An upcoming documentary featuring Minneapolis's Acme Comedy Club opens with one of entertainment's biggest names singing its praises.
Unfortunately, the celebrity is Louis C.K.
"I Need You To Kill," which premieres next month on various platforms, follows three of the club's most popular headliners during a 2014 tour of Asia. But director J. Elvis Weinstein opted to open his movie with a clip from "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" in which C.K. talks about how much Acme owner Louis Lee meant to him early in his career.
Weinstein, one of the founding members of "Mystery Science Theatre 3000," turned in his film long before C.K. admitted that he acted inappropriately in front of several female comics and watched his red-hot career come to a standstill. Weinstein said Monday that cutting the scene would have required considerable re-editing and new narration, not an option at this late date.
"I don't really have a choice right now," he said. "The ship has sailed."
Weinstein called the timing a "huge drag" as it might distract viewers away from the film's main storyline, which is how American-style comedy translates in markets where stand-up is still very much a novelty act.
"No one wants the first reaction from audiences to be boos," he said. "I hope that people can see the movie took place three years ago and can contextualize bcak to a period when Louis had credibility."
Fergus Falls-raised comic Chad Daniels, one of the three Acme regulars featured in the documentary, performs at the Woman's Club of Minneapolis on Nov. 25. The film drops Dec. 5 on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, InDemand, Comcast, Charter, Cox, and Dish.
