Director-writer Elijah Bynum’s Magazine Dreams premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Up-and-coming star Jonathan Majors plays amateur bodybuilder Killian Maddox, who sacrificed his mental and physical health for the dream of superstardom. Majors received a standing ovation for his intense performance, followed by a Q&A with the actor.

The audience wasn’t the only one captivated by Majors. The star has received praise from many critics and media outlets. Many reviews stated that the film has shades of Taxi Driver and Joker, and social and political themes such as toxic masculinity and misogyny were masterfully executed in the movie.

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The official synopsis for Magazine Dreams presents the story as “Killian Maddox lives with his ailing veteran grandfather, obsessively working out between court-mandated therapy appointments and part-time shifts at a grocery store where he harbors a crush on a friendly cashier. Though Killian’s struggles to read social cues and maintain control of his volatile temper amplify his sense of disconnection amid a hostile world, nothing deters him from his fiercely protected dream of bodybuilding superstardom, not even the doctors who warn that he’s causing permanent damage to his body with his quest”.

‘I’ve Seen This Guy, I’ve Been This Guy,’ Says Majors

     United Artists Releasing

After the screening, the director and actors answered questions. Young director Elijah Bynum said that he wrote Killian with Jonathan Majors in his mind.

While speaking on his role, Majors said, “This guy is real. I’ve seen this guy, you’ve seen this guy, I’ve been this guy,” and talked about the bodybuilding process and the culture. In an interview with Deadline during the day, the actor said that the film speaks about a minority in society, and he sees himself as one of them.

‘‘Killian’s character was very much a character in search of a story. There was a brief period of time when I thought I should try to get back into shape, so I started going to the gym. And there was this guy I would see at the gym, who was clearly a bodybuilder and had this real intensity about him. He seemed to be in quite a bit of physical and spiritual and emotional pain, because of this intensity. And myself and everyone at the gym sort of just looked the other way and pretended he wasn’t there. I thought, what a peculiar way to move through the world, where you’re both feared and ignored at the same time. He seemed to be someone with a very fragile and delicate soul behind this armor of muscle.’’

Besides Majors, Magazine Dreams stars Haley Bennett, Harriet Sansom Harris, and Taylour Paige. NEON and Sony are among the potential buyers of the critically acclaimed film.

‘‘It really speaks about a minority that walks around us, all the time. A group of people that are marginalized, mentally and socially in their interpersonal interactions, in their day to day as they move amongst us every day. I consider myself one of those individuals. Man, look, it’s, it’s so interesting talking to you. I’m driving into Sundance, and drove in from New York City for this. There were towns along the way where, when I got out, I wasn’t viewed as Jonathan Majors as much as I was Killian Maddox.’’