Like we've said before, The Canyons appears to be a disaster. Directed by the man who gave us one of the seminal films of the last 50 years with Taxi Driver, Paul Schrader, and penned by satirical writer of yuppie melodrama turned Twitter-bully, Bret Easton Ellis, word on the film has been anything but hopeful. And with the slew of ridiculous promotional trailers popping up in every genre, little has been left for desire with this one.

After its rejection from this year's Sundance Film Festival, sources at The Hollywood Reporter now say that the film has been denied entry into March's South by Southwest Festival as well. The issue apparently rests in the fact that the film suffers from "quality issues," a festival insider saying that The Canyons has "an ugliness and deadness to it." Well, there you have it. I mean honestly, that was obvious from last week's clip that plays more like a poorly-acted porn set-up than a feature teaser of any kind. But Schrader seems to think everything's fine. His career has taken a turn for the worst over the past two decades and either he's just become very delusional or genuinely believes in the film and maybe everyone else just doesn't "get it." He's what he took to Facebook to let people know:

After the NYT Mag piece, many have asked when the film will be shown. It's going to be a few months. The intense reactions to Liz and Dick and the Times Mag article have made us realize that there will be an immediate blowback once The Canyons is publically screened--for good and ill. That's the nature of anything involving Lindsay (plus BEE and JD, who also elicit visceral reactions). Therefore, when the film is shown it should also be available VOD and limited theatrical. That way the curious can see the film for themselves. I am told it takes 3-4 months to organize a proper VOD release. After Sundance we'll screen the film for multi-platform distributors and set the process in motion. In a way it's good we're not at Sundance. We weren't prepared, we weren't organized. Films enter festivals to heighten their profile. The Canyons doesn't need to do that. We need to organize multi-platform distribution. This is not a dodge, it's common sense. The film is very good. I have no qualms about that. Paul S.

Okay Paul, whatever you say. I want to believe you, truly, but you're making it a little hard for us.