Abel Ferrara is not a director to be screwed with, at least not if you expect him to keep silent about it. Last fall he went on a tirade when IFC Films told him they were planning to release his ballsy new film Welcome to New York with an R-rating, totally unlike the version seen in festivals. Among other things he called it a "war against movies", a "corporate assault", and that other directors should "burn" the IFC Center down. Ouch. Well, inflammatory rhetoric aside, his film is still arriving in edited form and a trailer for it has been released.
Gerard Depardieu stars as Dominique Strauss-Kahn, disgraced director of the International Montary Fund. Or at least he plays a version of Strauss-Kahn since they couldn't use his real name for obvious legal reasons. But the film still recounts the hard partying economist's downward spiral leading to the sexual assault charges that led to his undoing. There's a great, in-your-face energy to this trailer and Depardieu, who is known for being a bit of a party animal in his own right, looks perfect in this role.
Welcome to New York hits theaters and VOD on March 27th.
