It has been quite some time since we’ve heard anything from Joe Lynch’s KNIGHTS OF BADASSDOM, Lynch’s tale of live-action role players who conjure up a demon from Hell by mistake and find that they must deal with the consequences that stars Peter Dinklage, Summer Glau, Steve Zahn and Danny Pudi. After the trailer received an overwhelming response at ComicCon in 2011 and word began to spread that Lynch and company had something truly badass on their hands, we thought for sure the film would have seen a release by now. So what was the hold-up?
The answer lies in some ugly behind-the-scenes trouble. The official website for the film, badassdom.com, threw up an open letter that tried to detail
“what remains of the Board of Directors of IndieVest, the production company and manager of the film known as KNIGHTS OF BADASSDOM.”
It sounds like some of the people who worked on Knights of Badassdom are no longer in a position to make any decisions regarding the future of the film, including director Joe Lynch, who supposedly hasn’t been involved with any aspect of the film’s post-production since shortly after 2011’s Comic-Con.
The website’s statement went on to say that there were plans for a screening of the film for potential buyers that supposedly featured a 70-minute cut of the film. This version reportedly
“includes significant changes to the original story and concept.”
The site alleged that IndieVest CEO Wade Bradley forcibly removed Mark Burton (the part president of IndieVest Pictures and producer to the film) along with screenwriter Matt Wall from the picture. Bradley then began editing KNIGHTS OF BADASSDOM independently.
The website currently asks only that potential buyers be made aware that the film they are viewing is not the original vision of the director and that any investors should consider giving the film back to Lynch for completion. Thankfully a recent update seems optimistic on the current message getting passed around to potential buyers.
This is a truly sad state of affairs for all involved. All we can do now is hope that Lynch can obtain the right to deliver the final cut and release KNIGHTS OF BADASSDOM the way he intended it to be seen. We’ll keep you updated on this fiasco and that status of the film as we hear it.