Luckiest Man in America release set (PYL movie)

[ITSBRY]

I randomly did some searching about the status of this and found an EW article posted just today. Looks like April 4th is the release date. The article has some stills of the set. Looks really impressive! I’m excited to see this.

https://ew.com/paul-walter-hauser-game-show-cheat-the-luckiest-man-america-exclusive-11678897

[JasonA1]

Edited to add (clarification for myself namely ) that this is the movie about Michael Larson and Press Your Luck.

-Jason

[Bob Zager]

Well, we've finally seen from a trusty source, the release date and that came as quite a surprise to me, since we haven't gotten any other information yet, particularly, the MPAA rating for the film (I imagine it will be PG-13), and haven't seen any movie trailer/nor official film poster.  Maybe EW is the first source to officially receive a "press release," and other sources will be involved shortly.

The movie will make it's UK debut during the first week of March, and this confirms it:

https://www.glasgowfilm.org/movie/the-luckiest-man-in-america/

I am also finding out, now, that the movie opens Tuesday, March 11, at the California Theater in San Jose:

https://tickets.cinequest.org/websales/pages/info.aspx?evtinfo=463993~a12ee803-7eae-437e-8208-1c4d52da2020&epguid=330ab4d6-45cd-4e3a-a87e-02c739b12dbb&

[trainman]

The movie will make it's UK debut during the first week of March, and this confirms it:

https://www.glasgowfilm.org/movie/the-luckiest-man-in-america/

I am also finding out, now, that the movie opens Tuesday, March 11, at the California Theater in San Jose:

https://tickets.cinequest.org/websales/pages/info.aspx?evtinfo=463993~a12ee803-7eae-437e-8208-1c4d52da2020&epguid=330ab4d6-45cd-4e3a-a87e-02c739b12dbb&

Both of these are film festival screenings, so not "openings" per se.

[rwalker]

Gotta love the interns publishing an article. He didn't cheat. Why is Ew doing this? Thought they were a respected publication? More incentive Not to sign up with them

[BrandonFG]

Gotta love the interns publishing an article. He didn't cheat. Why is Ew doing this?

Rage bait. Being accurate doesn’t mean anything as long as you get people to the site.

[knagl]

As a game show nerd, I'm excited that they made the film and I'm certainly interested in seeing it. That said, does this movie really have a lot of mass-market appeal? Is the average person interested in seeing a pseudo-documentary about some guy they've likely never heard of who found a way to exploit a 40-year-old game show?

I have a hard time seeing this movie becoming the next Hunger Games.

[tyshaun1]

As a game show nerd, I'm excited that they made the film and certainly interested in seeing it. That said, does this movie really have a lot of mass-market appeal? Is the average person interested in seeing a pseudo-documentary about some guy they've likely never heard of who found a way to exploit a 40-year-old game show?

I have a hard time seeing this movie becoming the next Hunger Games.

I think if this had fully come to fruition as the Bill Murray version in the late 90's/early 2000's, it would've had a real chance at appealing to the average Joe/Jane. That being said, I definitely will be seeing it in theaters and I do think it will find an audience through streaming.

[Bob Zager]

As a game show nerd, I'm excited that they made the film and certainly interested in seeing it. That said, does this movie really have a lot of mass-market appeal? Is the average person interested in seeing a pseudo-documentary about some guy they've likely never heard of who found a way to exploit a 40-year-old game show?

I have a hard time seeing this movie becoming the next Hunger Games.

I think if this had fully come to fruition as the Bill Murray version in the late 90's/early 2000's, it would've had a real chance at appealing to the average Joe/Jane. That being said, I definitely will be seeing it in theaters and I do think it will find an audience through streaming.

I would not be surprised by any result.  I recall Quiz Show did NOT do well at the box office, but DID do well, first when it reappeared in bargain theaters, and later even better when on Premium movie channels and in video rental stores.  Timelines for Quiz Show and The Luckiest Man in America were at least 40 years after the actual events took place, and I think that is a contributing factor to helping them be more popular.  I could be wrong.

I am surprised that GameShowNewsNet posted an updated page today, but no mention of the forthcoming PYL movie!

[MSTieScott]

It's worth remembering that Quiz Show was a Robert Redford–directed movie released by a major motion picture distributor. The Luckiest Man in America was cowritten by a man who is directing his second feature-length movie and is being released by IFC Films, which pretty much by definition indicates it's closer to an independent film. I don't think anybody affiliated with the movie is expecting a multi-hundred-theater wide release or blockbuster-level box office.

[Matt Ottinger]

This is going to have the same vibe as Jason Reitman's Saturday Night film from last year.  The actual facts of what happened are just going to be a starting point for a work of fiction.  Some of us are going to embrace that, and some of you are going to come back here complaining that the font on the contestant nametags was wrong.

[bulldog_06]

This is going to have the same vibe as Jason Reitman's Saturday Night film from last year.  The actual facts of what happened are just going to be a starting point for a work of fiction.  Some of us are going to embrace that, and some of you are going to come back here complaining that the font on the contestant nametags was wrong.

Or that Walton Goggins has no resemblance of Peter Tomarken. Anyway, I'm looking forward to it. I saw "Quiz Show" and I thought that was a great movie. I learned about the Quiz Show Scandals and did a historical paper about it in high school for my Modern American History class.

[That Don Guy]

This is going to have the same vibe as Jason Reitman's Saturday Night film from last year.  The actual facts of what happened are just going to be a starting point for a work of fiction.  Some of us are going to embrace that, and some of you are going to come back here complaining that the font on the contestant nametags was wrong.

Is it wrong? Also, is the Whammy the right shape?
Still, since this is "based on" a true story and, presumably, they keep all of the original names, the main facts of the real story should be kept intact.

Actually, I am reminded of MAD Magazine's takeoff on Quiz Show, which ends with the last panel pointing out some of the flaws in that movie - for example, how Van Doren's appearance in the Congressional hearings happened almost immediately after his appearance on the show, rather than two years later.

Spoiler: according to a review on IMDB, there's no "twist" at the end - but shouldn't there be one; namely, how he was robbed after converting most of his remaining money into $1 bills in an attempt to win a "lucky serial number" contest?

[BrandonFG]

Well the movie is called "The Luckiest Man in America" for a reason. Besides, it's not the first movie to take creative liberties and leave out or change a few things. I could see Act I being about him being out of work, discovering a pattern and making his way to Cali. Act II is the audition/taping and the producers freaking out, then in Act III they try to take the money before relenting.

Let the get rich quick scheme be in the sequel about the Unluckiest Man in America.

[ITSBRY]

Still, since this is "based on" a true story and, presumably, they keep all of the original names, the main facts of the real story should be kept intact.

This might be a silly question, but I don’t know much about how IP rights work. I presume since they are making a decent attempt to replicate the actual show and not creating a parody show as a vehicle to tell the story, that Fremantle would have to approve the use of the name, logo and format, correct? Assuming they use the actual music and/or cues, those rights would need to be procured also (if they’re separate from the other stuff), but what about the actual story? Since many of the people portrayed in this have passed away, who owns the rights to their story, portrayal and likeness? If they were alive, would they get a say or do contestants basically hand over their rights when they agree to appear on a game show?

I would imagine telling true stories in movies would be very complicated if you have to get everyone’s permission to do it. If so, it’s kind of a miracle niche projects like this even get made.