The original 54 began principle photography in 1997 with Miramax serving as the studio. Despite a very positive initial reaction from the studio and industry insiders, Harvey Weinstein demanded extensive cuts and reshoots - 40 minutes were cut from the 100 minute film, most of them centering around the lead character’s bisexuality, and 33 minutes of new “straight" material was shot. After many years and attempts, Mark was finally able to remaster the film thanks to the support of a new regime at Miramax. The film was intended to play one festival, but its reception lead to a tremendous run at fests around the world, had a theatrical run in Europe, and was released on Blu-Ray by Lionsgate.
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"I was thrilled to get my vision of this film out into the world - its premiere at the Berlinale in 2015 was a profound moment for me. The release of the director's cut proved that the film I originally made worked and that Harvey had severely damaged it."

For more of the story, read the NY Magazine Culture Vulture article where Ryan Phillippe speaks freely.
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Read Mark's interview with the Huffington Post.

Buy or rent 54TDC from Amazon.