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Chick Webb documentary - anyone seen it yet?

Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2014 11:41 pm
by Eyeball
Sounds good. Where is itr?

Re: Chick Webb documentary - anyone seen it yet?

Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 9:21 pm
by trev
It seems to have no distribution. I've been asking on their Facebook page if it will be available outside the US and had no response.

Re: Chick Webb documentary - anyone seen it yet?

Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 9:35 pm
by Eyeball
trev wrote:It seems to have no distribution. I've been asking on their Facebook page if it will be available outside the US and had no response.
Thx, Trev.

That's a shame.

Re: Chick Webb documentary - anyone seen it yet?

Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 9:48 pm
by lipi
I offered the guy to organize a venue in the SF Bay Area, and he went silent after one email exchange (about a year ago). :(

Re: Chick Webb documentary - anyone seen it yet?

Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 9:55 pm
by Eyeball
lipi wrote:I offered the guy to organize a venue in the SF Bay Area, and he went silent after one email exchange (about a year ago). :(
I guess he is looking for some money and some reward for his work. Have they shown the film in public yet?

And here we are in Black History Month.

I don't know anything about film distribution. Anyone anyone knows do? (Waller style speak.)

Re: Chick Webb documentary - anyone seen it yet?

Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 11:59 pm
by lipi
I think you're right. I got the impression that he lost interest when it turned out that I was thinking of an event geared at dancers and jazz musicians, rather than a fancy festival. (Incidentally, I was trying to get it playing during Black History Month. Just, you know, a year ago. Or was it two...? It's been a while!)

Someone told me it was shown somewhere, but I don't remember who told me this, and where it was. Maybe Mark Cantor or Michael Steinman? I know I talked to both of them about the film.

The truth is that believing this kind of film will result in money through the box office is sheer lunacy. The best it can do is be a portfolio that leads to future documentary gigs. Regardless, I was disappointed by his total silence. Not even a "sorry, that's not interesting to me after all".

Re: Chick Webb documentary - anyone seen it yet?

Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 6:43 pm
by trev
This is his production company, with details of the film, if anyone is wondering: http://floatingworldpictures.com/Site/T ... _King.html

Re: Chick Webb documentary - anyone seen it yet?

Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 9:09 pm
by Eyeball
lipi wrote:I think you're right. I got the impression that he lost interest when it turned out that I was thinking of an event geared at dancers and jazz musicians, rather than a fancy festival. (Incidentally, I was trying to get it playing during Black History Month. Just, you know, a year ago. Or was it two...? It's been a while!)

Someone told me it was shown somewhere, but I don't remember who told me this, and where it was. Maybe Mark Cantor or Michael Steinman? I know I talked to both of them about the film.

The truth is that believing this kind of film will result in money through the box office is sheer lunacy. The best it can do is be a portfolio that leads to future documentary gigs. Regardless, I was disappointed by his total silence. Not even a "sorry, that's not interesting to me after all".
I shot off emails to Michael and Mark and they said~

Michael had seen the FB page recently and saw a name he did not recognize had taken over the "lead role", he thinks. he saw a screening copy and then he has waited to see what is happening, which does not seem to be too much. He said he thought that the film was very well done and that the film makers had done everything they could to make it attractive to a larger audience. He sent me the link to his blog where he wrote about the film - http://jazzlives.wordpress.com/2012/08/ ... d-america/

Mark said - he was one of the archivists for the film and he was unaware of any commercial release as of yet.

Check their website both advised.

So....I guess that is all the public at large knows..meaning us.

Re: Chick Webb documentary - anyone seen it yet?

Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 9:14 pm
by Eyeball
lipi wrote: The truth is that believing this kind of film will result in money through the box office is sheer lunacy. The best it can do is be a portfolio that leads to future documentary gigs. Regardless, I was disappointed by his total silence. Not even a "sorry, that's not interesting to me after all".
I hope we are both wrong about that, but I sometimes get the feeling that the limited interest in such topics grows less and less as more time goes by.

Do you really think that today's dancers would care much about this?

I'd sure love to see a copy. Jeeez..you would think he could find a few (morer?) showing in 'art houses' in NYC and LA.

Re: Chick Webb documentary - anyone seen it yet?

Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 9:35 pm
by Eyeball
trev wrote:This is his production company, with details of the film, if anyone is wondering: http://floatingworldpictures.com/Site/T ... _King.html
Looking it over and just about to read the comments on their board.

He seems to have been contributed about 5100 dollars.

I dunno........

Re: Chick Webb documentary - anyone seen it yet?

Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 9:37 pm
by Eyeball
More on the documentary which had a showing at a NY film festival back in 9/12.

http://jazzlives.wordpress.com/2012/06/ ... t-seattle/

Also - Mark Cantor adds that - the documentary was completed and had a number of public screenings, to a good deal of praise.

Go figure.

Re: Chick Webb documentary - anyone seen it yet?

Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 10:22 pm
by trev
There must be a lot of films that get made as passion projects with limited audiences and then archived away. I'm also thinking about that Buddy Bolden movie. It was filmed a few years ago with a notable cast and music by Wynton Marsalis, but was never released (as of 2014 anyway).

Edit: So the Bolden! film is being re-shot with a new lead actor!

Re: Chick Webb documentary - anyone seen it yet?

Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 10:26 pm
by Eyeball
trev wrote:There must be a lot of films that get made as passion projects with limited audiences and then archived away. I'm also thinking about that Buddy Bolden movie. It was filmed a few years ago with a notable cast and music by Wynton Marsalis, but was never released (as of 2014 anyway).
Wow...never heard of the BB film.

"passion projects" - maybe...pity....but in this case, i mean, you got a real guy in an interesting era....

Re: Chick Webb documentary - anyone seen it yet?

Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 1:54 am
by CountBasi
This was shown in Seattle in June 2012 as part of some festival and in October 2013 in Portland as part of the Reel Music Festival. I didn't see it when it came to Portland as I was out of the country. Has anybody seen it and given a well written review (whether positive or negative)

Re: Chick Webb documentary - anyone seen it yet?

Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 2:20 am
by straycat
Eyeball wrote: I hope we are both wrong about that, but I sometimes get the feeling that the limited interest in such topics grows less and less as more time goes by.

Do you really think that today's dancers would care much about this?
I think they would - certainly judging by our neck of the woods. The population at large? I don't know, but given the number of documentaries on the swing era aired by the BBC over the last couple of years, I'd hope the interest was there.