rakontur blog

12/7/2003

Inside Move: A ‘Question’ of control

Sundance doc will finally see daylight

by DANA HARRIS

If you’re one of the filmmakers who learned last week that you have a slot at the 2004 Sundance Film Fest, consider the following cautionary tale.

Billy Corben’s doc “Raw Deal: A Question of Consent” was one of the success stories at Sundance in 2001. It was controversial, it got good reviews and it landed Artisan as distributor.

So why hasn’t anyone seen it?

The graphic “Raw Deal” details a 1999 University of Florida frat party gone awry, during which a stripper claimed she’d been raped.

But Artisan had a reputation for handling tough films like “Requiem for a Dream” and “Chuck and Buck.”

That’s why Corben and producer Alfred Spellman were surprised when, in August 2001, Artisan said it wouldn’t distribute the pic.

The reason, Artisan said, was that Channel 4 in the U. K. was going to broadcast a version different from the one Artisan wanted to release.

Artisan said it would return rights to the (as yet unpaid) filmmakers if they ponied up $28,000 for acquisition expenses. Spellman and Corben agreed. They also agreed to an interview with Entertainment Weekly, in which they criticized Artisan for changing its mind.

Incensed, Artisan refused to accept payment, plunging the film into two years of limbo. “We just wanted to get the film back,” Spellman tells Variety. “Basically, they were holding the film hostage.”

Finally, after Corben and Spellman received a cease-and-desist letter from Artisan as they planned a run at self-distribution in March 2002, they filed a lawsuit in Miami-Dade Circuit Court. Artisan countersued in Los Angeles.

Artisan’s suit was quickly dismissed, but it was 19 months before the court handed down a judgment Nov. 13 returning all rights to the filmmakers.

Spellman says he and Corben are now “evaluating all options” for the picture to finally find an audience in North America.