Product Details

• Actors: Andy McCone, Brittany Quist, Carol De Salles, Dan Heinrich, Danielle Reierson
• Directors: Patrick Beacham
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rating: Unrated
• Studio: Ryko Distribution
• DVD Release Date: July 29, 2008
• Run Time: 111 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0013IHTFW
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #172,882 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Audience Strikes Back" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

About the Director

One of my fondest memories is of being taken every Thursday evening to UCLA and to the iconic Royce Hall in the center of campus to see the masterworks of such directors as John Ford, Josef von Sternberg, Fritz Lang and King Vidor. This was the mid-1960s, and all these directors were, miraculously, still alive, and even more miraculously, there, in Royce Hall, at the screenings, to talk about the films we had just seen: The Iron Horse and The Grapes of Wrath; The Blue Angel and Morocco; Woman in the Moon and Fury; The Crowd and Our Daily Bread.

Of course, my love affair with film had begun long before this, and it must have seemed awfully strange to my parents that when I was ten or eleven I was asking for such books as Classics of the Silent Screen ; or to my teachers when in an essay on American history, in the ninth grade, I bemoaned the fact that Frank Capra was no longer being permitted to make movies.

I loved UCLA, even as kid and it was the only college I ever applied to. Why I didn t enroll in film school is still an unfathomable mystery to me. However, I did earn a degree in Political Science, and my continuing fascination with this subject is reflected in the various social and political issues that are at the core of The Audience Strikes Back.

Much earlier, this interest was also reflected in the somewhat different set of issues that animate my one novel, The Things That Are Thor s, completed in 1987. The book tells the story of how the world s largest oil company, Thor, capitalizes on the world-wide shortage of oil to engineer a colossal coup in Washington. Never sold, the novel may have been way ahead of its time - or just too dangerous to print (no, not really).

So, as the age of technology began to blossom, and finding myself in dire need of a professional makeover after my book went nowhere, I signed on with Microsoft Corporation. And there, in the belly of the beast, I learned a good many useful things about myself.

My tenure at Microsoft lasted, off and on, for nearly eight years, and when I left Microsoft in April 2005, it was for the purpose of making The Audience Strikes Back, my first feature film.

I slipped into the role of director with surprising ease - perhaps it is the part I was born to play. I felt supremely confident throughout the entire production process, but unlike so many other directors who have succumbed to the same phenomenon, I hope and trust that this, in reality, was not some temporary form of megalomania.

One thing only is assured: Sadly, I will never stand on equal ground with the likes of John Ford, Josef von Sternberg, Fritz Lang, or King Vidor, but I am grateful that I have been able to experience a little of what they experienced, and to feel a little of what they felt.

Product Description

Imagine that you have just seen The Revenge of the Sith and are leaving the movie theater. A man approaches he s holding a microphone. We re here shooting a documentary. Would you care to express your opinion about Revenge of the Sith? You say, Sure, and suddenly find yourself in front of a film crew.

The interviewer asks three questions:

What did you think of the movie?

We re making a movie in which people sit down and down and talk about the entire Star Wars chronicle. What do you think of that idea?

How would you like to be in the movie?

One week later you are walking into a large room. With you are seven other people, none of whom you know. You still believe you are all here for only one reason: to talk about Star Wars.

The only other person present is a mysterious young woman who immediately takes charge but claims she will also be serving espresso. She seats you at an oval table in the center of the room. You take your bearings and notice the espresso cart off to one side strange. The conversation begins. At first, it seems friendly enough. You all love Star Wars. Then you look around and realize: we have nothing else in common. You are talking with people you would never ordinarily talk with. Or maybe even want to, outside this room. But no one seems to care. And no one is holding back. You wonder why.

Because it s a movie?

There s a sense in the room we re all in the same boat why not make the most of it. But here and there, your little boat is springing leaks. Then, suddenly, from all sides, the water pours in:

Gay marriage and adoption

Christian fundamentalism

The Rapture

Grand Theft Auto

The war in Iraq

Abortion

The environment

Beheadings

And the conversation is no longer just about Star Wars . . .

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Not worth your time, Definitely not your money, August 6, 2008

By	Matt "Matt" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

I hope this doesn't get posted twice, I wrote a review over a week ago, but it never appeared. This movie was bad enough and so infuriating that I actually came back and wanted to write another one since the first wasn't posted. The biggest problem is that the film does not deliver what is advertised, and what it does deliver is so brutally awful, you feel as though the director is reaching through the screen and punching you in the stomach (or perhaps slightly lower).

The film's premise, at least as it appears, is that several star wars fans get are assembled following the release of Return of the Sith to discuss the franchise. Supposedly, this leads into conversation about a wide range of topics. I'm a star wars fan, this sounded interesting. This is NOT what you get. What you get is a poorly written and horrendously acted farce, that only uses the premise of a star wars discussion as a jumping off point. This is a dishonest film and your money and time would be better spent elsewhere.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Can you take back stars on a review?, July 29, 2008

By	The Sage (California USA) - See all my reviews

Awful. Painful. A complete waste of my time.

This is sold as if a bunch of movie-goers get picked to talk about the latest Star Wars film and then it morphs into something else. If that were the case it may have turned out to be a good movie.

This was a scripted, poorly acted indie that used every cliche and sterotype available simply for some kind of shock value. The acting was poor quality and the people couldn't even deliver their punchlines with conviction.

Skip this movie. It's ghastly.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars STAR WARS meets TWELVE ANGRY MEN - Cool!, March 29, 2008

By	PAULG - See all my reviews

Interesting Indie film effort that intelligently weaves STAR WARS into an open commentary on society and real life as we humans know it. STAR WARS for many was and maybe is a pivotal pop cultural event and certainly can be interpreted in many ways which this film sets out to do. Though the actors are unknowns the words are the real star here. The enigmatic Barista supervises (and serves delicious lattes!) over the assembled and chosen few who open up as the film progresses and reveal many surprises along the way as strangers do once they become familiar with their surroundings. Perhaps they open up too much since they know they'll never see these strangers probably ever again. For the audience though it creates a more engaging experience. This is a low budget film way more entertaining than 20 big studio big budget bore fests with little on the brain.

The film opens with real and funny interviews of a typical crazed STAR WARS attired crowd at a theater in Seattle during the release of REVENGE OF THE SITH back in May of 2005 to set the stage. From many walks of life march those into the theater who hear the STAR WARS drumbeat regardless of race, religion or politics. George Lucas space opera has held the world enthralled since 1977 and his vision gives rise and meaning to important smaller films like this one.