Sometimes, you have to stick up for your dreams. And when that involves coaxing an aging action star into your violent scheme to protect your historic movie theater? Well, that’s just a bonus.
That’s the premise for writer-director Orson Oblowitz’s (Trespassers) new action-comedy Showdown at the Grand, which looks like a raucously fun old school time at the movies. George Fuller (Terrence Howard) is a proud movie theater owner who finds himself facing down a group of real estate developers looking to shut down his family-owned business for good. The good news for George? He’s just run a retrospective on legendary action star Claude Luc Hallyday (Dolph Lundgren).
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The pair team up to fight off the development group, using a variety of tricks (and a surprising amount of weapons) to hold onto the theater. It looks like a loving ode to The Movies, but without the self-seriousness that many of those projects get stuck in. Plus, there’s a tangible grain to the movie’s look that helps accentuate that old-school feel, even though it was shot on digital — an impressive feat from Oblowitz, who is also a cinematographer, and DoP Noah Rosenthal.
Just take a look at this sweet, sweet, retro-style poster.
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Showdown at the Grand will be in theaters and available on demand November 3, via Shout! Studios.
