Zeroville (film)

A young excommunicated seminarian named Vikar arrives in Los Angeles on August 9, 1969. After briefly being suspected of complicity in the Tate—LaBianca murders, which occurred the same day, Vikar takes a job at Paramount Studios, where he meets film editor Dotty Langer. Dotty senses potential in Vikar and introduces him to a studio executive known only as Viking Man. Vikar and Viking Man attend a Hollywood party, where Vikar meets actress Soledad Paladin, whom he feels he has seen before. When Vikar shows a talent for editing, an eccentric, singing producer named Rondell hires Vikar to edit Soledad's latest film. As Vikar becomes more involved in the industry, he becomes obsessed by the idea of a "secret movie," pieces of which lie hidden inside every film ever made. The film traces Vikar's career over the next decade as he witnesses many significant events in the history of 1970s Hollywood. == Cast ==

In March 2011, the novel by Steve Erickson was optioned by actor James Franco for a feature film. On October 24, 2014, the ensemble cast joined the film, which includes Seth Rogen, Jacki Weaver, Megan Fox, Will Ferrell, Jamie Costa, Danny McBride, Dave Franco, Craig Robinson, Joey King and Horatio Sanz. Filming The principal photography of the film began on October 24, 2014, in Los Angeles, California. Filming also took place in Pasadena in November. ==Release==

On September 12, 2015, it was announced Alchemy had acquired US distribution rights to the film. However, the company filed for bankruptcy, leaving the film without a distributor. In April 2019, it was announced myCinema had acquired distribution rights to the film. It was released on September 20, 2019. The film is considered a box-office bomb. ==Reception==

Critical response On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's consensus reads, "Potentially an ironic favorite for cult film fans, Zeroville is a fundamentally misguided -- and descriptively titled -- passion project for its director and star." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 28 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Peter Debruge of Variety magazine wrote: "Franco has a truly radical streak in him, and considering how poorly the movie functions as a traditional crowdpleaser, he might as well have gone all out and pushed Zeroville to whatever event horizon the deranged project called for. His mistake wasn’t trying to adapt Erickson’s novel at all, but attempting to turn it into a tragic romance between Vikar and Soledad." Accolades The film was nominated for three Golden Raspberry Awards, James Franco was nominated for Worst Director and Worst Actor, and Seth Rogen was nominated for Worst Supporting Actor. == References ==