It’s been said before: the Weinstein’s are in need of a hit. Since they and Disney parted ways, the best a Weinstein movie has performed could be described as “mediocre.” Even some of the Weinstein’s best artists, Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez for example, just haven’t brought the goods the company needs to continue their streak. So if at first you don’t succeed, go after movies with hot names attached.
That appears to be what the Weinsteins have done with the announcement that they’ve picked up the distribution rights for Walk All Over Me, which stars Leelee Sobieski and Tricia Helfer. Sobieski has gained some attention for her short career, including a Golden-Globe nomination, but Helfer is the bigger name here, best known for her work on Battlestar Galactica as the hot, seductive, and frequently scantily-clad “Number Six.”
Even better, the movie puts both Sobieski and Helfer in a sort of dominatrix role – as if fanboys didn’t have enough to enjoy from Helfer’s Battlestar gig. The movie stars Sobieski as a small-town girl who runs into trouble that causes her to take over Helfer’s dominatrix identity to pay the bills. It’s described as both a crime thriller and a coming-of-age story. At least I think it is. The truth is I stopped paying any sort of attention thinking about either actress as a dominatrix.
I’m not sure this will be a hit for the Weinsteins, but it can’t be a huge miss. On top of U.S. distribution rights, the company will also distribute Walk All Over Me through their DVD label, Genius Products, so even if people don’t come out to see the movie in theaters, this could be the next movie everyone’s embarrassed to have on their DVD shelves, alongside Showgirls and Secretary.
