Movie Minute: 5-25-77

 Writer/Director and visual effects artist Patrick Read Johnson recounts how he became the first outsider to see the almost-finished cut of Star Wars, and how this event changed his life, in the charming coming-of-age film, 5-25-77.

This highly-anticipated movie is set in the spring of 1977, in the tiny town of Wadsworth, IL., where Pat is a sci-fi obsessed teenager making increasingly ambitious 8mm films in the hopes of heading for Hollywood one day. As he tries (and fails) to balance running his “studio" with chasing the girl of his dreams, Linda, a courageous phone call, placed by his concerned mother, results in Pat taking "the ultimate trip" to Hollywood, meeting a couple of industry titans, and getting an early look at an upcoming sci-fi film, unlike any he’s ever seen before. Now, Pat is forced to choose - between chasing a seemingly impossible dream...or accepting the comforting familiarity of home.

 

Johnson has worked in Hollywood since 1980, in a career spanning everything from his early miniature and VFX work on films like Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Dead Heat, and Warlock, to developing numerous motion picture and TV projects for 20th Century Fox, Warner, The Jim Henson Company, and Universal, (including authoring the original story for Dragonheart), to directing such films as Spaced Invaders, Baby's Day Out, When Good Ghouls Go Bad, and Angus. 

5-25-77 was produced by Gary Kurtz, (Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, American Graffiti, Fred Roos (The Godfather Part II, Lost in Translation, The Black Stallion) and Leigh Jones (Here Alone), and features a stellar cast, including John Francis Daley, Austin Pendleton, Colleen Camp, and Neil Flynn.

 

Along with the beautiful symphonic score by David Russo (Gotham, Angus, Spaced Invaders), the music in the film features hit songs of the day from The Alan Parsons Project, Queen, Supertramp, 10cc, Ambrosia, Focus, Argent, Ringo Starr, Leon Russell, and more!

 

MVD Visual will be releasing 5-25-77 on both Blu-ray and DVD on November 22, in celebration of the 45th anniversary of the original release of Star Wars! Special features include audio commentary track, Q&A from 2014 Fantasia Film Festival, three trailers, and three behind-the-scenes photo galleries.