The Brown Bunny

2006-03-10T21:07:48Z

69.155.178.3: /* Cannes reception */

{{Infobox Film |
name = The Brown Bunny |
image = Brown Bunny.jpg |
writer = [[Vincent Gallo]] |
starring = [[Vincent Gallo]],<br />[[Chloe Sevigny]] |
director = [[Vincent Gallo ]] |
producer = [[Vincent Gallo]] |
distributor = [[Wellspring Media]] |
released = [[August 27]], [[2004]]|
runtime = 93 min.|
language = English |
budget = $10,000,000 |
music = |
awards = |
imdb_id = 0330099 |
}}
'''''The Brown Bunny''''' is a [[film]] by [[actor]]/[[film director|director]] [[Vincent Gallo]] that had its world premiere at the [[2003 in film|2003]] [[Cannes Film Festival]], where it played in competition. Critical reaction was so hostile that the film quickly became labeled the worst in the festival's history, and many [[journalist]]s even questioned the entire festival's artistic direction in admitting it in the first place.

{{spoiler}}

The film is a rambling odyssey about a [[motorcycle]] racer (played by Gallo) who undertakes a cross-country [[van]] drive in search of his former [[lover]]. The road scenes received especially heavy ridicule, consisting as they do of lengthy unbroken shots out the van's [[windshield]], and one sequence in which Gallo parks the van and washes it, which plays in real time. Further ridicule was based on the fact that the film's cost was estimated at $10 million (it eventually grossed $356,734 in a limited U.S. release).

But the strongest outrage was reserved for the film's final scene, in which Gallo's character finally meets up with his ex-lover ([[Chloë Sevigny]]), and she performs unsimulated [[fellatio]] upon him.

==Controversy==
It is believed that the explicit final scene was the reason for Gallo's originally-cast actresses, first [[Kirsten Dunst]] and then [[Winona Ryder]], to have been fired or walked out. Sevigny, already known for taking on controversial roles, had been a real-life girlfriend of Gallo's. Notably, after the film's release, the [[William Morris Agency]] dropped her as a client, claiming the scene made her unmarketable; she quickly signed with another agency and has continued her acting career despite fears to the contrary.

===Cannes reception===
The screening of the film at Cannes, where audiences openly let their displeasure be known with loud boos and catcalls, was a fiasco, reportedly bringing Sevigny to tears and provoking a humiliated Gallo to apologize for the film. Gallo added that the fact that several French critics were defending despite its unfinished state was "almost like salt in the water."

===Ebert spat and re-edit===
Upon his return to America, however, Gallo took a defiant stance, defending the film and denying his apology. A war of words then erupted between Gallo and popular [[critic]] [[Roger Ebert]], with Ebert writing that ''The Brown Bunny'' was the worst film in the history of Cannes, and Gallo retorting by calling Ebert a "fat pig with the physique of a [[slave trade|slave trader]]." Ebert then responded, paraphrasing a statement once made by [[Winston Churchill]] that "although I am fat, one day I will be thin, but Mr. Gallo will still have been the director of ''The Brown Bunny.''" Gallo then put a [[curse|hex]] on Ebert's [[colon (anatomy)|colon]], cursing the critic with [[cancer]]. Roger Ebert then replied that he would rather watch the film of his [[colonoscopy]] than ''The Brown Bunny''. Later on, Gallo told Ebert that he had been misquoted, and he had actually wished him [[prostate cancer|cancer of the prostate]] and not the colon.

A shorter, re-edited version of the film played later in [[2004]] at the [[Toronto International Film Festival]] (although it still retained the controversial sex scene). While not receiving the highest praise, neither did it garner the same level of derision as the Cannes version, and on the [[August 28]], [[2004]] episode of ''[[Ebert & Roeper]]'', Roger Ebert gave the new version of the film a thumbs-up. In a column published at about the same time, Ebert reported that he and Gallo had made peace.

Ironically, the outrage and hysteria surrounding ''The Brown Bunny'' meant it ended up being the most talked-about film of the festival—even more so than the eventual [[Palme d'Or]] winner, [[Gus van Sant]]'s ''[[Elephant (movie)|Elephant]]'', and [[Lars von Trier]]'s highly anticipated ''[[Dogville]]''—creating a mystique that some thought might enhance its likelihood of securing major [[U.S.]] distribution. This did not happen, however, and the $10 million film was a [[box office bomb]], grossing less than $400,000 U.S. The film was not given wide release in North America, and was issued on [[DVD]] there in August [[2005]].

===Billboard controversy===
''Brown Bunny'' also attracted media attention over a large [[billboard (advertising)|billboard]] erected over [[Sunset Boulevard]] in [[West Hollywood, California]] in 2004 promoting the movie. The billboard featured a non-explicit image taken from the fellatio sequence, drawing complaints from residents and business owners in the otherwise [[liberal]] community. It was eventually removed.

==External links==
*{{imdb title|id=0330099|title=The Brown Bunny}}
*{{rogerebert|id=20040903/REVIEWS/409020301|title=The Brown Bunny}}
* [http://film.guardian.co.uk/cannes/story/0,13266,962544,00.html "Contrite Gallo apologises for pretension"], ''[[The Guardian]]'', May 23, 2003.
*[http://slate.msn.com/id/2106174/ "Playboy Bunny: Vincent Gallo proves he just wants to be loved"], David Edelstein, [[Slate.com]], Sept. 10, 2004.
*[http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/review/2004/09/17/brown_bunny/index.html "The Brown Bunny"], Charles Taylor, [[Salon.com]], Sept. 17, 2004.
*[http://www.uselessjunk.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1013 A clip of the oral sex scene] ''Warning: Adult Content''

[[Category:2003 films|Brown Bunny, The]]
[[Category:Mainstream films with explicit sex|Brown Bunny, The]]

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The Brown Bunny