Uwe Boll’s Postal Suffers Last-Minute Distributor “Boycott”

Posted by on May 20th, 2008   Filed under: Action, Comedy, Games
Source: Row Three

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Like a lot of people, I tend to knock director Uwe Boll despite the fact that I have yet to sit down and watch any of his movies from start to finish. I don’t think I’m out of line, as it seems a safe assumption that his movies are just as bad as everyone says they are. Personally I don’t have much interest in taking the time to double check, but that said, his upcoming movie Postal is the first one that I could actually see myself sitting through, just because it is intended primarily as a comedy and seems so outrageous that I am curious to see how far he pushes the envelope. Unfortunately, it looks like I may not get the chance to see this movie until it hits DVD, because the wide theatrical release that was planned for this weekend has just been scrapped!

Postal was originally supposed to open in 1500 theatres this Friday, but now will open in just 4, which is obviously a huge drop in support. The exact reasons remain unclear, but Boll’s explanation is that “theatrical distributors are boycotting Postal because of its political content”. I don’t know if I completely buy that, because Boll has been very clear from the start that one of the main goals of the movie is to offend people and stir things up. On the other hand, everyone should also have known way ahead of time that they were going up against the new Indiana Jones flick, so I don’t see them backing out at the last minute just because of that either. Is it a conspiracy against Boll? He seems to think so. He recently posted a long rant about the situation on the Postal website, and it’s totally worth reading. Here’s an excerpt:

“To all of you writing now about me and the fact that POSTAL is not getting screens.

its okay ..its fun kicking a guy nonstop who is on the ground

you are all not getting it that i’m the guy who made it against the big hollywood system and you are all only busy to destroy me and finish me up
and then you YOU WON WHAT ? the attention of the studios, michael bay .. ?????
if you damage me you feel closer to Hollywood ? what is your game plan?

you want only movies like JUMPER , SPEED RACER , WHAT HAPPENDS IN VEGAS …? then keep going and your dreams will be fullfilled. POSTAL makes some very important points ..but you dont wanna see that …. : that Bush used the SEPTEMBER 11 to start a war against a country what had nothing to do with Bin Laden etc…. but this all doesnt matter because you are all busy to THINK that INDIANA JONES or NARNIA are important movies … but in real they are empty shells of an industry what wants to make money and what wants to keep you looking “escape movies” with nothing in it.”

I love this guy, and you know, buried in among the bitterness I think there is a decent point to be made. If only he was promoting something other than a movie based on a video game where you can piss on corpses, maybe people would be a little more receptive to his crusade against Hollywood.



  • A movie getting pulled from release is incredibly common and Boll’s claims f the film being boycotted and banned are utterly ridiculous. If anything this sounds like distributers are giving Postal a classic slow roll out release in an effort to build word of mouth and Boll is merely causing a stir to try and draw attention to the film.

  • Captain N

    I thought the point that Bush used September 11th to go to war with another country was common knowledge? If not, I suppose it won’t ever be now that nobody will get a chance to see this wonderful piece of cinema. This was the last chance to expose Bush for what he truly was!

  • The last sentence of this post is just about the best thing I’ve ever read on this site.

  • Matt

    “If only he was promoting something other than a movie based on a video game where you can piss on corpses, maybe people would be a little more receptive to his crusade against Hollywood.”

    LOL. Incredibly well put.

  • I have seen two of Boll’s movies from start to finish (House of the Dead and Alone in the Dark), so I feel that I have the right to bitch about him all I want.

    Seriously though, I’ll buy that Uwe made this movie with the intention of stirring things up, but if he expects me to believe for a second that “POSTAL makes some very important points”, I call bullshit right now.

    I understand that the guy is stubborn and doesn’t want to listen to reason, but when you and your product are so vehemently hated by seemingly 99% of the consumer base, doesn’t that have any effect on your morale and drive to move forward? I would think so. I mean, it’s not like his movies are making any amount of notable income, are they? And where the hell is the guy finding the financial backing to make this shit?

  • I appreciate his attitude. He is saying the right things, but it does work against him that he seems to back it up with horrible movies, that seem to attempt to emulate stuff that can be marketed towards the masses. Is the Jason Statham-led middle-age wizard epic really a stand against popular culture? Is horror movies? I don’t think so.

    So if he had been doing blatant attacks on modern western culture his entire career, this might make more sense (and I’m sure it would have been marketed by the studio too, we wouldn’t have to go to the official Postal website to read it).

    I would love to meet him though. He seems just the right amount of hypocritical crazy person to make an interesting conversation. He hates the american way of making films, but he is desperate to get his films released in America? I’m not convinced, but I am entertained to be sure. His grammar alone is better than most comedies released in the last decade.

  • Matt – I don’t think this has ANYTHING to do with a slow rollout. He’s distributing this himself so if there was a slow rollout in the works, he’d let people know.

    That said, you all have a point about his argument actually causing a little more stir if he wasn’t pushing his own film – he doesn’t exactly have the best track record.

    I’ve seen a couple of his movies and this is far better than the his earlier films that I’ve seen. That said, I’m not sure he’s making much of a point other than really pushing the envelope on current world issues. I wouldn’t say he makes a compelling political argument but he sure uses it to his benefit for making people laugh.

  • I honestly think the reason this film is being kept under wraps is because it takes the bus whacking to far.

  • bush whacking i meant

  • This reads like a caveman pleading for our compassion. What is your game plan!