''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 most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

club king Peter 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,

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 nam ...

, 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 C ...

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

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, 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 Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as ...

(who previously directed the film ''

Cocaine Cowboys ''Cocaine Cowboys'' is a 2006 documentary film directed by Billy Corben, and produced by Alfred Spellman and Billy Corben through their Miami-based media studio Rakontur. The film explores the rise of cocaine dealer Jon Roberts, described by pros ...

''), the film documents the rise and fall of Gatien and his nightclub empire.

Featured interviews

* Peter Gatien * Michael Alig *

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 mayo ...

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. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was ...

. 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 2929 Entertainment, LLC. is an American integrated media and entertainment company co-founded by billionaire entrepreneur ...

prior to the Tribeca premiere.

Feature film adaptation

On April 12, 2018, Alfonso Gomez-Rejon is set to direct the feature film adaptation of ''Limelight,'' with Nicholas Pileggi 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 t ...

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