The genre, mostly direct-to-vid label XLrator Media have made perhaps their most noteworthy purchase yet picking up the U.S. distribution rights to Randall Miller’s CBGB. While the distrib has set up an October release to coincide with the CBGB Music Festival, there hasn’t been any mention of where this might be unveiled in terms of a film fest premiere.
Gist: CBGB follows the story of Hilly Kristal’s New York club from its origins as Country, Bluegrass and Blues (CBGB) to what it ultimately became: the birthplace of underground rock ‘n roll and punk. Kristal, a fan of Country and Bluegrass dreamed of having a club in the lower Eastside that catered to that kind of music, when he had difficulty booking those bands he turned to other kinds of rock music. Hilly had one demand of the acts he booked, they could only play their own original music. No top 40’s, no covers. It was the credo he lived by, support the artist at whatever the cost. Here’s the character/musician set of poster one sheets introduced not to far back.
Worth Noting: Potential musical clearance nightmare, the film features over 60 classic songs – filled to the gills with American Punk Rock tunes including The Ramones, Blondie, The Velvet Underground and Sonic Youth.
Do We Care?: Having missed out on Sundance, SXSW and Tribeca, we’re already in “skip it” mode – though Miller does have My Cross To Bear in the works. Production on that begins this summer.
