OFFICIAL FEATURE DOCUMENTARY UPDATE - JULY 2019 #2 |
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QUICK PREVIEW - It's official - we have a "PG" rating
- SCREENING July 27th & 28th - Scotia Cinemas / Schenectady, NY
- SCREENING August 11th - Capital 8 Cinemas / Jefferson City, MO
- DOCUTAH Film Festival Screening - September 3rd & 5th
- If you saw the film tell us what you thought in the COMMENTS page!
- List of more upcoming screenings
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WHAT'S DOES THAT RATING MEAN? |
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Six years ago the 93rd Bombardment Group Association and I announced at the Hartford, CT reunion that we wanted to make a feature length documentary about the group and their history during the war. Some money was approved ($2,500) and a treatment was started. |
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At the 2013 93rd Bomb Group reunion the "Hardwick project" was first presented to members. 1 min. 30 sec. |
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One year later at the Dayton, OH reunion, myself and 93rd BG Historian Don Morrison presented the idea of documenting a trip to Hardwick, the 93rd's airbase in England. A trip was already in the works for that Spring. Ten thousand dollars was approved and put towards travel and equipment to document 30 people visiting the base. It received very strong support from the veterans. During the initial planning, members stressed that the film must tell the heroic stories of the 93rd and how their accomplishments fit into the larger story of World War II. It was also important to ground the film's narrative with today's second and third generation members and follow them as they discover how their loved ones lived and worked at Hardwick. |
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At the 2014 93rd Bomb Group reunion the topic of the documentary was brought up again at the annual business meeting and $10,000 was approved for initial production. |
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Members said that this should be a "world-class documentary". They wanted to make sure that others knew the 93rd's story and that it translated to a younger generation. A "world-class documentary" sounded daunting and something that I didn't know if I could deliver. We had lots of archival photos and films to look through, multiple trips to England needed to be taken, and we had to satisfy not only an older generation but a younger one too. |
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This is the official Trailer Tag from the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America). This one was specifically edited for the Return To Hardwick documentary. |
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So fast forward a few years with generous donations coming in from friends and family of the 93rd, it's shaping up to be a "world-class documentary". All those photos and films have been looked at, the music has been cleared and licensed, the lawyers are sifting through legal protocol to secure ownership of the film and, we got the film rated. Rated? Yes we went through the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) to register a rating for the film. Why? In our research we found that getting the film rated will help us get interest from educational institutions and believe it or not military bases (we discovered that military bases cannot play films if they aren't rated by the MPAA). It will also help to place the film on the commercial market. It's funny, my grandfather would take my brother and I to movies when we were just little kids and we would ask what those ratings on the posters meant. He would say G was "Good", PG was "Pretty Good", and R was "Rotten". I was really hoping that we'd get that "G" rating for the film but I'll settle for "Pretty Good". Michael Sellers Producer/Director Return To Hardwick |
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SCHENECTADY, NY SCREENING AT SCOTIA CINEMA To celebrate ESAM's 35th anniversary, there will be two special screenings at Scotia Cinema, July 27 and 28 at 3:30 p.m. Director Michael Sellers will attend! What a special treat to see the film in a movie theater with a big screen and surround sound. Come on out if you get the chance! |
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JEFFERSON CITY, MO SCREENING AT GQT CAPITAL 8 THEATERS |
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Wow another opportunity to see the film in a big theater with great sound on August 11th at 2 PM. This screening has been pre-booked for family and friends; however, people receiving this email newsletter can go to the link below and register for free tickets - we still have many seats left. This is an exclusive - the link will not be posted on Facebook until the weekend. Check the map and see if you can make it to the midwest! |
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FUTURE SCREENINGS (Locations and dates subject to change. Please check dates/times at www.hardwickfilm.com) |
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Empire State Aerosciences Museum Screening at Scotia Cinema 117 Mohawk Ave. (Rt. 5), Scotia, NY 12302 - (518) 346-5055 Scotia, NY / July 27th & 28th at 3:30 PM This is a First-Come-First-Serve event GQT Capital 8 Cinemas 3550 Country Club Dr, Jefferson City, MO 65109 Jefferson City, MO / August 11th at 2:00 PM Please reserve tickets here DOCUTAH International Documentary Film Festival September 3rd at 8:00 PM September 5th at 5:10 PM Royal Starr Film Festival Emagine Theater Screen 2 (Festival Opener!) 200 N Main St, Royal Oak, MI 48067 September 6, 2019, 7:00 - 10:00 PM Eastern Michigan University Strong Hall Auditorium (In conjunction with the 2019 93rd Bomb Group reunion) Ypsilanti, MI / October 11th at 3:00 PM The National WWII Museum New Orleans, LA / Fall 2019 |
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NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED |
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KEN BURNS TWEETS ABOUT THE FILM! |
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Early on Monday morning (7.8.19) accomplished and well respected documentary filmmaker Ken Burns tweeted to his followers about an interview director Michael Sellers did for Argunners Magazine. We are guessing he thought the project looked kind of interesting and wanted to make his followers aware of it. Below is a screen grab of the tweet on his Twitter page. |
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ARGUNNERS MAGAZINE INTERVIEW |
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Michael Cudlitz - Mighty Eighth Museum Clips |
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Michale Cudlitz gives the film some praise. |
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If you haven't seen it - check out the trailer for Return To Hardwick!!! |
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If you have seen Return To Hardwick please leave a comment by clicking the button below. It will take you to the film's website to the Comments page. We'd love to hear from you! |
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RETURN TO HARDWICK SYNOPSIS The 93rd Bomb Group was the most decorated, most traveled and most effective bomb group of WWII. Helping to cripple Hitler's Europe from the air, they executed some of the most daring bombing raids of the war. Along with the group's rich history - sons, daughters and grandchildren travel to England and explore the 93rd's long forgotten airbase - Hardwick Aerodrome 104. |
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Check out the Facebook page for the project here: https://www.facebook.com/hardwickdoc/ You have signed up to receive updates for the documentary film Return To Hardwick. This happened by either donating to the project or signing up at www.hardwickfilm.com. Emails like this will be sent to your inbox and alert you on news about the film. Unsubscribe if you want by clicking the link at the bottom of this email. |
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