High There : Hawaii

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Movie Reviews 101: “Party time! HIGH THERE is one to try!"

High There
Director: Wayne Darwen, Henry Goren
Writer: Wayne Darwen (Screenplay)

Plot: A real-life attempt to film a reality television pilot turned into the most unreal experiences of a lifetime for veteran journalist and producer Wayne Darwen and videographer Henry Goren, when they found themselves transformed into the characters Dave High and Roland Jointz in an accidental immersive investigation of the marijuana wars on the island of Hawaii.

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

Verdict: Party Time

Story: High There starts as David High a journalist and his cameraman Roland Jointz head to Hawaii to shot a new travel show but along the way David enjoys drugs, drinks and woman as they go to make their own story. It isn’t long before David and Roland find themselves being followed around the island as the island looks to clean up the drug problems on the island.

Dave goes around different ideas to make his show work but just can’t shake the drugs every day, where he makes each outing a party. David continues to learn about a bigger problem on the island dealing with marijuana.

High There is a documentary that wants to tackle the real problem of marijuana on the island in Hawaii, we only see small parts of this with most of the film being David High just wanting to smoke drugs and get drunk, this really takes away with what we want to learn about and it turns into just the life experience of the two men on the island. Not being a fan of drug usage I personally didn’t enjoy the almost glorification of using them during the adventure the men go on.

Director Review: Wayne Darwen – Wayne puts together the trip well to show the good, the bad and paranoia drugs cause people.

Documentary: High There is a documentary which also happens to play out as party holiday for David.

Settings: High There uses the Hawaii settings but most importantly showing how it isn’t all beauty we get led to believe.

Suggestion: High There is one to try, it is very heavy on using drugs which isn’t something I enjoy. (Try It)

Best Part: Seeing the dark side of Hawaii.

Worst Part: Too much drug usage.

Believability: Based on the real trip the two men had.

Chances of Tears: No

Chances of Sequel: No

Post Credits Scene: Yes

Oscar Chances: No

Runtime: 1 Hour 27 Minutes

Trivia: Director, writer and star Wayne Darwen is a celebrated tabloid newspaper and television journalist and producer who was the inspiration for Robert Downey Jr.’s character “Wayne Gale” in Oliver Stone’s 1994 film, Natural Born Killers.

Overall: Documentary that feels like it is a film party for the men involved.

Rating

LINK TO MOVIE REVIEWS 101 REVIEW OF HIGH THERE

LINK TO WEBSITE

Documentary Dude: HIGH THERE is "wildly entertaining! Kept me laughing all the way through!"

High There

Documentary Dude

“sex, drugs, booze, idiocy, horrible degenerate stuff……. that’s what people want to see”

– Dave High

I cringed at first but then I started laughing and the film kept me laughing all the way through.

“High There” is not your normal documentary.

The film follows a burnt out television producer to Hawaii where he plans to make a pilot for a travel show for stoners, documenting the world’s best places to buy marijuana and get high.

What follows is one disaster after another as the producer Dave High bumbles along, descending into a drink and drug filled debauchery, all the while being filmed by his gas mask wearing cameraman, Roland Jointz.

Sounds bizarre? It is, but it’s wildly entertaining.

Part documentary and mockumentary, it’s a film in the “Gonzo” style and it’s often hard to separate fact from fiction. Dave High keeps you guessing as he intersperses seemingly true events with conjecture about being under DEA surveillance, using film footage of backpackers sitting outside his window, and passing helicopters, as evidence. As the film progresses you realise that maybe not much of it is fact and stop taking the film as a serious document of events and enjoy it for what it is.

Dave High is actually expat Australian, Wayne Darwen, a well known producer of tabloid TV shows such as Hard Copy and Geraldo Rivera’s “Now It Can Be Told”. He is said to be the inspiration behind the character of newsman Wayne Gale in Oliver Stone’s film, Natural Born Killers.

Like a modern day Hunter S Thompson, Wayne’s alter-ego Dave High, constantly teases the weird and wonderful characters that have made the Big Island their home while at the same time making fun of himself.

He stumbles from one drug filled misadventure to another, coughing and hacking his way through the day while rolling joints, downing drink after drink and befriending lonely middle aged women.

He manages throughout, despite an often inebriated state, to maintain a witty repartee both with his long suffering cameraman and those around him. His capacity for beer is phenomenal and comments like, “after a couple of beers she started to look quite attractive” make you laugh and groan at the same time. In fact he is living a lifestyle that secretly many of us would probably like to indulge in at some time but don't for fear of the consequences. Dave High doesn't seem to care and instead moves from one good time to another.

One wonders how the human body can withstand so much punishment and Dave High’s constant lung wrenching smoker’s cough is testament to the wild lifestyle he seems to be living.

Eventually Dave High stumbles across the story of Roger Christie, leader of the THC Ministry, and who at the time of filming, had been held for 4 years without bail for possession and sale of cannabis. But to learn more you need to watch the film.

The filming of “High There” must have been a lot of fun and it shows what can be done with a couple of hand held cameras and a small budget.

I am sure it’s destined to become a cult movie and will no doubt do wonders for tourism in the Puna region of the Big Island, although maybe not attracting the type of tourists the authorities would want.

“High There” is now available onlimited edition DVD and VOD.

Make sure you watch the credits at the end!

Watch the trailer here:

Original 8.13.15 story link

LA WEEKLY: Gonzo-style documentary HIGH THERE explores pot legalization battle in Hawaii

Henry Goren (Roland Jointz) and Wayne Darwen (Dave High) outside a screening of their film High There at the Cannabis Film Festival

Photo by Sam Peters

BY LORI DENMAN-UNDERHILL

JUNE 9, 2015

They say it’s not the destination but the journey there that makes it an adventure. And man was this one a trip.

The journey kicked off three years ago with a filmmaker and his mission — shoot a travel series in Hawaii on the best places to get high. He took along a photographer buddy and they both decided on alter egos, calling themselves Dave High and Roland Jointz. Following numerous strange experiences with the locals, they managed to uncover a secret government plot to control the marijuana trade and keep a local advocate in jail for four years without a trial.

The nonfiction comedy’s writer and director, tabloid television producer Wayne Darwen (in the guise of Dave High) and cinematographer Henry Goren (Jointz) made their way through a Hawaiian haze in an effort to bust out the advocate, Roger Christie, who was put in jail for dealing and trafficking. Christie is a well-respected local who started the THC Ministry, which regards cannabis as a religious sacrament.

Darwen, an Aussie who has lived in L.A. for over 15 years, is a well-known producer who helped launch tabloid television in the early '90s. Robert Downey Jr.'s character in Natural Born Killers was based on him. By making the switch from booze to weed, Darwen’s personality took a pleasant turn and he’s been an advocate for legalization ever since.

In the film, called High There, Darwen arrives in Hawaii, only to be hounded by the DEA on his first day on the islands. The film, full of comedy and chaos, continues as what he calls a “brainchild born of pot, booze and desperation.” After settling down with trusting locals, Darwen discovers Christie and his case.

“What really infuriated me was Roger was locked up on no charges and denied bail for four years in a kind of Guantanamo little space.” Darwen says. “To me, the whole thing seemed like federal retaliation. Because for 10 years he had run his church, and he was well-liked by the community. Cops would stop by. But he said they turned on him. He is now out of jail, but they await charges to be dropped and the return of their home and funds.”

Following their trip, Darwen and Goren drafted up a trailer and posted it on YouTube. It topped over 1.5 million views. Darwen then appeared as Dave High on a podcast, Buzzsaw on TheLip.tv, boosting his pot advocate alter ego's profile even higher.

High There has already received rave reviews, winning the Viewers Choice Award at the first Cannabis Film Festival in Humboldt County on May 3.

“It's raw, politically incorrect — and embraced by the 420 culture,” says the film’s producer, Burt Kearns. “When he brought the material back from Hawaii, I convinced him to turn this into a movie. I helped him and Henry shape and edit the film. It’s very experimental and raw, is already selling on Amazon and there’s some great buzz about it.”

High There will be released as a limited edition box DVD through BRINKvision and available on demand across North America on June 23. It will also available day of release through Barnes & Noble, Best Buy and Amazon. More info at www.hightherethemovie.com.

story link

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! HIGH NOON (11:50 a.m.)! SATURDAY! CANNABIS FILM FESTIVAL!

Click for info, tix

HIGH THERE AT HIGH NOON! (11:50 a.m.) Exclusive screening Saturday May 2nd at the Cannabis Film Festival in Humbolt County CA!

Click for info, tix

Huffington Post: MARIJUANA DOCUMENTARY PROVES THAT TRUTH CAN INDEED BE STRANGER THAN FICTION

Dr. Franklin Ruehl, Ph.D.
Host, 'Mysteries From Beyond the Other Dominion''
Posted: 08/20/2014

Investigator! Victim!

These are terms that can be truly applied to veteran tabloid television producer/director/writer Wayne Darwen. I had the high honor of working with Wayne on the TV programs, Strange Universe and Extra, where he always exhibited the highest levels of professionalism.

Recently, he embarked on a project to document the recreational marijuana culture in Hawaii. Accompanying him as a cameraman was director Henry Goren.

They flew from Los Angeles to the islands, winding up in the rural town of Pahoa, an ideal site to investigate illegal drugs. Indeed, they arrived at a time when the federal DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) was conducting raids. Because of that coincidental timing, locals initially suspected the pair of being undercover agents.

However, over time, they were able to convince the residents that they were indeed legitimate documentarians and gained entree into the local drug business. Wayne was actually shown where local cannabists grow their own illegal marijuana. And, he met a gentleman with connections to the organized marijuana trade who stressed that local authorities are loath to enforce drug laws.

But, pursuing his investigation, Wayne found himself falling in deeper and deeper with the community of junkies and hippies, participating in drug parties night after night, even one lasting 48 hours. He fell to an all-time low, becoming a victim of the very drugs he set out to expose.

However, a documentary was still produced, covering these sordid outcomes, with Wayne adopting the pseudonym "Dave High" while Henry, who filmed the interviews, assumed the moniker of "Roland Jointz." The production is appropriately entitled "High There," and will be entered in film festivals, beginning on Monday night, August 25, at a theater in Monrovia, CA.

It has been described as a Hunter S.Thompson-like escapade with some elements of dark, very dark, humor.

Ruehl Factoid: With the recent legalization of marijuana in Colorado, pot sales for the first 6 months of 2014 soared to an astounding $202 million, and are continuing to grow, with producers barely able to keep up with the demand. Tourism there is flourishing, as a consequence.

The link to a preview of "High There" is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQhYSZyOwog

Follow Dr. Franklin Ruehl, Ph.D. on Twitter: www.twitter.com/drruehl

HIGH THERE'S FIRST SCREENING! ACTION ON FILM FESTIVAL! MONROVIA, CA! MONDAY, AUGUST 25th!

BUY TICKETS NOW!

DIRECTIONS!

ACTION ON FILM INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL!

HIGH THERE IS AN OFFICIAL SELECTION OF THE ACTION ON FILM INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL!

MORE INFORMATION HERE

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FROM THE PRESS KIT: THE STORY BEHIND HIGH THERE

A real-life attempt to film a reality television pilot turned into the most unreal experiences of a lifetime for veteran journalist and producer Wayne Darwen and videographer Henry Goren, when they found themselves transformed into the characters Dave High and Roland Jointz in an accidental immersive investigation of the marijuana wars on the island of Hawai'i. Not quite sure what they had when they brought their high definition images back to the mainland, the pair edited a brief trailer that was posted on YouTube and quickly racked up more than 1.5 million views -- that's one point five MILLION -- while Darwen's appearance as Dave High on LipTV's Buzzsaw podcast shattered previous download records. Now, distributors are lining up as High There heads to film festivals, already hailed as the comedic successor to the work of Hunter S.Thompson and films featuring Barry McKenzie.

HIGH THERE PRESS KIT MATERIAL! DIRECTORS' BIOS

WAYNE DARWEN

Director/Writer/Producer

Immortalized in the book Tabloid Baby as one of the innovators of the tabloid television genre, Wayne Darwen rewrote the rules of television news, developed the template for the modern entertainment news package, changed the way stories are told on television and opened the gates for the reality television revolution. All the while, he was developing and cultivating the role of the brilliant Aussie pirate in an increasingly corporatized industry. Starting out as a 17-year-old reporter for a newspaper in Sydney, Australia, he traveled the world as a reporter for the likes of the Sydney Daily Mirror, Star magazine and the New York Post, before scorching the earth of popular culture when he made the move to television on influential shows like A Current Affair, Hard Copy, Geraldo Rivera’s Now It Can be Told and Inside Edition. He saw his reputation reach legendary status when he inspired the character of newsman Wayne Gale in Oliver Stone’s film, Natural Born Killers, mellowed considerably during an extended stay in Nashville, and washed up in Los Angeles at the dawn of the 21^st century to write and produce for network, cable, and the syndicated television series, Extra, while a new generation of television producer and executive looked upon him with awe -- and a bit of fear. In his most recent venture, Darwen confronted his own legacy as well as the devolution of modern journalism in the service of television entertainment when he wrote, directed, and took on the guise of Dave High in the documentary film High There. It is the first leg of a filmic journey that picks up where his colleague and inspiration Hunter S. Thompson left off.

HENRY GOREN

Director/Director of Photography/Producer

Henry Goren was born in Hollywood, California, with his future career as a photographer first taking shape when he was given the family Kodak 8mm movie camera at age eight to document a family vacation through some 35 states over 42 days. His father, an electrical engineer and writer, was amazed how well his son did the job, and an inspired young Henry continued to make small one-reel animation films. He broke into the film industry in the post production department of Schick Sunn Classic Pictures and was promoted to assistant film editor before breaking into the television news business as cameraman and director of photography for shows including Dateline, Extra, Celebrity Justice, TV's Practical Jokes & Bloopers and the NBC’s Olympic coverage. Goren was a stunt driver on Stingray, appeared onscreen as a footballer on HBO's 1st and Ten and as a police officer with a whole five lines on General Hospital. He first worked with Darwen while freelancing for Telepictures in 2002, beginning a long collaboration that culminated in High There.