ONCE I WAS: The Hal Ashby Story is a feature length documentary film celebrating the life and work of cult director Hal Ashby. Description I had to skip film class as a college freshman to see Harold and Maude. As a student, we were being fed a steady diet of Stanley Kubrick, Chris Marker, and Jean Luc Godard—but I found Hal Ashby on my own. I will never forget the visceral reaction I had his use of music, the heart and soul of his characters, their style. This film became the key to unlocking an entire interior world within myself. As I sought out the rest of his films, I found an utterly unique language that was like no others director. Between 1970 and 1979, Hal Ashbys films collected seven Academy Awards and 24 Academy Award nominations. They continue to influence generations of directors, actors, and fans. Any time you mention Shampoo, Being There, or Coming Home, the reaction is without fail, impassioned. “That film changed my life!” You hear it over and over again, yet Ashby’s name remains, criminally unknown to the general public, a footnote in film guides and critical studies. This mind-blowing streak of films easily rivals his more famous contemporaries. His strident rebelliousness in the face of the Hollywood studio system set the course for an unapologetically original body of work. He was a major player in the 1970s Hollywood’s Film Renaissance: its moral ambivalence and political rage, its stylistic audacity and deeply human voice. That he disappeared behind a string of disappointing pictures in the 1980s and died before redeeming his reputation has led many critics to dismiss Ashby. This was a man who gave everything to film, sacrificed his personal relationships, his health, and sometimes his sanity in his devotion to the craft of directing. In making ONCE I WAS we will finally explore the profound impact of Hal Ashby’s body of work on modern cinema, and to see the man behind the camera. It’s time to set the record straight. We are deeply honored to be working with his estate as the official documentary on Hal Ashby. With their support and blessing we have uncovered never before seen archival footage, audio recordings, and photographs. His friends and colleagues have enthusiastically offered to share their stories with us. With all of this in hand, ONCE I WAS will present an all-encompassing look at Hal and his work, giving cinematic credit where credit is long overdue. https://indiegogo/projects/once-i-was-the-hal-ashby-story
Posted on: Thu, 19 Jun 2014 19:00:55 +0000
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