"Humboldt County" Directors' Blog

I have come so far....or have I?

2009-04-10T19:11:00.000-07:00

So I'm at home in St. Louis for a few days before heading to New York and my mom just brought out a very old piece of writing of mine. It may, in fact, be my first story. And I think it's rather awesome. It's got a Charlie Kaufman-esqueness to it, if I do say so myself. If anyone would like to option it, you can contact me via this blog. Here it is, exactly as I wrote it so many years ago (typos and all):

THE RITEING STORY

Whon day a boy was riteing a story about monsters.
He made a mistake so he went to get a eraser.
When he came back the monsters wher a live
They grabed him under the desk.
And tered his face off.
And then a nother boy made a story about a hero.
And he made a mistake so he went to get a eraser.
When he came back the hero was alive and he cilled the boy.
And the monsters. Then the hero wnt out side.
Then evry body screamed and went to a nother planet.

THE END

BY DANIEL AaRON JACOBS

YEAR 1986

Age 7 ½

Four people in family

"Humboldt County" available on iTunes!!!

2009-04-06T10:55:00.001-07:00

Hey guys,

Soon, Darren and I will be heading to NYC to do a little script research on the next project. Exciting. Every time I go to New York, I feel life flow through me. Not only will it be a blast, but it will also be incredibly helpful to be in the city in which our script takes place. I remember every time we would go up to Humboldt while we were writing that script, I would come back filled with hundreds of little ideas to improve the story. Something about being immersed in a place does that to you and in New York, it's easy to get immersed.

And in Humboldt news, the film is finally available for rent and purchase on iTunes!!! Click HERE
So go on, buy or rent and also rate it highly!!!!

Thanks,
d&D

Turning Thirty

2009-03-10T12:36:00.000-07:00

Today I turn 30 years old.

Wow. It's a shocking number for a lot of reasons. My mother was 30 when I was born, for one. And I am nowhere near having a child. So there's that. Darren and I had always said we would make a film before we turned 30 and we achieved that goal. But on the negative side, we were lamenting today that were were on set for "Humboldt County," shooting our first feature, back in October of 2006. Yikes. That's way too long to not be shooting, I think. Though, in looking back, it's not like we've been slacking off. It was simply that releasing an independent film takes a lot of time and it delayed our work on our next feature. And now our next feature script is simply taking time to take shape. Sigh. I would have liked to have made another feature by now to be sure. We've always admired blue-collar filmmakers like Woody Allen and Sydney Lumet more than the current crop of filming superstars like P.T. Anderson or David Fincher because no matter what, Woody and Sydney made film after film after film.

Perhaps Darren and I aren't quick enough writers, I don't know. Maybe we'll get quicker as we gain more experience, I don't know. But a year ago, at this time, we were gearing up to premiere "Humboldt County" to the world at SXSW 2008. It was a heady time. And, looking back, things could hardly have gone better for us from there. We sold the film to Magnolia, released it theatrically and now appear to be building a sizable audience on DVD. Still, sometimes I feel like an aging rockstar reveling in past hits. I feel much more comfortable focusing on what's next. And what's next for me is my thirties, and hopefully, many more films.

Writing and Moving...

2009-03-03T22:47:00.001-08:00

When some of my friends move, they say "I bet it won't be as bad this time." Not me. Every time I move, my inner monologue goes something like this:

"This is going to suck. It's going to suck harder than I can even imagine. Prepare yourself, Darren, for complete suckage. Prepare yourself and maybe it will not suck as hard."

And yet no matter how much I prepare myself for said suckage, I inevitably reach a moment -- where I'm sweaty and my arms are sore and there's still WAY more stuff that needs to be moved than has already been moved -- and the whole escapade has fully exceeded my suck-expectations and made me regret moving. I always end up deciding that I will never move again, and I condemn my idiot self for not adequately preparing for this level of sucky-ness.

And that, my dear LCLs, is the writing process. Or, at least, the writing process as it pertains to Danny and me. You see, we always go into a script (or even a rewrite within a particular script) trying to be fully prepared -- it's going to suck, it's going to be so hard, we're going to plunge into the depths of despair and depression -- and then we inevitably fall DEEPER into depression and reach GREATER depths of despair than we ever imagined.

We've always (so far at least) somehow maneuvered our way through the dark times, but we're constantly overwhelmed with the fear that each new challenge will be the one that finally bests us.

And I think, frankly, that that's how it's always going to be. There might even be some small comfort in that. Because if a script (or a move) was somehow less challenging than I thought it was going to be, it would probably mean that I was coasting, or at least that I'm not trying to get better. And if I'm not trying to get better, then I'm probably just getting worse. So I think I've finally come to a place of being OK with the roller coaster, a place of self-awareness that these dark times are an important (and positive) part of my process.

Unfortunately, being OK and self-aware doesn't mean I forgive myself for not preparing more for these damn dark TIMES.

-darren

p.s. I'm thinking of moving. I bet it won't be as bad this time.

An Open Letter to Mr. Tom Charity of CNN....

2009-02-27T12:05:00.001-08:00

Dear Tom Charity,

My name is Danny Jacobs and I am one of the writer/directors of “Humboldt County” – a film you recently reviewed over at CNN.com. I am writing today because I recently read your article, “Whys some films go straight to DVD” and I felt compelled to make a few things clear.

First of all, “Humboldt County” opened on significantly more than nine screens, as you mention in your article. In fact, the film opened in over fifteen major cities including New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland and Austin. When I first read that error, I was dismayed that such an estimable publication such as CNN would not have done some simple fact checks, even on a piece written for the entertainment section. The more I read of the article, however, the more I realized that my problem with your work was far more systemic than a simple factual discrepancy.

In order to explain this problem, let me go back a bit. When Darren and I made “Humboldt County,” we knew we were making a film with a 70s sensibility. We knew we were making a film that worked, consciously, against the quick cut, fast paced nature of plots in many modern movies. And we did so with the fervent hope that everything everyone was saying about modern audiences was untrue. We didn’t believe that they were ADD riddled media schizophrenics who couldn't hold their attention on something for longer than thirty seconds. We believed that the content being provided to audiences had changed, but that audiences themselves had not. In the absence of full characters and fleshed out worlds, of course attention wanders. But if the product is good, our hope was that audiences would follow. And the funny thing is, we were right. The audiences that have seen the film have, more or less, really enjoyed it. Of course, for some, the pacing was too slow and narrative wasn't their style, but the vast majority was able to fall into the universe on screen.

What we didn't expect was a fundamental shift that had occurred in the world of the nation's film critics that you, unfortunately, have exemplified in your article of February, 27th 2009. And that is that a growing number of today’s film critics are not the purveyors of the medium they once were. The number of excellent critics that truly contribute, in the vein of Pauline Kael, to the discussion of film in this country is dwindling. Sadly, the true ADD riddled, mass media consuming, attention span deficient movie watchers are critics like you.

I say this after reading your “review.” I put that word in quotations because, in reality, it is nothing more than a plot summary told with a dollop of sarcasm. The only real comment you provide about the film is that you were “underwhelmed” and “nothing much happens -- slowly.” Now, let me be clear, my issue with your review is not at all that you disliked the film. “Humboldt County,” though generally liked by critics across the country, has certainly received its share of bad reviews (some much more critical than yours) and every critic has every right to dislike a film. Your “review,” however, stood out for it’s ironic, detached, sarcastic and ultimately, empty tone. And that is the true tragedy of film criticism today. Your readership doesn’t ask that you like every film. What it asks of critics, however, is that no matter how you felt, explain yourselves. Develop arguments, provide insights and give the regular moviegoer a thesis of some depth and intelligence. Speaking as a moviegoer and not a filmmaker, I can tell you that we are screaming for that, hoping fervently that like our new president, we could be graced with film critics that do not treat us like children and give audiences the respect they deserve.

The real irony of your article, Mr. Charity, is that you chose to review three films on DVD to avoid having to review the new Jonas Brothers film and ended up reviewing the DVD films in the same superficially pithy way one might view a concert picture about three teenyboppers in 3D - with a contempt for the audience and a lack of trust that the audience can handle an actual perspective.

Talk to us like adults, Mr. Charity. We can handle it. I promise.

Yours,
Danny Jacobs
Writer/director “Humboldt County”

P.S. To review Mr. Charity's cnn.com piece, click HERE.

Confessions of a filmaholic.

2009-02-26T17:19:00.000-08:00

This afternoon, I went to the movie theater. I saw "Confessions of a Shopaholic." By myself. And I had a ton of fun - not because the movie was particularly amazing (it wasn't) but because I was in a movie theater. You see, I love going to movies. It almost doesn't matter which one as long as I'm sitting there, Diet Coke in hand, watching pictures dance across the screen. In that space, I'm golden. My "film friends" wonder how it is I am able to sit through the likes of "Friday the 13th" or "Princess Diaries" and they call me disparaging names when I tell them that I actually enjoyed myself. Still, I know the truth - that when I'm sitting there, watching a film, and feeling the emotions of the audience bouncing back against the screen, I feel alive. I feel a part of a community. It's the closest thing I can think of to what I imagine it was like thousands of years ago when our ancestors sat around the campfire and told each other stories. The stories weren't always good and they didn't always move the listeners, but they always brought the community together for a shared experience. And that's why I'll never stop going to the theater, no matter what dreg is put up on the screen before me.

In other news, "Humboldt County" has moved up a notch in the instant movies program on Netflix! Last week, we clocked in at #6. This week, we moved ahead of "Superbad" and stole its spot at #5. Come on, LCLs, let's keep the rise going!

My name is Danny. And I'm a filmaholic.

Top 10 Netflix Movie!

2009-02-20T22:27:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday Night LCLs!!

Yes. I'm at home on a Friday night. Yes, I'm a loser.

But onto more important matters. First of all, Darren and I have been hard at work on our next script, tentatively titled New York Challenge. Yes, we know it's not an amazing title. Yes, we know that we're not very good at creating titles. Still, it seems like the right title for the material. Writing again, as we are, is both amazing and terrible. Though, recently, we've completed the first draft of the script that we don't completely despise - which, for us, is quite the step. Still, there is a great distance between "despise" and "enjoy." Though, in the back of my mind, like a tiny annoying little nat, the fear exists that once we do get this script into fighting shape, there won't be an economy anymore. So there's that.

In "Humboldt County" news, the tide is beginning to crest! I just got the following email from a friend, who uses Netflix. Names have been changed to protect the innocent, but the long and the short of it is that "Humboldt County" was the sixth highest rented Netlflix film on their instant movies program. We're ahead of some big films and it's exciting to hear that people are checking out the picture.

See below and in the meantime, I hope no one is home to read this tonight and that you are all doing far more exciting things than I.

Peace,
Danny

*******************************

Re: Humboldt County in the top 25 instant movies from Netflix

Danny,

Actually, you guys are #6 for last week on Netflix Instant Movies. Netflix has about 20,000 movies and shows available instantly online or on their Roku player which lets you play movies on your TV - Frankensense and I really like to use that since we often don't know what we want to watch until the last minute. We went ahead and got the Roku player for our TV for like $100 - not a bad idea if you all already use Netflix.

Humboldt also has 20,341 ratings and an average rating of 3.2 / 5 stars - not bad!

Anyway, the top 10 for last week was:
1) Penelope
2) 21
3) Heroes Season 3
4) Serenity
5) Superbad
6) Humboldt County
7) Ratatouille
8) 30 Rock Season 1
9) Next
10) The Office Season 1

I would list out the top 50 - there are some other impressive names that you are trouncing right now including Man on Wire and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, but I think you get the idea!

Take care,
Fuddy P. Duddy

A quickie...

2009-01-31T23:00:00.000-08:00

LCLs:

Stay tuned for some photographs of our LA premiere screening coming soon to a blog post near you!

In the meantime, take a gander at the first review of our incredible soundtrack here! We strongly encourage you all to check out the soundtrack, which is available NOW on iTunes via music supervisor Peymon Maskan's new label "Little Mountain".

Just search for Humboldt County on iTunes. We know you will not be disappointed.

Talk soon,
Darren

Harold & Kumar Vs Humboldt County

2009-01-25T15:02:00.000-08:00

A buddy of ours sent this photo to us from a Blockbuster store in Chicago. Notice that HK is fully stocked while HC is all rented out. Nice.

Humboldt County ONE - Harold and Kumar ZERO

Happy MLK, LCLs!

2009-01-19T11:36:00.001-08:00

As we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. day (well, not McCain, but the rest of us), it occurs to me that this is a time of renewal. The 4,731 hours of inauguration coverage are in full effect and the estimated number of attendees in Washington changes by the second. With all that chaos ongoing, I thought it a time to think and ponder....

On January 12th, 2009, we had a screening in LA of "Humboldt County" to commemorate the DVD release the following day. It was a lovely affair (Darren will upload photos as soon as he figures out how to use his wife's spankin' new camera). A lot of friends came out and people we've known in the industry for a long time. Most poignantly, our very Jewey mentor, Mr. Jake Kasdan (director of such notables as "Zero Effect", "Orange County" "TV Set" and "Dewey Cox") moderated the Q&A. Jake recounted the story of how we came to know him and how he became a flagship member in the "Danny & Darren Mentor Program." We got his phone number (how, I will not divulge) and left a message on his answering machine, in no-doubt ridiculous fashion. And the rest, as the ubiquitous "they" say, is history. Every 4-6 months Jake would take us out for a scrumptious meal at The House of Pies in Los Feliz and dispense drops of wisdom from his decidely large fountain of knowledge. So, it was with great pleasure, and a touch of surreality, that Jake moderated our Q&A after the screening.

The Q&A featured cast members Chris Messina and Madison Davenport as well as our composer, Izler (Like Madonna, he has but one name. Deal with it.) Fairuza Balk and Brad Dourif came to the screening beforehand for some press stuff, but sadly, neither of them could stay around after.

It had been a long time since I had seen the film up on the big screen and I stayed around for the first 10 minutes or so to watch. I kind of wanted to stay for the whole thing but instead, joined the cast and a few others for dinner. It occurred to me, though, that this was likely to be the last public screening of the film in the United States for quite some time. Because now, the film exists out in the world - on DVD everywhere. And speaking of, if you want to buy the DVD (which you can literally do anywhere) please buy it from our website. It's a better deal for us (and for you).

Lastly, Magnolia finally got the numbers back from the first 3-month Video on Demand window for "HC" and they were pretty darn good. The reason it takes so long for us to find out how many people watched the film on VOD is a long, sordid and frustrating tale but nonetheless - the numbers did come in and apparently, all across the country, people have been checking out the film. So many people, in fact, that Magnolia is bullish about our DVD prospects and has ordered 25,000 DVDs for the release.

How many of those DVDs get bought/rented remains to be seen. But as we near the final, homestretch of this fantastic run, we wanted to say "thank you" to all of you LCLs that have been there since the beginning. Keep checking this blog because we'll continue to update it (more regularly than we have, we promise) with "Humboldt County" news as well as progress reports on our next project.

Until then, enjoy your endless inauguration coverage and remember: Don't sit idly.
d&D

P.S. Whenever and wherever you rent or buy "Humboldt County" please rate it highly and write a positive review!

News! News! News!

2008-12-23T12:40:00.000-08:00

Hello LCLs,

I hope these few days between holidays is treating you well. So, several things on the agenda for today.

First: The "Humboldt County" DVD is coming out on January 13th, 2009

Not only will the DVD feature the film in all its widescreen glory, but there's gonna be a bunch of extras on the bad boy too: deleted scenes, the promo video Darren and I shot a while back, behind the scenes footage and a whole lot more. You can pre-order the DVD (and by the soundtrack) right now on our website. Or, if you'd rather be cheap you can put it on your Blockbuster and Netflix cues. The more people that put them in their pre-order cues, the more DVDs the companies will buy from us. But most importantly, you can tell everyone you know. Haven't bought that holiday present yet? Now's your chance, LCLs!

Second: to aid us in this endeavor, please go on imdb, rottentomatoes and metacritic and rate "Humboldt County" as high as possible so that people will be more interested in renting the film.

Third: We are pleased to announce that we made a "Top ten movies" list for 2008! Sure, it's the top ten "stoner" movies of the year, but who's counting? Check out the list HERE.

The list is interesting. First, I'm not sure what, exactly, a "stoner movie" is. Apparently, from the list, it's any movie that has marijuana in it. Which I find ridiculous. It's like people who love tomatoes making a "Tomato Movie Top Ten" list that just includes different movies with tomatoes in it. Okay, maybe that's not a bad idea. #1 has got to be "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" followed by...."Fried Green Tomatoes"? Hmmm. Maybe not. Plus how many movies from this year actually included a great deal of marijuana, anyway? My guess is we made the top ten...out of 15 or so possibilities. Look, I'm not poo-pooing the honor. I'm just sayin'....

Also, as you can probably guess, I got back from the film fest Estonia. It was a great time. You're not getting any pictures from me, though, as I forgot to charge my damn camera. Danny = dummy. Nonetheless, it was a grand time. The Estonians rock. They can drink with the best of them and most have a sarcastic, deadpan quality that I dug. Also, they're all blonde. Which was weird. The film played well to a crowd of about 500, though since English was probably the audience's second language, my feeling was that they didn't quite get all the nuances.

Did you like how I snuck "poo-poo" in this post? I did.

Happy New Year everyone,
d

It's been a while. How are you?

2008-11-25T15:53:00.000-08:00

Hello LCLS!

Sorry we've been such....assholes. Don't think we don't care about you. We do. We've just been....busy. I know, I know. Excuses, excuses. And they are excuses. I'll admit that. So. Moving on...

Thanks to everyone who has come out to the theater in Chicago so far! We're playing for the rest of the week so make sure you get all your friends out there in the next few days! And, for those of you wondering about other cities, keep checking the Magnolia website (www.magpictures.com). We're still playing a select few cities here and there. For instance, for one night only (Dec. 5) we'll be playing in Santa Barbara! And Darren will be there to do a Q&A. So if you're near or around the city then, come see the picture.

Also, I will not be attending because "Humboldt County" will be also playing at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in Estonia! They're flying me out for a few days in early December. If you know anyone in Estonia, tell them to get their ass over to the film fest. I've never been to Estonia before. I hope I don't get unwittingly involved in some Soviet satellite skirmish. Pray for me.

Finally, we've been getting a bunch of inquiries about when "HC" will be playing in LA. Well, it seems that Magnolia's interest in playing the film in our fair city has sadly wained. However, we're going to do a big, knockout, blowout screening at a theater in LA the week before the DVD drops (Jan. 13). So you will all be invited to that little shindig for suresies.

Peace.
d

Second City No More..

2008-11-19T15:13:00.000-08:00

LCLs:

I write to you now as a married man, but more on that in a later post. First things first, in the world of Humboldt County, for those of you who have not been keeping track, we have some openings in the weeks ahead, and given the incredibly competitive climate out there, we need your help in spreading awareness about these.

We are opening the film for a 1 week run in producer Captain Deadpan's hometown (and my college town) of CHICAGO, IL, at the Wilmette Theater this Friday, 11/21. That's not all. We're also opening in Taos, NM (11/21), Columbia, SC (11/26), and Santa Barbara, CA (12/5). As always, mucho info. is available over on our main page: www.humboldtcountymovie.com. Check it out!

-Darren

P.S. 1.5 weeks in, marriage seems pretty awesome.
P.P.S. Also in an upcoming post, a summary of one of the greatest moments of this entire filmmaking process thus far: the night we played our film in our hometown of St. Louis, MO, at the glorious Tivoli Theater in the Loop.

Coming Home...

2008-10-29T15:30:00.000-07:00

LCLs:

On Thursday, November 13, 2008, at 7 :00 PM, Humboldt County will play ONE NIGHT ONLY at the Tivoli Theater in St. Louis, MO, as we are the opening night film of the St. Louis International Film Festival. Tickets can be purchased here. This is significant for Danny and myself because we are both from the great city of St. Louis. Born and raised in West St. Louis County, we have seen many pictures at the Tivoli (it's in an incredible location on Delmar Blvd. in the Loop).

To return to our hometown (where we'll also be for my wedding) and show Humboldt County to a crowd of St. Louisans is a dream come true, and it is really the perfect way to cap our theatrical run (we will have a DVD release on January 13, more info. to come).

There will be a reception before the film at 5:30, as well as a party after at Mandarin in the Central West End. All info. about the festival can be found at its website: http://www.cinemastlouis.org/fest.html

We hope to see many of you there.

-Darren

Where in the World are Darren and Danny?

2008-10-23T11:32:00.000-07:00

LCLs:

First, we must apologize. We've been away from you for far too long. After we returned from our fantastical trip to NYC to open Humboldt County at the Sunshine theater, we again left town, this time for personal reasons. As you may or may not know, I am getting married to the lovely Renee Schuman this November. A few months back, Danny, who is also my best man, organized an incredible camping adventure for 15 of my closest friends on Catalina Island. Well, he was only getting warmed up. He had also planned (along with fellow groomsman Zack Kinney, and with the financial help of several more of my incredibly generous friends) a trip to Peru. Yes, we were headed to Peru for 9 days in order to hike to, and up, Machu Picchu. It was one of the greatest trips of our lives, and without a doubt the greatest physical challenge we've ever endured.

If/When you get married, I hope you have half the best man/maid of honor that I do. Not in terms of physical size, because Danny is already small, and someone half his size would be really, really tiny. But I mean half the best man in terms of quality of the friend. I only wish that I liked him.

Some photographic evidence of our journey:

We actually slept in these tents on our first night. Well, tried to sleep in the bitter bitter cold is a better way of putting it (although Danny slept fine, and for those of you who know Danny, this is no surprise: his superpower is that he ALWAYS sleeps fine). And yes, the next day we hiked directly for that snowy mountain...

Danny says, "what? This is it? Really?"

A bit more impressed at our highest point, Danny (who suffered from some intense altitude headaches) was convinced for hours after taking this photo that his name is Abra Salkantay.

This is me trying to convince everyone that the Incas used to play mountain baseball.

Digesting....

2008-10-09T20:21:00.000-07:00

Hello all! Sorry we've been MIA for the past few days. There's been a lot to digest. What a journey the past few weeks (let alone the past few years!) have been. We returned from New York after a successful opening weekend. The crowds were great and people really seemed to enjoy the film.

Darren and I have been spending this week hard at work on our next two projects, trying to get them into fighting shape as soon as humanly possible.

But rest assured, the journey of "Humboldt County" is not yet over. The film continues to open in new markets each week. Keep checking Magnolia's website: www.magpictures.com for playdates in your area. And we've still got some big openings in our future: Los Angeles, Chicago....

But we wanted to take yet another opportunity to thank all of you who read this blog and support the film. We could not have done it without you. Your passion and energy has sparked our own.

Keep on spreading the good word.

Yours humbly,
D&D

The Big Apple

2008-10-03T11:22:00.000-07:00

So last year, Darren and I lived in New York for three months while we worked on our next script (set in the city). We got a sublet in the Lower East Side (Norfolk and Rivington to be exact) and would often frequent the Sunshine Theater on Houston street when we needed a break from the awfullness and amazingness that is writing. Tonight, "Humboldt County" opens in that very theater. It really is one of our favorite theaters in the city so we're incredibly psyched.

Overall, it's been great to be back here in the greatest city in the world. It feels like home, though I've barely lived here. Someday. Hopefully someday soon.

In the meantime, Darren and I are doing our best to ignore the reviews (both positive and negative). The New York Times review came out today and was mostly positive, while the New York Post was mostly (okay, totally) negative. Reading these reviews is hard. When they are positive, it feels like someone is complimenting us. When they are negative, it feels like we are being shivved in the side with a knife. I have realized how frighteningly small is the psychic space between my concept of self and that of my film. But I guess when you devote the majority of your 20s to something, such an emotional divide (or lack of one) is inevitable.

In other news:

"Humboldt County" wins its first award! The film played at the Idaho International Film Festival last weekend and won the award for best narrative feature!! We eeked out the prize from another Magnolia film that I saw at the Provincetown Film Fest (and which won the award for best narrative feature at this year's Tribeca Film Festival): "Let The Right One In." It's a really great film and we're honored to have trounced it handily. :)

Finally, our soundtrack is finally available on Itunes!!! We're really proud of it and for everyone that has seen the film, you know what a great job our composer, Izler, and our music supervisor, Peymon, did. Just search for "Humboldt County" on Itunes and it should come up.

My only regret about coming to New York City is that in a few days I'll have to leave.

L,
d

It Ain't Over....Week TWO!

2008-10-02T00:16:00.001-07:00

LCLs:

First, good news:

Our opening week run was successful enough that Humboldt County will play a SECOND week in the following theaters:
Austin, TX: Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar
Portland, OR: Hollywood Theatre
Eureka, CA: Broadway
Arcata, CA: Minor 3
Santa Rosa, CA: Rialto Cinemas Lakeside
San Francisco, CA: Lumiere Theatre
Berkeley, CA: Shattuck Cinemas

That's right, we only lost the Garberville Theater in southern Humboldt (which was apparently always to be a 1 week run only) and the Varsity theater in Seattle, where despite an excellent promotional screening we just did not do very well. Don't worry, Seattle people, you can still see it at the Varsity on Thursday, 10/2, and if you miss it then it's always on VOD and the eventual DVD release in January.

So, for everyone who missed it in the above markets last weekend, you have a chance to see it again this weekend! Or for those of you who loved it, go see it again! Bring your friends! Let's keep it rolling!

AND NOW, ONTO NEW YORK AND EUGENE, OREGON.

Danny and I are leaving in about 8 hours for New York. We'll be at the Sunshine Cinema on 143 E. Houston for Q&As after the Friday and Saturday evening shows this weekend. We'll also be participating in a meet & greet on Friday starting at 5 pm at the B-Bar (4th & Bowery), 40 East 4th Street, hanging out before, during and after the screenings. Stop on by and say hello! Or tell your friends to come say hi! We'll have promotional materials to give away. Should be a good time.

We cannot thank you all enough for your hard work throughout this entire process, but as the title of this blog post indicated, it's not yet over! We still need people to spread the word. The theatrical marketplace is getting really really crowded, and thus our chances of sticking around are very small. The only chance we have is if word of mouth leads people to tell people to go see the movie.

This past week has consisted mainly of: recovering from the 2 week bonanza, working on our upcoming projects, and I even had the chance to catch a flick (check out Tell No One if you haven't already. A great little French thriller).

We'll have plenty of blog updates from NYC, so stay tuned.

-Darren

Exhale....

2008-09-29T11:04:00.000-07:00

What a ride.

The weekend went spectacularly. We saw a lot of old friends in San Francisco, and thoroughly enjoyed seeing the film in theaters. More pictures and details from the weekend are forthcoming. For now, we wanted to tell everyone that if they saw the film and liked it, please please please go to the following websites and vote, as well as recommend the film to others!

imdb
Metacritic
Rotten Tomatoes

Next up: NEW YORK CITY!!!!

On The Road XI: A Humboldt Thank You

2008-09-26T15:15:00.000-07:00

On The Road X.5: Our Poster Goes Up!!!

2008-09-25T01:42:00.000-07:00

This is a video of the manager at the Lumiere Theater in SF putting our poster in the thingy outside!!! EXCITING!!!

From the Road X: Portland memories...

2008-09-24T23:41:00.000-07:00

LCLs:
A quick story I forgot to relate. In Portland, Oregon, during our screening, Danny, Captain Deadpan and I ate at an Italian restaurant and were served by the greatest waitress of our lives. Seriously.

Her name is Kelly Thoen, and not only did she take NONE of the sarcastic, obnoxious guff that we three putzes tried to throw at her (she gave it right back to us), but she also gave us a FREE dessert (delicious Tiramisu), and most impressively, she told that she is training for a run.

Not just any run, mind you, but a run to Nicaragua. From Portland. You read it right. She's training right now so that she can run 30 miles a day, and make it there in 3 months! Once she arrives, she will get married. And it's all for charity. She is a better person than Danny, Jason and I put together and squared. Check out her website: www.twodollarsaday.info

That is all,
Darren

On The Road IX.5: More Stanford Pics and Memories!

2008-09-24T22:50:00.000-07:00

Ahoy from my alma-mater, Stanford University!!!!! What a blast it was to screen the film on campus. The memories flooded back. I walked around campus and found myself at Mem Aud (Memorial Auditorium). I stood on the stage, looking out over the huge space, and reminisced about the fact that 11 years earlier I had my first ever stage experience there. Then, I headed up to room 204 where I first discovered my love of improvisation as a freshman. Both spaces were absolutely essential to my discovery of theater and improv.

Then, I watched auditions for a student written musical/sensation called "Gaieties." It's a Stanford tradition and it was the first audition I ever went on in my life. Watching the nervous freshmen sing and perform scenes, I remember my audition so clearly and crisply and I marveled in retrospect at the immense changes in my life that that audition would yield.

It was fantastic to take a visit down memory lane. Thank you, Stanford!!!

This is Cubberly Auditorium where we had our screening on campus. Incidentally, it is also the place where I took "Introduction to International Relations" as a Freshman ELEVEN years ago!

Captain Deadpan and I took Darren to Zotts, a fantastic beer garden and a longstanding Stanford tradition.

More Zotts.

I bought course readers at the Stanford bookstore. I am a huge nerd.

From the Road IX: Stanford

2008-09-24T18:33:00.000-07:00

LCLs:

We want to remind you that we will be doing special Q&As for the Bay Area this weekend:

On Friday night, we will be at San Francisco's Lumiere Theatre, 1572 California St, for Q&As after the 7:15 and 9:30 showtimes.

And on Saturday, we will be doing Q&As after the 4:30 and 7:05 showtimes at Berkeley's Shattuck Cinemas, 2230 Shattuck Ave.

Last night, we screened in San Francisco, and though the theater was not quite full, it was another fantastic screening. I suppose it's possible that people actually despise the film, and they are simply lying when they come up to me afterwards to say they love it (and the insecure self-loathing part of me believes this to be the case), it really does appear that a great majority of audiences respond favorably to the film.

We're down to 1 last promotional screening, tonight at Danny and Captain Deadpan's alma mater, Stanford University (Cubberly auditorium).

And then that's it. Next stop, theatrical release on 9.26. Pardon my language, but holy shit.

-Darren

On The Road VIII.5 : San Fran and Berkeley photos!

2008-09-23T15:36:00.000-07:00

Hey LCLs!

Here are some photos from our time in San Fran and Berkeley!

Here Darren and I stand in front of the Lumiere theater (where the film premieres in SF).

In this photo, we plaster the walls of Berkeley, one poster at a time.

Here we're on the Berkeley campus and Darren tries to get the campus Democrats to come to our movie. I think it only fair to note that Darren did not approach the campus Republicans. Darren also supports tax cuts for the middle class.

In our attempt to find the film department at Berkeley, we stumbled upon a class in session. Here, Darren longs to return to an academic life.

As the credits roll, Darren and I take questions at our SF sneak preview.

See that paper in Captain Deadpan's hand? See that list? That's medical marijuana distribution centers, coffee houses and video stores in Berkeley. We visited every single one and let posters, postcards and matchbooks. It. Was. Exhausting.