USA: FILM PREMIERE OF "HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH" AT THE LOS ANGELES GAY AND LESBIAN FILM FESTIVAL

Record ID: 392163

  • Title: USA: FILM PREMIERE OF "HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH" AT THE LOS ANGELES GAY AND LESBIAN FILM FESTIVAL
  • Date: 19th June 2001
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (JUNE 19) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (ENGLISH) JOHN CAMERON MITCHELL SAYING OF THE STUDIO LETTING HIM DIRECT, "It was very unusual but New Line is known for, you know, giving first time directors a chance and they had seen, you know, Mike De Luca and Amy Henkels (New Line Executives) had seen the play and trusted it as a full organic thin
  • Embargoed: 4th July 2001 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES AND FILM LOCATIONS
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVADDAPB1SUU6EVKI633SIQ3AG66
  • Story Text: Following its critically-acclaimed run as an alternative rock musical off-Broadway in New York, actor/director John Cameron Mitchell brought his story "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" to the big screen on Thursday, July 12 in Los Angeles as the opening night feature at the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.
    In addition to writing and directing the story, Mitchell also dons heavy makeup and a series of outrageous wigs and costumes to play Hedwig, a German transsexual rock singer embarking on a tour of American family seafood restaurants.
    Mitchell and his collaborator Stephen Trask created the character and her band The Angry Inch based partly upon a baby-sitter Mitchell knew while he was growing up in Kansas.
    Mitchell's first public appearance as Hedwig happened almost seven years ago at a punk rock drag club in New York City.
    The act became so popular, that Mitchell had to move it to an off-Broadway theatre, where it slowly evolved into a full-fledged rock musical. It became a counter-cultural and underground hit and soon, Michael De Luca and Amy Henkels, executives at New Line Cinema and it's smaller film label Fine Line Features, decided to ask Mitchell to turn it into a feature film.
    Full of rousing rock music numbers and a series of hilarious monologues by the lead character, "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" follows Hedwig's tour of America as she describes her life from growing up as a boy in East Germany, through her botched sex change operation and subsequent journey to America, and her relationship with a hugely popular rock star.
    The film was a hit at the most recent Sundance Film Festival, winning the dramatic competition director award and the dramatic competition audience award. It opens in theatres throughout the United States on July 20.
    The film's premiere was the opening night gala for the 19th annual Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, also known as OutFest. Outfest has grown into the largest film festival in Southern California and this year features 223 films from 23 different countries screening over 12 days at eight venues across Los Angeles.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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