You’ll be happy you didn’t Kickstart this.The lowest-grossing film of 2012, the horror flick “Playback”, cost $7.5 million to make but earned only $264 (that’s dollars) during it’s one and only week in March on the big (albeit single) screen. “Playback” tracks an evil being that resides in a small town and possesses its victims through video playback–then uses them for malevolent purposes. Although not the star of the film, Christian Slater is the most recognizable cast member and therefore has become the punch line for the film’s failure. Toby Hemingway was the leading man, but he gets a pass for having starred in Taylor Swift’s music video “Mine.”
You can bet more people will see Slater’s next film, “Nymphomaniac” by Danish filmmaker/screenwriter Lars von Trier (May 2013). Slater is again not the lead–he plays the father of a self-diagnosed nympho, an adventurous Charlotte Gainsbourg. One of nympho’s experiences is with blockbuster actor Shia LaBeouf, who said this summer that he’s done making big-budget films although he brings in a reported $35.80 for every $1 he’s paid, tops in Hollywood. He claims to perform “real sex” in the film. “Nymphomaniac” will be released by von Trier’s Zentropa (the largest film production company in Scandinavia) as two full feature films, available in both hard- and soft-core versions.