]

American Murderer was released internationally by Universal Pictures on January 30, 2023.

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 75% based on 43 reviews and an audience rating of 92%.[12] The website's consensus reads: "Tom Pelphrey kills it as the American Murderer, delivering standard true crime goods to fans of the genre."

After the international release through Universal Pictures, American Murderer became a top 10 hit on streaming platforms including Hulu, iTunes, Google, Rakuten TV, and OSN in over 45 countries including the USA, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.[13]

In an article for We Got This Covered, Scott Campbell analyzed how American Murderer became a sleeper hit on streaming.[14]

References

  1. "programma - TAORMINA FILM FEST | 26 June - 2 July 2022". Taormina Film Fest. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  2. PhilbrickOctober 27, Jami; Read, 2022-7 Min. "Ryan Phillippe and Matthew Gentile Talk 'American Murderer'". Moviefone.
  3. Ross, Adam (January 14, 2023). "Making a Murderer: an interview with director Matthew Gentile".
  4. N'Duka, Amanda (December 7, 2020). "Tom Pelphrey, Idina Menzel, Ryan Phillippe, Jacki Weaver Join 'American Murderer' Movie From Traveling Picture Show Company & GiGi Films". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  5. Lang, Brent (December 10, 2020). "Paul Schneider, Shantel VanSanten, Kevin Corrigan, and Moises Arias Join 'American Murderer' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  6. "American Murderer". Utah Film Commission. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  7. Trabattoni, Alina (June 17, 2022). "Taormina Film Festival unveils line-up including American Murderer, Baby Pyramid". screendaily.com. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  8. "2022 Award Winners". San Diego International Film Festival. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  9. "American Murderer". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  10. "American Murderer (2022) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  11. Lang, Brent (July 19, 2022). "Saban Buys Ryan Phillippe, Tom Pelphrey Crime Thriller 'American Murderer' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  12. "American Murderer". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  13. "American Murderer TOP 10". FlixPatrol.
  14. Campbell, Scott (February 5, 2023). "An unresolved crime thriller so implausible it could only be true scams a top spot on streaming".
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.