How you can watch "Out Here In Kansas"

Our 30-minute documentary, "Out Here In Kansas," was finally made available on Amazon.com last night. You can find it here.
It is free to watch if you don't mind having ads. It's also free if you have an Amazon Prime membership.
Otherwise, it's $2 to rent and $5 to buy. However you choose to watch it, I truly hope you do. It's the most important project I've ever done, and I'm proud of it.

Any day now

Remember that post from Monday morning, in which I wrote that "Out Here In Kansas" would be available on Amazon by the end of the week if everything went as planned?
Well, it's the end of the week and there was a little hiccup caused by one of our promo photos. We're hoping the documentary will be up online any day now, and we'll certainly make an announcement when it is.
In the meantime, here's a picture of a barn.

We're about to go public

Assuming everything goes as scheduled, "Out Here In Kansas" will be available to view on Amazon Prime by the end of the week.

We'll have more details as it gets a little closer, but we wanted to get the news out now. Since its world premiere on Oct. 11, 2016, the 30-minute documentary has screened in much of the United States and won first-place awards at the Jim Thorpe, Twister Alley, Glitter, Outlaw and Austin Revolution Film Festivals.

What's the hold up? Closed captioning

I've been saying for awhile now that "Out Here In Kansas" would be made public by the end of the year. Please note that I did not specify which year. 

But seriously, folks ... it is still our intention to do this by the end of 2017. The sticking point has been figuring out how to provide closed captioning for the documentary, which is not optional. I think we may have found a service that will work. Stay tuned.

Look at this thing

We've received some pretty cool awards on the film festival circuit this year, but I don't think any of them are as unique as the free-standing plaque we received at the Outlaw Film Festival in St. Joseph, Mo.
It's basically a hunk of tree, with the bark still on the back. Festival director Lisa Erdman had a brand made with the Outlaw logo on it, and had a friend make the trophies with scrap wood from an Amish sawmill.

A few words about Russ Thomas

Russ Thomas has been my best friend for so long, my parents still refer to him as “Eddie Haskell.” (I’ll make sure Adam doesn’t get into any trouble tonight, Mr. and Mrs. Knapp!”) I helped Russ and his family move from Kansas to his wife’s hometown of Orrville, Ohio a couple years ago. That was the same week he told me he and Jenn wanted to be executive producers for “Out Here In Kansas.”

Here’s the weird part, though. They’ve gone all these months without seeing it, because I wouldn’t send them a link. I kept thinking it was going to play at a film festival near them, or that they’d catch one of our screenings on a trip back to Kansas. I really wanted them to see it on a big screen, but never happened.

Fortunately, they have a pretty large television at home. I finally emailed Russ a link so he and Jenn could watch it.

Russ called me the next morning, which was yesterday. He said following the movie, he and Jenn had a long discussion about what it meant to them. They didn’t agree on everything, but that was OK.

Then Russ and I spent the next 30 minutes talking about what it meant to us. Really, that’s a huge reason why I wanted to make “Out Here In Kansas” in the first place.

Silent partners

The first thing you see in the closing credits of "Out Here In Kansas" is a list of five couples. They are our executive producers, which means they made the film possible by funding it.
I've written about my uncle, Bradford Devine, and his wife Norma. They never hesitated with their support, even when I painstakingly had to replace Uncle Brad's narration with my own after our story changed direction. (That was not an easy phone call to make, considering Uncle Brad flew in from Florida to record his lines. But he couldn't have been more cool about it, especially after seeing the finished product.)
I've written about Dave and Trish Powell, who became the first to write us a check after reading about "Out Here In Kansas" online. When I met with them, I don't think they were even expecting to be in the credits, let alone as executive producers. They just wanted to help a worthy project.
I've written about Kyle and Shelly Steadman, who always support the arts and are two of the biggest reasons why Mulvane might be my favorite town in Kansas.
I've written about John and Jenn Stephens, longtime friends who really took care of us anytime we had a screening in the Kansas City area. ("Spoiled us" might be a better description.)
But you know who I still haven't written about? Russ and Jenn Thomas. Which is kind of funny, considering Russ is my best friend. I should probably save him for another post.

Finishing our tour on top

"Out Here In Kansas" finished its film festival and college tour by winning "Best Documentary" at the Outlaw Film Festival over the weekend. (I still can't believe we beat out "Peaceful Progress: A Graffiti Story," which was beautiful.)
Anyway, by my count, that's the fifth time we've won our category in an out-of-state festival. If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know this one had special meaning to me.

They didn't know me from Adam

A reporter from the University of Kansas Daily Kansan interviewed me tonight. At one point she asked me what my favorite part was of making "Out Here In Kansas."
The question caught me off guard, since nobody has ever asked me that. Finally, I answered it was convincing so many people to be a part of the movie, when they had no idea who I was or what it would look like. They had faith in me, anyway. That feels good, and I hope the documentary serves them well.

Now playing at Tallgrass ...

If you're out participating in the Tallgrass Film Festival this weekend, we'd like to encourage you to check out a pair of short films made by our producer, Savannah Rodgers.
They are both seeing shown in the Kansas shorts block, which is 3:15 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 22 in the Ruffin Building Auditorium. The first one is a two-minute microshort called "For Sale," and the second is a seven-minute short called "Dragtivists."

Jesse James ended here, and so will we

Next month, "Out Here In Kansas" will be screening in St. Joseph, Mo., the town where the Pony Express began and Jesse James ended. It's also the town where my journalism career started, and where our film festival circuit will end.
The Outlaw Film Festival will be held Nov. 2-4 on the campus of Missouri Western State College, home of the Griffons. (That's the team I covered, and I maintain the Griffon is one of the best mascots in college sports.)
Our documentary is in Block 4. That will be shown from 7:30-10 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3 and again from 3-5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4. More information can be found here, and I have created a Facebook event here.
I'm really excited for what will probably be our last film festival. I have some great memories of St. Joe from the mid-1990s, and I can't wait to Lisa Erdman, the passionate director of the Outlaw
 Film Festival, in the flesh.

Screening in Salina

I'm proud to announce another Kansas screening of "Out Here In Kansas," this time Saturday morning in Salina.

The Smoky Hills Independent Film and Television Festival (SHIFT) starts today (Friday, Oct. 13) at Kansas Wesleyan University. The event is free to the public.

At 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, "Out Here In Kansas" will be shown at the end of a screening slot reserved for our producer, filmmaker Savannah Rodgers.

More information about the festival can be found here.

It's National Coming Out Day ...

... and it's also the one-year anniversary of our world premiere for "Out Here In Kansas." As I told the crowd at Roxy's Downtown, it was the best night of my life.
We think it's almost time we released our documentary unto the world. But we have a few more announcements first.

A shout out to Boise

In all the excitement of the Austin Film Festival, I overlooked an important stop on the "Out Here In Kansas" tour that was going on at the same time: The Boise Film Festival.
This was the third year for the festival, and if you've never been to Boise, you should. My sister and her family lived there in the mid-1990s and it became one of my favorite cities.

Austin: Part 3

I thought I was done writing about our trip to Austin last weekend, but I've got to explain these two photographs I've grown to love dearly.
First, there's the one of me posing with these two guys. I found it on my phone on the way home from Wichita. It was texted to me at 2:08 a.m. from a number I didn't recognize, and my immediate reaction was "What the hell?"
Then I remembered. At the Austin Revolution Film Festival, our documentary "Out Here In Kansas" was paired with a hilarious series of PSAs by "Pot Brothers at Law." They are actual California defense attorneys who are - you guessed it - champions for cannabis legalization.
The guy on the left, Marc Wasserman, is also an actor who as a child appeared on "CHiPS," "Magnum P.I.," "Family Ties" and "The A-Team."
Some of the Pot Brothers' "tips of the day" can be found here. (Warning: do not watch if you're opposed to strong language and marijuana use.)
The reason I love that picture is that we were having such a great time despite our vastly different backgrounds. They're Jewish dudes from the west coast, I'm a Christian dude from the Midwest, and they admitted that they didn't have much interest in sticking around for our documentary once their five-minute segment had finished. But they got sucked in by the story, which is about the highest compliment a filmmaker can get.
Speaking of filmmakers, the other photo is of our editor/cinematographer Kenneth Linn (left) and producer Savannah Rodgers hugging the night "Out Here In Kansas" won best documentary short. I would not describe either of them as big huggers. Maybe I'm wrong.

Austin: Part 2

So, first thing's first. We won. "Out Here In Kansas" had a terrific screening and was named best documentary short at the Austin Revolution Film Festival over the weekend. So there's that, and I have a belt buckle to prove it. (Not kidding. They gave me a real Texas belt buckle.)
Funny story about that, actually. Kenny and I couldn't even get into the ceremony. It was completely full. So we made a couple of drinks and hung out with other people who couldn't get in, who included Josh Hope, director of the Twister Alley and Windy City Film Festivals, as well as dozens of actors and directors. I like to think we had more fun than if we'd actually been sitting inside. (Although it was a little awkward when a woman walked out and said "where were you guys?" Anyway, producer Savannah was inside to accept it for us. That's her in the video I attached.)
Awards aside, the whole weekend was an incredibly rewarding experience because of the people we met and the movies we saw. There are far too many of both for me to name. But I would like to thank festival director James Christopher and his team, who put on first-class event that we'll remember for the rest of our lives. It was an excess of film, fun and food. (Did I say food? In between Denny's and Whattaburger, Kenny and I went to a place in downtown Austin called Cooper's Old-Time Pit Bar-Be-Que. I've been eating the leftovers for two days now.)
You can see a photo gallery of our weekend in Austin here.

Austin: Part 1

This is a little look at the Blue Starlite Mini Urban Drive-In on the outskirts of Austin, Texas. It is a delightfully campy place to watch a movie - or several movies, as was the case last night. Kenny and I took a "party bus" there to watch the horror shorts block at the Austin Revolution Film Festival.
We took in another movie when we got back to our hotel, which serves as the festival's headquarters. Yesterday was a long day. We started it in Dallas, where we caught up with former Wichita sportscaster Steve Dennis to do an interview for our current project. When we arrived in Austin, the first person I saw was festival director James Christopher. I was then hugged from behind by our producer, Savannah Rodgers. You could say I felt at home right away.
Along the way, we've chowed down on some serious beef at Cattlemen's Steakhouse (Stockyard City, Okla.), drank a few Shiners at Two Charlies Bar and Grill (Denton, Texas) and I bought Kenny his first In & Out burger somewhere along I-35.
We've already met a ton of interesting people, and we expect to meet more when "Out Here In Kansas" screens here in a few minutes.

Gearing up for Austin

Kenny and I leave Thursday for Austin, Texas, where "Out Here In Kansas" will be screening next weekend. From what we've heard, it will be three days of fun events, great movies and networking with other filmmakers.
"Out Here In Kansas" will play 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23 at the Doubletree Austin. If you're interested in attending, here is a map.

Best podcast of the summer

One of the highlights of our summer was being interviewed by the hilarious Lester Rowe. That's him in the picture, reacting when I called him "soft" for liking Hall & Oates.
Lester has a highly entertaining podcast called "I'm Kinda Famous." Back in June, he sat down with editor/DP Kenny Linn and me to discuss "Out Here In Kansas." We cover a wide range of new topics in an hour and a half, including ...
* How Kenny learned to trick me during the editing process.
* Why writing a documentary can be an exercise in futility.
* My original plan for the movie's premiere.
* The hardest part of the movie to edit.
* Why Kenny doesn't feel he fits the title of "DP."
* How much easier it's become to make a documentary in recent years.
* Our favorite movies of the last five years.
You can listen to the whole thing here.
Kenny and I love Lester. We tease each other a lot, but Lester has become a good friend and he's been a big supporter of our project since the day he heard about it. He's an accomplished filmmaker himself, having raked in awards for "Wifi at Rock Bottom," and is best known locally for his work with MMA fighter David "Caveman" Rickels.

Austin award nominations

Not only is "Out Here In Kansas" headed to the Austin Revolution Film Festival next month, it's even up for a couple of awards.
One is for Best Documentary Short, which is awesome. Another is for Best Documentary Director, which, as I've alluded to on this blog before, makes me feel pretty undeserving.
Our producer Savannah Rodgers is such a filmmaking machine, I'm not even sure which of her many films have been nominated. But I do know she's up for the Producer Award and Female Filmmaker of the Year.