Red White and Blue Announces World Premiere

The wait is over and it's official...

Red White & Blue co-producer Bob Portal sent out an official announcement this past weekend that Red White and Blue is officially having its world premiere at the Rotterdam Film Festival in January. Here are the highlights excerpted from my Slackerwood post:

It's hard to believe it's been almost six months since Red White and Blue wrapped shooting in Austin....Simon and co-producer Bob Portal have now completed work with the last stages of post-production with their sound editors and Post house Prime Focus. The film is now fully color timed/graded and sound mixing is completed, ready for Hi Def delivery.

Great news, as it has been officially announced that Red White and Blue is having its world premiere at the Rotterdam Film Festival in the Netherlands on January 29. Rotterdam is the festival where Simon first premiered his previous film The Living and the Dead, which had its American premiere at Fantastic Fest in 2008.

Red White and Blue plans to announce its U.S. premiere soon. Negotiations are currently underway for a deal with a top sales representative for the movie, to work on a U.S. release and foreign sales.

More information from co-producer Bob Portal of Fidelity Films:

"The film has so far had a very warm reception. The movie looks and sounds great, no small thanks to all of you who worked so hard and helped so generously to make it happen. The reaction so far has been strong from the few who have seen rough cut versions. There should be some reviews coming out of Rotterdam, which we'll post when we have them."

I also heard from Simon this week, and asked him to explain the importance of the Rotterdam Film Festival, and whether we could hope for the North American premiere to take place in Austin. Here's what he had to say via e-mail:

"Rotterdam is one of the main festivals on the circuit and is the first European one to start each year. It's been going a long time and champions both young and old directors. Unlike many festivals Rotterdam isn't afraid to show darker material hence having the likes of Takashi Miike or Werner Herzog's films gracing their line-up.

"My last film The Living and The Dead also premiered there. Rotterdam served as an excellent springboard to catapult the film onto the global consciousness since there are both programmers and industry professionals there from all around the world. It's a very social festival and enjoyable experience so it's with great excitement that we'll spreading a little bit of Austin in Holland!

"We're very much hoping that the film will have its North American premiere at the excellent SXSW for obvious reasons! The making of this film was such a communal effort and I really don't think we could have made it anywhere else; everyone was so friendly, enthusiastic and helpful that I think its a testament to the community of Austin's generous and warm spirit. It'd be a tragedy to have the first North American screening anywhere but Austin!"

Want to Watch Simon Rumley's short film The Handyman?

Over on Twitch, Todd Brown has now posted the full short film, "The Handyman" from Simon Rumley (watch here). We hope you enjoy this short and are incredibly happy to have it out where all fans of Simon can now watch it. Let us know what you think!

On Location with Simon Rumley and More

Thanks to Simon Rumley and the crew of Red, White and Blue for allowing me the opportunity to guest blog for the film. I will be cross-posting some of my entries from Slackerwood, a Austin film-related web site and blog dedicated reporting and reviewing all aspects of Austin film. Please stop by Slackerwood and say hello! I will also post a few extra tidbits that have yet to see light of day, so stay tuned for updates.

From "Location, Location: A Red, White, and Blue Experience":

When I first heard about the call for locations for Simon Rumley's new film Red, White and Blue, I was eager to offer our house as a location.

I had the pleasure of meeting Simon when he attended South by Southwest Film Festival in 2006 to support his friends who produced Darkon. I am quite a fan of Simon's work, which includes The Handyman and The Living and the Dead.

Reading over the list of locations needed, one in particular caught my eye. "Ed's - Slightly older contemporary of Franki/Alvin's etc. Lives with his girlfriend and young daughter. Has backyard and two floors." I thought it sounded like a perfect fit. My boyfriend Ed and I live in a two-story house, and my niece often stays in our guest room.

The director and site location scout (editor's note: Paul Knaus in one of his many roles) had other ideas. "Well you see, two of our leads are slackers in a band. With your garage, it would be perfect for Carl and Alvin's." What?!!

I've complained to my boyfriend that the dining room table he inherited from an old college roommate is the same style I had in 1982, and the coffee table was probably even older. Never mind that my two theater chairs from the original Alamo Drafthouse are a little worn, they are well-loved! Yes, my office is messy, but it's a contained mess. And here's the living room
(editor's note: it doesn't normally look this way, prepped by Production Designer Josh Crist for shoot):

We signed the agreement and waited for the shooting schedule. Little did we know what was in store. Bodies strewn about the house, scorching heat, and blowouts in West Texas - and that's not even the film itself!

To be continued...

[Photo credit: Debbie Cerda, who would like to point out the coffee table, and the beer stain that Ed claims is my coffee stain]

Vlog 2 - Up on Twitch

Our second Vlog (aka video blog) is now up on Twitch (watch) via @rodneydp.

As always if you have any questions for Simon, cast or crew, for inclusion in future vlogs, be sure to contact us via @rwbmovie on Twitter.

First Look at Red White & Blue

Busy day here in the land of "Red White & Blue"!!!

Over on Twitch they have your first look at the movie with official stills (here).

More exclusive and different official stills are up on Fangoria (here).

Note the official website has launched today: www.redwhitebluemovie.com

If you aren't following on us on Twitter @rwbmovie yet, be sure to... as you never know what kind of goodies we might give you, hint hint.

First Video Blog Up on Twitch

Thanks to @rodneydp our first video blog is now up over on Twitch (watch here)!

RED WHITE & BLUE is...

A heart-wrenching slacker revenge feature set in Austin, Texas, now editing in London.

Starring Noah Taylor (Alice in Wonderland, Shine, The Proposition), Marc Senter (The Lost, Cabin Fever 2), Amanda Fuller (Buffy The Vampire Slayer)