Canadian Premiere

Our Canadian premiere took place Friday May 8 in Toronto at the Royal Cinema.  We were the opening film of the Canadian Music Week (CMW) Film Festival and we had a great turnout at the theater.  This premiere was well-timed as CMW’s two-day radio conference had just wrapped up so a lot of radio industry titans were already in town.  Many of them attended the screening and the film was very well received.   Also in attendance was one of the film’s 4 subjects, David Marsden, who took part in an entertaining Q & A session after the film.   We look forward to more screenings in Toronto in the near future.

Royalcinemaiawip

Royal Cinema line-up

 

Hello Boston!

On Sunday, April 26, the film premiered to an enthusiastic crowd at The Boston Independent Film Festival.  Boston was of course the radio home to one of our 4 featured DJ’s, Charles Laquidara, for over 30 years.  Lots of Charles/WBCN fans were in attendance and it was great to finally see the film on a big screen with an audience.

There are plans to bring the film back to Boston in late May or June so stay tuned for details on that screening.

Thanks again Boston radio & film fans and IFF Boston!

 

bostonfest

Producer/Director Roger King, during Q & A, at the U.S. Premiere in Boston.

 

I Am What I Play Premieres

Well, we are happy to announce both our American and Canadian premieres.  I Am What I Play will screen at the Boston Independent Film Festival on April 26th at the historic Somerville Theater.   Here’s the film page on their website with ticket information:

http://bit.ly/1CmE2YL

 

somtheatre

And then on May 8th in Toronto, I Am What I Play will be the opening film of the film festival portion of Canadian Music Week (CMW).  This screening will take place at The Royal Cinema on College St.  Another great venue.  CMW is kind of the South x South West of Canada so we are thrilled.

Tickets available here:

http://cmw.net/film/events/i-am-what-i-play-canadian-premiere/

 

cmw-logo-2014

Much more to come on these two premiere screenings of course!

Our U.S. Distributor

Late last year, we signed a U.S. distribution deal with L.A.-based 7th Art Releasing.  They will handle all U.S. distribution for the film on all platforms: festival, theatrical, television, digital etc.  It’s great to be partnering with a boutique distributor with a 20+ year track record, specializing in documentaries.

7thArt

We are starting with festivals and aiming to build awareness and buzz about the film.

http://www.7thart.com/films/I-Am-What-I-Play

And on that note, we are happy to announce the U.S. premiere of I Am What I Play will take place at the Boston Independent Film Festival on April 26.  The festival is regarded by many as the best film festival in New England.

More details to come!

 

I Am What I Play on Sirius XM Canada

Had some fun last week on Sirius XM Canada as a guest on the Todd Shapiro show. Lots of talk about I Am What I Play and being a radio DJ (as well as the voice-over industry). The interview starts around the 44:00 mark.

http://thetoddshapiroshow.com/2015/01/the-todd-shapiro-show-episode-211-2.html

logotest

 

Be sure and follow the film:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/I-Am-What-I-Play/297875140261718
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/radiodjmovie

David Marsden tribute in Parliament

Happy 2015!  I realize I have not been very diligent about updating this blog.  Facebook is where the action is these days but I have to remember not everyone is on Facebook so will be more on top of updating here as well.

U.S. distribution news coming soon!  In the meantime, I want to post some odds ‘n ends, starting with this below.  David Marsden has left The Rock 94.9 and now does his shows live on his own site: www.nythespirit.com

Here was a tribute to David last month in Canadian Parliament, from MP Erin O’Toole:

http://

I Am What I Play trailer

Every film needs a trailer and we’re excited to share it with you now.   Here’s a first look at I Am What I Play.

 

http://

Be sure and follow the film:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/I-Am-What-I-Play/297875140261718
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/radiodjmovie

Free-Form Ambassadors

As we shop the film and start to do promotion at the same time, the question keeps coming up:  why did we choose these 4 particular radio jocks?  I think once you see the film, you’ll agree we’ve chosen wisely in terms of personalities/characters.   That was the idea:  to showcase 4 DJs who have had ups and downs in their lives, just like the arc of a movie character.  But the big picture was to present 4 jocks whose careers would be symbolic of the profession, the medium and the heyday of rock radio.  We’re very happy with the subjects of the film but no doubt there are other worthy disc jockey choices as well.

The common theme among our 4 DJs is very much about freedom.  They fought throughout their careers to be able to continue to do what they wanted to do.  One of the things we hope the film will do is to generate a discussion about the current state of radio.  So here’s the ongoing question that we want to be a part of this film blog:

What DJs currently on air are still doing their shows in the free form tradition?  Who is still playing what they want to play and saying what they want to say?

In the comments section, please name names:  the DJ, the name of the show (if there is one), the city and the station.  Give us a short description of the show as well.  We would like this to be a place radio fans can visit and get a sense of the great radio shows that are still out there and where they can be found.

If we start to get enough of a DJ list going, we may create a separate Facebook group or web page dedicated to these free-form ambassadors.

Screen Shots

Over at the  I Am What I Play Facebook page, we have been posting screen shots from the film on a regular basis.   If you’re on Facebook, be sure and like the page for updates on the movie.  We will continue to update this blog but the Facebook page has more up to the minute action:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/I-Am-What-I-Play/297875140261718

Having said that, here are a few screen shots from the film:

 

Charles Laquidara in a 1970’s TV commercial for his morning radio show, The Big Mattress.

Meg Griffin in the WNEW studios in New York City, late 1970’s.

David Marsden being inducted into the Canadian Music and Radio Broadcast Hall of Fame in 2011.

Newspaper ad for Pat O’Day’s radio show in the late 60’s.

Radio Stuff podcast

Larry Gifford is a U.S. radio guru/consultant and he hosts a podcast about radio called Radio Stuff. I joined him on the podcast recently to talk about the film.  Click on the link below to listen.  The interview starts at the 13:00 minute mark:

http://radiostuff.podomatic.com/entry/2014-06-19T15_04_35-07_00

In addition to reading this blog, the best way to keep up-to-date on the film is to join us on Facebook and like the page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/I-Am-What-I-Play/297875140261718