A NEW movie due for release later in the year is already garnering
the reputation of being an “instant cult classic”, despite the fact that
audiences have yet to watch it.
“The Colourful Bush”, a low-budget romantic comedy from first-time
director Sam Harrington, picked up a lot of industry buzz at the recent
Cannes Film Festival, where it screened out of competition along with
1,234 other low-budget romantic comedies.
The quirky tale revolves around Max, an out-of-work DJ, and his
relationship with Maggie, who runs her Dad’s gardening business but
dreams of being a dancer. The pair wander around New York in the Autumn
for 90 minutes, then the credits roll.
The movie was purchased by a Hollywood film distribution company, who
instantly started praising it as “an instant cult classic”, and next
year’s “unmissable sleeper hit”.
“Normally, a movie will come out, perhaps not do all that well, but
finds an audience years down the line after it has been released on home
video or played on TV,” said Norman Archer, CEO of Arclight Pictures.
“These movies become known as cult movies, or cult favourites. But
that process is a bit too slow, so we like to get the ball rolling
early. We just tell people it’s a cult classic, and hope that enough
people believe us to go see it in theatres for us to make a profit. It
doesn’t actually need a cult following; it just needs enough people to
believe that it has one”.
Archer went on to confirm that a sequel to The Colourful Bush, titled The Colourful Bush 2, was already in early development.