Following the cancellation of the premiere of the film, independent film company The Orchard has made the decision to scrap the release of Louis C.K.'s I Love You, Daddy entirely. The company announced its decision in a statement that was brief and to the point.
The Orchard will not be moving forward with the release of I Love You, Daddy.
Yesterday The New York Times published a major report which alleges that Louis C.K. pressured at least five women into watching him masturbate. Following the publication, The Orchard made the decision to cancel last night's premiere of I Love You, Daddy. The film is written and directed by Louis C.K. and also stars him as the father of a young woman who catches the eye of a much older film director, played by John Malkovich. The film also co-starred Chloe Grace Moretz as the daughter.
The Orchard spent $5 million for the distribution rights to Love You, Daddy, following its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. According to Variety, the company spent most of yesterday trying to decide what to do about the movie overall. There was some consideration to releasing the movie directly to DVD and streaming services, similar to what happened with The Interview following theater chains' decision to not screen the film, but ultimately the decision was made here to kill the release entirely, The Orchard apparently feeling that simply stopping the theatrical release wasn't enough.
The movie company isn't the only one distancing itself from Louis C.K. following the allegations. HBO has begun removing all of the comedian's projects with them from their on-demand services. FX, the cable channel where Louie airs, has announced they will conduct a review. There was no expectation that more episodes of the series would be filmed, but the door was seen as being open, though now that may no longer be the case.
At this point, it appears the plan is for I Love You, Daddy to simply sit on a shelf, unreleased. The odds of the film ever seeing a theatrical release are now fairly close to zero. There's a slim chance the movie could eventually see a DVD release once the controversy has run its course and tensions have subsided. Though whether that's even a possibility will largely depend on where the story of Louis C.K.'s alleged conduct goes from here.
It's entirely possible that I Love You, Daddy could just be a movie that never sees release even though the movie has been completed, and even screened at a major film festival. It could be that those who were in attendance in Toronto when it premiered will be the only people to ever see the finished film.
