"Blue Like Jazz" Movie Coming--Finally!
Directed and co-written by Steve Taylor (The Second Chance) the film will have its World Premiere in the Narrative Spotlight section at the 2012 South-by-Southwest Film Festival before opening in theatres on Apr. 13.
Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller spent 43 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List and has sold over 1.5 million copies to date. The semi-autobiographical story was adapted for the screen by Miller, Taylor, and Ben Pearson.
In the early days of pre-production, the project was forced to be put on hold due to lack of funding, prompting a Web site to be created by fans, for fans, called “Save Blue Like Jazz.” The site urged loyalists to help raise money to fund the movie through Kickstarter, an online matchmaker for filmmakers and financial backers. The campaign went on to raise a record-setting $345,000, more than doubling the original goal of $125,000, allowing the film to start production.
In Blue Like Jazz, Don (Allman), a pious 19-year-old sophomore at a Texas junior college, impulsively decides to escape his religious upbringing for life in the Pacific Northwest at one of the most progressive campuses in America, Reed College in Portland. Upon arrival, Reed’s surroundings and eccentric student body proves to be far different than he could possibly imagine from the environment from which he came, forcing him to embark on a journey of self-discovery to understand who he is and what he truly believes.
The film boasts a cast of rising stars including Marshall Allman (True Blood), Claire Holt (The Vampire Diaries, Pretty Little Liars), and Tania Raymonde (Lost). Blue Like Jazz was produced by Taylor, J. Clarke Gallivan, and Coke Sams for Ruckus Film.
Additional outreach and grassroots partnerships will continue to dominate the entertainment, college, and faith-oriented landscape in the coming weeks with a number of promotional activities:
Blue Like Jazz will have its World Premiere at the 2012 SXSW Film Festival on Tuesday, March 13th at the historic Paramount Theatre. Film star and Austin native Marshall Allman is expected to attend along with Steve Taylor and Don Miller. Steve Taylor and Don Miller will kick off a 30-city bus tour on Feb. 29, during which they will host screenings, events and discussions geared towards fans of the book and early supporters of the film. Please visit: http://www.bluelikejazzthemovie.com/ for more information.4,500 Kickstarter backers on record, along with other fans and Blue Like Jazz followers are being organized into "street teams" for the purpose of creating awareness for the film. Over 5,000 supporters are already confirmed to participate with offline and online promotion impressions that are set to reach an estimated 2.5 million potential moviegoers. An unprecedented promotion with leading Christian culture media outlet RELEVANT commenced Feb. 14. The partnership includes promotion across all print, Web, live event, and social media platforms through the film’s opening.