It's back on. The gay-themed jailhouse
romance film starring Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor as a pair of
star-crossed lovers reportedly shelved indefinitely will open in
limited release July 30, Variety reported.
Last week, the Los Angeles Times
quoted a spokeswoman for I Love You Phillip Morris saying a
release date had not been scheduled. The movie's opening had already
been pushed back twice.
I Love You Phillip Morris first
premiered over a year ago at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. But
producers were unable to secure distribution for the film until they
offered a less gay version.
The movie, based on the book of the
same name by journalist Steve McVickers, follows the true story of
Steven Russell (played by Carrey, Liar Liar) and his
improbable, but true, transformation from small-town businessman,
father and former cop to gay white-collar criminal and ingenious
jailbreaker.
After a car crash, Russell's life takes
a most unusual roller coaster ride that leads him to a life of crime,
being gay, and falling in love with his cellmate Phillip Morris
(played by McGregor, Star Wars).
Between 1993 and 1998, the clever
Russell broke out of a Texas jail four times in five years and always
on a Friday the 13th, twice landing into a six-figure job
as a CFO of a major company.
Russell's enduring love for one-time
fellow convict Morris, and the dream of being together and free,
proves to be the Achilles' heel that foils his plans.
In an interview with the Los Angeles
Times after the film's premiere,
McGregor was asked if America is ready for the movie.
“It seemed to go down very well there
at Sundance,” McGregor responded. “It's a love story, an escape
movie and a comedy, all about this man who goes to incredible lengths
to be with the man he loves. I like it because it's a gay film,
which is to say it's a film about two men in love, and I think that's
an important element of it. But it's not a film about them being
gay. They just happen to be gay.”
“I also get to French kiss Jim Carrey
a lot, and I quite like that too,” he added.
McGregor has also spoken out against
efforts to de-gay the film, telling Out's
Joshua David Stein: “It's nothing but a gay movie.”