The Briarcliff CEO has revealed why his distributor is still releasing Magazine Dreams. The upcoming film tells the story of Jonathan Majors’ amateur bodybuilder who confronts his past and pushes his physical limits to gain recognition for his craft. Magazine Dreams is written and directed by Elijah Bynum, and the cast features Harrison Page, Taylour Paige, and Harriet Sansom Harris. The film was originally supposed to be distributed by Searchlight, who dropped the project when Majors was convicted of ᴀssaulting and harᴀssing his girlfriend.

Per the Wall Street Journal, Briarcliff CEO Tom Ortenberg addressed taking on the film. Ortenberg argues Majors “paid his dues,” and said that Magazine Dreams was “a brilliant movie with a brilliant actor.” Later in the report, it was noted that Ortenberg and his team at Briarcliff did not have to pay anything upfront to get rights to Magazine Dreams, but needed to cover the costs of marketing and distribution, which Ortenberg described as “a couple million bucks to get it out there and see what we have on our hands.” Check out the quote from Ortenberg below:

He’s paid his dues, the process was served. Here’s a brilliant movie with a brilliant actor. We see no reason to hesitate.

You can decide if it’s worthy of your time and 20 bucks. but what I believe in very strongly is that this film should be allowed to be seen.

What This Means For Magazine Dreams

Magazine Dreams Has A Fraught History

The new movie was originally sH๏τ for $10 million in 2022 before Majors’ arrest. Magazine Dreams received positive reviews at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2023, where it won the Special Jury Prize. Just two months later, Majors would go on to be arrested for ᴀssault and was sentenced in April 2024. This would hurt Majors, who was dropped by Disney after entering the MCU. While Searchlight abandoned the film, Briarcliff would scoop up the movie’s rights in the summer of 2024.

Given the nature of Majors’ conviction, Briarcliff’s decision was controversial. This controversy could either drive away or bring in audiences, which Ortenberg partially addresses by saying, “you can decide if it’s worthy of your time and 20 bucks.” Ortenberg is not exactly encouraging audiences to go see the movie, but his company’s commitment to its release suggests they still think the movie is viable. The report also mentions that the Black programming-focused platform Zeus helped market the film and will stream it after its theatrical run.

Our Take On The Magazine Dreams Release

Its Box Office Will Tell The Story

Whether Ortenberg is right that “the process was served” will be highlighted by how well Magazine Dreams can do in theaters. It is releasing this weekend, March 21, on the same day as Disney’s Snow White, thus seeing Majors competing against the very studio that previously dropped him. If Magazine Dreams does well, it will be an interesting testament to how a “cancelled” person can overcome a major personal barrier in their career.

Source: WSJ