ASPHALT CITY (2023): Sean Penn and Tye Sheridan Starrer BLACK FLIES Changes its Title and Positions a Vertical Release

Black Flies Changes its Title To Asphalt City with Upcoming Release Date

Vertical Entertainment and Roadside Attractions have positioned their upcoming prestige picture formerly known as Black Flies with a new title, Asphalt City.

A new drama about EMT workers starring Sean Penn and Tye Sheridan has set a release date of March 29th and will be in theaters only. The film played at the Cannes Film Festival under the confusing title, Black Flies, and is now being set to come out under the name, Asphalt City. Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire has directed the controversial movie which has been said by film critics to be quite gritty and ultra realistic although also a bit stylistic in terms of its presentation of the heavy themes the movie takes on.

Tye Sheridan of The Card Counter fame takes on the role of a paramedic named Ollie who gets a first hand look at the harsh realities of being a pandemic in New York City when he teams up with Oscar winner Sean Penn’s experienced EMT character, Gene. The 911 calls the pair take on start to have devastating effects on the characters at hand in this film about the chaotic nature of the job of being an EMT. Both characters’ lives will never be the same after the events of this new picture.

Michael C. Pitt, Katherine Waterston and former boxing sensation, Mike Tyson, also take on supporting roles in the forthcoming film which is now being called Asphalt City. Perhaps, the name change comes with the hopes that the mediocre reviews for the movie will be forgotten as a result of the title switch. The movie only currently stands with a 47% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. But, with heavy hitters like Sheridan and the always phenomenal Penn, it’s likely that the movie could find an appreciative audience, especially with a new title.

Vertical Entertainment is no stranger to putting out powerful films. Last year, they released the acclaimed gem, Miranda’s Victim which didn’t get as big a theatrical release as it could have received. Perhaps, with the studios’ theatrical exhibition of Asphalt City, the movie will get the exposure it needs to put its great stars, Penn and Sheridan, back in the spotlight.

Sean Penn’s previous 2021 picture, Flag Day, was similar in vein to Asphalt City. The former movie was a powerful film about a father who robbed banks to win back the love of his daughter. The movie somehow failed to ignite at the box-office being that it was released during the pandemic when adults mostly stayed home from movie theaters. Also, Tye Sheridan’s terrific 2021 film, The Card Counter, was an adult-themed movie that didn’t quite hit the bullseye from a financial standpoint due to the nature of the mature themes it presented at a time when many adults simply weren’t going to the movies for safety reasons.

Asphalt City, from Vertical and Roadside Attractions is a new beginning for Black Flies and should stand on its own merits as a powerful piece of film-making given the heavy themes it presents.

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