Roadside Attractions has acquired all U.S. rights to the film BLUE LIKE JAZZ. Directed and co-written by Steve Taylor (THE SECOND CHANCE) the film will have its World Premiere in the Narrative Spotlight section at the 2012 South-by-Southwest Film Festival before opening in theatres on April 13th. Lionsgate will handle all ancillaries including DVD, VOD and TV through their output deal.
Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller spent 43 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list and has sold over 1.5 million copies to date. The semi-autobiographical story was adapted for the screen by Miller, Steve Taylor and Ben Pearson.
In the early days of pre-production, the project was forced to be put on hold due to lack of funding, prompting a website to be created by fans, for fans, called “Save Blue Like Jazz”. The site urged loyalists to help raise money to fund the movie through Kickstarter, an online matchmaker for filmmakers and financial backers. The campaign went on to raise a record-setting $345,000, more than doubling the original goal of $125,000, allowing the film to start production.
In Blue Like Jazz, Don (Allman), a pious nineteen-year-old sophomore at a Texas junior college, impulsively decides to escape his religious upbringing for life in the Pacific Northwest at one of the most progressive campuses in America, Reed College in Portland. Upon arrival, Reed’s surroundings and eccentric student body proves to be far different than he could possibly imagine from the environment from which he came, forcing him to embark on a journey of self-discovery to understand who he is and what he truly believes.
The film boasts a cast of rising stars including Marshall Allman (TRUE BLOOD), Claire Holt (THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, PRETTY LITTLE LIARS), and Tania Raymonde (LOST). Blue Like Jazz was produced by Taylor, J. Clarke Gallivan and Coke Sams for Ruckus Film.
Additional outreach and grassroots partnerships will continue to dominate the entertainment, college and faith oriented landscape in the coming weeks with a number of promotional activities:
SOUTH-BY-SOUTHWEST – Blue Like Jazz will have its World Premiere at the 2012 SXSW Film Festival on Tuesday, March 13th at the historic Paramount Theatre. Film star and Austin native Marshall Allman is expected to attend along with Steve Taylor and Don Miller.
PROMOTIONAL BUS TOUR – Steve Taylor and Don Miller will kick off a 30-city bus tour on February 29th during which they will host screenings, events and discussions geared towards fans of the book and early supporters of the film. Please visit: http://www.bluelikejazzthemovie.com/ for more information.
KICKSTARTER - 4500 Kickstarter backers on record, along with other fans and Blue Like Jazz followers are being organized into ‘street teams’ for the purpose of creating awareness for the film. Over 5,000 supporters are already confirmed to participate with offline and online promotion impressions that are set to reach an estimated 2.5 million potential moviegoers.
RELEVANT – An unprecedented promotion with leading Christian culture media outlet RELEVANT commenced February 14th. The partnership includes promotion across all print, web, live event and social media platforms through the film’s opening.
CATALYST – Christian leadership organization CATALYST has been a supporter of the project at events in 2011 and will continue through its Spring opening. The film was featured for a select group of influencers at Catalyst East in October and will be featured at Catalyst West this April.
WORLD VISION – The international aid organization will support the film through the launch of its new “act:s” network of creative activism. The film will be a featured campaign on the February launch of this new initiative where followers will be challenged to host screening parties in opening weekend markets.
"Releasing a meaningful and smart film like BLUE LIKE JAZZ, which has a grass roots following from both the bestselling book and its successful Kickstarter origins, is a coup for Roadside Attractions," said Co-President Eric d'Arbeloff. "We look for our films to speak to many different audiences, and BLJ's story of college freshman's journey speaks to both a faith audience and a young audience in general."
"Roadside Attractions has been our first choice for a distributor ever since I told Howard and Eric about the project five years ago,” says director Steve Taylor. “They've got a great track record bringing eclectic movies to the widest possible audience, and we're thrilled to be partnering with them."
The deal was negotiated by Howard Cohen on behalf of Roadside with Taylor and V.T. Murray for Tennessee-based The Panda Fund on behalf of the filmmakers.
March 8th, 2006 - (Nashville, TN) – For the first time ever, singer/songwriter Derek Webb and author/speaker Donald Miller are joining together for a live audio web chat event, which will be held next Tuesday, March 14th, at 9pm CST / 7pm PST. The two friends, both known for speaking what is on their minds and hearts, are sure to make the evening an exciting one by talking about everything from politics to social justice, while giving the listener an opportunity to be a participant. By visiting either www.derekwebbchat.com or www.donaldmillerchat.com, listeners can submit a question by March 13th for Webb and Miller to answer during the 90-minute chat (due to time restraints not every question will be answered), to be hosted by Mike Parker. The listener will also be able to hear more about their latest projects, Webb’s new CD Mockingbird and Miller’s upcoming book, To Own a Dragon.
Since Mockingbird’s release last December, Webb has had people talking and even making some uncomfortable, by writing and singing about concerns of social justice, poverty, war and politics. Regarding his music and the upcoming chat with his pal Miller for those who aren’t sure how their views line up with Webb’s, all he’s asking is that they give him and Miller a chance. “I’m not trying to push buttons or make people upset,” he says. “I’m just trying to be as honest as I can. Even if people don’t agree, I hope they’ll listen. I just want to get the dialogue started.” Webb, who just finished a tour with Jars of Clay, continues to stay on the road, performing numerous dates with wife Sandra McCracken.
Donald Miller is the author of Blue Like Jazz, Searching for God Knows What, Through Painted Deserts, and To Own a Dragon. He is a frequent speaker at colleges and conferences across the country, addressing the relevancy of Christian spirituality to explain and heal the dynamics of the human heart. Miller has addressed a wide range of audiences, from students at Harvard University to young men who grew up without fathers, which is the topic of his new book, To Own a Dragon. He desires to turn the momentum from this book into a mentoring and equipping ministry, helping single moms survive the hardship of parenting and providing role models for children without fathers.
Mike Parker is an award-winner freelance writer, playwright, author, editor and actor. The former Green Beret owns a bachelor's degree in Bible and Philosophy. In addition to being the Managing Editor for Grassroots Music Magazine and TrueTunes.com, he is also a contributing editor to the Entertainment section of LifeWay.com and a regular entertainment columnist for HomeLife Magazine. He frequently writes about the arts and entertainment industry, and his movie reviews can be heard each Friday morning on the syndicated, Family Friendly Morning Show with Doug & Kim on the Salem Music Network.
