Broken Kingdom and Kingdom Come were recently reviewed as the inaugural column in MIT Tech’s Indie Fix, by Karleigh Moore.
There’s also an interview with me on the two films, indie film in general, and Broken Kingdom director Daniel Gillies.
Thanks to Karleigh and MIT Tech.
I produced Daniel Gillies-directed Broken Kingdom, starring Daniel and Rachael Leigh Cook, and co-directed (and am in) Kingdom Come, featuring Selma Blair, Edward Burns, Bruce Campbell, Don Cheadle, Seth Green, John Hawkes, Thomas Jane, Ron Perlman, Bill Pullman, Tim Roth, Mark Ruffalo, Kevin Smith, and many more.
I’m happy to say you can currently watch both on Showtime, or on demand at Showtime Anywhere.
Here’s Showtime’s ad for the two films, playing back to back.
I hope you will enjoy!
Tuesday, October 2nd 2012 saw the premiere of our documentary Kingdom Come at the lovely Harmony Gold Theater in sunny West Hollywood, California.
The documentary follows a first-time filmmaker (Daniel Gillies) as he fights to finance and produce independent drama Broken Kingdom.
It also features a slew of other filmmakers and indie heroes (Mark Ruffalo, Kevin Smith, Selma Blair, Seth Green, Edward Burns, Rachael Leigh Cook, Morgan Spurlock, Illeana Douglas, Don Cheadle, and many more) telling their own indie film stories.
(Oh, and I’m in it… looking almost as uncomfortable as I do in this photo!)
Paste Magazine had this to say about the film:
It’s that mix of hopefulness and hopelessness, that mix of encouraging and discouraging, that makes Kingdom Come a worthy addition to the family of documentaries that began with Herzog’s Burden of Dreams and continued through classics like Hearts of Darkness and Lost in La Mancha.
Morgan Spurlock said:
Someone has finally made a film that shows you how hard it is to actually make a film! This movie should be required viewing in every film school in America. There were so many painful & cringeworthy moments, but that’s what independent film is all about.
And comedy hero Dan Harmon sayeth:
Funny and honest, devastating and uplifting. A rare kind of cautionary tale that leaves you with less caution. I’d recommend this movie to anyone that has ever felt driven by anything.
My point? Check out Kingdom Come, and the film that started it all, Broken Kingdom, if you haven’t already. They can be found nice and cheap at http://brokenkingdomfilm.com/#/kingdomcome
Here’s a fun piece I did with my friends Denis and Casey, directors of the hip hopumentary Rock The Bells.
And here it is. Enjoy!
Back in the mid 2000’s, I was fortunate enough to be a producer on a very special little film called The Life Of Reilly. The film starred Charles Nelson Reilly, who was mostly known for his captain’s hat and innuendo on such game show fare as The Match Game. But he was much more than that. He was in the original Broadway productions of Bye Bye Birdie and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, the latter of which earned him a Tony award (and he was nominated again for Hello Dolly).
He went on to be on The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson about a bizillion times and appear in as much TV and film as seemingly was being made at the time. He was also one of the few openly gay actors working at the time. Sort of. Charles never affirmed his sexuality, nor did he deny it, until his one-man show Save It For The Stage: The Life Of Reilly (the stage show was directed by the great Paul Linke). It was that show that our film’s directors, Barry Poltermann and Frank Anderson, saw that led to the filming of The Life Of Reilly (2006).
We premiered the film at the 2006 South By Southwest Film Festival. Sadly, Charles was too sick to attend. Sadder still, he died a short time after. Charles told Barry after watching a cut of the film that he felt this was the movie his whole life had led up to making. A hefty compliment, and a testament to the directors, and, Charles himself.
The film went on to be one of the best reviewed of 2007, when we released it theatrically. It’s currently #2 on RottenTomatoes’ list of best films of 2007.
It was Charles’ last performance, and final appearance on screen.
You can check out the trailer on YouTube, get the DVD or Blu-ray at CharlesNelsonReilly.com, buy it on iTunes, and watch the movie streaming on Netflix.
The DVD and Blu-ray also feature a commentary track from interviews with some of Charles’ pals like Dom DeLuise, Anne Meara, Burt Reynolds, and Jerry Stiller (which are from interviews that I shot – and, yes, to a person, they were all extremely kind, gracious people).
Rock The Bells is a documentary about a concert promoter who bites off more than he can chew while trying to put on a massive hip hop show featuring a ton of acts, the headliners being the reunited (he hopes… and has guaranteed) Wu Tang Clan. I was lucky enough to be an executive producer on the movie, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2006.
When I first heard of the film, the directors Casey Suchan and Denis Hennelly had already shot the footage and needed funds to finish post-production. I was part of the team that got involved and raised the post-production budget. And boy I’m glad I was.
It was a critical and fan favorite wherever it went and has an 83% Fresh rating on RottenTomatoes. Not only that, but Casey and Dennis have been great friends to me since.
The movie itself is an intense ride. Every time I watch it, I’m still sitting on the edge of my seat to see whether everything is going to work out or whether there is going to be a massive, bloody riot. It’s intense. And it’s a documentary, so you feel the real consequences as you see real fans pummeled or pass out from exhaustion. It’s crazy.
But don’t take my word for it. Here are a few of my favorite critic quotes on the doc:
“A flat-out stunner… High flying documentary at its finest.” – Kevin Williams, The Chicago Tribune
“Outright exhilarating.” – Premiere
“Wait to pee entertaining.” – Cinematical
And if you’re not sure you’d like it because you’re not into hip hop…
“A paean to indie ingenuity…appealing to devotees and the uninitiated alike.” – Variety
If you are into hip hop, you’ll certainly recognize Redman, Dilated Peoples, Sage Francis, MC Supernatural, and, of course, RZA, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, and the rest of the Wu Tang Clan.
You can get the DVD at Amazon or rent it from Netflix.
Broken Kingdom, a film I produced, won the Youth Jury Award for Best Feature this weekend at RIIFF.
Take that, every teacher I ever had who quite specifically told me I’d never produce an independent film that would win an award at the 2011 Rhode Island International Film Festival!
Broken Kingdom, a great little film I produced, is playing the Rhode Island International Film Festival.
August 12th, 7pm.
Providence.
John Lyons Murphy 