Remembering back when, in summer1975, our “hippie lives” were full of laughter and FUN—we’ll use that spirit again!
Raymond Harvey & doll. ©1975 L.L. Productions.
BEFORE The Gong show, BEFORE England's Got Talent, BEFORE American Idol, BEFORE America's Got Talent, BEFORE The Voice...there was
The second film of my trilogy, SHOWBOAT 1988—THE REMAKE (91 1/2 minutes, B&W/Color, ©1978 L.L. Productions) (A MAN, A WOMAN, AND A KILLER and EMERALD CITIES complete my three features about ‘The American Dream’), is about a huge audition for the remake of the classic American musical "Showboat." For three nights, July 22-24, 1975, hundreds of San Francisco’s most bizarre talent turned up, while actor ED NYLUND, a real-life librarian and musicologist, tried to enact his dream of bringing "the stench of death" to the musical comedy form. As he narrates real-life stories of his childhood failures, the viewer can better understand an auditioner’s leap for glory.
Featuring performances by rock star Sylvester, bluesman J.C. Burris, Jesus Christ Satan, Ral-pheno, many others.
Actors RICHARD A. RICHARDSON and CAROLYN ZAREMBA again supplied pivotal Supporting Actor roles, along with WILLIE BOY WALKER, SKIP COVINGTON, BRUCE PARRY, RICHARD MARCUS. Directed by Rick Schmidt. Script by Rick Schmidt, Bill Farley (OF MEN AND ANGELS, PLASTIC MAN, etc.), Nick Kazan (AT CLOSE RANGE, REVERSAL OF FORTUNE, DREAM LOVER, etc.), and Henry Bean (INTERNAL AFFAIRS,THE BELIEVER, etc.).
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REVIEWS:
“The big hit of the Ann Arbor Film Festival, it’s easy to see why. The film has carved a unique nitch for itself, somewhere between FREAKS and Fellini’s 8 1/2. It’s as though someone forgot to lock the studio door and Luis Bunuel and William Burroughs sneaked in and began a hatchet job on Hollywood." — David Harris, THE BOSTON PHOENIX
“1988 recounts the fictitious tale of a middle-aged librarian’s attempts to finance and remake the film musical “Showboat” in contemporary terms. The auditions are arranged on a San Francisco stage, and range from incredible to merely bizarre.” — VARIETY
“1988 in its cumulative preposterous flummery is a spirited outcry for people to throw off the covert and overt forms of oppression and be themselves. Beneath the film’s Quixotic humor and surprisingly touching pathos stands the surrealist belief that art is never more important than life. An outrageous tour-de-force.” — Vic Skolnick, CINEMA ARTS CENTRE
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Village Voice "Choice of the Week" / J. Hoberman.
TV premiere: CHANNEL FOUR , UK.
1st PRIZE – ANN ARBOR FILM FESTIVAL.
Additional Fests: ROTTERDAM INTERNATIONAL, LONDON FILM FESTIVAL, FLORENCE FILM FESTIVAL (Italy), FIGUEIRA DA FOZ (Portugal).
See FULL MOVIE here:
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