Everyone knows director Jonathan Levine from his diverse portfolio which includes The Wackness, 50/50, and Warm Bodies, but what no one knows is that Levine made his first film before all those efforts back in 2006. Making a splash at numerous festivals throughout 2006 and 2007, Levine saw his horror/slasher hybrid All The Boys Love Mandy Lane snatched up by the Weinstein Company for $3.5 million and then readied for release – but no one has heard from it since then.
Citing the theatrical failure of Grindhouse and some less than positive test screenings, Levine’s film was eventually sold off to Senator Entertainment US as the Weinstein’s didn’t want to risk another bomb, but that only spelled worse news for Mandy when Senator Entertainment US went out of business. This left All The Boys Love Mandy Lane in an un-releasable limbo where it was forgotten and overlooked – until Levine’s recent splash success.
Seeing the potential of releasing another Levine film, The Weinstein Company has now announced they will provide All The Boys Love Mandy Lane a limited release this year through another arm on their company, Radius-TWC. Speaking about the film, Harvey and Bob were recently quoted saying the following:
“We’ve always loved Mandy Lane. Radius shares our passion for the film and will get in front of the widest possible audience.”
It’s safe to say Levine is happy his first directorial effort will finally see the light of day, stating:
“I am incredibly proud of the film and of the hard work that my cast and collaborators put into it, and I am so happy the world will finally get a chance to see it.”
While receiving mixed reviews and a 48% on Rotten Tomatoes out of 27 total reviews, Bloody Disgusting has been ranking Levine’s lesser-known creation as their #1 unreleased horror film for the last four years in a row, so you better believe it’s been on my radar the entire time, jealous of the UK viewers who got a release of the film February 15, 2008. The question remains though, with only a 32% approval rating from almost 20,000 user ratings, again on Rotten Tomatoes, will audiences in the States have the same feeling some four years after the UK already gave their feedback?
Either way, it’s going to be interesting going back in Levine’s catalogue with All The Girls Love Mandy Lane. I’m always trusting in Bloody Disgusting’s guidance and I’m a huge fan of Levine at this point, I just hope I fall in love with Mandy like all the other boys.
Check out the UK trailer and let us know if you’re excited for Levine’s “newest” release!
