When the Rodrigo Cortés directed flick BURIED was swooped up with a quickness back at the Sundance Film Festival, I was surprised and excited. Excited because a genre flick scored the fastest distribution at Sundance this year, but surprised that a movie featuring Ryan Reynolds in a box for 90 minutes was picked up to sell to the general public.
Apparently Lionsgate is sweating some bullets at the concept as well, as it appears as though the company has ordered additional scenes to be shot that will add to the ‘exterior’ part of the story. In other words, they didn’t think Reynolds in a box would work, so they’re shooting more scenes outside the box to balance it out.
I don’t know quite what to think about this move, other than it doesn’t surprise me. A guy in a box is a tough sell for a movie, so add a few scenes before or after, or (more than likely) in the middle during a flashback sequence that are not in a box is an obvious move. Not sure it’s the right move, but as long as they don’t cut the movie down to add the additional scenes, then why the hell not? Couldn’t make it go from being a good movie to a bad one, could it?
Mark your calendar for BURIED, hitting limited theaters September 4th, and nationwide October 8, 2010.