BRUCE WILLIS, ALBERT FINNEY, NICK NOLTE, BARBARA HERSHEY & GLYNNE HEADLEY STAR IN WRITER/DIRECTOR ALAN RUDOLPH’S SATIRIC, SURREAL ADAPTATION OF
KURT’S VONNEGUT’S BEST-SELLING NOVEL,
NOW DIGITALLY RESTORED IN 4K
BEING RELEASED IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE FILM’S
25TH ANNIVERSARY, THE PERFECT COMEDIC REFLECTION
FOR OUR TIMES OPENS THEATRICALLY BEGINNING NOVEMBER 1, 2024
For immediate release – Films We Like is proud to present a brand new 4K restoration of BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS by Alan Rudolph, based on a novel of the same name by Kurt Vonnegut.
25 years after its initial release, Kurt Vonnegut’s biting portrayal of America’s mad chaos, BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS returns in a restored 4K version, the perfect film for our complicated times. Directed by Alan Rudolph, and starring Bruce Willis, Albert Finney, Nick Nolte, Glynne Headley, Barbara Hershey, Omar Epps, Luka Haas and many more, the incisive comedy has been overlooked for far too long. And, in conjunction with the comedy’s 25th Anniversary, there’s no better time to rediscover Rudolph’s unique cinematic vision and the timeless relevance of Vonnegut’s work in a pristine restoration ready to provoke thought and captivate audiences all over again.
BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS tells the story of car dealership titan Dwayne Hoover (Bruce Willis), the most respected man in Midland City. His smiling face appears on every local channel and billboard - a shining symbol of the American success syndrome. His message is “You Can Trust Dwayne Hoover.” And so they do.
But Dwayne Hoover is not smiling inside. Nor can he be trusted. Dwayne’s shady prosperity, picture-frame family, and small mind are cracking. His television commercial-addicted wife (Barbara Hershey) may or may not be physically present when he’s with her. His son (Lukas Haas) resides in a bomb shelter aspiring to be a lounge singer. His paranoid sales manager (Nick Nolte) has a significant sex secret. A Dwayne Hoover worshipper (Omar Epps) has taken up residence on his car lot. And his adulating secretary/lover (Glenne Headly) wonders if Dwayne Hoover has changed. The reeling business titan needs to find something or someone immediately to tell him the truth, to guide him out of this punishing, yet well-deserved, self-doubt.
Simultaneous to Dwayne expanding breakdown, an impoverished and nonsensical science fiction writer, Kilgore Trout (Albert Finney), is making his way to Midland City’s Fine Arts Festival, hailed as the world’s greatest author by Midland City’s wealthiest cultural leader. Once Hoover discovers Trout’s impending arrival, he is maniacally determined to meet the author and receive the message that will restore his confidence and well-being. But when their orbits finally collide, neither Dwayne Hoover, Kilgore Trout, nor Midland City is prepared for the inexplicable and volatile results.
“It is most remarkable and rewarding to me that a restored theatrical screening 4K version of BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS is now available through Shout! Studios and Films We Like,” says director Rudolph. “Audiences are finally able to appreciate the truly brilliant comedic performances of Bruce Willis, Nick Nolte, Albert Finney, Glenne Headly, Barbara Hershey, Omar Epps, Lukas Haas, and others. Perhaps the past quarter century of American behavior has better prepared viewers for our surreal exploration of Kurt Vonnegut’s characters from his biting portrayal of America’s mad and chaotic search for identity and sanity.”
BIOGRAPHY/FILMOGRAPHY: ALAN RUDOLPH
A pioneer in the American independent film movement, Alan Rudolph has directed over twenty narrative features that have been presented in major international festivals since the mid ‘70s. He began his professional career as an assistant director before being hired by Robert Altman to work on The Long Goodbye and later his masterpiece, Nashville. The two remained lifelong friends and collaborators as Altman served as producer on many of Rudolph’s future projects. His films are noted for their fluid style, unpredictable humor, and glowing performances, often peculiar ensemble-based stories exploring the paradoxical complexities of being human, and he’s perhaps best known for Welcome to L.A., Remember My Name, Choose Me, Trouble In Mind, The Moderns Mrs. Parker, The Vicious Circle, Afterglow and Breakfast of Champions, nominated for the Berlin Golden Bear in 1999.
Ray Meets Helen (2017)
The Secret Lives of Dentists (2002)
Intimate Affairs (2001)
Trixie (2000)
Breakfast of Champions (1999)
Afterglow (1997)
Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994)
Equinox (1992)
Mortal Thoughts (1991)
Love at Large (1990)
The Moderns (1988)
Made in Heaven (1987)
Trouble in Mind (1985)
Songwriter (1984)
Choose Me (1984)
Return Engagement (1983)
Endangered Species (1982)
Roadie (1980)
Remember My Name (1978)
Welcome to L.A. (1976)
Premonition (1972)
BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS (1999)
Directed by: Alan Rudolph
Written by: Alan Rudolph (Screenplay), Kurt Vonnegut (Novel)
Cast: Bruce Willis, Albert Finney, Nick Nolte, Barbara Hershey, Glenne Headly, Lukas Haas, Omar Epps, Vicki Lewis, Buck Henry
Produced by: David Blocker, David Willis
Casting by: Pam Dixon
Director of Photography: Elliot Davis
Original Score by: Mark Isham
Songs Performed by: Martin Denny
Genre: Comedy
RT: 110 minutes
Rating: R
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Sound: Dolby Digital
BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS opens in the United States on November 1, 2024 at Alamo Drafthouse Theatres in New York, Los Angeles, Albuquerque, San Francisco, and more, followed by Canada on November 5, 2024 at the Rio Theatre (Vancouver, BC), Revue Cinema (Toronto, ON). See here for full showtimes and cinemas.
ABOUT FILMS WE LIKE
Founded by award-winning documentary filmmaker Ron Mann (Grass, Comic Book Confidential, Carmine Street Guitars) Films We Like is a boutique distributor of documentary, independent, and international films in Canada. Recent restorations include Return to Reason, Archangel,and the Academy Award nominated 1997 film The Sweet Hereafter.
Media Contact
Mercy Lam mercy@filmswelike.com