ALONG CAME KINKY...Texas Jewboy for Governor Contact: David Hartstein (512) 417-9511 dhartst@gmail.com www.alongcamekinky.com PRESS KIT ALONG CAME KINKY...Texas Jewboy for Governor PRESS KIT FEATURING Kinky Friedman Dean Barkley Wayne Slater Jesse Ventura Dick DeGuerin Laura Stromberg Jason Stanford Carole Keeton Strayhorn Heather Beckel Scott McClellan Phil Darrah Chris Bell Rick Perry Matt Labash Christy Hoppe FILMMAKERS Director,Producer……………………………….………………………David Hartstein Editor…………………………………………………………..Sam Wainwright Douglas Executive Producer……………….………..……………………………….Paul Stekler Associate Producers……………………….….….Arthur Reyna III, Geoff Moskowitz Sound Re-recording Mixer………………….………………..…………Chris Keyland Motion Graphics Artist…….….…………………..……………………..David Hobizal TECHNICAL Running Time……..……………..…………………………………………….88 minutes Format……..…………………..………………Shot on miniDV, exhibited on HDCam Sound…………………….……………………………….………………….Dolby Stereo ALONG CAME KINKY...Texas Jewboy for Governor PRESS KIT Overview Along Came Kinky...Texas Jewboy for Governor chronicles singing Jewish cowboy Kinky Friedman’s 2006 independent gubernatorial campaign in Texas. See the outspoken Kinky and his army of grassroots volunteers combat voter apathy in the Lone Star State while his campaign staff strategizes for an unprecedented four-way race, raising awareness and money for their unlikely but incredibly sharp candidate. Synopsis “Texans deserve a choice, and that choice should be something other than paper or plastic.” With that, satirist, musician, author and Texas’ most famous Jewish cowboy Kinky Friedman announced his Independent candidacy for governor. This documentary follows from beginning to end the election as seen by the candidates, media, campaign staff and volunteers. Kinky’s was a campaign about political alienation, education, grass roots organizing and hope – plus a candidate who was both colorful and independent in every sense of the word. What made his campaign special was its focus on energizing an electorate that was turned off, cynical, and apathetic to mainstream politics. The film begins with campaign manager Dean Barkley strategizing the campaign’s effort to collect 45,540 signatures in order to secure a place on November’s ballot. Barkley, who successfully ran Jesse Ventura’s Minnesota gubernatorial campaign, and Kinky know the odds are against them but muse about “relying on the little fellers, not the Rockefellers.” After the Friedman campaign shatters its ballot-initiative goal by collecting more than 135,000 signatures, Kinky’s introduction to true campaigning begins. While the huge signature gathering success puts to rest the criticisms that the campaign is anything but serious, the peculiarities of the unprecedented fourway race, down and dirty struggles with the big party machine and Kinky’s unwillingness to smooth his gruff demeanor prove to be major obstacles on the path to Election Day. Entertaining to the end, Kinky Friedman’s “non-concession” speech is one for the ages. Despite the outcome, the election (and film) reveals much about an Independent candidate taking on the two-party system. ALONG CAME KINKY...Texas Jewboy for Governor PRESS KIT Director’s Bio Along Came Kinky…is David Hartstein’s first feature film. Now a Texas Jewboy himself, David Hartstein grew up on the mean streets of Long Island. He received an MFA from the University of Texas in 2004 and has since been an Austin-based filmmaker, freelancer and teacher at the University of Texas. Perhaps you recognize him from The Real World: Austin as a film-making teacher to the cast, but he hopes that you don’t. David edited Paul Stekler’s Special Session, a weekly statewide PBS program on Texas politics aired during the biannual legislative session. In addition to Along Came Kinky…, David is producing America’s Parking Lot, a feature documentary about Dallas Cowboys tailgaters, and The Happy Poet, a feature comedy about an organic, mostly vegetarian food stand from writer/director Paul Gordon (Motorcycle). Editor’s Bio Sam Wainright Douglas is a native of Houston, TX and a graduate with honors from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. His 2005 film The Holy Modal Rounders…Bound To Lose chronicles the surreal saga of the infamous bad boys of folk, The Holy Modal Rounders. The film played many festival and theatrical engagements and is now available internationally on DVD. Other editing credits include Raise the Roof (BBC, RTE) and Left of the Dial (HBO). Sam’s current film, Snakebit, covers the late architect Samuel Mockbee and the radical educational design/build program known as the Rural Studio that he cofounded deep in poverty-stricken Hale County, Alabama. Executive Producer’s Bio Paul Stekler’s documentaries about American politics and history include Last Man Standing: Politics, Texas Style (broadcast on PBS’s P.O.V. series), George Wallace: Settin’ the Woods on Fire (winner of a Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize), Vote for Me: Politics in America (winner of Emmy, Peabody and duPont-Columbia Journalism awards), and two of the Eyes on the Prize civil rights history series films. Stekler was an Executive Producer of Be Here to Love Me (directed by Margaret Brown, about the life of Texas singer/songwriter Townes Van Zandt). Dr. Stekler, is also the Director of the newly founded LBJ School of Public Affairs’ Center for Politics and Governance. His weekly series on Texas politics and the legislature aired statewide on Texas PBS affiliates during the bi-annual session. He has taught in the University of Texas’ Radio TV Film Department since 1997, heading its production program for most of those years. His latest work was co-producing and writing Frontline’s 2008 presidential race film, The Choice. ALONG CAME KINKY...Texas Jewboy for Governor PRESS KIT Kinky Friedman’s Bio Richard S. “Kinky” Friedman is a singer, songwriter, novelist, humorist, politician and columnist for Texas Monthly who styles himself in the mold of popular American satirists Will Rogers and Mark Twain. Born in Chicago, Kinky moved with his family to a ranch in central Texas at the age of one. A child chess prodigy, Friedman graduated from the University of Texas at Austin’s Plan II Honors Program. It was during his freshman year at the university that he received the nickname “Kinky” in reference to his curly hair. Friedman then served two years with the Peace Corps on the island of Borneo in Malaysia. In 1971 Friedman formed Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys performing songs of satire and sincere emotional depth: “They Ain’t Makin’ Jews Like Jesus Anymore” is a race baiting number about a bigot who gets beat up in a bar; “The Ballad of Charles Whitman” lampoons Whitman’s sniper attack from the University of Texas tower and “Ride ‘em Jewboy” is a country and western song about the Holocaust. In 1976 Friedman joined Bob Dylan on the Rolling Thunder Revue tour. After his music career stalled in the 1980s, Friedman shifted his creative focus to writing detective novels and has now completed over 20. His books have similarities to his music, featuring a fictionalized version of himself solving crimes in New York City and dispensing jokes, wisdom, recipes, charm and Jameson’s whiskey in equal measure. In 2005 Kinky officially announced his campaign for Governor of Texas. ALONG CAME KINKY...Texas Jewboy for Governor PRESS KIT Praise for Along Came Kinky… “Along Came Kinky may be the funniest documentary about the political process in years, even as it raises the big questions about the flaws in our system of government.” “Along Came Kinky is a wonderful film because it is funny and engaging, but also a serious observation of our political process at work and how we are failing ourselves by not becoming involved.” “…the story of the man in black, and especially his supporters, is funny, entertaining, full of passion…and even poignant at the end” “…the film is a pleasure to watch for several reasons, not least of which is Hartstein’s knack for being at the right place at the right time.” “This is a must-see for political junkies and should be required viewing for aspiring candidates of all stripes.” “…this film delivers a fresh perspective of Kinky and his dedicated quest to turn Texas politics-as-usual on its ear.” “…a remarkably entertaining, warts-and-all recollection of Friedman’s starcrossed 2006 campaign for governor of Texas.” ALONG CAME KINKY...Texas Jewboy for Governor PRESS KIT SXSW Review: "Along Came Kinky" Posted by Scott Von Doviak Musician, author, comic, animal rescuer and self-described cowboy philosopher Kinky Friedman added another line to his resume in 2006: politician. Actually, that's a label he'd be quick to reject, but Friedman did mount a grassroots independent campaign for the Texas governorship then and now occupied by empty Republican suit Rick Perry. David Hartstein's engrossing, entertaining documentary Along Came Kinky...Texas Jewboy for Governor follows the Kinkster and some of his opponents along the campaign trail, through the eyes of the staff and volunteers frustrated with the current state of the political system in the Lone Star State. Friedman launches his campaign with the best of intentions: throw the bums out, specifically the haircut posing as the current governor. His platform is populist-humorist, light on policy details but heavy on barbed one-liners aimed at lobbyists, career politicians and apathetic non-voters. In his black cowboy hat, clutching his ever-present cigar, Friedman carries himself as a Jewish redneck Mark Twain, and his appeal isn't difficult to fathom. He's the kind of outsider who can get away with proclaiming himself the only candidate in favor of both school prayer and gay marriage. As the race takes shape, two more opponents come into focus: another "independent" candidate, former Democratic Austin mayor turned Republican Comptroller turned politically ALONG CAME KINKY...Texas Jewboy for Governor PRESS KIT expedient "one tough grandma" Carole Keeton Strayhorn, and the eventually Democratic nominee Chris Bell, a generally colorless wonk. With no party backing him, it's up to Kinky's army to compile the necessary signatures to get his name on the ballot. Along the way we meet Kinky believers ranging from campaign manager Dean Barkley to a Bexar County volunteer who is transformed into a man on a mission through the process of collecting signatures. One thing they all have in common is a relentless optimism about their candidate and their chances, even given the fact that Friedman is consistently polling in the teens. If they bring out the non-voters, they reason, those numbers will be meaningless. But as one talking head points out, the thing all non-voters have in common is that they don't vote. Hartstein captures some hilarious and revealing fly-on-the-wall moments, such as a predebate encounter between Friedman and rival Bell that rides a thin line between "I'm kidding" and "I'm not really kidding." He's also there when the campaign takes an ugly downturn, first when Friedman makes some unfortunate remarks referring to Katrina refugees being "crackheads and thugs," which the press is quick to turn into a "Kinky is a racist" meme, and later when the Kinkster admittedly brings his C game to the only televised debate between all four candidates. Along Came Kinky may be the funniest documentary about the political process in years, even as it raises the big questions about the flaws in our system of government. For oldtimey Kinky fans, it even offers a few old Austin City Limits clips of the Texas Jewboys performing "Asshole from El Paso" and "They Ain't Making Jews Like Jesus Anymore." And it looks like Hartstein may have some material for a sequel: in a post-screening Q & A after the film's premiere at the Paramount theater in Austin, Friedman all but announced plans for another run in 2010 - this time as a Democrat. ALONG CAME KINKY...Texas Jewboy for Governor PRESS KIT ALONG CAME KINKY...Texas Jewboy for Governor PRESS KIT ALONG CAME KINKY...Texas Jewboy for Governor PRESS KIT SXSW Film Daily Reviews and Interviews BY AMY SMITH Along Came Kinky ... Texas Jewboy for Governor Documentary Feature, Lone Star States D: David Hartstein This is a must-see for political junkies and should be required viewing for aspiring candidates of all stripes. Austin filmmaker Hartstein takes us on an illuminating ride on the Kinky trail, where we see a much more personal side to the musician/author than the irreverent media sensation who genuinely believes he can break Texas' two-party mold by running – and winning – as an independent. After securing a spot on the ballot (with more than double the number of voter signatures required of indie hopefuls), it's all downhill: He's "tired and grumpy," his jokes grow stale, he's unfairly branded a racist based on decades-old comedy material, and he's a complete flop at the gubernatorial debates. Of course, voters want more than talk from a "change" candidate, and on that score, Kinky failed to deliver. Fortunately, this film delivers a fresh perspective of Kinky and his dedicated quest to turn Texas politics-as-usual on its ear. He promises a return engagement in 2010. ALONG CAME KINKY...Texas Jewboy for Governor PRESS KIT ALONG CAME KINKY...Texas Jewboy for Governor PRESS KIT ALONG CAME KINKY...Texas Jewboy for Governor PRESS KIT SXSW Interview: David Hartstein, 'Along Came Kinky ...Texas Jewboy for Governor' by Jette Kernion Love him or hate him, you have to admit Kinky Friedman is a genuine Texas Colorful Character, and it's fascinating to see what he's going to do next. (But not running for governor again. Please.) I started to tell you all my own little story about meeting Friedman when I worked as an Austin City Limits intern in 1994, but it went on too long. And I don't want to take the spotlight away from my e-mail interview with David Hartstein, director of the documentary Along Came Kinky … Texas Jewboy for Governor. The film is having its world premiere at SXSW this year. Along Came Kinky ... Texas Jewboy for Governor plays just once during SXSW: Thursday, March 19 at 7:30 pm at the Paramount. I bet it's going to be fun to watch with a big audience, especially if a lot of Texans are there. Here's what local filmmaker Hartstein had to say about the film: Describe your film for us, in a quick and dirty paragraph. ALONG CAME KINKY...Texas Jewboy for Governor PRESS KIT Along Came Kinky...Texas Jewboy for Governor chronicles singing Jewish cowboy Kinky Friedman's 2006 independent gubernatorial campaign in Texas. See the outspoken Kinky, campaign staff strategizing for an unprecedented four-way race, and grass roots volunteers canvassing the state to raise awareness and money for their unlikely but incredibly sharp candidate. What made you choose this particular subject for your film? That is a good question with a few answers. To start, I moved here from New York in 2000 for film school. I became aware of Kinky right away through an old college friend of mine, Jared Lindauer. Jared grew up here and his family adopted me, inviting me to their home for all the Jewish holidays, etc. Randomly enough, Jared's grandmother was married to Kinky's dad. So, I actually first became aware of Kinky at a Passover seder or something like that. My first year of film school, I needed to do a documentary portrait and I immediate thought of Kinky, who appealed to me because he was so Texas which was something so foreign to me at the time. So I jumped into the music and the books and I just didn't get it, just like I felt that I didn't quite get Texas, and I moved on and made a crappy little documentary about a guy who worked in a video arcade on the Drag but was an aspiring screenwriter. Cut to 4 years later and I'd become close with Paul Stekler, having worked on Last Man Standing and TA'ing for him. Paul hired me to edit his show for KLRU, "Special Session," a Sunday morning roundtable covering the Texas legislature. I was out of film school and trying to come up with a new project and I had this obsession with celebrity and politics and voter apathy. I was thinking about things like why people who would never vote for a candidate are actually paying to vote on American Idol. At that point too I felt way more comfortable with the idea of Texas and very much wanted to tell a Texas story. So there was a moment when my awareness of Kinky as a character and my increasing interest in the machinations of government and Texas politics collided and I went down to San Antonio to cover Kinky’s announcement on February 3, 2005. Believe it or not, after that I didn’t do another single thing to cover the campaign until August 2005. I was working on another show for PBS out in Alpine, Texas, and Kinky had a campaign stop out there that I covered. And seeing the energized crowd and really feeling my own frustration with the political process, chose to dive in to see the campaign through to the end. How long have you been working on the film? Well, I first covered Kinky’s announcement on February 2, 2005 and now we're scrambling to finish the color correction, motion graphics and marketing materials in preparation for the March 19 premiere at the Paramount. So it's been over 4 years now. I feel a little pathetic writing that, and since I'm now teaching at UT in the RTF Department, I feel like this project has been like a PhD dissertation or something. I've learned so much about Texas and filmmaking in the process and met so many wonderful people that even though it's been so long in the making, I'm really glad I chose to see it through ALONG CAME KINKY...Texas Jewboy for Governor PRESS KIT What are the "Austin connections" in this film? Will Austinites recognize any particular locations? (Obviously, we'll recognize Mr. Friedman.) Hmm, so many. Kinky grew up here in Austin, having graduated from Austin High and then attended UT. The second scene in the film is of Kinky and campaign director Dean Barkley talking to students about the signature-gathering process to get Kinky on the ballot. Also, Kinky had his election night party at Scholz Beer Garden. Obviously Austin, being the capitol, is the center of Texas politics and all the candidates were running offices out of here. We shot at the Capitol, at the Secretary of State's office downtown, all over town. There's a quick cutaway of the Magnolia sign on South Congress where some campaign volunteers were gathering signatures. Oh, and the Guv Bug (Kinky's pink trailer with his hat and cigar) drives up and down Congress in the film and right near the UT Baseball Stadium. There's probably a bunch more I'm not remembering. What are your future plans for this film? Well, March 19th looms large. I'm sitting here typing this while in the room with David Hobizal, who is an amazing motion graphics designer, as he works some really cool stuff. We're still submitting to a bunch of other festivals and we're looking to Europe as well, because Kinky has a pretty significant following over there too. Tell us one thing about this film that is going to make it impossible for people to resist seeing it at SXSW. Simply put it's really, really funny and I guarantee you'll see things from each of the candidates that you'll never see anywhere else. And if I can be allowed a second thing: I've found Kinky to be a fairly polarizing figure and I think folks on either side of the fence are going to leave quite satisfied. What I mean is that if you love Kinky there's a ton of great stuff to keep believing in him and to feel justified for supporting the campaign. And I think if you hate Kinky and just wish he'd go away there are some enough in there of him falling flat on his face and self-destructing. One more thing: you end up with a great insider/full access look at two campaigns, Kinky's and Chris Bell's. There's an AMAZING off-the-cuff moment where the two meet on the campaign trail and neither really knows how to handle the other. Kinky's kind of too "real" and authentic and kind of lets his guard down, Chris goes for a bit of intimidation and tries to play it cool, but that doesn't really work either. It was something you'd never see in any other campaign coverage because it wasn't an especially big moment, no pithy soundbites. But amazing to watch none the less. And then of course there's election night itself with Kinky at Scholz Beer Garden. That really ended up being a microcosm of his entire campaign with the night starting out so optimistically and the kind of devolving into a bit of a mess, but then Kinky comes back and ends the night with the most amazing "nonconcession" speech you'll ever hear.