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The Handy Kaufmans Debut on iTunes with Soundtrack EP New York, NY (PRWEB) August 16, 2007 -- Indie film hit, "Thank You, Good Night", has released an original soundtrack on Apple's [APPL] iTunes for download today. The award-winning indie movie stars Mark Hamill (Star Wars), Christian Campbell (Trick, Reefer Madness), John Paul Pitoc (Trick, Shifting the Canvas), and Nicole Eggert (Baywatch). The film, set during the garage band punk days of 1994, sported original songs written by the pic's filmmakers, Chuck Griffith (director) and Robert Zimmer, Jr. (producer). The songs available for 99 cents each are "Not in High School Anymore", "Fifth of July", and the regressive hit "Wish You Were Dead". Although the songs were recorded and produced by Andre Devon Magone, who also served as the films associate producer, the songs feature vocal work by crooner Michael Duff. "Everyone had been asking us where they could get these songs," said Griffith, "Now through the magic of indie music distributors, we were able to release these songs to the public." Will the Handy Kaufmans play again? It turns out they're just a fictional band by the feature's screenwriter, Chris Provenzano. "Real or just imagined, their songs are pretty good. You'll definitely want to tap your foot to these tunes. It just goes to show that the genre pre-dates even films like High School Musical. We're like College Dropout Musical, which leads to more music and antics," Griffith mused. The filmmakers hope that popular online video renters like iTunes and Xbox Live will catch up with the times and open their virtual shelves to indie films like "Thank You, Good Night" someday soon, but for now they'll just have to live with the soundtrack being up on Apple's premium media download service. "Thank You, Good Night" is an original motion picture produced in association with Deeper Magic Communications. The DVD was produced by Roaring Leo Productions and is currently available on Amazon and Indieflix.com; it will also be available to rent online at Netflix later in Fall 2007. It won the Jury Prize in 2002 at the Tambay Film Festival. Chuck Griffith is a filmmaker living in New York City where he serves as Chief Creative Officer at Roaring Leo Productions and is developing several feature film projects, including "Shifting the Canvas", starring Scott Thompson (Kids in the Hall, Another Gay Movie), John Paul Pitoc (Trick, Thank You, Good Night) and Patrick David (Walking Across Egypt). Robert Zimmer, Jr. is a former Spelling Entertainment executive and Writers Guild of America Award nominee. His latest film project as producer is the feature "Half-Life," due out in Spring 2008. The Handy Kaufmans is a fictional band depicted from New Brunswick, NJ in "Thank You, Good Night" with hits such as "Fifth of July" and "Not in High School Anymore". You can purchase the songs at http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=261707100&s=143441 Click Here for the June 2007 Feature in Post Magazine New DVD Distributor Says 'Thank You' to Independent Video Rental Stores The festival darling, "Thank You, Good Night" was acquired by Roaring Leo Productions earlier this summer and underwent a new edit and sound mix under the supervision of its director. The all-star cast includes Christian Campbell ("Trick," "Refer Madness"), J.P. Pitoc ("Trick," "Six Feet Under"), Jay Leggett ("Ally McBeal"), Nicole Eggert ("Baywatch," "Blown Away"), Golden Globe Winner Sally Kirkland ("Anna"), and Mark Hamill ("Star Wars"). Hamill plays the New Jersey father of Lee(Campbell), a drummer for fictitious 1990s grunge band, The Handy Kaufmans. The band from New Brunswick, N.J. hits the road for the last time in an all out guitar-blazing trek in hopes of getting a record label deal. The trailer for the rock-and-roll feel good feature can be seen on YouTube and www.handykaufmans.com. Loaded with bonus features such as downloadable music and director's commentary, the DVD went on sale on Amazon.com last week. Now, the self-touting "distributor of fine cinema" wants to get the DVD into the "real" film schools of America--the independent home video store. Chuck Griffith of Roaring Leo Productions announced, "It all started when a friend from Philadelphia called me and said that his local video rental store, TLA Video, didn't have it in stock. I can remember being a kid brought up in the video age; my dad used to give me $20 bucks and send me to the corner video store when I was only 11. I was renting everything...back then it was 99 cents a video. I'd gorge myself on Goonies and Gremlins all day long."Griffith, also a film director, notes that filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino and many others have gone on to credit the independent video rental store as a profound source for inspiration. "People want to hold the movie in their hand, read the back cover, and even just see what festivals it has been in. 'Thank You, Good Night' is the perfect film to carry on the shelf. Video renters have called it a good popcorn movie to watch with friends--you can't plan that in an online queue. Superstar Satellite Video in San Francisco, TLA Video in Philadelphia and New York, Video West in West Hollywood, MovieTime Home Video in Chicago, Waterloo Video in Austin; they all should be able to carry the movie for the real independent film enthusiast," Griffith, whose first job in high school was at a music/video store, explained. The offer is to encourage independent home video rental stores to rent out Roaring Leo Productions' debut DVD. Roaring Leo affirms that their mission is to gain exposure for talented filmmakers. Roaring Leo Productions, Inc. is a production and distribution company of feature and short films based in New York City. It plans to release one to two DVDs per year, giving a voice and outlet for filmmakers. "Thank You, Good Night": Executive Producers Scott Burkhardt, Brandon Lyons; Producers Robert Zimmer, Jr., Inman Young, Chuck Griffith; Associate Producers Jeremy Rubins, Andre Devon Magone, Larry Cohen (DVD); Co-Producer Angelo Spizzirri; Director Chuck Griffith; Screenplay Chris Provenzano, Robert Zimmer, Jr., Chuck Griffith; Original Score Christopher Hoag; Cinematography Matthew Irving; Editor Gloria Vela; Production Design Madla Hurza; Costume Roger Forker; Handy Kaufmans Songs written by Andre Devon Magone and Robert Zimmer, Jr., lyrics by Robert Zimmer, Jr. and Chuck Griffith; Cast Christian Campbell, Lara Boyd Rhodes, J.P. Pitoc, Scott Burkhardt, Mark Hamill, Sally Kirkland, Nicole Eggert, Eddie Singletary, Gedde Watanabe, Billy Davis, Jr., Matthew Bordofsky, Terri Garber, Bret Domrose, Robert Raad, Danny Wood, Dee Freeman, Diva Zappa, Vicki Kleist, Sam Scarber, Erik Passoja, Gail Oakhem. Not rated. English. Letterboxed. THX Sound. Color by Deluxe. Camera and Lenses by Panavision. 35mm Film by Kodak. New Brunswick, NJ (PRWEB) June 13, 2006 -- Twelve years after their infamous debacle in Albany, New York, when they caused a massive riot at a county fair, slack-rockers The Handy Kaufmans are once again talking quits. Details are not clear, but a source close to the band -- a Wall Street tycoon with fabulous tastes in neckties -- states that infighting has erupted over the 51st fall off the wagon by lead guitarist and songwriter Mike. Over the years, the Handy Kaufmans have had numerous other run-ins with the local authorities, ranging from unpaid bar tabs to bounced checks in excess of $20. "Hey now! We have the biggest fan base in all of New Brunswick," exclaimed Big Frank, their corpulent manager. "I'd like to see someone take that title away," he added. The buzz on Hollywood and Vine is that longtime lead singer and Atlantic City leatherpants lothario, Donnie, is going solo. He refused phone calls, but sent us an e-mail stating, "No Koment" [sic]. Fans may recall another Kaufmans incident in April 1994, when their bassist went on a whiskey binge and urinated on his guitar amp, sending the local dive bar, The Lazy Lizzard, up in flames. Later that month, the band signed a new bassist, Trixie, who joined them on tour, only to be caught up in the infamous melee of Onondaga County Fair of 1994, otherwise known in Upstate New York folklore as "Black Leather Sunday". After delivering only two of three albums required by their deal with Atlanta Records, the band went on their first overseas tour in 1997 to Sydney, Australia after mistakenly being booked as the Dandy Warhols. That mix-up landed Big Frank in a Tazmanian prison for four years for fraud. During the involuntary sabbatical, drummer Lee went to Erie Community College in New York and Mike went into rehab for the 51st time. Trixie became a flood insurance salesgirl. Throughout the years the disenfranchised group often spoke about a reunion in New Brunswick, but ultimately it wasn't until Big Frank returned to the States that they would begin to rebuild. In 2000, Big Frank redeemed himself big time when he won a bourbon-soaked drinking game in a New Jersey dive bar with a Game Show Network writer named Chris Provenzano. Big Frank bet Mr. Provenzano that he could beat anyone at Quarters (a common drinking game combining flipping quarters and empty shot glasses). As legend has it, if Mr. Provenzano lost, he would agree to pen a screenplay based on the misadventures of the Handy Kaufmans. Big Frank won the bet unexpectedly when he passed out cold from too many shots, his head hitting the table and bouncing the final quarter into a cup. A man of his word, Mr. Provenzano did indeed pen the Kaufmans' tale. In 2001, he wrote a film called "Thank You, Good Night" with writer/producer Robert Zimmer, Jr. The full-length feature film was then directed by Chuck Griffith, an award winning short filmmaker at the time. The film won the Jury Prize in Tampa Bay and went on to play in Fargo, Los Angeles, and New York. The film starred Mark Hamill (Star Wars, Batman the Animated Series), Golden Globe Winner Sally Kirkland (Anna, EdTV), J.P. Pitoc (Trick, Six Feet Under), Christian Campbell (Trick, Refer Madness), Nicole Eggert (Charles in Charge, Baywatch), Jay Leggett (Drew Carey Show), Scott Burkhardt, and Lara Boyd Rhodes. However, like the Handy Kaufmans, "Thank You, Good Night" had troubles of its own when its original distributor went bankrupt. This year, though, indefatigable director Chuck Griffith has recut the film to re-engage it in an emerging market of "do it yourself" distribution with Video-on-Demand, Netflix, and Amazon consignment. The newly reedited feature, shot on 35mm with THX sound, will be available on DVD in late 2006 with a new soundtrack, a streamlined edit of 86 minutes by the director (down from the original 114 minutes), and newly digital format. Big Frank would be proud. More information about the Handy Kaufmans can be viewed at www.roaringleo.com "Thank You, Good Night" is an original motion picture produced by Burkhardt/Griffith Productions, Inc. in association with Deeper Magic Communications. The DVD is being produced Lawrence Cohen in association with Roaring Leo Productions. Chuck Griffith is a filmmaker living in New York City where he is an advertising executive and is developing several feature film projects, including a feature film called "Shifting the Canvas." Robert Zimmer, Jr. is a former Spelling Entertainment executive and Writers Guild of America Award nominee. His latest film project is the feature "Half-Life," due for completion in fall 2006, on which he serves as producer. The Handy Kaufmans have produced mild hits such as "Fifth of July" and "Not in High School Anymore", a popular graduation song back in its day off the EP, "Who Are the Handy Kaufmans?" ### |
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