After five years of trying and failing to find funding to make feature films, Paul Schrader returned with The Canyons, an erotic dramatic thriller written by Bret Easton Ellis and starring Lindsay Lohan and adult-film star James Deen.
The film gained notability as it was one of the first films to use the website “Kickstarter” to crowd-source its funding. Schrader also used the website “Let It Cast” to have unknown actors submit their audition tapes over the internet.
American Apparel stepped in to provide some wardrobe for the film.
The film gained media coverage due to Lohan’s notorious on-set behavior, as well as the film’s unusual production route.
The film was ultimately made for just $250,000 and had a limited theatrical release from IFC Films on August 2, 2013.
The film was poorly received by general critics and audiences.
Poorly performing at its initial release (it only made $56,000 in theaters), The Canyons found later success when released on various Video on Demand platforms.
