FREE Screening in Kansas City

It's been a while since there has been any news relating to our movie. It's still out there on DVD, and available to rent via Netflix. Meanwhile, Shaun and I are still working on our next film (after a few "next" films that haven't come to fruition or have been put on the back burner, we finally have a project in the works that we think will actually get made. It's very funny/scary/intense, and we'll have more details about that once there is actual news to report.)

But as far as Living In Missouri news: The Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee has included LIM as one of seven indie films to be screened as part of the KC Fringe Festival.

Here are the details:

SUNDAY, JULY 28 - 5:00 PM

Stanley H. Durwood Film Vault
Central Library - 14 W. 10th St.

ADMISSION FREE

(As indicated on the KC Fringe website, the film is "MA", meaning "Mature Audiences." This is because of some occasional profane language, as well as some mildly "Adult Situations.")

So, for anyone looking to see it on a big screen, this might be your last chance, at least for a while. And for those of you who are interested, the film is still for sale via Film Threat's website for $10, while eBay currently has it for $1.99 (plus $6 shipping).

$9.99!

Okay, it's that time of the year, people are buying each other presents, and it looks like the Film Threat Store has a massive DVD sale, offering all of their titles, including Living In Missouri, for the low, low price of 9 dollars and 99 cents. Go here to buy it.

BUY OUR LAST COPY at AMAZON!!!

So I checked our Amazon page (hoping to see the return of some of their unintentionally hilarious "similar items") and what do I find? This:

Only 1 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

I don't know how many they sold, but apparently they only have ONE COPY left. ONE COPY! Somebody out there, buy it so I can see what happens when they sell out.

For Real, This Time: The DVD is available!

Despite all the delays, the DVD is officially out and available now. I have mine, which I received last week from the Film Threat store. And Amazon and Barnes & Noble both have copies now, so any others that still have it listed as "on backorder" should quickly follow suit. (Netflix will have it soon too, for those who are curious but don't want to purchase.)

There is a LOT of bonus material on this thing, much of which I haven't even seen yet. It will take ME a while to wade through it all, so I find it hard to imagine who among the general population will actually be interested in all of it. The phenomenon of the "Special Edition DVD" has meant basically meant that I get very excited about all the Bonus Features on the DVDs of my favorite movies, but it's rare that I actually get around to watching most of them.

As promised, here is a list of movies I WISH that Amazon would include in their "similar items" listings (which, incidentally, have once again vanished from our movie's page):


DONNIE DARKO-- this film doesn't really have too many similarities to our film, admittedly. But it does have one BIG connection in that it also features a terrific performance by Holmes Osborne as Eddie Darko (Donnie Darko's dad). Holmes plays Uncle Roy in our film, and it is worth checking out for his characterization alone....


SIDEWAYS-- another dark and funny comedy about two friends whose lives are spinning out of control. Plus Paul Giamatti sports a similar beard to the one I have in the film....


CHUCK & BUCK-- Variety mentioned this film when reviewing ours, which I was very happy about. I think it's a wonderful movie, and it has a similarly bleak and awkward tension from start to finish. The first time I saw this film, I knew almost nothing about the storyline, and there is moment in the first half hour that contains one of the most surprising developments I've ever seen in a movie.


AMERICAN JOB-- Chris Smith directed the terrific documentary American Movie, and I happened to catch this earlier feature of his on late night television in Great Britain some years back. I assumed it was also a documentary, and was convinced it WAS one for the first ten or twenty minutes, until I suddently realized that there was NO WAY they could have had so many cameras set up to capture everywhere the main character was going (out of his car, into a building, into an office-- they were ready for him anywhere.) The slow realization that this was a scripted film with actors was both disorienting and exciting, as the film is so painfully real and completely convincing in its portrait of an awkward young man shuffling from job to job in a haze of dissatisfaction and gloom. It is one of the best films I've ever seen, and it is a crime that it isn't available on DVD. (Only on VHS from the website at Americanmovie.com)


MODERN ROMANCE-- Albert Brooks has written and directed some of the Greatest Films Ever Made, and this one might be his finest achievement. Yet it remains his only film to never be released on DVD. Stanley Kubrick loved it, and went so far as to call Brooks personally to ask him how he did it, saying he had wanted to make a film like this for years. In a just world, there would be a Criterion DVD release featuring audio commentary by Brooks and his writing partner, Monica Johnson. In the meantime, it is only available on VHS.


THE OFFICE (UK version) -- This BBC phenomenon is a cult sensation in the US and is one of the great comedies of all time. 12 episodes and a two-part finale are all available in one DVD box set, and if you haven't seen this yet, rush out and buy it immediately.

Other titles I wish our film was linked to? Election (one of the best films of the past ten years, featuring Holmes Osborne in a small role), Husbands & Wives, Of Mice & Men (Sinise/Malkovich version), Arrested Development (just because it might be the best thing EVER), Wonderland (Michael Winterbottom film), and Shampoo. I guess this list has sort of evolved into a list of some of my favorite things rather than "items" which might be" similar." Oh well. Any of these is closer to our movie than Girls Gone Wild: Endless Spring Break Volume One...

Sigh....

It's hard to know what to think. Almost a month has passed since our initial "release date." It has been 10 days since our second "release date." And still: the DVD is MIA.


I ordered one myself, on July 26th. That order is still "pending" and has not shipped. Others have e-mailed me with similar complaints. Those who attempt to order the film via the numerous retailers like Amazon and B&N will find it is on "backorder," meaning it will take 3 to 5 weeks to arrive. (The truth is, they don't have any copies in their warehouses, and they provide the "3 to 5 weeks" timeframe armed with nothing but blind hope. If, for whatever reason, they still don't have the DVDs by then, they will simply add another 3 to 5 weeks to the delay and continue to keep their fingers crossed....)

So what does all this mean? The good news is that the DVD will be available soon, for real. The only disapointing part is that most of the press coverage that we have received, such as full write-ups in the St. Louis Post-Dipatch and Kansas City Star, will be long forgotten by the time the DVD is actually available. To those who are frustrated, I offer my apologies. These things happen, and hopefully you will feel that it was worth the wait.

In the meantime, the good news is that Amazon has resumed their comically inept "Similar Items" listing for Living In Missouri. The latest additions:


JERKBEAST: okay, so this one is a Film Threat DVD, so at least there is SOME logic to it. I know next to nothing about this film, but I'm intrigued. Here, visit their website: www.jerkbeast.com


GIRLS GONE WILD: ENDLESS SPRING BREAK VOLUME 1: I give up. I have no earthly idea how video footage of drunken college girls on spring break is in any way similar to a 90 minute film about two best friends who have grown apart. Here is the official product description:

"Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the beach, the hottest Girls Gone Wild action continues, with The Best Of Endless Spring Break Volume 1! It's what everyone has come to love from Spring Break - the wildest parties, the hottest nightlife, and the sexiest young coeds out there.

"Whether they're showing it all off on the sand, or getting wild in the clubs, the girls don't get any sexier than they do on Spring Break. Watch all the uncensored action, raw, real, and uncut!"

In our film, there is really only one character who comes close to "going wild" and he doesn't do it by lifting up his shirt:



BEYOND DESIRE: Spanish period drama set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War, so this one is a natural choice. In fact, I suspect that they ripped us off. The story of Elvira, Julio, and Pablo is practically a mirror image of the torrid love triangle formed by Amy, Ryan and Todd....


Finally, there is HEMINGWAY, the 1988 television mini-series starring Stacy Keach. I guess they must have thought the cover art looked kind of close.


For my next post, I think I'll suggest a list of films I wish they would include in their list of similar or related movies. (Hopefully I'll have my DVD by then...)

NOW AVAILABLE!

The wait is over! Living In Missouri is now available on DVD. You can buy it right here.

Plus, you can read an interview with director Shaun Peterson at the Film Threat website.

Of course, it still appears to be on "backorder" at all the major e-tailers like Amazon and BN.com. I'm guessing that will change over the course of the next week, as the discs start showing up in their warehouses. In any case, it's better to just order it from the Film Threat store.

On day of release, Amazon featured a list of "Similar Items" on DVD. It's a fascinating bunch of films, and based on the available descriptions, none of them are in ANY way similar to Living In Missouri....


Die Todesgöttin des Liebescamps-- known in the US as Love Camp or Divine Emanuelle, this is described by one user on IMDB as "Hair in a cult prison camp-- one of those hippie/"free love"-type films that were big in the early 1970's (complete with some truly insipid musical numbers) except that it was made in 1980 and was also obviously influenced by the very unpleasant series of Nazi prison camp movies that were big in the mid-to-late 70's."


The Stone Raft - "The Spanish peninsula tears away from the rest of continental Europe and is propelled like a huge stone raft toward a catastrophic collision."


Mardi Gras Massacre - "Police try to capture someone who is committing ritual murders of women during Mardi Gras in New Orleans."


The Stairway To The Distant Past - "The unlucky private detective, Mike Hama, again treads the gray streets of Yokohama in this sequel to The Most Terrible Time in My Life. The adventure begins in Maiku Hama's office, located above a run-down cinema that is so desperate for cash, they charge admission to Hama's potential clients. For this case, the clumsy and nattily dressed detective begins investigating the true identity of the enigmatic crimelord of the waterfront, the White Man. He must also deal with the sudden reappearance of his estranged mother who abandoned him and his sister many years before. She works as a stripper and bills herself as Dynamite Sexy Lily. "


Mimino - "In this outrageous cult comedy, Valiko Mizandari – nicknamed "Mimino" (the falcon) – services small villages in the mountains of Georgia with his helicopter. The pilot is loved by everyone and dreams of piloting a large international airlines aircraft, so he leaves for Moscow, only to find his dream more complicated than he could have imagined. Filled with charming local color, warm and humorous characters, and brilliant acting, this offbeat gem is bound to tickle your funny bone!"


No Witness - "A recently indicted senator hires a professional hit man to rid him of an underage girl who's obsessed with becoming his wife." Featuring Corey Feldman.


I Exist - "Gay people exist in Armenia, Syria, Iran, Egypt and Sudan too. They are Christians, Muslims and Jews, belonging to and rejected by their own cultures. In this series of interview we learn a bit about their lives and hear a few critiques of western media and its oversimplified, often negative depictions of these peoples and cultures. "


Different - "The German industrial music scene has produced some highly influential music over the years. Bands such as Nine Inch Nails and Skinny Puppy undoubtably owe a sizeable debt to trailblazers such as Einsturzende Neubauten and DAF. Different aims to shine a light on some of the bands who have come to the forefront of Germany's industrial scene at the beginning of the 21st century. Seventeen live tracks are featured, all coming from bands signed to labels affiliated with the COP organization."



Refuge of Fear - (UK video title: Survivors of the Last Race) "Time... The not too distant future. Place... The USA. Problem... Nuclear war. Effect... A society with no rules."

Of course, the very next day, Amazon's list of "similar items" vanished. They now say they can find "no similar items" in any category. Honestly, I have no idea what their system is for determining this stuff, maybe once more people start buying it, some kind of pattern will emerge. Hopefully, over time, a more accurate list of related items will be featured. Other stores like Netflix and Tower Records list films like Donnie Darko and Election, which aren't exactly "similar" but at least they also feature the wonderful Holmes Osborne ("Eddie Darko"), who plays "Uncle Roy" in our film....

NEW RELEASE DATE: JULY 26

Don't go lining up at your local retailer for some sort of midnight release party Monday evening, because it ain't gonna happen. That's right folks: there has been a DELAY.

We just received word from Film Threat that there was a problem at the DVD replication facility, and the short version is that the discs just won't be ready by Tuesday. They'll probably be ready in time for the following Tuesday, but they've pushed the release back two weeks just to be safe.

So July 26th it is. Oh well. At least it's still a July release. I had planned to post a little something about how we were set to come out on the same day as last year's Oscar-winner for Best Picture, and how perhaps that was good luck for our film. I haven't even looked yet to see what else comes out on the 26th....

The Columbia Daily Tribune has an article about the DVD. And Joe Williams, critic for the Post-Dispatch, ran a nice capsule review in his round-up of new releases:

Living in Missouri *** (NR: 1:30): Directed by Shaun Peterson, a 1993 Wentzville High grad, this bittersweet comedy stars writer and co-producer Connor Ratliff as an unhappy dad in mid-Missouri who neglects his wife (Christina Puzzo) to go to movies with sad-sack pal (Ian McConnel). Like a Jefferson City "Jules and Jim" (another love triangle new on DVD), it turns a friendship between perpetual adolescents into a bittersweet parable about growing up. (www.livinginmissouri.com) (Joe Williams)