RLJ Entertainment Picks Up Paul Schrader’s Dog Eat Dog

Paul Schrader’s Nicolas Cage and Willem Dafoe crime shocker Dog Eat Dog locks distro

The Hollywood Reporter calls Paul Schrader’s Dog Eat Dog “A thoroughly disreputable, sordid and engaging crime drama.”

Disreputable. Sordid. Engaging.

We’re in!

So too are the folks at RLJ Entertainment.

The distributor just announced their acquisition of the film for all of North America. Based on the novel by Edward Bunker, Dog Eat Dog was written by Matthew Wilder (Your Name Here) and directed by Paul Schrader (Cat People, Taxi Driver).

The film stars Nicolas Cage (Vampire’s Kiss, Wild at Heart), Willem Dafoe (Shadow of the Vampire, Wild at Heart) and Christopher Matthew Cook (2 Guns).  The film first premiered at the 69th Cannes Film Festival to great reviews and will have its North American premiere at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival in September.  

At a press event in Cannes, Schrader described Dog Eat Dog as “nasty, evil and a lot of fun.”

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The deal was negotiated by Mark Ward on behalf of RLJ Entertainment and Mark Earl Burman of ADME on behalf of the filmmakers.  RLJE plans to release Dog Eat Dog in theaters and On Demand in November 2016. Ward, RLJE’s Chief Acquisitions Officer, made the announcement today.

Dog Eat Dog tells the story of three ex-cons who botch a kidnapping.   They not only lose a rich payoff, but they get on the wrong side of the mob and become the city’s most wanted fugitives.  Vowing to stay out of prison at all costs, things get completely out of control as they go on the run from everyone.

Dog Eat Dog is produced by Mark Earl Burman (South Bureau Homicide), Gary Hamilton (Lord of War, which also starred Cage), Brian Beckmann (The Courier), and David Hillary (London) and is executive produced by Jeremy Rosen (The Family), Jeff Caperton (Piranha Sharks), Barney Burman (Tropic Thunder), Ray Mansfield (And So It Goes), Shaun Redick (And So It Goes), Donald Rivers (Piranha Sharks), Michael McClung (Zombiefield), and Tim Peternel (London).  Jeanne Fields acted as executor of the Edward Bunker estate.

It’s also a reunion of sorts between Dafoe and Cage, the latter having produced the brilliant meta-vampire film Shadow of the Vampire which starred the former. They also famously starred together in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart.

We’re excited about Dog Eat Dog.

Are you?

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