''Limelight'' is a 2011 documentary film that charts the rise and fall of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

club king

Peter Gatien Peter Gatien (born August 14, 1952) is a Canadian club owner and party promoter. He is best known as the former owner of several prominent New York City nightclubs, including Club USA, The Limelight, Palladium, and Tunnel. Life and career Gatien ...

. Produced by Gatien's daughter, Jen Gatien, it was released in special markets throughout the United States and Canada on September 23, 2011.

Synopsis

As the owner of legendary New York City hotspots like

The Limelight The Limelight was the name of a chain of nightclubs owned and operated by Peter Gatien. It had locations in New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, London and Hallandale. Context During the 1980s, club culture had died down because of the AIDS ...

Tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

Palladium Palladium is a chemical element with the symbol Pd and atomic number 46. It is a rare and lustrous silvery-white metal discovered in 1803 by the English chemist William Hyde Wollaston. He named it after the asteroid Pallas, which was itself na ...

, and Club USA, Peter Gatien was considered by many to be the undisputed king of the 1980s New York City club scene. The

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

native, whose trademark eye patch made him stand out in a crowd, built and oversaw a chain of nightclub ventures that brought thousands of patrons per night during its peak years. However, after years of legal battles and police pressure spearheaded by Mayor

Rudolph Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...

's drive to crack down on the city's nightlife scene during the mid-1990s, Gatien was deported to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, bringing an end to his presence and influence in the city's nightlife scene. The documentary features interviews with numerous people involved in the club's scene, as well as key informants in Gatien's high-profile trial. Produced by Gatien's daughter, Jen, and Alfred Spellman, and directed by

Billy Corben William Cohen (born 1978), better known by the stage name Billy Corben, is an American documentary film director. Along with producing partner Alfred Spellman, he is co-founder of the Miami-based studio Rakontur, which has created films such as '' ...

(who previously directed the film '' Cocaine Cowboys''), the film documents the rise and fall of Gatien and his nightclub empire.

Featured interviews

* Peter Gatien *

Michael Alig Michael Alig (April 29, 1966 – December 24, 2020) was an American club promoter and convicted felon. He was one of the ringleaders of the Club Kids, a group of young New York City clubgoers who became a cultural phenomenon in the late 1980s a ...

Ed Koch Edward Irving Koch ( ; December 12, 1924February 1, 2013) was an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, film critic, and television personality. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and was may ...

Howard Safir Howard Safir (born February 24, 1942) is an American law enforcement professional who served as the 39th New York City Police Commissioner from 1996 to 2000 and the 29th New York City Fire Commissioner from 1994 to 1996, under Mayor Rudy Giuliani. ...

Distribution

''Limelight'' premiered on April 22 at the 2011

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by TriBeCa Productions, Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive progra ...

. World distribution rights were acquired by

Magnolia Pictures Magnolia Pictures is an American film distributor. It is a subsidiary of Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner's 2929 Entertainment. Magnolia was formed in 2001 by Bill Banowsky and Eamonn Bowles, and specializes in both foreign and independent films. Mag ...

prior to the Tribeca premiere.

Feature film adaptation

On April 12, 2018,

Alfonso Gomez-Rejon Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (sometimes Alfonso Gómez-Rejón; born November 6, 1972, in Laredo, Texas) is an American film and television director. His television program credits include ''Hunters'', '' Glee'' and ''American Horror Story''. He was nomi ...

is set to direct the feature film adaptation of ''Limelight,'' with

Nicholas Pileggi Nicholas Pileggi (, ; born February 22, 1933) is an American author, producer and screenwriter. He wrote the non-fiction book '' Wiseguy'' and co-wrote the screenplay for ''Goodfellas'', its 1990 film adaptation, for which he received a nominati ...

and JJ Sacha writing the script, Jen Gatien & Christopher Donnelly will produce the film and

Amazon Studios Amazon Studios is an American television and film producer and distributor that is a subsidiary of Amazon. It specializes in developing television series and distributing and producing films. It was started in late 2010. Content is distributed th ...

will distribute the film adaptation.

References

External links

* * * * * 2011 films American documentary films Documentary films about businesspeople Films about drugs Documentary films about drugs Cultural history of New York City Nightlife 2011 documentary films Club Kids Nightlife in New York City Films shot in New York City Documentary films about New York City Films directed by Billy Corben 2010s English-language films 2010s American films {{bio-documentary-film-stub