MC5 movie news!

News: For Immediate Release:

Oct. 6^th, 1997

ATTN: Friends of the MC-5 !! Dig It! - and Rejoice! - WE DONE KICKED 'EM OUT!! Tuesday, Sept 30, production of MC5 * A TRUE TESTIMONIAL took a giant leap forward! Future/Now Films became recipients of the prestigious Roy W. Dean Grant Award for documentary filmmakers -- to the tune of $35,000 in film goods and services!!! YEAH! Selected from 5 finalists amongst 200 entries, MC5 * A TRUE TESTIMONIAL chewed up the competition and rocked the house! Chicago nightclub Excalibur was the scene of the event, with each of the finalists making their final presentations for the judges. Future/Now's David Thomas channeled the Righteous Energies and RAN IT DOWN! with a chorus of support from co-conspirators Laurel Legler and Jeff Economy. The audience loved it and the preview/trailer BLEW THEM AWAY! The Roy W. Dean Grant is sponsored by Studio Film & Tape, national distributors of Fuji Motion Picture film, and the judges for the event included Academy Award winning director Barbara Trent (THE PANAMA DECEPTION), award winning director Zeinabu Davis, and award winning director David Simpson. This award will go a long way towards keeping the production rolling and eventual realization of the full budget. It was a GREAT night and a GREAT HONOR, wish you ALL could have been there! ...but since you was busy elsewheres, here's the text of our presentation:

"Good evening, and thank you. My name is David Thomas of Future/Now Films. I am co-Director and co-Producer of MC5 * A True Testimonial. My co-conspirators in this adventure are producer, Laurel Legler, co-director and director of photography, Jeff Economy, and our editor, Greg Snider of The Looking Glass. We are thrilled to have had this project chosen as one of the finalists for the Roy W. Dean Grant; we consider it a great honor to be here tonight, our thanks to Studio Film & Tape for this opportunity. MC5 * A True Testimonial will be a feature-length examination of the life and times of the MC-5, a high-energy rock n roll band who came blasting out of Detroit in the late 1960s, and their role in American cultural, political, and musical History. When we first began the preliminary research on this film we did so because we are at heart, rock n roll fans. And when we first unearthed archival footage of the MC-5 we were overjoyed to see that they were every bit as exciting and riveting and visually stunning as we had heard. But as we dug deeper into the intricacies of their story and examined the events which they had been a part of, we became increasingly aware not only of how influential this group was, but we began to see their story as a metaphor for the entire 60s youth explosion. We began to see how their career had paralleled the rise and fall of the radical political and cultural movements of the period, and we saw that an in-depth examination of what had happened to this band could be used to tell a larger story about American History. In the midst of the most turbulent years in our nation's history, the MC-5 embraced the promise and embodied the possibilities of a real American Revolution. During their brief career the MC-5 created a firestorm of controversy. They spearheaded the 60's only working class cultural scene; they were the only group with the courage to perform at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago in a show of solidarity with the Yippies and the anti-war Movement; and they attracted unparalleled attention from state and Federal law enforcement when they formed the White Panther Party in support of their Black Panther brothers. When their first album KICK OUT THE JAMS was released, it was censored by radio, banned by retailers, and quickly pulled off the market. Store owners in the state of Michigan were arrested for selling it. The band's manager, John Sinclair, was jailed in one of the most controversial cases in Michigan History. And as the 60s ended and the political tides shifted, the MC-5 fell into obscurity. Or did they? For as we began our research in Michigan, we found that the legend of the MC-5 had reached the level of Urban Myth. That devotion bordering on fanaticism surrounded this group, and they had changed lives forever. For many, the MC-5 were a working model of limitless possibilities and the MC-5 experience a catalyst for their own personal and political awakenings. The issues that will be explored in MC5 * A TRUE TESTIMONIAL are issues that are still with us -- the struggle against intolerance and oppression, government surveillance, the ongoing battle against censorship, and the fight for freedom of expression...these are the same battles we all continue to fight, and there is much to be learned from the successes and failures of the MC-5. Excitement about this film continues to build, even in its early stages it has received extensive press coverage, and the trailer you are about to see was recently screened for a standing-room-only crowd at the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland. A theatrical release of the finished film is our ultimate goal. MC5 * A TRUE TESTIMONIAL will mirror the high-energy aesthetic of the MC-5 themselves. It will be a dynamic documentary full of never-before- seen images, including rare archival footage, photos, posters, TV shows, interviews, news footage, and government surveillance films. It will be a high-energy history lesson, a celebration of the fire and the energy and the spirit that has always burned at the heart of the American Dream. We believe it is the last great untold story of the 1960s. We believe it is a story whose time has come, a unique story which we all deserve to know."

And then we rolled the trailer on the BIG SCREEN -- 2.5 minutes of SMOKING relentless MC-5 History/Hysteria...there is NO resisting its TOTAL ASSAULT! We walked away with the Grant and the Trophy -- A FIVE POINTED STAR!! Spread the word -- we're still fighting the GOOD FIGHT! And MC5 * A TRUE TESTIMONIAL is another step closer to reality! Peace & Power, Your Brothers and Sister at Future/Now Films

News: For Immediate Release:

September 16^th 1997

ATTN: Friends of the MC-5

On Wednesday, September 10 Future/Now Films producers Laurel Legler and David Thomas traveled to Cleveland to screen the preview/trailer of MC5*A True Testimonial at the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. The high-energy 2-and-a-half minute trailer received an enthusiastic response from the 200 or so in attendance. This was the first public screening of the trailer. The unannounced preview screening was a special surprise for the audience who were there to listen to readings from "Please Kill Me" by authors Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain, along with co-conspirator Wayne Kramer. The book has just been published in paperback by Penguin. The special evening was hosted and moderated by Cleveland's own Jimmy Zero, a former Dead Boy. Later that night Dodge Main performed a scorching set at The Euclid Tavern. The lineup this time around was Wayne Kramer, Scott Morgan, Gary Rasmussen, Deniz Tek, and Scott 'Rock' Ashton. They smoked the joint! Jimmy Zero even joined in on guitar on an incredible version of "City Slang." Wish you all could have been there. Ian Hunter was right.

August 18^th, '97

ATTN: Friends of the MC-5

Future/Now Films, Inc. is pleased to announce that Howard Thompson has signed on to MC5*A True Testimonial as Executive Producer. Thompson will be helping Future/Now in their continuing efforts to obtain funding and acquire archival materials for their MC5 retrospective. Mr. Thompson's association with the MC5 story is a long one. In 1977 Thompson signed Rob Tyner to Island Records, resulting in Tyner's recording of "Till the Night is Gone (Let's Rock)"/ "Flipside Rock" with Eddie and the Hot Rods. In 1991 he supervised Elektra Records' CD reissue of "Kick Out the Jams," arranging for the additional artwork by Gary Grimshaw and liner notes by Rob Tyner. Future/Now Films is pleased to welcome Howard aboard.

Studio Film & Tape Company (Los Angeles-New York-Chicago) announced on Tuesday that MC5*A True Testimonial has been selected as one of five finalists for the prestigious Roy W. Dean Grant, an award worth $35,000 in goods and services. The final selection process will culminate with a public presentation by the five finalists at Chicago's Excalibur, 632 N. Dearborn, on Tuesday, September 30. Future/Now Films will have five minutes to pitch their plans for MC5*A True Testimonial and screen the two-minute preview/trailer. The event is open to the public (advance limited seating); contact Studio Film & Tape, Chicago (312.467.0070) to request an invitation.

We're kickin' em out, Motherfuckers!!

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