Lindsay Lohan Starrer 'The Canyons' Acquired by IFC

IFC Films has acquired The Canyons, an erotic thriller starring Lindsay Lohan, and is planning a joint VOD and theatrical release in conjunction with a special presentation at the Film Society of Lincoln Center early this summer.

Directed by Paul Schrader from a script by Bret Easton Ellis, the movie features porn star James Deen opposite Lohan. A noir-esque film funded by crowd-sourcing and shot on a microbudget, Canyons is described as a "postmodern story about power and the dark side of Hollywood, centering around a scheming and very wealthy movie producer, Christian (Deen), who makes movies to satisfy his father's demands that he maintain a viable career. Lohan stars as Tara, his girlfriend who's hiding an affair with an actor from her past."

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The film cost $250,000, with $150,000 raised via Kickstarter; the rest came from its producers. It famously suffered from production difficulties, most of which surrounded the troubled Lohan. In a New York Times story on the film's production, it was revealed that the former teen star was fired from the movie at one point and allegedly missed time after partying late at night.

Kent Jones, director of programming at the New York Film Festival, raved about the film in a statement accompanying the acquisition announcement.

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"On one level, The Canyons is a visually and tonally precise, acid-etched horror story of souls wandering through a hyper-materialistic hell, with a fearless and, I think, stunning performance by Lindsay Lohan at its center," he said. "On another level, its an inspiration and an example to us all: Its difficult for me to imagine another filmmaker of Paul Schraders stature diving into the world of crowd-sourced moviemaking, let alone with such fervor, dedication and rigor."

The deal for the film was negotiated by Arianna Bocco, senior vp acquisitions and productions for Sundance Selects/IFC Films, with Alexis Garcia at WME Global on behalf of the filmmakers.