First some back-story. In September 2010 I wrote a piece entitled ‘5 Reasons To Be Excited About Knights of Badassdom‘. Knights of Badassdom, a sophomore film from director Joe Lynch, was something that I was greatly looking forward, I still am, and truth be told I could have easily found another five reasons to add to that list.
Towards the end of 2010 and into 2011 production and post-production on the film appeared to be coming along nicely and in July 2011 cast and crew took to the stage at Comic-Con to introduce their film. The panel was lively and very entertaining and can be watched in full below.
As part of the panel the trailer for the film and a clip were shown and reportedly went down a storm. The trailer can be found here but unfortunately the clip is not currently available online. Although I didn’t attend Comic-Con, I was lucky enough to see the clip at FrightFest in the UK in August and I was definitely impressed. The brief sequence from the film was excellent and really effectively introduced the tone and how ‘the world’ within the film works.
At the time I said,
Knights of Badassdom Clip #1 – Concise, effective and entertaining. Want Clip #2 now. Well, I want to see the film really… #FrightFest
— Craig Skinner (@CSkinner) August 27, 2011
No release date was forthcoming in the summer of 2011 from anyone involved but it sounded as if finishing touches were being made and the film was due to come out soon.
It’s now a year since Comic-Con though and there’s been no further word on the film.
As someone who was very much looking forward to the film I’ve been keeping a close eye on its progress and it’s occurred to me the past few months that there might be complications going on behind the scenes. I then stumbled upon a complaint recently posted online that seems to confirm this.
In the complaint, posted at Ripoff Report, the following is alleged,
I’ve had money tied up in a film Knight of Badssadom for over three years now. I’ve received no forward guidance on a concrete release date. Everything I’ve been told about the film and it’s release schedule has turned out to be false. They are full of excuses, and keep kicking the can down the road. I believe they are trying to create a shell company for the film Knight of Badssadom called “Media Society” “FilmVest” I doubt it will ever have a theatrical release or that I’ll ever see a dime back. After a while you get the sense that everything these people say to you is a lie.
The post goes on to recount further requests for money and suggests that there may be some ‘cut and running’ going on.
So, where does this leave Knights of Badassdom and the many people who were pretty sold on the film after seeing the trailer last year. Some kind of release is still likely but it’s probably still some way off. Also, a theatrical release is looking less and less likely as time goes on and if the money troubles alleged are to be believed, it seems unlikely that the film will arrive on the wave of an expensive marketing campaign.
An interview with the film’s composer, Bear McCreary, posted at GeekPreview.net on the 2nd of July, provides some glimmer of hope. When asked about “the future” he replied,
I’m finishing up “Knights of Badassdom” and then scoring Adam Green’s “Hatchet 3.”
This certainly implies that the film is not dead but also that the picture’s not locked yet and that work is still ongoing. This in itself is a little surprising for a film that appeared to be nearing the finish line almost a year ago but it could of course be that those involved are ploughing on in spite of the financial issues.
Hopefully the current behind-the-scenes issues surrounding the film will soon be resolved but rest assured we’ll be keeping our eyes on the situation and bringing you the latest as soon as we have more news.
