Press Release: From Australia to Aloha to Alaska: High-flying week for HIGH THERE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Nonfiction gonzo comedy film praised as "absurdly funny" 

Director-star Wayne Darwen called "icon of his era"

High There set for  June 23rd release on BRINKvision DVD and On Demand

HOLLYWOOD (MAY 29) -- Praise and publicity for the soon-to-be-released nonfiction comedy High There crossed hemispheres and continents this week, beginning with a controversial retraction by a septuagenarian newspaper columnist and culminating with a rave review calling the film "absurdly funny," with "newsworthy substance."

The latest critical thumbs-up in advance of the film's June 23rd release on BRINKvision DVD and On Demand came Thursday from The Anchorage Press in Anchorage, Alaska.  Film critic Indra Arriaga called the film "absurdly funny," with "drama and conniving... front and center." She wrote that its focus on "a crackdown on the cannabis industry as well as the ongoing detention of Roger Christie who founded the THC Ministry... give High There newsworthy substance."

She concluded by stating that director/star Wayne Darwen "is an icon of his era."

The write-up in the 49th State came as High There was being cited in the 50th state as a counterpoint to Cameron Crowe's critically-panned film Aloha.  After a civil rights group attacked Crowe's film for its alleged unfair racial representation of Hawaii, High There was shown on social media to present true diversity in and around the hippie enclave of Pahoa on the Big Island.

Wendy & Mark Day

All this came on the heels of a puzzling about-face by columnist Mark Day of The Australian. After a laudatory May 18th column mentioning that High There "is being described as a minor masterpiece and its producer/star is being described as the new Hunter S. Thompson -- the new king of gonzo journalism," Day recanted on Monday, writing "I should not have written that... I have now seen the movie. It is not my cup of tea."

Conspiracy theorists note that Day's unprecedented reversal came hours after Darwen was quoted in worldwide media criticizing Robert Downey Jr.'s disparaging comments about independent films.  Mark Day is married to Wendy Day, a high-powered manager of Australian movie stars like Nicole Kidman-- Downey Jr.'s costar in the 2006 film Fur.

Anchorage Press review of High There

CONTACT: Sam Peters
goodstoryproductions@mac.com
SAM PETERS PUBLIC RELATIONS NY LA LV LN HK

HIGH THERE or BEING THERE? Dave High as the new Peter Sellers

"The character of David reminds one of the old Army preacher in the Muppet skit featuring Peter Sellers singing, “Cigarettes, and whisky, and wild, wild, women...” making it hard for viewers to take David’s mansplaining seriously or be offended by it. The situations that David drags Roland and himself into are just absurdly funny."
--Indra Arriaga, Anchorage Press
"High There: Stoner docu-drama hits mark"

Anchorage, Alaska Press: HIGH THERE is "absurdly funny... drama & conniving are front and center... newsworthy substance"... Wayne Darwen "is an icon of his era"

Stoner docu-drama hits mark

MAY 28, 2015 - 9:26 PM

FILM

INDRA ARRIAGA

“It’s all fucking real.” Or, at least that’s what David High and Roland Jointz tell viewers in High There, a dark, docu-comedy about their adventures in Hawaii as David tries to become the Rick Steves of pot. David and Ron are the alter egos of TV producer and writer Wayne Darwen and his videographer Henry Goren, respectively. David High is a washed out television tabloid producer who describes himself as the dirtiest, most unethical bastard in the business.

David is out of work and options in L.A., so he comes up with an idea to produce a TV series that is a travel show for stoners, a guide to the best places to get high in the world. David convinces his friend and sidekick, Roland, to join him and help foot the bill for the first episode in the series, and off they go. His vision is to find the best marijuana growers all over the world and get paid to smoke and drink, and maybe enjoy a little action on the side. The character of David reminds one of the old Army preacher in the Muppet skit featuring Peter Sellers singing, “Cigarettes, and whisky, and wild, wild, women...” making it hard for viewers to take David’s mansplaining seriously or be offended by it. The situations that David drags Roland and himself into are just absurdly funny.

High There doesn’t ever make it beyond the first stop in their investigative path as David and Roland become ensconced in the local culture alongside characters like “E girl,” “Surfer Dave,” and “Alien Tom,” the TV series goes by the wayside. This isn’t to say that High There is without drama—drama and conniving are front and center as David confronts Roseanne Barr, the Feds, and his addiction problem. As the documentary progresses it becomes clear that David is making it up as he goes along, which does not bode well for Roland’s situation. David’s personality however, is not the apologetic type, and even when paranoia kicks in, it’s every man for himself.

Wayne Darwen’s legacy has often been compared to that of Hunter S Thompson’s; in other words, Darwen did for tabloid television programming what Thompson did for Gonzo journalism, taking it in a completely different direction and creating a world in media that didn’t previously exist. Darwen developed the 1980s TV series A Current Affair, which has served as a template for sensationalist mainstream media shows—think of Fox News as one of its most extreme byproducts. Darwen gained worldwide notoriety for his televised interviews with “Son of Sam” killer David Berkowitz in 1993. In the interviews Berkowitz claimed the murders were the work of a satanic cult. High There itself is a project that seems to have come together from the haphazard synthesis of living off the cuff and a lifetime of production experience. As it turns out David and Ron’s arrival to the island coincided with a crackdown on the cannabis industry as well as ongoing detention of Roger Christie who founded the THC Ministry, which offered cannabis as a part of its services. David High was contacted by Christie’s wife to help bring media attention to the prolonged incarceration with alleged lack of due process. The fortuitous course of events give High There newsworthy substance. When Darwen and Goren returned to mainland they worked with producer Burt Kearns to forge High There out of all the hours of tape, takes, and narratives the pair had compiled. High There has made its rounds through the film festival circuit and will be released on DVD and On Demand in North America on June 23, 2015. While viewers can take advantage of these options, there’s nothing like seeing the rantings of high-flying and comical character on the big screen. To be fair, Darwen may be a little bit like David High, but unlike the latter, the former is an icon of his era.

High There will be released on June 23 on DVD and On Demand. Visit hightherethemovie.com for more details.   

Press Release: HIGH THERE touted as alternative to "whitewashed" Aloha movie

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

 After Cameron Crowe movie is accused of misrepresenting Hawaiian population, High There producers promise "a rainbow of real-life native potheads"

Gonzo comedy film set for June 23rd release

HOLLYWOOD (MAY 27) -- In wake of criticism of the new studio movie 'Aloha' for alleged unfair racial representation of Hawaii, producers of the new nonfiction comedy 'High There' promise viewers will have to wait only a few weeks to see the native population depicted in all its uncensored glory.

High There, set for release on BRINKvision DVD and On Demand on June 23rd (four weeks after the controversial Aloha), is a dark nonfiction comedy about a television producer who ventures to the Big Island to shoot a stoner travel series, but instead settles in with freewheeling stoners and other locals in the town of Pahoa.

"High There presents a rainbow of real-life native potheads -- every shade of Hawaiian of all ages," says writer/director Wayne Darwen, who stars as Dave High. "And many of them are naked! There's no whitewashing of anything in this picture, believe me!"

"Our movie is the first in recent memory to show Hawaii as more than an exotic backdrop for rich white movie stars," says co-director and co-star Henry Goren. "I lived and worked in Hawaii for many years. This is the real deal."

Tony The Healer & Dave High in HIGH THERE

Executive producer Sam Peters says: "Nothing against Cameron Crowe. I love his work and I treasure his book of interviews with my old departed pal Billy Wilder. But when it comes to authenticity, Brad Cooper's got nothin' on Tony The Healer!"

The IMDb page for the High There indeed lists characters including Surfer Dave, Alien Tom, LeAnn The Tile Lady and Tony The Healer as "themselves."

Adds Peters: "Remember this as you pre-order the very limited edition High There DVD --  one informal translation of 'Aloha' is 'High There.'  Funny that we're the ones saying 'Aloha' the Island way."

High There is on sale now as a pre-order on Amazon.com and other sales sites.

Press Release: HIGH THERE horrifies The Establishment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Sam Peters, executive producer

"Not my cup of tea!" Australian columnist does about-face days after director criticizes mainstream movie star

Executive producer: "This film is not for elderly old timers who drink tea from a cup. The audience for High There likes their tea rolled in paper or lit in a pipe!"

Gonzo comedy film set for June 23rd release

HOLLYWOOD (MAY 24) -- A week after his praise of the new gonzo stoner comedy High There, veteran Australian journalist Mark Day has taken to his column once again to declare that the film "is not my cup of tea."

Day, who is marking his 56th year as a journalist, wrote last week in The Australian newspaper, correctly, that High There has been “hailed as a minor masterpiece” and “reignites a film genre made popular decades ago by the likes of Cheech and Chong.”

This morning he used his column to say: "I should not have written that. (High There) is a pointless rave... If this is gonzo, I’m a monkey’s uncle. Cheech and Chong were funny. This is not!"

Director and star Wayne Darwen had no comment on Day's latest column. 

But executive producer Sam Peters fired back.  "Pointless? This film helped get a man out of prison. Not gonzo? 'Gonzo' is defined as being 'of or associated with journalistic writing of an exaggerated, subjective, and fictionalized style -- bizarre or crazy.' This film, and the character Wayne Darwen portrays-- fit the bill perfectly.

Mark Day, monkey's uncle

"We sent Mark a link to watch the film, and got word that he was chuckling his way through the first half. I don't know what happened to change his opinion, but the pearl clutching is not unexpected.

"Mark's about my age, and this film is not for us elderly old timers who drink tea from a cup. The audience for High There likes their tea rolled in paper or lit in a pipe! High There won the Viewer's Choice Award from the Cannabis Film Festival -- not the Australian Press Council!

"I don't want to age myself, but to quote a song from my old friend  -- and tea-rolling mate-- Willie Dixon, 'The men don't know, but the little girls understand.' The kids understand High There.  If we got Rupert Murdoch men's approval, we'd be in trouble!"

High There DVD,
available June 23 

Day's clarification comes days after Darwen challenged Robert Downey Jr.'s treatment of journalists and denigration of independent films. “Junior was a lot more interesting when he was a substance-abusing, suffering artist — brave and silly enough to push the envelope,” Darwen told Richard Johnson of PageSix.com.  "It was the untamed spirit of the indie movement and the writings of journalists he now walks out on, that made him a name in the first place.”

High There will be released on BRINKvision DVD and On Demand on June 23rd. It's available as a pre-order on Amazon.com and other online sales sites.

CONTACT: Sam Peters

goodstoryproductions@mac.com
SAM PETERS PUBLIC RELATIONS NY LA LV LN HK

Press Release: International spotlight hits HIGH THERE and director/star Wayne Darwen

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

  

* Big week for nonfiction film in advance of official June 23rd release

* Storm over Darwen's rebuke of Robert Downey Jr.

HOLLYWOOD (MAY 22) -- Two of the world's most influential newspaper and online columnists, in two corners of the world, put the focus this week on High There director and star Wayne Darwen and his influence on today's pop culture.

Weeks before the nonfiction comedy film's official release on Richard Johnson of the New York Post's Page Six, and Mark Day of The Australian, wrote columns that were picked up by dozens of news organizations across the globe.

An international storm erupted Thursday after Johnson quoted Darwen's defense of independent filmmakers and journalists, in response to disparaging remarks by actor Robert Downey Jr.  

As Johnson noted, Darwen was the model for Downey Jr.'s newsman character in the controversial film, Natural Born Killers.

Three days earlier in Sydney, Day wrote a personal reminiscence of Darwen in Australia's only national newspaper.

He noted that his former reporter has been "described as the new Hunter S. Thompson — the new king of gonzo journalism," and that High There, which "reignites a film genre made popular decades ago by the likes of Cheech and Chong... is being hailed as a minor masterpiece."

Both columnists highlighted the triumph by Darwen and his fellow director Henry Goren earlier this month at the Cannabis Film Festival in Humboldt County, California, where High There won the Viewers' Choice Award.

The BRINKvision DVD of High There is available as a pre-order on Amazon.com and other online sales sites.

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CONTACT: Sam Peters

goodstoryproductions@mac.com

SAM PETERS PUBLIC RELATIONS NY LA LV LN HK