Paul Schrader, acclaimed writer of "Taxi Driver", bet on the power of social media to fund his new picture, "The Canyons." The film's production budget was raised primarily through Kickstarter, leading Schrader to cut corners and pay his actors just $100 per day. "Everything I did on this film was unlike what I've done before," said Schrader. "It was conceived, financed, cast, promoted, and now distributed through social media."

Lindsay Lohan, the lead actress, was unable to attend the premiere as she was finishing her latest stint in rehab.  Schrader had reservations casting Lohan, but he believed a revival in LiLo's career would translate into box office success. "I said to her, 'If you can't take a chance with your own money, when can you take a chance?' If she gets arrested again, we lose our money. Normally if you have insurance, the insurance covers the damage, but insurance for Lindsay would be far in excess of our budget."

These weren't the only chances Schrader was willing to take; he also cast porn star James Deen as the lead in his film, spurring further controversy. According to Schrader, "James got involved because when Bret [Easton Ellis] was writing the script he tweeted 'the character reminds me of porn star James Deen,' and James tweeted back 'I can't wait to read it,' so the two of them had lunch and he promised James I'd give him a screen test." Schrader was pleasantly surprised with Deen's performance and decided to bring him on board.

"I love that it was low budget, so no one was hiding in their trailer," said Nolan Funk ("Glee"), who completes the film's love triangle. Funk plays a shy and wholesome young man who discovers that the girl he's in love with is a swinger. "The first scene that we shot I was in a blue thong, if that gives you a landscape of how shooting it was," said Funk. "To me, the script is a lot more interesting than the tabloid of it all."

Is Funk right? Decide for yourself. "The Canyons" opens in theaters, VOD, and iTunes on August 2nd.

Check out the trailer of the film!

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0hSzMVVKC8[/youtube]