Killing 'em Softly (1982)

Anecdotes

Killing 'em Softly is a 1982 Canadian thriller film directed by Max Fischer, starring Irene Cara, George Segal, Clark Johnson and Nicholas Campbell. It is most noted for production problems which led to it becoming one of the first Canadian films ever to be released direct to video, and led to a court case over production funding which was not resolved until 1995.

Production

The film was originally announced with the working title Neighbor, and was originally slated to star Peter O'Toole in the role that Segal ultimately played. Due to cost overruns, however, producer Claude Léger approached Télé-Métropole and the Dutch firm Mueller International as guarantors for a $3.15 million loan from the Mercantile Bank of Canada. When a dispute emerged over story rights, Mercantile Bank called in the loan, bankrupting Léger.

In 1989, the Quebec Superior Court ordered Télé-Métropole to pay $4.6 million to the National Bank of Canada, which had by this time acquired the Mercantile Bank. Télé-Métropole appealed the decision to the Quebec Court of Appeal, which upheld the decision in 1995; with compound interest, however, Télé-Métropole was now ordered to pay $8 million.

Screenwriter Leila Basen acknowledged in good humor that she had written what was widely considered "the worst Canadian movie ever made". According to Basen, however, "at least the script for The Man in 5A was good. The problem was that the producers ran out of money. I paid to see the movie at a theatre - and asked for my money back at the end."

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