Patrick Read Johnson's Coming Of Age 'Star Wars' Movie '5-25-77' Finally Being Released?
A long time ago, on an Internet that seems far far away, two Star Wars themed films were looking at major releases. There was Kyle Newman's Fanboys and Patrick Read Johnson's 5-25-77. The former was centered on the excitement looking ahead to the prequels and the latter was about how the release of the original movie shapes a young man's Hollywood dreams. Fanboys came and went in 2009 but 5-25-77 lingered like a piece of space junk released from a Star Destroyer. That year it screened at a film festival but that was more or less the last we heard of it after several years of teases.
That all changed this weekend when Jeff Sneider of Variety sent out a tweet saying the film will be released this summer and the filmmaker responded. The saga continues after the jump.
Hollywood Elsewhere has a great story detailing the entire, almost decade-long history of this project and you should head there for more. Here's what we know about the latest update.
It began with this tweet:
BREAKING: At long last, it looks like Patrick Read Johnson's Star Wars-centric pic 5-25-77 is coming out this spring on that very day...
— Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider) April 15, 2012
That got a response from Read Johnson himself:
@TheInSneider Jeff!5-25-12 isn't our release date!But the cross-countryroad-trip adventure that begins that day will lead us to one! — Patrick Read Johnson (@moonwatcher1) April 15, 2012
He promised more info would be revealed soon and then tweeted this:
On 5-25-12, a 1975 Ford Pinto will depart Wadsworth, Illinois to deliver a precious cargo to 3 very important people. yfrog.com/mm9ocyj
— Patrick Read Johnson (@moonwatcher1) April 15, 2012
The link reveals this poster, a tease of a road trip with Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind imagery.
So, what does this all mean? It means '77 is coming. Maybe not on May 25, but around that day more info will be revealed. Possibly a four-wall tour ala Red State? Here's a plot description:
The film tells the story of an alienated, sci-fi obsessed teen filmmaker named Pat Johnson (John Francis Daley) who must overcome his fear of leaving everything he knows and loves behind to chase his unlikely Hollywood dream. The pending release of a new movie called Star Wars on 5-27-77 is instrumental in shaping Pat's destiny.
NOTE: This story originally went up with the film's title being '77. It was then revealed the title has now officially be changed back to 5-25-77. Those changes have been made.