Deadline reports that Louis CK has entered into a deal with The Orchard, the Sony-owned distribution company that was handling the release of his now-shelved film I Love You, Daddy, in order to buy back the movie’s theatrical rights for his own use. The Orchard shuttered plans to distribute the film back in November, shortly after The New York Times broke a story that transformed the long-rumored allegations of sexual misconduct against CK from a widely known open secret into actual national news.
CK is reportedly paying The Orchard back everything it spent on the film, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this year. It’s not clear yet what he’ll do with the movie, which, with its focus on the struggle to separate the art of a respected artist from his depressing and disgusting personal behavior, has drawn plenty of unfortunate parallels to CK’s own recent career. The most obvious route would be to stick it on his web site and charge fans (or schadenfreude-seekers) $20 to view it, a strategy similar to what he did with his TV series Horace & Pete last year, back when the idea of a surprise Louis CK project was something that could be met with critical enthusiasm, instead of a muted sense of leery, resigned despair.