AJ Answers Gigantic DVD Questions
Eminel
interested. It includes the Rabid Child question Quinn has already
posted.
-Mike
Hey everyone,
AJ Schnack here. Just wanted to take this moment to thank
everyone for their great support over the past few months. With
only five film prints, Gigantic has traveled to more than 50 cities
during its theatrical run and we still have another month and a
half of cities to hit, including Toronto, Atlanta, Portland,
Cincinnati, Ft. Lauderdale, Tallahassee & Lexington. We never
could have believed that the film would travel to so many places
(nor, we guess did you, as we remember so many posts of the
"it will never play anywhere near me" variety) and we're grateful to
our friends at Cowboy Pictures who have worked so hard to
make sure this Tale of Two Johns would unspool in more than
30 states and territories in North America. By the time we're
through, more than 40,000 people will have seen Gigantic during
its run.
So while we're still working hard on the theatrical release, much
of the past few months has been spent working with our pals at
Plexifilm on the upcoming DVD, which will be released on
November 18. In addition to a crisp digital transfer of the film,
we've included more than 4 1/2 hours of bonus materials that we
hope will provide both a comprehensive overview of TMBG's
20-year career, as well as give loyal fans some footage that
they've never seen before or have never been able to own in one
collection.
We wanted to throw open the group to your questions about this
upcoming disc and you responded, both on the board and
directly to our email. So here are some answers (and some
cagey replies)...
From Darren Dunn:
Were you able to find it in your hearts to include the video of the
children singing 'Why Does The Sun Shine?' at the grade school
talent show? I'll still buy a copy either way, but it will be great if
the song is included.
We got a lot of great homemade material from fans early in the
production and this is one of my favorites. Unfortunately, rights
issues prevent us from using "Why Does the Sun Shine?" in any
context on the DVD. The rights to the song are split between one
of the songwriters, who is still living, and the heirs of the other
songwriter, who demanded a truly unreasonable fee to use the
song. It's a disappointment not only that we can't include the
grade school talent show video but that we couldn't use the song
in the movie or include the live performance of the song from the
Polish National Home, which was truly electrifying.
Adam asks a few questions:
What were you hoping that fans would get out of this film?
Well, I think I've said before that the main target audience for
Gigantic was people who either had never heard about the
Giants or had only a cursory knowledge of them or had been a
fan at one time and had perhaps drifted away. I wanted to create
a film that would allow people to discover something that you
and many others had already found.
That said, I certainly didn't want fans to dislike it, and I hoped
that the behind-the-scenes footage, the personal moments between
John and John and the sense that one of your favorite bands
was "getting its due" would give fans a wonderful experience.
And what did it take to get 2/3 of Spinal Tap (Michael McKean and
Harry Shearer) to do the songs they quoted?
We just asked. Michael and Harry are fans (don't know where
Christopher Guest stands on the issue) and quickly agreed to
participating. We were honored to have them, of course,
particularly in that I referenced the Guest films (including Spinal
Tap, which technically is a Reiner film) and their pacing for
humor in the editing of Gigantic.
Oh yeah and can we say Rabid Child???
Pleaaaaasssssseeeee.
This last question also came in via email from Kevin and from
Mary. Well, I hate to be the one to break it to you, but the snippet
of the Rabid Child video that appears in the film is all that will
make it to the DVD. I promised fans that I would ask John and
John about including the full piece and I was quickly (but politely)
laughed out of the room (or would have been if we had been in
the same room).
Stephen Perry asks:
Any chance of a showing in Toronto ON, Canada
Stephen, holy cow. Check the web page! We start our Toronto
run on October 3 and will play at three theaters there - the
Paradise, the Royal and the Music Hall. Let us know how it
goes!
Kay, who's helping out a lot with flyers and posters in South
Florida, writes in with this question:
Will any more fan interviews be on the dvd?
Hm, here's one of those cagey answers I promised you. There's
gonna be a bunch of stuff on the DVD that has not yet been
detailed on our site or on the Plexifilm site. I mean think about it
- 4 1/2 hours of material - that's a lot more material than has
been described to date. But I want you guys to have some fun
with it. Look, I know that the first person who gets their DVD is
gonna race to get all the details online as fast as possible, but I
assume there's still some folks out there who like surprises!
And Kay, thanks again for all the help and support for our run in
Ft. Lauderdale! Florida has always been a great supporter of the
Giants, so let's get a great turnout for Gigantic next weekend!
Speaking of Florida, our good pal Travis (now going by the nom
de plume James Scyler) in Sarasota writes in with this:
Dear Gigantic,
Wow, you made it from idea, to trailer, to theater to
DVD, how does it feel? You did a great job! I can't
wait to see the DVD special features, they sound awe
inspiring. One question remains though, what will the
menue's on the title of the DVD look like? Will it be
James K. Polk and John Henry holding up signs? The
posibilities lured me to ask....
The menus are gonna be really sweet, actually. All through the
process, we've been trying to maintain and uphold the Giants'
standards of great design and we're lucky that the folks at
Plexifilm are design mavens in their own right (check out their
discs for Wilco's I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, Edie in Ciao
Manhattan and Style Wars). We will probably post some of the
DVD designs in advance here on the Yahoo group or link from
the website, so stay tuned for that.
Destin writes in with a long list of questions about what we've
announced as DVD extras:
First, let me say that the Gigantic DVD sounds absolutely
amazing--a great selection of extra features that exceeds any
reasonable expectations. As much as I dug the movie, I would
have bought any DVD that came out--I believe my only
requirement would be that it contained the full amazing Tonight
Show performance, of which I've only ever seen the last half. So
I'm happy.
BUT, like anyone else, I'm also greedy. :) So let me pry a bit
more: with the 5 music videos somewhat redundantly included
on this disc, is there any chance the legendary complete Rabid
Child video is secretly included?
See above for an answer about Rabid Child. As for the videos
and this idea of their inclusion being "redundant", let me just say
that the vast, vast majority of folks who will buy or rent Gigantic do
not own Direct From Brooklyn either in VHS or DVD and have not
seen these videos in many years. I know this sounds like
heresy to some of you -- that there exist folks who love, like or are
just kind of interested in TMBG and do not own the videos. As I
believe that the Adam Bernstein videos are one of the most (if
not THE most) important chapters of the Giants legacy, there
was absolutely no way we could not include these videos on the
Gigantic DVD.
That said, for those of you who own the Direct From Brooklyn
DVD, there will still be new information about the videos in the
introductions to each made by Adam Bernstein and John and
John. And rest assured, nothing was left out because we
decided to include these videos, although their inclusion was
always a top priority for me.
Will we be able to access full versions of all the live
performances featured in the movie, without cuts or voiceovers?
No. Instead we decided to include three songs from the Polish
National Home (Fingertips, They Might Be Giants and Number
Three) that are not in the movie as well as a bunch of other
performances (both old and new) that you've never seen before.
I suppose it's possible that at some point we would try to
release thee full versions of songs from that concert, although
it's not something we're planning right now and would certainly
depend on how Gigantic does when the DVD is released.
Will the Flood promo video be the only one included, or is there
any chance of the A18 one slipping in as well?
Similarly, 3 out of the 5 Brave New World videos are listed. Why
not the other two?
We wanted to include an overview of the band's entire career as
well as choose some of the best stuff. Personally, I like the
Flood promo video more than the Apollo 18 promo. As for the
Brave New World videos, these were the ones we could license
and get digital copies of from ABC News. I don't think I would
have included all five even if we could however because while
the videos are funny and certainly worthwhile, they are just a
small part of the Giants' legacy, and I wouldn't wish to imply that
the five videos directed by Adam Bernstein are of equal weight to
the five they did for Brave New World.
Finally, a question about the movie in general: did you consider
or attempt to secure rights to any other television appearances
for the movie/DVD, including their network debut on Letterman,
their MTV appearances and/or various interviews? I'm not really
asking if this stuff is on the DVD, since I imagine it'd be in the
specs if it were. I'm just curious if there were any others
considered for inclusion at any point in the filmmaking process,
and rejected based upon rights issues, costs, quality concerns,
etc.
We included footage from one of their appearances on MTV and
might have used others if their licensing fees weren't so high.
And at the time of production, the ongoing dispute between
Letterman and NBC nixed our hopes of including the footage
from their network television debut. The footage was included in
nearly every rough cut of the film and was removed two weeks
before we finished when we couldn't get permission. We hoped
to get copies of their appearances on the Joe Franklin show, but
apparently Joe's system of cataloging old show tapes is
somewhat akin to finding the proverbial needle in a stack of hay.
Hope that helps, Destin.
Mark V. emailed us with this question:
Did you work with John and John in compiling the extras for the
DVD? Or did they leave you aloine?
First off, we have to send huge thanks to John and John for all
the support they have given to Shirley and I during this entire
process. For the DVD, we asked them to join me (and Ms. Sarah
Vowell) for the feature-length commentary, which we recorded
last month in New York two days before the big blackout. But I'm
not sure they even know all the stuff that is gonna be on the disc.
We sent them the same press release that went out from
Plexifilm a couple weeks ago. I think they're hoping to be
(pleasantly surprised).
Alex wrote in with this:
I'm curious about the Deleted Scenes and the Raw Footage.
Whats the difference?
The two deleted scenes are longer, edited pieces that were in
the film for months into the edit process. Shirley and I recorded
an audio commentary for these scenes to explain why we
removed the scenes and talk a little about their creation. The
raw segments consist of unedited footage of performances and
backstage scenes. This was stuff that we liked or thought was
funny but never made it into the film.
Jake asks:
I wanna see soon. I wanna I wanna. I think TMBG are the bees
knees and I gotta find out how I can see this. I live in the
Philadelphia area. If you know...let me know....
Hey Jake, you should keep checking in to the website or your
Yahoo mail. There's a rumor of a return to Philadelphia,
although it hasn't been confirmed yet. It probably won't be as
great as our run at the Prince Music Theatre this July, but
hopefully you'll get that chance to see Gigantic on the big screen
before you buy it on DVD.
Which leads us to our last question from Jill in Pittsburgh:
I saw Gigantic at the Oaks Theater and I loved it! I was with three
people who only knew They Might Be Giants as the band that did
that Istanbul song and they thought it was one of the best
rockumentaries they'd ever seen. I see that we're gonna be able
to buy the DVD. When? How? I want to give it to all my friends
for Christmas.
Excellent idea, Jill! Did we mention that Gigantic is gonna make
a great Christmas gift? We're still figuring out with Plexifilm how
the sales thing is going to work, but don't worry, we should be
able to let you know in the next couple of weeks and hopefully we
can start taking orders a month before the release date. We're
also trying to figure out ways to give you guys some bonus stuff if
you buy Gigantic direct from us (postcards, posters, random crap
lying around the office), so stay tuned for that info as well.
Alright, well, this is probably gonna be my last post until the DVD
is actually in your hands, so thanks again for all the support,
help, kind words, etc., you've been offering up. The Folks at
Gigantic will keep updating the group with new bookings, DVD
details and a few action items, so stay plugged in.
Your pal,
AJ Schnack
Kevin Sullivan
wrote:
<snip>
>
>Were you able to find it in your hearts to include the video of the
>children singing 'Why Does The Sun Shine?' at the grade school
>talent show? I'll still buy a copy either way, but it will be great if
>the song is included.
>
>We got a lot of great homemade material from fans early in the
>production and this is one of my favorites. Unfortunately, rights
>issues prevent us from using "Why Does the Sun Shine?" in any
>context on the DVD. The rights to the song are split between one
>of the songwriters, who is still living, and the heirs of the other
>songwriter, who demanded a truly unreasonable fee to use the
>song. It's a disappointment not only that we can't include the
>grade school talent show video but that we couldn't use the song
>in the movie or include the live performance of the song from the
>Polish National Home, which was truly electrifying.
That's odd considering a live performance of WDTSS was on Direct From
Brooklyn.
<snip>
>We wanted to include an overview of the band's entire career as
>well as choose some of the best stuff. Personally, I like the
>Flood promo video more than the Apollo 18 promo. As for the
>Brave New World videos, these were the ones we could license
>and get digital copies of from ABC News. I don't think I would
>have included all five even if we could however because while
>the videos are funny and certainly worthwhile, they are just a
>small part of the Giants' legacy, and I wouldn't wish to imply that
>the five videos directed by Adam Bernstein are of equal weight to
>the five they did for Brave New World.
Damn, he put way too much thought into it. Just put the stuff on
there! He likes the Flood promo better so the A18 promo gets tossed?
They total like 5 minutes together so I don't think it would've
spoiled anything to include both :p Especially just as easter eggs or
something...ahh well, I'm sure it'll turn up on something at some
point.
scratch
>
> That's odd considering a live performance of WDTSS was on Direct From
> Brooklyn.
Bonfire is a much smaller company. They can't afford to pay as many
royalties.
> Damn, he put way too much thought into it. Just put the stuff on
> there! He likes the Flood promo better so the A18 promo gets tossed?
> They total like 5 minutes together so I don't think it would've
> spoiled anything to include both :p Especially just as easter eggs or
> something...ahh well, I'm sure it'll turn up on something at some
> point.
this is where the whole "it wasn't meant for hardcore fans" thing comes
in. he doesn't want to overwhelm non-fans with weird unimportant stuff.
he wants it to be a good overview. some other completist DVD released
by Idlewild would be the place to put *everything*.
-scratch
DYovino
-Daniel
Nathan Mulac DeHoff
>> Damn, he put way too much thought into it. Just put the stuff on
>> there! He likes the Flood promo better so the A18 promo gets tossed?
>> They total like 5 minutes together so I don't think it would've
>> spoiled anything to include both :p Especially just as easter eggs or
>> something...ahh well, I'm sure it'll turn up on something at some
>> point.
>
>this is where the whole "it wasn't meant for hardcore fans" thing comes
>in. he doesn't want to overwhelm non-fans with weird unimportant stuff.
Aren't extras generally supposed to be for the hardcore fans, though?
Nathan
Dinne...@tmbg.org
http://members.aol.com/jinnicky/
"And the silver chauffeur says it's all in your head, when you're 24 karat
dead." --They Might Be Giants
Nathan Mulac DeHoff
>Well, I think I've said before that the main target audience for
>Gigantic was people who either had never heard about the
>Giants or had only a cursory knowledge of them or had been a
>fan at one time and had perhaps drifted away.
I really don't know what non-fans or casual fans who might have seen Gigantic
thought of it, but I tended to get the idea that they probably wouldn't care
about it. My initial reaction was that the film was something only TMBG fans
would really appreciate.
>Well, I hate to be the one to break it to you, but the snippet
>of the Rabid Child video that appears in the film is all that will
>make it to the DVD. I promised fans that I would ask John and
>John about including the full piece and I was quickly (but politely)
>laughed out of the room (or would have been if we had been in
>the same room).
It strikes me as kind of a mean tease to show that one snippet and not the
rest. I guess that just confirms my belief that the Johns shouldn't be allowed
to decide what material of theirs should be released. <g>
AstralBee
videos, I have to agree with AJ's editing choices. Gigantic was shown in
movie theatres all over the USA, and they are hoping that the DVD will be
available for rental, too. It's not just for fans, its for everyone, and his
decision to include some of the promo videos that fans already own is a
really great way of promoting the band to non-believers. If you were already
a fan when Brave New World was shown, you would have tuned in to see it. Any
new converts to the cult of They that Gigantic creates will have to make
similar efforts to catch future events. Ultimately, AJ's work indirectly
supports the band's interests; he does not work for the band. We will have
to rely on J&J to respond to the requests of fans.
Dar
"Nathan Mulac DeHoff" <jinn...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20030924030136...@mb-m10.aol.com...
AstralBee
> Ooh, I want some random crap lying around the office.
That would go for a fortune on Ebay, too.
Dar