Indie Film Comedy We Are the Hartmans Set to Rock Manhattan With Innovative Release

Sept. 30, 2011 - PRLog -- With a soundtrack of over two dozen indie rock songs, feature comedy We Are the Hartmans kicks off a unique run in Manhattan music clubs beginning with a preview screening for the CMJ 2011 Music Marathon and Film Festival on Thursday, October 20, at 3:00PM at Chelsea Clearview Cinema. Hiro Ballroom will be the first club to screen the film followed by a live music showcase on Wednesday, November 2, at 8:00PM. A cast and crew talkback will take place at both events.

The film stars legendary actor Richard Chamberlain as Hartman, the pot-smoking hippie owner of the last local hangout in a town overrun by big box chain stores. When Hartman falls ill, his estranged family swoops into town set on closing the club and selling the property to a fast food franchise. What they don’t expect is a massive uprising by the neighborhood musicians, drunks and drag queens. The motley crew of patrons stage a full-out protest, eventually barricading themselves inside the club while the police gather outside.  Gothamist calls the film "a comedy parable for our gentrified age".

Iron and Wine and Freelance Whales are featured artists on the rock soundtrack fashioned by director Laura Newman who says, “The music is a strong defining element of the film. I wrote many scenes to songs I had in mind.”  She chose to forgo a traditional film score, influenced in part by actor and former “Dell Dude” Ben Curtis, who stars as Jordan the club's sound man, and is also a noted musician. He brought in critically acclaimed Black Taxi to perform on set leading to the inclusion of eight of their songs on the film’s soundtrack. CMJ will showcase Black Taxi directly after the screening of Hartmans, at 9:00PM at GalleryBar.

“With CMJ in Manhattan, it’s the ideal launchpad to do something original with Hartmans,” says Newman. “Every low budget indie has to distinguish itself to be seen so we've turned this into more than just a movie. It’s a show you can rock out to and laugh with while drinking a beer with friends.”

Hartmans was produced by KAID MEDIA and Spear Creative Group with Stuart Adam as executive producer. The script was penned by Newman and Emmy-award winner Peter J. Brash with a production budget under $200,000. Filming took place in Manhattan, Peekskill, and the East Hamptons in New York and in Jersey City, New Jersey. The film held its world premiere as a Gala Presentation at this year’s Atlanta Film Festival.

To learn more about We Are the Hartmans visit http://wearethehartmans.com. To request an interview contact Blayne K. Ross at 646-350-0836 or bkr@kaidmedia.com.

To order tickets for the CMJ 2011 preview screening visit http://ht.ly/6J5wG. Tickets for the opening premiere at Hiro Ballroom are available at http://ht.ly/6J2Ov. Additional screenings will be announced.

More information on CMJ 2011 and Black Taxi can be found here: http://ht.ly/6JdVn.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnQWthKQBd0&feature=player_embedded



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We Are the Hartmans is a feature length indie comedy starring Richard Chamberlain and "Dell Dude" Ben Curtis, about a small town's battle to save its soul by saving its only rock 'n roll club.