February 18, 2004
February 12, 2004
November 1, 2003
October 18, 2003
October 15, 2003 It is hoped that the 2.9 MB version will soon be available for download from the TCP website, and made available to wider audiences via a link on FanFilms.net.
October 10, 2003
October 3, 2003
August 10, 2003
August 5, 2003
April, 2003
February 17, 2003
September 1, 2002
August 18, 2002
August 16, 2002
August 5, 2002
June 24, 2002
April 28, 2002
April 11, 2002
February 25, 2002
January 20, 2002
December 18, 2001
December 2, 2001 —Luke
October 22, 2001 —Luke
August 27, 2001 —Luke
January 5, 2000 —Eric
Suburban Cowboys screens to packed house at Cinema Lounge
MINNEAPOLIS -- The theatre at Bryant Lake Bowl was filled to capacity this evening as filmmakers and film lovers alike crowded in to watch five films at IFP MSP's Cinema Lounge. The five featured films were: Latchkey by Sean Olson; Lovers by Nikolas Allen; Draw the Pirate by Jeff Hopkins; Brite by William Rees; and TCP's very own Suburban Cowboys.
February's Cinema Lounge was hosted by Jon Nowak, a Minneapolis director who recently experienced a successful trip to the Sundance Film Festival, where he screened his film Suspension as part of Kevin Spacey's prestigious Triggerstreet competition. At Cinema Lounge, Nowak interviewed the filmmakers after each individual screening. Eric Dela Cruz and Luke Taylor joined Nowak on stage for a short Q&A session following the screening of Suburban Cowboys. All were impressed with Nowak's thoughtful questions and the encouragement he gave to each filmmaker present at the event.
Cinema Lounge occurs the third Wednesday of every month at the Bryant Lake Bowl at 7PM.
Click here to visit the IFP MSP website.
Suburban Cowboys to screen at IFP MSP's Cinema Lounge
MINNEAPOLIS -- Suburban Cowboys will be included in IFP MSP's Cinema Lounge on Wednesday, February 18 at the Bryant Lake Bowl.
Cinema Lounge is a monthly showcase of IFP MSP's selections of locally produced film/video work. It is a great venue in which to show new work and get feedback. For filmmakers and audience members both, it is also a fun social event that provides networking opportunities with the local film community.
Cinema Lounge occurs the third Wednesday of every month at the Bryant Lake Bowl at 7PM.
Click here to visit the IFP MSP website.
Suburban Cowboys kindly rejected by FanFilms.net
MINNEAPOLIS -- Suburban Cowboys was submitted to FanFilms.net, but it was ultimately rejected for being too original.
Citing their reason for rejection, FanFilms wrote, "We're sorry, although your film looks good, it's not strictly a 'fan-film', which is a fan made film based on a movie, TV show, comic etc."
They also added, "There are many short film websites which would be better suited for you."
Jothan Sargent and David McKoskey speculated that Remote Wars would fare better on the FanFilms website, because it fits the criteria.
"Not to mention, it'd be fun to share," added McKoskey.
The challenge will be digitizing Remote Wars for this purpose. The precedent set by Sargent and Randall Hanson with Suburban Cowboys, however, bodes well for future projects.
Click here to visit FanFilms.net.
TCP crew attend Lake Wobegon Film Festival
SAUK CENTRE, MN -- Eric Dela Cruz, Randy Hanson, Jothan Sargent, and Luke Taylor from TCP made the 115-mile journey to Sauk Centre today to attend the first Lake Wobegon Film Festival. Held at the Sauk Centre's 1939-constructed Main Street Cinema, the festival spread across three days and included 5 shorts in an emerging filmmakers' showcase, another 5 shorts in an IFP showcase, and six feature films. The Lake Wobegon Film Festival is dedicated to providing a venue for films made in Minnesota or in the states and provinces that border Minnesota, and for bringing those films to people who live in smaller rural communities.
TCP's 1995 short Suburban Cowboys was shown during Saturday's Emerging Filmmakers' Showcase. This showcase was screened at 9:30am on Saturday morning with an encore presentation at 9pm Saturday night. Audience numbers were quite good, and the reaction to Suburban Cowboys was positive.
The only disappointment for the TCP crew was that they could not stay for more of the festival. However, the group made plans to attend the entire festival next year so they can enjoy all this festival has to offer. The TCP members expressed their gratitude to Brad Chisholm, Bob Douvier, and other festival organizers and volunteers for putting together such an outstanding event.
Click here to view a program from the festival. (PDF format)
TCP release first DVD
ST PAUL – TCP announced the creation of their first DVD today, which features the 1995 animated cult hit, Suburban Cowboys.
Jothan Sargent and Randy Hanson spent a few hours last night importing video from mini DV and combining it with high-quality audio tracks. The finished product yielded Suburban Cowboys on a DVD with a nice theme, opening DVD menu and a revamped audio track from original wav/mp3 files. The only audio that could not be replaced was the techno flourish that formerly played under the TCP logo at the opening of the film.
"This DVD is based on a theme from iDVD," said Hanson. "It has no bonus features, and it's founded on a film-to-video transfer that started as VHS, but hey--it's on a DVD!"
This DVD is the requested format for the upcoming Lake Wobegon Film Festival in Sauk Centre. Two DVD copies have been made thus far, and Hanson says more could be available soon.
In addition to the DVD cut, Sargent and Hanson exported versions of Suburban Cowboys in several formats, including:
Suburban Cowboys selected for Lake Wobegon Film Festival
SAUK CENTRE, MN – The TCP animated classic, Suburban Cowboys, has been selected for screening during the Emerging Filmmaker Showcase at the Lake Wobegon Film Festival.
The screening will take place on Saturday, October 18. Click here for more information about the Lake Wobegon Film Festival.
Northern Vignettes screens in Colorado
BOULDER, CO – TCP's lighthearted documentary of the 2002 Bearded Child Film Festival, Northern Vignettes, screened on September 19 at the Boulder, Colorado manifestation of the 2003 Bearded Child Film Festival.
According to a news report by Jessica Stanley in the Colorado Daily, attendance at the Colorado version of the festival was disappointing. Click here to read the article.
Northern Vignettes screens at 2003 Grand Rapids film fest; TCP members attend
GRAND RAPIDS, MN – TCP's lighthearted documentary of the 2002 Bearded Child Film Festival, Northern Vignettes, screened on both nights of the 2003 Bearded Child Film Festival. By all accounts, Northern Vignettes was appreciated by the audiences in attendance. Thankfully, audience attendance at the 2003 festival was remarkably better than in 2002.
TCP attendees at this year's festival were Eric DelaCruz, Jothan Sargent, Randy Hanson, and Luke Taylor. They were accompanied by Mike Nead, of Minneapolis-based MediaNeads, Inc. Mike Nead's Monster Demo screened on Saturday night and was warmly received.
Amongst the five Twin Citizens in attendance, opinion was quite unanimous when it came to naming favorites. The group found Virgil Widrich's Fast Film to be the most visually stunning and technically impressive, while the group thought Cine-Magic's Gas 'n Fuel Employee Training Video #4a: Makin' It Happen! was far and away the funniest film shown during the two-day fest.
TCP film mentioned in local press
GRAND RAPIDS, MN – As the 2003 Bearded Child Film Festival in Grand Rapids approaches, TCP's submission, Northern Vignettes, was mentioned by the festival's curator in today's issue of the Grand Rapids Herald-Review. Click here to read the story by Herald-Review reporter Gale LeCompte.
Suburban Cowboys included in Gong Show event
MINNEAPOLIS – Suburban Cowboys screened at InterMedia Arts in Minneapolis, to a large and boisterous crowd attending the art gallery's first ever Gong Show-based Films First Fridays. Although Suburban Cowboys was gonged and could not be seen in its entirety, it held the rare and rather dubious honor of being gonged twice. It was first gonged right after the conclusion of the credits. Panelist Robyne Robinson (of KMSP - FOX 9 News) believed that this was not enough time to make a judgement. Robinson called for a vote amongst the audience, asking them to give Suburban Cowboys another chance. The Mistress of Ceremonies agreed, and the audience voted overwhelmingly to let Suburban Cowboys screen again. After Howard the Pool Ace sank the entire rack of balls, all four judges got up and simultaneously rang the gong.
As one festival attendee churlishly commented, "They really gonged the shit out of it."
TCP list Suburban Cowboys on FanFilms.net
MINNEAPOLIS – TCP have posted their 1994 hit, Suburban Cowboys, to FanFilms(dot)net, a website for people who enjoy making films in homage to major motion picture releases. Suburban Cowboys will be available for download so that a much wider audience can view, enjoy, and provide feedback. Click here to visit Fan Films, or click the image below.
Post-production begins on film fest documentary
INVER GROVE HEIGHTS, MN – Post-production has begun on the video documenting the group's experience surrounding the Bearded Child Film Festival in Grand Rapids. It has been decided that two versions will be created: the first, called Northern Vignettes, will be the 'unabridged' version of the video that documents the experiences of Eric, Luke, and Jothan. This video will be shared amongst the TCP crew, auxilliary members, and local fans. The second, tentatively titled A Journey to Grand Rapids, will be a shorter version of the same video, with some of the more esoteric elements removed. This shorter version will be sent to our friends in Grand Rapids as a sort of thank-you note for the great experiences we had in their city.
Additionally, a print account of the festival weekend's events will be published to this site, much as last year's experiences were documented here. The website content will be added as soon as the photos are finished, scanned, and optimized for web publication.
Grand Rapids film festival attendance low; TCP shoot documentary
The Bearded Child Film Festival in Grand Rapids concluded last night, and, although the festival was a success in terms of drawing a wide variety of innovative films from around the world, attendance was a bit of a disappointment. The film festival took place on the same weekend as the Itasca County Fair, arguably the biggest event of the year in Grand Rapids. Attendance at last year's film festival was near 150; this year it paled to a total of approximately 50 across both nights. Nonetheless, Eric, Jothan, and Luke enjoyed themselves and appreciated seeing the films that were showcased. Additionally, the three TCP members shot some video of their experiences in and around the festival, and will be producing a short video that includes these highlights.
TCP crew travel to Grand Rapids
Eric DelaCruz, Jothan Sargent, and Luke Taylor left Minneapolis today to travel to the Bearded Child Film Festival in Grand Rapids. Three TCP films will be screened across the two-day event: Remote Wars, The Bully Zaps Back, and Simplify.
Three TCP films to be included in 2003 Grand Rapids film fest
Official word was received today from Grand Rapids: all three of TCP's submissions to the Grand Rapids Film Festival (Remote Wars, The Bully Zaps Back, and Simplify) will be included in this year's festival screenings. The Grand Rapids Film Festival (also known as the Bearded Child Film Fest) will be held August 16-17 in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. According to the festival curator, Dan Anderson, this year's festival will include over 30 films, submitted from the US, Canada, Australia, and Singapore.
TCP to submit 3 films to 2002 Grand Rapids film fest
This week, TCP will be submitting three films to this year's Grand Rapids Underground Film Festival, also known as the Bearded Child. The three films to be submitted are 1993's triumphant Remote Wars and its spellbinding follow-up, Return of the Remote, plus 2002's delightful, comedic romp Simplify. Festival dates are August 16-17, 2002, in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.
Despite weather, TCP festival a success
Despite TCP's attempts to avoid inclement winter weather, a snow and ice storm still hit on April 27. Nonetheless, the TCP FIlm Fest (dubbed 'TCP Cinema Lounge') went on as planned and was quite a success. Total attendance for the evening was approximately 25, and the TCP crew were pleased with the positive response from the audience. Click here to view photos from the event.
TCP host festival for friends and family
TCP will be hosting a film festival to showcase some of the non-Remote Wars-related productions they created in the 1990s and early 2000s. Click here to see an invitation to the festival.
Simplify shown to Settergren's staff
Simplify was screened today at Settergren's Ace Hardware, and received the seal of approval from manager Mark Settergren. The staff at Settergren's appreciated how their store was used in the film, and they laughed when the protagonist sought solutions to his difficulties by shopping there.
"When I worked at the Nicollet store," said Mark Settergren, "someone once asked us if they could film some scenes there for a different project. We let them do it, but in the end, the film turned out to be something we didn't really want to be a part of. With [Simplify], I've got no problem. This is great. I'm glad we could help out, and I wish you guys the best of luck with this."
Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon with TCP
How many degrees from Kevin Bacon are the TCP crew? Click here to find out.
December marks significant filmmaking milestone dates
TCP celebrates many filmmaking anniversaries in December of 2001. Click here to learn more.
—Eric
Title confirmed for new TCP film
At long last, a title has been decided for TCP's latest project, which has heretofore been known only by its working title, 'One Key Guy.' During shooting today, David McKoskey and Randy Hanson came up with the title, Simplify. This title not only fits the plot better, but the single-word nomenclature well suits a film about clearing clutter.
Watch for a release of Simplify in early 2002.
TCP's latest project underway
TCP have gone into production on their latest project. Using the working title 'One Key Guy', the TCP crew have been shooting video at Eric's house in Inver Grove Heights, in the parking area at Visitation School and Convent in West St Paul, and at numerous locations in Minneapolis, including Settergren's Ace Hardware, Armatage Park, and Randy's and Luke's houses.
New to the TCP equipment arsenal is Jothan Sargent's recently purchased Canon GL1 digital video camera, which is getting quite a workout as production on 'One Key Guy' continues...
Two TCP films were selected for screening at the 2001 Grand Rapids Underground Film Festival (also known as the Bearded Child Film Festival). Suburban Cowboys (1994) and Free (2000) will be screened at the festival on Saturday, September 8, at 7:00pm. For those unfamiliar with these TCP works, Suburban Cowboys follows the misadventures of a Wild West pool ace and a couple of misfits during a wacky billiards game; Free takes a lighthearted look at the old adage, "One man's trash is another man's treasure." Jothan Sargent and Luke Taylor travelled to Grand Rapids for the festival. Read their report of the event by clicking here.
I'm pleased to announce that this year (2000) marks the 10th Anniversary of Trans Collegiate Pictures! For those of us who have been around since the beginning, as well as the newer crew members who came on board more recently, we have a lot to celebrate, in particular the completion of the Remote Wars trilogy. With the success of the December 4, 1999 premiere, expect an announcement of an encore screening date in the near future. Happy New Year!
