Mall (film)

Last updated
Mall
Mall (film).png
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Joe Hahn
Screenplay by
Based onMall
by Eric Bogosian
Produced by
  • Vincent D'Onofrio
  • Joe Hahn
  • Sam Maydew
Starring
CinematographyRichard Henkels
Edited byIgor Kovalik
Music by
Distributed byParagon Pictures
Release dates
  • June 18, 2014 (2014-06-18)(France)
  • October 17, 2014 (2014-10-17)(United States)
Running time
88 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Mall, known in French as Mall: A Day to Kill, [1] is a 2014 American thriller based on a novel of the same name written by Eric Bogosian. It was released on June 18, 2014, in France, on July 16 in Sweden, and on October 17 in North America. [2] The film is directed by Linkin Park turntablist Joe Hahn, with Vincent D'Onofrio serving as executive producer. D'Onofrio has also worked as an actor in the film as Danny. Peter Stormare, Gina Gershon, Mimi Rogers, Brian Rodriguez and Cameron Monaghan also star in the film. [3] The film was produced by Hahn, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Sam Maydew. The film is Hahn's full-length directorial debut and his second directed film after The Seed , which was a 10-minute short. The story for the film features the lives of five disaffected suburbanites as they come together at a shopping mall. [4]

Contents

Plot

Mal, an addict, shoots his mother, sets their trailer on fire, and heads to the mall. At the same time, a cop urges philosophical college student Jeff to stop loitering on private property. Jeff and his friend Adelle also go to the mall, as Jeff tells her about his belief that modern society has become soulless and a shallow facsimile of itself. Jeff describes several of the people that they see at the mall and narratives what he imagines their back story to be: Donna, a bored housewife who obsesses over her attractiveness; Barry, a salesman who hates his business but stays in it because he understands it; Michael, a security guard who, after immigrating, becomes a widower and lives only for his job; and Danny, a married businessman who engages in casual sex.

Jeff and Adelle meet up with Beckett and Shel, and Beckett shares ecstasy with Jeff. Beckett attempts to talk Jeff out of his crush on Adelle, to no avail. When Danny is arrested (by the same cop who hassled Jeff) for peeping on Donna who forgets to lock the fitting room door while she changes clothes, Beckett and Shel leave to gawk at the scene. Alone with Adelle, Jeff confesses to her that he has fallen in love with her, but she calls him unexciting and wanders off. Mal arrives at the mall and kills Barry, who is his father, and several cops. Hurt, Jeff stumbles in a drug-addled daze through the mall, not aware of the crowds that have begun to flee. Mal leaves the mall, kills the cops who arrested Danny, and heads to the forest. Michael grabs a spare rifle from Mal's car and follows him.

Beckett, Shel, and Adelle arrive in the parking lot, where they find Danny still handcuffed. As they discuss what to do with him, he begs them to free him so that he can go home. After Beckett and Shel leave to vandalize the mall, Adelle points out that she can do anything she wants to Danny. She moves him to his own car, binds him in place with a seat belt, tightens his handcuffs, and molests him while forcing him to repeat, "I'm a pervert." She leaves once he passes out. Meanwhile, Jeff meets Donna in a bar, and after he tells her that she does not look old enough to have kids, she invites him to a motel room, where they have sex. Unconcerned with what has happened at the mall, Donna merely asks for details so that she can craft a believable cover story.

Jeff wanders back to the mall, where he discovers Beckett and Shell taking pictures of Danny with their cell phones. Jeff chases them away and offers to take Danny to a hospital. Danny requests that he brought back to his home. When Danny asks Jeff if he knows Adelle based on her description, Jeff says that she is not a friend. Satisfied, Danny approaches his house, still handcuffed. As Jeff walks off, he encounters Mal, who ended up wounded after a shootout with Michael. Mal and Jeff talk briefly, and Mal requests that Jeff kill him. Jeff refuses and calls him a coward who is willing to die but not to live. As Jeff runs off, the cops gather for an assault on Mal's location. As Donna returns to her boring life, Jeff quotes Steppenwolf , saying that one day he will learn to laugh. The film ends as he laughs.

Cast

The casting for the film was done by Angela Demo and Barbara J. McCarthy.

Kimberly Kane and Juelz Ventura appear in cameos as pornographic actresses.

Production

Vincent handled most of the works for the movie Vincent Utah.jpg
Vincent handled most of the works for the movie

The production of the film was handled by various producers. But it was mainly handled by Vincent D'Onofrio. Whereas the others were Erika Hampson and Sam Maydew. The executive producers included Shaked Berenson and Patrick Ewald.

The film was directed by Joe Hahn of American rock band Linkin Park. [5] Other band members, including Chester Bennington, assisted in scoring the film's soundtrack.

Filming

Principal Photography took place in the Eastern part of Los Angeles. More information about the location of the set was kept as a secret. A bit of information was given to Linkin Park Underground members who lived in Los Angeles by giving them a chance to meet Joe Hahn. [6] Shooting began in April 2012. [7]

In the tweet-out sessions, Hahn answered a question that, "The movie was shot a year ago, and we're finishing the album right now." In another question, Hahn said that "the movie is coming along well. We finished it, and we are getting ready to put it out, and hopefully you would see it soon." [8] Hahn stated about the comparison between directing a video and a film:

It's different to make a film and a video, because you have a lot more time. And you're dealing with a larger production, and you're dealing with dialogue and people interacting. Whereas videos can be more in expressions to cool images where you could make some stories. It's almost like, sometimes when I approach videos, it's like I'm creating a commercial for a movie that I want to make, but we can only shoot so much of it. And for movies, it's really what the script tells you to do. When you see a scene, you can figure out how it should look, and we really use the story and the script as a road map to do what I want to do. [8]

Joe Hahn

In another interview with Forbes , Hahn again explains the difference as:

"I think there are a lot of parallels and a lot of differences," says Hahn. "[With videos], you want to capture the essence of the music and help people recognize whoever is making the music. With movies … you have to have a pretty rock-solid script. If the script is strong, you can really play around with ideas and allow people to be really creative, as long as they’re within the guidelines of what you, the director, are expecting." [9]

Joe Hahn

Promotion

A trailer was released in the promotion of the film, which was also leaked on the internet at the end of May. But in support of that the film had few teasers which were launched on the Facebook page of the film. All the teasers were available on July 25, 2014. [10] [11] [12] [13] Another list of sneak peeks was released via Facebook and YouTube on October 14. [14]

Another trailer of the film was officially released on the Facebook page of the band, which is a couple of minutes long. [15]

An Art exhibition inspired by the film named as Beast Astray was put up on September 25, 2014, at Known Gallery, Los Angeles, for the promotion of the film. [16] The exhibition was put up by the sponsorship and support of Machine Shop, Red Bull, Good Smile company, and various others. [17]

Music

Linkin Park collaborated with Alec Puro for the score LinkinParkBerlin2010.jpg
Linkin Park collaborated with Alec Puro for the score

The music for the film was composed by Deadsy drummer Alec Puro and Linkin Park members Chester Bennington, Dave Farrell, Hahn and Mike Shinoda. [18] The soundtrack for The Seed , the first installment by Hahn featured three songs. One of them was "There They Go" by Fort Minor (originally from his studio debut album, The Rising Tied ) played during the credits, and the other two were untitled and were played during the fight scenes. This would be the sixth soundtrack and the second score by the band, after their soundtracks for the hit music series of the 2007 hit film, Transformers . The previous soundtrack by the band was the 2011 film Transformers: Dark of the Moon. The first score by the band was a collaboration with Steve Jablonsky for the 2009 film Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The soundtrack for the film was released under the Warner Bros. and Machine Shop record labels on December 12, 2014. [19]

In a tweet-out session, Joe answered the question about the score: "The movie is done! The score is finished! And we are putting it out to distributors and see who's going to put it out. So it's going to come soon." [8] A song named as "It Goes Through", which Shinoda provides lead vocals on, as he also did for "The Last Line" and "Devil's Drop", for the 2-minute trailer that was released on May 28, 2014, in promotion for Mall, was featured in the movie trailer, which could be the first single from the soundtrack of the film. The official trailer to Mall was launched via Linkin Park's official Facebook page on August 9, 2014.

Release

In October 2013, Joe Hahn had developed a few toys for Transformers G1, and there in an interview, he said that the film would be released in 2014. [20] The film made an exclusive screening at Zachary Levi and The Nerd Machine's 5th annual Nerd HQ event on July 24, 2014, at Petco Park in San Diego immediately after the band's performance at the MTVU Fandom Awards, as well as performing their second hit single "Until It's Gone" from The Hunting Party. [21] Mall had its theatrical premiere in Los Angeles on October 14, 2014, and had a limited released on October 17, 2014. [22] It was released in Canada on October 24 and debuted on iTunes on October 31. It was released on video on demand in November 2014. [23]

Reception

Zach Hollwedel of Under the Radar rated it 4/10 stars and called it "an angry letter to consumerist America with little redemptive value". [24]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Hahn</span> American musician, DJ, director and visual artist

Joseph Hahn is an American musician, DJ, director, and visual artist best known as the DJ and creative director of the American rock band Linkin Park, doing the scratching, turntables, sampling, and programming for all seven of Linkin Park's albums. Hahn, along with bandmate Mike Shinoda, are responsible for most of Linkin Park's album artwork. Hahn also directed many of the band's music videos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vincent D'Onofrio</span> American actor and filmmaker (born 1959)

Vincent Philip D'Onofrio is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his supporting and leading roles in both film and television. He has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.

Mall commonly refers to a:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iridescent (song)</span> 2011 single by Linkin Park

"Iridescent" is a song by American rock band Linkin Park. It was announced as the band's third US, fourth international and overall final single from their fourth studio album, A Thousand Suns, which was released on September 14, 2010. A music video for the song was directed by Joe Hahn, the band's turntablist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">In the End</span> 2001 single by Linkin Park

"In the End" is a song by American rock band Linkin Park. It is the eighth track on their debut album, Hybrid Theory (2000), and was released as the album's fourth and final single.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linkin Park discography</span>

American rock band Linkin Park have released seven studio albums, three live albums, three compilation albums, two remix albums, three soundtrack albums, 12 video albums, 12 extended plays, 39 singles, 20 promotional singles, and 70 music videos. Linkin Park was formed in Agoura Hills, California, in 1996 by Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson (guitar), and Rob Bourdon (drums). Joe Hahn (turntables) and Dave Farrell (bass) were later recruited, and in 1999, Chester Bennington became a member, staying with the band until his death in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">What I've Done</span> 2007 single by Linkin Park

"What I've Done" is a song by American rock band Linkin Park. It was released as the first single from their third studio album, Minutes to Midnight (2007), and is the sixth track. The song was released as a radio single on April 1, 2007, as a digital download on April 2, and as a CD single on April 30. The live version of "What I've Done" from Road to Revolution: Live at Milton Keynes was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 52nd Grammy Awards, but did not win. It serves as the end credits track of the 2007 science fiction blockbuster film Transformers and also appears on Transformers: The Album (2007). Being certified six times platinum by the RIAA, it is the band's most commercially successful single in terms of pure sales, and reached number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Divide</span> 2009 single by Linkin Park

"New Divide" is a song by American rock band Linkin Park. The song is released as a single and was recorded specifically for the soundtrack, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – The Album to Michael Bay's film Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. It was written by the band and produced by band member Mike Shinoda. It also serves as the film's main theme, and was released as the soundtrack's lead single on May 18, 2009, by Reprise Records.

<i>Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – The Album</i> 2009 soundtrack album by Linkin Park and Various artists

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – The Album is a compilation album of various artists' music from the 2009 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The official single is "New Divide" by Linkin Park. It was rumored that Dead by Sunrise would be releasing a track called "Crawl Back In" for the soundtrack. However, Chester Bennington said he decided not to include it. Similarly, Tyrese Gibson, who plays Sgt. Epps in the movie, said that he would be in a duet track with Jewel, titled "Make It Last", which he had hoped would appear in the film's soundtrack, but ultimately did not. The album charted at #7 on the US Billboard 200 album chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Catalyst</span> 2010 single by Linkin Park

"The Catalyst" is a song by the American rock band Linkin Park. Released on August 2, 2010, it is the first single from their fourth studio album, A Thousand Suns, which was released on September 8, 2010. The music video for the song, directed by the band's turntablist Joe Hahn, was released on August 25, 2010.

"In My Remains" is a song by American rock band Linkin Park from their fifth studio album, Living Things. The song was written by the band and produced by co-lead vocalist Mike Shinoda and Rick Rubin. Although never released as a single in any part of the world, it charted in several countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White Noise (Linkin Park song)</span> 2014 promotional single by Chester Bennington, Dave Farrell, Joe Hahn, Mike Shinoda and Alec Puro

White Noise is a song by American rock musicians Chester Bennington, Dave Farrell, Joe Hahn and Mike Shinoda from Linkin Park, and Alec Puro from Deadsy, which was released on October 17, 2014 through Warner Bros. Records and Machine Shop Records.

<i>LP Recharge</i> 2013 video game

LP Recharge, also known as Linkin Park Recharge, is a free-to-play action-puzzle game, developed by Swiss studio Kuuluu Interactive Entertainment, which is composed by American rock band Linkin Park. The game was released on September 12, 2013, as it is a current playable game on Facebook. The game is focused on solving puzzles and also attempting to raise awareness about parts of the world that don’t have reliable power.

<i>8-Bit Rebellion!</i> (soundtrack) 2010 soundtrack album by Linkin Park

8-Bit Rebellion! is the soundtrack album for the online video game of the same name, consisting of songs recorded by American rock band Linkin Park. It was released on April 26, 2010 via Warner Bros. and Machine Shop and produced by Mike Shinoda. This is the fourth soundtrack released by the band. The previous soundtrack Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – The Score, released on June 12, 2009 in the UK and June 23, 2009 in the United States, was a collaborated film score album with music composer Steve Jablonsky for the 2009 Transformers sequel Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

<i>Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2</i> 2015 Andy Fickman comedy film

Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 is a 2015 American action comedy film directed by Andy Fickman and written by Kevin James and Nick Bakay. It is the sequel to 2009's Paul Blart: Mall Cop, and the second film in the Paul Blart: Mall Cop franchise. It stars James in the title role, Raini Rodriguez, and Shirley Knight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Until It's Gone (Linkin Park song)</span> 2014 single by Linkin Park

"Until It's Gone" is a song written by American rock band Linkin Park. The song was originally recorded by the band for their sixth studio album, The Hunting Party, where it appears as the seventh track on the album. Produced by Mike Shinoda and Brad Delson, the track also appears on the single of the same name, which was released by Warner Bros. Records and Machine Shop on May 6, 2014. The single is the second to be released in promotion of The Hunting Party. The single is also included in the music for the action-adventure video game Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark, which was released on June 24, 2014.

<i>Transformers: Age of Extinction – The Score</i> 2014 film score / EP by Steve Jablonsky

Transformers: Age of Extinction – The Score is a two-part soundtrack album for the 2014 film of the same name. The score was written by Steve Jablonsky, with help from fellow composer Hans Zimmer and additional music by alternative rock band Imagine Dragons. An EP was released on June 30, 2014, which features four suites, and serves as a teaser for the score, which was released on July 3, 2014. Both albums were released through the film's distributor Paramount Pictures.

<i>Mall</i> (soundtrack) 2014 soundtrack album by Chester Bennington, Dave Farrell, Joe Hahn, Mike Shinoda and Alec Puro

Mall: Music from the Motion Picture is the original motion picture soundtrack for the 2014 American drama film Mall, consisting of songs written, recorded and performed by Chester Bennington, Dave Farrell, Joe Hahn and Mike Shinoda with Alec Puro, drummer of American industrial rock band Deadsy. It was released through Warner Bros. and Machine Shop on December 12, 2014. The soundtrack was produced by Mike Shinoda and Brad Delson, along with Rob Cavallo and Bill Boyd, who both served as executive producers.

Machine Shop co. is an American entertainment company that markets itself as a venture capital firm, event provider, supporter and lifestyle company. It was started as a music company by Linkin Park bandmates Mike Shinoda and Brad Delson in December 2012. Later on, it became a venture capital firm in January 2015. It was established as a joint company of music companies, "Chesterchaz Publishing" by "Chester Bennington", "Big Bad Mr. Hahn Music" by "Brad Delson" and "Joe Hahn", "Nondisclosure Agreement Music" by "Dave Farrell", "Rob Bourdon Music" by "Rob Bourdon" and "Kenji Kobayashi Music" by "Mike Shinoda". In an independent study released on August 14, 2015, CB Insights recognized "Machine Shop" as the seventh most invested company by any celebrity. The company reached the mark due to major investments in "Lyft", "Blue Bottle Coffee Company" and "Shyp".

References

  1. "Movie trailer". YouTube .
  2. "MALL Coming October 17th : Linkin Park". www.linkinpark.com. Linkin Park. Archived from the original on 10 December 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  3. "Linkin Park's Joe Hahn Has A Movie: MALL". Archived from the original on 2014-05-31. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  4. "Mall" Spin.com Retrieved June 28, 2014
  5. Wiederhorn, Jon (2013-08-16). "Linkin Park Continue Working on 'Mall' Soundtrack and New Studio Album". Yahoo! Music . Retrieved 2014-06-18.
  6. "Meet Joe Hahn on the set of Mall". Archived from the original on 2014-05-31.
  7. Miska, Brad (April 9, 2012). "Linkin Park DJ Goes On 'Mall' Killing Spree With Vincent D'Onofrio!". Bloody Disgusting . Retrieved March 28, 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 "Linkin Park's Joe Hahn answers questions in #TweetOut [A few details about their movie "Mall"]". YouTube .
  9. Zack O'Malley Greenburg "Linkin Park's Blueprint For Merging Music And Film" Forbes August 3, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  10. "Whoever wants music instead of noise, joy instead of pleasure, soul instead of gold." July 25, 2014.
  11. "This is one of those life-changing moments." July 25, 2014.
  12. "Who do you see looking back at you?" July 25, 2014.
  13. "You don't want to be the hero? You don't want to be the guy who shoots the bad man?" July 25, 2014.
  14. Sneak Peak Playlist YouTube October 14, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
  15. "Mall Official Trailer Coming this Fall." Facebook August 9, 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
  16. Beast Astray - The Mall Art show recap Hype Beast
  17. Beast Astray - The Mall Art Show Facebook
  18. "Joe Hahn's "Mall" will feature music of Linkin Park - LPTimes". Archived from the original on 2014-05-31.
  19. "Mall (2014)". Archived from the original on 2018-02-14. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  20. "Linkin Park Joe, New Album, Transformers 4, Mall, STP". YouTube .
  21. "Mall screening on July 24th 2014" Facebook July 16, 2014. Retrieved July 19, 2014.
  22. Childers, Chad (October 15, 2014). "Linkin Park's Joe Hahn Hosts Premiere Screening of 'Mall' in Los Angeles". Loudwire . Retrieved March 28, 2015.
  23. Vlessing, Etan (October 16, 2014). "Linkin Park DJ Joe Hahn's Drama 'Mall' Gets Canadian Distribution". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved March 28, 2015.
  24. Hollwedel, Zach (November 10, 2014). "Mall". Under the Radar . Retrieved March 28, 2015.

Further reading

Interviews