IFC Films Acquires ‘The Canyons,’ Lindsay Lohan Movie Witha Tale Behind It

Jeff Minton for The New York Times On the set of “The Canyons” in Los Angeles lastsummer: Amanda Brooks, Lindsay Lohan and Paul Schrader.

If you’ve read about “The Canyons” and wondered what it might look like on a screen you’ll soon you’ll be able to see this Lindsay Lohan movie in a theater or on a televisionnear you.

IFC Films said on Friday that it had acquired for North American distribution “TheCanyons,” a sexual thriller directed by Paul Schrader (the screenwriter of “Taxi Driver”and director of “Affliction”), written by Bret Easton Ellis (“American Psycho”), and star-ring Ms. Lohan and the pornographic film actor James Deen.

“The Canyons” drew some early attention for the online strategies of its filmmakers andproducer Braxton Pope, who opened some roles up for casting on the Web, and raisedmoney for the movie through crowdsourced contributions.

But “The Canyons” is arguably better known for an article on the making of the movie,written by Stephen Rodrick for The New York Times Magazine, in which he chronicled,among other incidents, the temperamental behavior of Ms. Lohan on the set and a sexscene that Mr. Schrader filmed while he was in the nude, in an attempt to make his lead-

ing lady more comfortable.

IFC said in news release that “The Canyons” will be released in early summer, and willbe shown in a special presentation at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, where it will befollowed by a conversation with Mr. Schrader and Kent Jones, the director of program-ming for the New York Film Festival. The movie will also be shown on digital and on-demand platforms.

In a statement, Mr. Jones said: “On one level, ‘The Canyons’ is a visually and tonallyprecise, acid-etched horror story of souls wandering through a hyper-materialistic hell,with a fearless and, I think, stunning performance by Lindsay Lohan at its center; on an-other level, it’s an inspiration and an example to us all: it’s difficult for me to imagineanother filmmaker of Paul Schrader’s stature diving into the world of crowd-sourcedmoviemaking, let alone with such fervor, dedication and rigor.”

There was no immediate comment from Ms. Lohan.