Fraternity Movie Followers Becomes College Favorite
Stuart Ginsberg
Cult Favorite
“Followers” Continues National College and University Tour This Spring
"FOLLOWERS," which began its 1999/2000 College and University Tour in
October, is touring the United States in order to raise awareness about hate
crimes and the dangers of hazing.
Quickly becoming a campus favorite, “Followers” is listed as a cult movie on
internet search engines such as Excite, Yahoo, and Looksmart. A hazing
discussion board has been added to the “Followers” website www.followers.com
asking for real-life fraternity stories. The topical subject matter combined
with the popularity of the tour has helped Followers.com show a dramatic
increase in hits over the past several months.
“There is less room for the micro-budgeted film, therefore we’re creating
our own buzz by taking it on the road. With the tour and our website, we
have built a platform for an honest and often intense debate about hazing
and racism” said Jonathan M. Flicker the film’s writer/director.
The 1999/2000 “Followers” College and University Tour kicked off with packed
screenings at Villanova University, Johns Hopkins University, and the
University of Rhode Island. The Spring Semester portion of the tour begins
on January 19th at West Virginia University and continues on through the
rest of the country.
Villanova University’s newspaper, The Villanovan calls “Followers” a
“shocking and powerful portrayal of fraternity hazing and personal
judgement” and proclaimed it a “hit among Villanova students.” National
critics applaud the film as “highly charged” (The Hollywood Reporter),
“Powerful” (The New York Screenwriter), and “a tightly constructed, chilling
tale” (Indiewire). Scr(i)pt Magazine declares “Followers”, “a hit for first
time writer/director Jonathan M. Flicker.” “Followers” is the winner of the
prestigious Spirit of Independents award at the Fort Lauderdale Film
Festival and was the runner up to “Life is Beautiful” for the Sundance
Channel People’s Choice award.
Inspired by a series of actual racial hazing incidents, “Followers” focuses
on three friends who want to pledge an exclusive fraternity. The friendship
disintegrates when one of the friends is not accepted because he is black.
To test the loyalty of the two white friends, the fraternity president
forces them to target their African-American friend through a series of
dangerous, racially motivated hazing incidents.
First time writer/director Jonathan M. Flicker got the idea for “Followers”
while a fraternity brother at Muhlenberg College. After graduating, Flicker
took a job waiting tables at New York City’s Museum Café where he met
co-producer Dennis Gossett Jr.. Flicker and Gossett raised the money to make
“Followers” by soliciting their regular customers, maxing out their credit
cards, and selling Flicker’s car.
