The Canyons is a 2013 American erotic thriller-drama film directed by Paul Schrader and written by Bret Easton Ellis. The film is set in Los Angeles, California and stars Lindsay Lohan, James Deen, Nolan Funk, Amanda Brooks, and Gus Van Sant. It received a limited release on August 2, 2013, at the IFC Center in New York, the TIFF Lightbox in Toronto, and on video on demand platforms. The film was met with generally negative critical reviews, but Lohan's performance received some praise.
Plot
Christian is a wealthy young man who produces low-budget horror films. At the start of the film, he is having dinner with his girlfriend, Tara, his personal assistant, Gina, and her boyfriend, Ryan. Christian has recently secured a leading role for Ryan in one of his films. Christian reveals that he and Tara have an open relationship and use dating apps to find partners for hookups. He says that he trusts Tara never to fall in love with anyone he brings into their bed.
Ryan accuses Gina of wanting to have a four-way with Tara and Christian. Ryan texts an unknown party for a meeting the next day. Ryan's text was sent to Tara, who meets him the next day. Through their conversation, it is revealed that the two are former lovers. Tired of life as a struggling actor, Tara left Ryan to date a string of wealthy men. Tara chides Ryan for texting her, as Christian monitors her texts and calls. Christian visits an actress named Cynthia for casual sex. Christian thinks Tara is cheating on him. Christian follows Tara and sees her with Ryan. Christian then goes to John, one of the film crew members, and pressures him into playing a prank on Ryan: calling him in to tell him that he's about to be fired but can save his job by performing sexual favors.
Returning home, Christian grills Tara on her activities that afternoon. Tara denies being attracted to Ryan or knowing him previously. Meanwhile, Ryan discovers Christian's daily schedule on Gina's computer, noticing regular "yoga sessions" with Cynthia.
Tara receives an anonymous text telling her she might be in trouble. Cynthia is revealed to have been Christian's girlfriend before Tara. Cynthia tells Tara that she must leave Christian and admits to sending the anonymous texts. Cynthia reveals that she left Christian after he drugged her, orchestrated a group assault on her, and recorded the incident. When confronted, he brutally assaulted her and threatened to release the video if she told anyone. Tara rejects Cynthia's warnings.
Christian acknowledges dating Cynthia but denies beating her or arranging an assault. Suddenly his phone rings; a dating app friend is about to arrive. Christian offers to cancel but Tara insists they go through with it. Tara and Christian engage in group sex with the couple who arrive at the house and Tara "directs" Christian to perform homosexual acts he later feels uncomfortable about.
Meanwhile, it is revealed that Ryan put Cynthia up to warning Tara. While browsing at a record store Ryan realizes he is being stalked. Christian violently assaults Tara, revealing that he knows all about her and Ryan.
Ryan reveals to Gina that he has been sleeping with Tara. Gina announces she will do whatever it takes to make sure the film gets made but Ryan is fired and banned from the set.
At his therapist's office, Christian discusses feeling out of control when Tara was directing his actions, saying he is more comfortable and used to telling others what to do. It is revealed that Christian's therapy sessions with Doctor Campbell (Gus Van Sant) are not voluntary, but rather a condition of the trust fund he lives off.
The film then cuts to Christian and Ryan, each driving through downtown Los Angeles. Christian leaves a message on Ryan's voicemail, mocking Ryan and revealing the details he has obtained about Ryan's life. Christian arrives at Cynthia's house, accusing her of lying in an attempt to break up his relationship with Tara. Cynthia denies this but Christian, enraged, stabs her to death.
Returning home, Christian finds Tara packed and ready to leave. Christian apologizes for brutalizing her and agrees to let her leave their relationship on two conditions: she must give him an alibi for his murder of Cynthia and she must never contact Ryan. If she refuses, he will murder Ryan and use his family's wealth and connections to get away with it. Tara agrees and is allowed to leave.
Several months later, Tara is living in Dubai and having lunch with a friend. The friend asks about Gina's film and her relationship with Christian. Tara says she left the project when she and Christian broke up. She insists she is on good terms with Christian. The friend leaves to use the restroom, where she makes a phone call. She reports that Tara is doing well but clearly lying about being friends with Christian and being happy in her new life. On the other end of the call is Ryan, alone in an empty room.
Cast
Development
Production and marketing Braxton Pope, Bret Easton Ellis and Paul Schrader were originally involved in a film project, Bait. When the project lost its financing, Pope, Ellis, and Schrader decided they wanted to make a lower-scale film. Ellis was in charge of writing the script. After it was completed, Pope suggested raising money via Kickstarter. Throughout May–June 2012, the film raised $159,015, with a goal of $100,000 in funding."The Canyons on Kickstarter.com". Retrieved July 7, 2012 The budget for the film was $250,000 and the actors were reportedly paid $100 a day. Schrader talked about how it affected his artistic options, saying, "if you've made enough films you really know what you need money for and what you don't need money for. There's virtually nothing on the cutting-room floor for this film – you shoot straight to the bone."
On July 13, it was announced that Brendan Canning would be scoring the film. On July 18, 2012, the official press release for the movie was published on the Facebook page of The Canyons. On July 24, 2012, it was announced that American Apparel would be supplying the cast with wardrobe and was planning to issue logo T-shirts based on Ellis, The Canyons, and Schrader."American Apparel, a clothing manufacturer which makes clothes exclusively in the US, has generously supplied us with wardrobe. Saturday Bret, Braxton and I visited their downtown LA factory. Here's Bret on the street outside. They plan to issue logo T-shirts based on BEE, The Canyons and myself. Paul S.". Retrieved July 25, 2012
The first teaser was released on YouTube on June 16, 2012.. Retrieved July 7, 2012 On October 8, a "retro style" teaser trailer was released.. Retrieved October 11, 2012 IndieWire called The Canyons one of the "50 Indie Films We Want To See In 2013" in January 2013. On August 2, 2013, rapper Kanye West released a new version of the trailer; he worked with Nate Brown on the re-editing and created new music with Noah Goldstein.
Following the film's release, Schrader accused Lohan of not supporting the film, saying she had pulled out of interviews and never showed up for promotional photo sessions.The Canyons director slams Lindsay Lohan . 3 News NZ. September 26, 2013. In the docu-series Lindsay, which chronicles (in eight one-hour episodes) Lindsay Lohan's return from her sixth stay in rehab for addiction and her attempts to revitalize her career, she claimed that she did not end up promoting The Canyons, specifically its Venice Film Festival screening, because it would have placed her in a situation that compromised her sobriety.Lindsay. Oprah.com. Retrieved on May 22, 2014.
Casting Casting of The Canyons was operated through the casting website Let It Cast, where an audition scene was made available for download and actors were encouraged to film their own video auditions. As Pope and Ellis explained in a video on Let It Cast,The Canyons: presentation video letitcast.com, last retrieved October 3, 2013 the motivation to cast in this fashion was to facilitate submissions from talented actors who might not otherwise be seen given the time constraints of the traditional casting process, as well as to open a direct channel to actors whose talent agents might complicate the process. Paul Schrader wrote a full accountBehind the scenes: Casting The Canyons Facebook, last retrieved October 3, 2013 of the process of casting the seven actors cast through their Let It Cast auditions. Lead actors Lindsay Lohan and James Deen were cast independently of this process.
Although Schrader, Ellis, and Pope initially favored French actress Leslie Coutterand"Bret Easton Ellis" Twitter. Retrieved July 18, 2012 (who auditioned through Let It Cast), the role of Tara ultimately went to Lohan. When Pope approached Lohan's manager about the possibility of Lohan playing the role of Cynthia, Lohan responded that she wanted to play the lead. Two weeks later, she screen tested and was cast. Pope said, "She's very charismatic and she has a lot of acting skills...So for this part, we felt that she was really the right actor for a host of different reasons." Fleur Saville was also considered for the role of Tara.
Early on, the filmmakers considered casting Sean Brosnan as Christian, but later decided they wanted to cast someone "more edgy and unexpected". Ellis had mentioned several times that he had Deen in mind for Christian's role and when he, Pope and Deen met, Deen was promised a screen test. Schrader was reluctant at first, thinking it unlikely he would cast Deen due to his background in porn. Although surprised by Deen's acting abilities and charisma, Schrader was still reluctant to cast him; but, with Ellis and Pope, was intrigued by the idea of casting Lohan and Deen in the leads. Alex Meraz and Daren Kagasoff were also considered for the role, among others.
Funk was cast as Ryan. Other actors who had been considered for Ryan's role included gay porn star Sean Paul Lockhart, Alex Ashbaugh, who was cast in a different role, Zach Roerig, and Chris Schellenger, who was also given a different, smaller role in the film. Gina was cast through Let It Cast, with the goal being finding the best counterpoint to Lohan, in physical appearance and personality. After many auditions, Brooks was cast. Spencer Grammer and Jessica Morris were considered, among others. Cynthia was originally called Lindsay, but the character's name was changed so she wouldn't be confused with Lohan. She was also cast through Let It Cast, and the primary criterion for the actress was to balance Lohan and Brooks. Houston's audition was sent in early and remained a favorite. Other actresses who had been considered included Fleur Saville and Cameron Richardson. In tertiary roles, Boeven was cast as John, and Aquitaine was cast as Randall. Philip Pavel, who was cast as Erik, had also been considered, among others. Caitlin's character was originally supposed to be cast through Let It Cast, but was ultimately cast through mobli due to Pope's preference. Lauren Schacher was cast."Behind The Scenes: Casting The Canyons". Retrieved July 20, 2012"Check out this sneak preview of an article in GQ on James Deen and The Canyons.". Retrieved July 7, 2012
Director Gus Van Sant's casting in the role of Christian's psychotherapist was reported in July 2012.""The Canyons" Press Release". Retrieved July 20, 2012"In today's The Canyons shoot Gus Van Sant played James Den's psychiatrist. Read into that what you will.". Facebook. Retrieved August 7, 2012 Schrader originally wanted to cast Willem Dafoe as the therapist: "Willem Dafoe wasn't in town, and I asked somebody else, and they were working. So I turned to Braxton and said, 'What friends do you have?