If you have not heard of documentary filmmaker Mark Hartley, well you are about to! The man who gave us the excellent documentaries NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD: THE WILD, UNTOLD STORY OF OZPLOITATION and MACHETE MAIDENS UNLEASHED! is at it again and this time he is tackling Cannon Film with ELECTRIC BOOGALOO: THE WILD, UNTOLD STORY OF CANNON FILMS!
Cannon are best known for their low budget 80’s films including the likes of MISSING IN ACTION, TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2, AMERICAN NINJA series and the like. We have all surely seen and enjoyed their films (or laughed at them) and this is one subject matter I can’t wait to see in a documentary of this style!
Drafthouse Films have acquired the film rights and will deal with all the US rights, from Celluloid Nightmares. The film centers on the story of two Israeli-born, movie-obsessed cousins, Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus, who in pursuit of the “American dream” launched an indie studio that would produce over 120 exploitation films from 1979-1989 turning a renegade outfit into the proclaimed “seventh Hollywood major.” It is currently in the pre-production stage in Australia, to be Produced by Veronica Fury and Executive Producered by XYZ Films. A theatrical release is being planned for next year, which will coincide with a traveling roadshow of a collection of Cannon’s films.
Press Release excerpt: While best known for their explosive ‘80s action fare (MISSING IN ACTION, DEATH WISH sequels, Academy Award® Nominated RUNAWAY TRAIN), Cannon Films’ diverse and ambitious production output also included body-count slashers (TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2), musicals and comedies (THE APPLE, BREAKIN’), science fiction and fantasy epics (MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE, LIFEFORCE), martial arts classics (AMERICAN NINJA series, KICKBOXER), neo-noir crime thrillers (52 PICK-UP, 10 TO MIDNIGHT), art-house dramas (BARFLY, John Cassavetes’ LOVE STREAMS, Jean-Luc Godard’s KING LEAR), in addition to launching the careers of many future genre superstars like Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme. “No other production organization in the world today,” proclaimed Roger Ebert in 1987, “has taken more chances with serious, marginal films than Cannon.”
“Cannon Films was an enterprise that in many ways defined exploitation cinema of the 1980s,” said Alamo Drafthouse CEO and Fantastic Fest Founder Tim League. “We are thrilled to share their untold legacy with movie fans around the country.” Drafthouse Films Director Evan Husney elaborated, “With director Mark Hartley at the helm, ELECTRIC BOOGALOO is sure to be a wildly entertaining, comprehensive and frenetic no-holds-barred dive into the world of perhaps the most infamous production company in film history.”
“I was lucky enough to have my first feature NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD screen at Fantastic Fest in 2008 – and ever since then the chance to revisit the festival and the Alamo Drafthouse has been one of the principal motivations for me to get out of bed and make more movies!” says director Mark Hartley. “The news that Drafthouse Films has joined the ELECTRIC BOOGALOO party is beyond awesome. I know that Tim League and his team will find the most inventive, outrageous and ridiculously entertaining ways to roll the film out across America – and personally I can’t wait for the show to begin.”
Do we have to wait? I want this right now! How awesome does this sound? Mark Hartley is such a talented guy; this could have the potential to be the best one yet!