EXCLUSIVE: TriCoast Worldwide and Vitagraph Films have set a theatrical release for the Brad Wyman produced, Adam Rifkin directed western comedy Last Train to Fortune.
Last Train to Fortune will pulled into New York on Sept. 18, followed by Dallas on Sept. 23, and Los Angeles on Sept. 25, with plans to expand the theatrical rollout to additional markets throughout the fall.
Last Train to Fortune stars Malcolm McDowell, the late Bill Paxton’s son James Paxton, Mary Steenburgen, Bernadette Peters and Laura Marano. The pic was written by Michelle Rifkin, the director’s mother.
The release will also include Malcolm McDowell retrospective screenings at select theatres, including at NYC’s Cinema 1, 2, 3 where A Clockwork Orange originally premiered. The NYC engagement (September 17–20) at Village East by Angelika will feature opening weekend appearances by members of the cast and filmmakers, with additional events planned for Dallas and Los Angeles.
TriCoast will handle the film’s streaming distribution later this year.
Pic is produced by Brad Wyman, Michael P.J. Gerstein, and Adam Rifkin.
Set against the backdrop of the American frontier, Last Train to Fortune follows uptight, schoolteacher Cecil Peachtree (McDowell) and fearsome, outlaw Jedidiah Dooley (Paxton), two unlikely companions who embark on a perilous journey to the town of Fortune, where Peachtree has been hired as the new Schoolmaster.
“Although Last Train to Fortune is set in the 1870s, its message could not be more urgent or relevant today. At a time when books are being banned across the country and education itself is increasingly under attack, the film reaffirms a timeless truth; education sets us free,” says director Adam Rifkin.
Last Train to Fortune was written by Michele Rifkin, 37 years ago, and was intended to star the late Bill Paxton in the role of Dooley opposite McDowell. Frequent McDowell collaborator Lindsay Anderson was set to direct, who passed away before production began. Cut to 2017, Adam Rifkin, Wyman, McDowell and Paxton were about to try again. But just as pre-production was slated to begin, Paxton died unexpectedly. In the years that followed, Rifkin, Wyman and McDowell grew closer to Bill’s actor son James. Everyone decided that it was time for the movie to be made with Twisters actor James stepping in for his father.
Said Paxton, “For me, Last Train to Fortune is a film I felt compelled to bring to life from the moment director Adam Rifkin and producer Brad Wyman first approached me about it nine years ago. The script instantly transported me to the Old West and into the unlikely, destined bond between Jedidiah Dooley and Cecil Peachtree. Beyond its emotional weight, the film carries a powerful, timely message—a tribute to great mentors, the value of reading, and the importance of education at a moment when books are being banned and learning is under attack. I couldn’t be prouder to share this beautiful and resonant story with the world.”
Worldwide rights outside the initial theatrical release—including VOD, digital, home entertainment, and international distribution—are being handled by TriCoast Worldwide.