| In the Soup | |
| Director: | Alexandre Rockwell |
| Producer: | Jim Stark Hank Blumenthal Chosei Funahara |
| Music: | Mader |
| Cinematography: | Phil Parmet |
| Editing: | Dana Congdon |
| Distributor: | Triton Pictures |
| Runtime: | 93 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Budget: | $800,000 |
| Gross: | $256,249[1] |
In the Soup is a 1992 independent comedy directed by Alexandre Rockwell, and written by Rockwell and Sollace Mitchell (credited as Tim Kissell).[2] It stars Steve Buscemi as Aldolfo Rollo, a self-conscious screenwriter who has written an unfilmable 500-page screenplay and who is looking for a producer.
Tortured by self-doubt, financial ruin, and unrequited passion for his next door neighbor, Aldolfo Rollo places an ad offering his mammoth screenplay to the highest bidder. In steps Aldolfo's "guardian angel" Joe, a fast-talking, high-rolling gangster who promises to produce the film but has his own unique ideas regarding film financing.
Facing financial struggles as a first-time filmmaker in New York City, writer-director Alexandre Rockwell found himself in a challenging situation, admitting to being penniless and even selling his saxophone to acquire more film stock. A person named Frank responded to one of his advertisements and took a liking to him, generously offering to cover the cost of one of his movies. Rockwell "loosely based" this film on that incident.[3]
Principal photography predominantly occurred in New York City. Although shot on color film, Rockwell had no intention of releasing a color version in American theaters. Influenced by the stylized films of the 1930s and inspired by French directors François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard, Rockwell deliberately opted for a high-contrast black-and-white palette. This choice aimed to impart a certain surreal quality to the images. The entire budget for the film, totaling $800,000, came from foreign investors. While color prints were available for foreign distributors and home video releases, the film's theatrical release in the United States maintained its black-and-white presentation.
The film and its history are discussed in depth in John Pierson's account of the independent American film 'scene' of the late 1980s/early 1990s, .
A Kickstarter project started in July 2017 with hopes of restoring the archival print and re-releasing the film for its 25th anniversary.[4] The restored print was released by Factory 25 in 2018.[5]