OK, I've decided to post photographs and memorabilia, maybe some of the research documents supporting SMILE 'TIL IT HURTS, our documentary on Up With People. We'll start with a few and build the slide show on the blog. Look closely and you might find yourself or someone you know. It doesn't matter if you traveled with Up With People or not: we guarantee the archival history is rich viewing for everyone! We'll try and organize by place, or year, or by category, i.e., "world leaders", "celebrities" or "just for fun." Please let us know your comments as we unveil some of the most fascinating and surprising aspects of Up With People history.
Soon we will also post a place to pre-order DVDs on the website. We are getting many requests and the Google searches are noteworthy! Thanks for passing along the word about this amazing new doc. We are rushing to do everything we can to make it available to you.
And remember to smile! In spite of it all, and no matter what, be authentic and as positive as you can. Life is good.
Upcoming Screenings
- SMILE opens at Harkins Theaters in Phoenix, February 17-24
- SMILE screens in Michael Moore's Dangerous Docs at Traverse City Film Festival, July 30
- Harkins Theaters Presents SMILE 'TIL IT HURTS, Tucson, AZ July 27-31, 2010!
- Tribeca Cinemas Presents: Doc Series, NYC, May 24, 2010
- Salem Film Festival, Salem MA, February 27, 2010
- Sedona Film Festival, February 25 & 27, 2010
- Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, February 20, 2010
- Rocky Mountain Women's Film Fest, Colorado Springs, Nov 6-8
- FirstGlance Film Festival, Philadelphia, October 24
- Temecula Int'l Film & Music Festival, Sept 10 & 11
- DOCUWEEKS, IFC Center, NYC, Aug 7-13
- DOCUWEEKS, ArcLight Hollywood, LA, July 31-Aug 6
- NEWFEST Film Festival, June 5
- Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, April 3
- Florida Film Festival, March 28 & April 2
- Slamdance Film Festival, January 17 & 20
Recent Press and Praise
- Variety: Storey victory over IRS reassures community!
- Hollywood Reporter: Lawyer rescues doc film industry!
- IDA News on IRS Win
- NY Times notes "sigh of relief" for doc filmmakers
- Deadline reports on victory over IRS for documentaries
- Storey Speaks on IRS Case at IDA's DOC U Event
- Forbes Breaks Story on Knocking Down the IRS
- Filmmaker Magazine on WHY DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKING CANNOT BE A HOBBY
- New Times reports "it's sugary but pretty damn effective"
- Arizona Republic calls SMILE "a complex tale"
- Review from the Traverse City Film Festival
- Philadelphia Lawyer critically reviews "fascinating historical phenomenon"
- Madison proclaims SMILE "very relevant today"!
- New Review in Failure Magazine
- Cinema Without Borders gives us 5 stars!
- Hey U Guys UK review: "If you get a chance to catch this one, be sure to check it out."
- Hugh Hart's Industry Buzz on the "globe-hopping chorus"
- Dish Miss calls it "well-made...funny, fascinating, and very very entertaining!"
- NY Post tells how Glenn Close was Up With People
- LA Times singles out fast-paced doc!
- la2day's "Top Pick of the Week"
- Documentary.org interview with Director Lee Storey
- Rotten Tomatoes gives us an A-!"
- Conspiracy theories...often turn out to be true.
- Movie Dearest says "Up Yours, People!"
- LA Weekly cheers "Up With Docuweeks"
- Gordon and the Whale calls it "very funny, very strange, very affecting"
- Movie Geeks finds it "entertaining and enlightening"
- Village Voice proclaims "a withering critique"
- indieWIRE notes we are qualifying for an Oscar!
- pullquote's Can't Stop the Music Pt 2
- Highly rated review says keep an eye out for this one!
- Indie Week calls it especially interesting!
- Orlando Sentinel pokes a reluctant Glenn Close, by golly!
- Orlando Weekly trumpets 4 star review with 'deft wit'
- We're a hoot!
- From the San Franciso Bay Guardian
- Variety reviews our film!
- We've been blogged!
- L.A. Times gives us a nod
- The Salt Lake Tribune discusses films about music
- indieWIRE names us one of Five Films To Watch at Slamdance
- This just in from Variety's THE CIRCUIT
- Hollywood Reporter: Lawyer rescues doc film industry
Sep 3, 2009
Sep 2, 2009
New Clips Posted
Thanks to all for your patience while we uploaded the Q&A's from various film festivals since the premiere of SMILE 'TIL IT HURTS: The Up With People Story at the Slamdance Film Festival. We tried to select the "best from the fests" to avoid being repetitive. We hope you enjoy them and please check back for more. We also plan to post promotional archival materials not yet seen....!
Don't forget these upcoming screenings of SMILE 'TIL IT HURTS:
1. Temecula Int'l Film Festival, Sept 10-11 @5pm @ The Movie Experience in Temecula, CA
2. FirstGlance Film Festival, award winning, Oct 24 @ Franklin Theater in Philadelphia, PA
3. Rocky Mountain Women's Film Festival, Nov 6-8, Colorado Springs, CO (time TBD).
See you there!!
Don't forget these upcoming screenings of SMILE 'TIL IT HURTS:
1. Temecula Int'l Film Festival, Sept 10-11 @5pm @ The Movie Experience in Temecula, CA
2. FirstGlance Film Festival, award winning, Oct 24 @ Franklin Theater in Philadelphia, PA
3. Rocky Mountain Women's Film Festival, Nov 6-8, Colorado Springs, CO (time TBD).
See you there!!
Is Temecula, CA burning? --SMILE screens Sept 10 & 11
Hi friends,
We have another Southern California screening of SMILE 'TIL IT HURTS: The Up With People Story. Come check it out at the Temecula International Film & Music Festival this coming Sept 10th and 11th. http://www.tviff.com/films.html#documentaries. I've no idea how this will work with Southern California ablaze. Let's send good thoughts to our firefighters and hope the fires are contained soon. It's certainly a difficult time for a film & music festival, especially one that's as active and entertaining as Temecula. If you are in Southern California and would like to see SMILE 'TIL IT HURTS, please swing by Temecula and show your support! Here are the details:
THURSDAY, SEPT. 10 @ 5PM
FRIDAY, SEPT. 11 @ 5PM
The Movie Experience
Tower Plaza Shopping Center
27531 Ynez Rd. Temecula
The music festival follows immediately after. Woohoo!
Due to other commitments, I won't be able to attend this festival and join you in the Q&A, but we hope to send a team so you'll have some interesting folks to chat with after the screening. SMILE 'TIL IT HURTS raises a ton of discussion topics----that's for sure!!!!!!
Hope to see you there!
We have another Southern California screening of SMILE 'TIL IT HURTS: The Up With People Story. Come check it out at the Temecula International Film & Music Festival this coming Sept 10th and 11th. http://www.tviff.com/films.html#documentaries. I've no idea how this will work with Southern California ablaze. Let's send good thoughts to our firefighters and hope the fires are contained soon. It's certainly a difficult time for a film & music festival, especially one that's as active and entertaining as Temecula. If you are in Southern California and would like to see SMILE 'TIL IT HURTS, please swing by Temecula and show your support! Here are the details:
THURSDAY, SEPT. 10 @ 5PM
FRIDAY, SEPT. 11 @ 5PM
The Movie Experience
Tower Plaza Shopping Center
27531 Ynez Rd. Temecula
The music festival follows immediately after. Woohoo!
Due to other commitments, I won't be able to attend this festival and join you in the Q&A, but we hope to send a team so you'll have some interesting folks to chat with after the screening. SMILE 'TIL IT HURTS raises a ton of discussion topics----that's for sure!!!!!!
Hope to see you there!
Sep 1, 2009
Spirit Awards for SMILE 'TIL IT HURTS: The Up With People Story
Woohoo! We are finalizing our application for the Spirit Awards! They are due September 14. It's so much fun to have the opportunity to file for such a prestigious award. In the scheme of things, how rare and awesome is that?! :) And the IFP already recommended SMILE 'TIL IT HURTS for a Gotham Award, so onward! Let the award season begin!
Last week we filed our "Documentary Film Entry for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences." Turns out you are not supposed to include contact information on the DVDs--it was an oversight on our part because we used the same DVD screeners we've been sending to film festivals. However an industrious fellow at the Academy volunteered to "Wite Out" that info so we didn't have to burn another 30 DVDs. Remember that stuff?? Since computers have taken over the word-processing world, I've wondered why Bic (the manufacturer) still sells "Wite Out" and what useful purpose it may have. Now I know!!! Hey, if we get short-listed for the Oscars, maybe Bic will want our endorsement?! We could certainly use the money to help pay for the life-long debt I've incurred in making SMILE 'TIL IT HURTS! Let's hope the industrious A.M.P.A.S. volunteer is also an artist. Otherwise an Academy voter might notice the Wite-Out on our DVDs and think: "Hmmmmm, another struggling documentary filmmaker!" I doubt Sony Classics or HBO would accidentally send in a marked DVD. They have bigger production budgets.
So now we wait! And attend Film Festivals. And pretend we are not waiting. But we are. All of us in that small pool of Oscar contending films are, well, waiting!! In the spirit of 6 degrees of separation, should you know someone that knows someone that knows an Academy voter, please send extra good karma for SMILE 'TIL IT HURTS and well wishes their way!
Toodles for now!
Last week we filed our "Documentary Film Entry for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences." Turns out you are not supposed to include contact information on the DVDs--it was an oversight on our part because we used the same DVD screeners we've been sending to film festivals. However an industrious fellow at the Academy volunteered to "Wite Out" that info so we didn't have to burn another 30 DVDs. Remember that stuff?? Since computers have taken over the word-processing world, I've wondered why Bic (the manufacturer) still sells "Wite Out" and what useful purpose it may have. Now I know!!! Hey, if we get short-listed for the Oscars, maybe Bic will want our endorsement?! We could certainly use the money to help pay for the life-long debt I've incurred in making SMILE 'TIL IT HURTS! Let's hope the industrious A.M.P.A.S. volunteer is also an artist. Otherwise an Academy voter might notice the Wite-Out on our DVDs and think: "Hmmmmm, another struggling documentary filmmaker!" I doubt Sony Classics or HBO would accidentally send in a marked DVD. They have bigger production budgets.
So now we wait! And attend Film Festivals. And pretend we are not waiting. But we are. All of us in that small pool of Oscar contending films are, well, waiting!! In the spirit of 6 degrees of separation, should you know someone that knows someone that knows an Academy voter, please send extra good karma for SMILE 'TIL IT HURTS and well wishes their way!
Toodles for now!
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