| Falling | |
| Director: | Richard Dutcher |
| Producer: | Jeff Chamberlain Gwen Dutcher Richard Dutcher George D. Smith Dan Urness Mark Victor |
| Starring: | Richard Dutcher Virginia Reece Cesar Garcia Frank Uzzolino |
| Cinematography: | Jim Orr |
| Editing: | Doug Boyd Richard Dutcher |
| Studio: | Main Street Movie Co. Destiny Entertainment |
| Distributor: | Main Street Movie Company |
| Runtime: | 82 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Budget: | US$500,000 |
Falling is a 2008 independent drama film written, directed and starring Richard Dutcher. The film was released on January 18, 2008.
Dutcher advertised the movie as "The First R-rated Mormon Movie" during its brief theatrical run in 2008.[1]
The film was shot in Hollywood and Los Angeles.[2] The film was financed by Richard Dutcher (who was writer, director, co-producer, actor and co-editor) with a budget of $500,000.
The film was premiered in The Gateway Theater on January 18, 2008. The film also screened in Beverly Hills Music Hall on August 15, 2008.[3]
Falling was screened in Camelot Theaters (California) in 2009.[4] The film was screened at Sundance Film Festival in 2011.[5]
The film was officially re-released on April 27, 2012 in Broadway Centre Cinemas in Salt Lake City.[6]
The Los Angeles Times said: "Falling is one of the best pictures of its kind in recent memory", and Dave Wolverton from The New York Times said: "Falling is one of the 5 most powerful films I have ever seen."
BoxOffice Magazine gave Falling four stars and said: "An important and indelible work ... impossible to forget.", and Wade Major said: "Dutcher has joined the ranks of the very best independent filmmakers in the world."
After the theatrical premiere of Nightcrawler, Richard Dutcher sued its director, claiming Nightcrawler was a rip-off of Dutcher's film, since the main character of both films is a journalist who sells records of crimes and murders to various media, and both films take place in Los Angeles.[7]
Dutcher's attorney Stephen Silverman stated that Nightcrawler has enough in common with Falling to justify the lawsuit.
After three years, judge Dee Benson agreed that the two films have some similarities.[8]
On August 19, 2019, Benson closed the case, saying that similar elements are a necessary ingredient for stringer-themed films, and that the two films are too different to have any major copyright infringement.[9]