Posted in: Movies, Recent Updates | Tagged: 4k restoration, chloe sevigny, Dennis Hopper, jack nicholson, linda manz, movie, Natasha Lyonne, out of the blue, russian doll, venice film festival

Dennis Hopper's "Out of the Blue" Kickstarter Approaches $65,000 Funding in Final Hours

Discovery Productions' Kickstarter campaign to create a 4K restoration of Dennis Hopper's cult 1980 movie Out of the Blue will end at midnight on Friday this week. At this time, the movie has amassed 434 backers who have pushed the total past the $35,000 goal.

Out of the Blue, the 1980 cult movie written and directed by Dennis Hopper has a well-deserved cult reputation. It's considered one of the truly Punk movies of the era. The dark, downbeat story of an alienated teenage girl with diminishing options as her family life falls apart.

Hopper had originally been hired to act in the movie but took it over after two weeks when the director got fired. He rewrote the script and turned it into a searing and gritty movie well beyond the moralistic After School Special it was originally meant to be. The movie became a cult all over Europe, making the repertory and festival circuit throughout the 1980s and 1990s. It has a far greater reputation in Europe than the US, though to this day, it claims many filmmakers and stars as fans. Jack Nicholson declared it a masterpiece back in the day.

The pre-existing 35MM prints of the film have deteriorated from the wear-and-tear of screenings in the last 10 years. There's a need to restore the movie to 4K digital sources to preserve the movie for future generations and also release it on DVD and Blu-Ray at last.

New Stretch Goals

The 4K restoration of the movie will premiere at the Venice Film Festival in late August this year. With funding for the Kickstarter now past $55,000, Discovery Productions have introduced new stretch goals. These include:

•  40th Anniversary screenings in New York and Los Angeles – and maybe also Boston, Austin, Santa Fe and other cities with strong support for OUT OF THE BLUE.  And Vancouver, Canada, too, of course – where this ground-breaking film was shot.  (Let us know if you want to help organize in YOUR city or town!)
•  We'd also like to pull together interview clips and footage from other sources, and shoot new interview footage with Linda Manz and other cast/crew members as bonus features for Blu-ray and DVD discs.
• New Re-release Trailer with Restoration Footage.
•  New poster and other marketing materials.
•  Special limited edition posters of scenes from OUT OF THE BLUE – showing Dennis Hopper's amazing eye as a photographer.
• Mastering additional Digital Cinema Packages (DCP's) for theatrical/festival/special venue screenings.
• Preparing master digital files for the streaming service specifications of Amazon, iTunes, Netflix, Hulu and others.
• LTO back up of all master digital files as best preservation of OUT OF THE BLUE for the future.
•  Subtitle the film in as many as six languages—English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Italian for DCP screenings all around the world.  And utilize the foreign subtitles also for later international DVD/Blu-ray and streaming release.

There will also be a Premiere screening and reception in New York City and Los Angeles. Chloe Sevigny and Russian Doll creator and star Natasha Lyonne, both champions of the movie, will be attending.

If you want to help kickstart the restoration, you can have till midnight on Friday. Perks include a DVD or Blu-Ray of the movie along with other goodies.

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