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Changes: I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story

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{{movie|image=IAmBigBird.png|date=[[2014]]|runtime=86 minutes|director=Dave LaMattina & Chad Walker|writer=Dave LaMattina|composer=Joshua Johnson|studio=Copper Pot Pictures}}
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[[Image:IAmBigBird.png|thumb|300px]]
  
 
[[File:I Am Big Bird poster.jpg|thumb|300px]]
  
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[[File:I AM BIG BIRD Trailer|thumb|300px|Trailer]]
  
[[File:I AM BIG BIRD Trailer|thumb|300px|Trailer]]
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The project was first announced in March of 2012, and a Kickstarter campaign was launched and successfully funded that summer. The film was completed by mid-January 2014,<ref>[https://twitter.com/Copper_Pot/status/423885877954494464 Copper Pot tweet - January 16, 2014]</ref> and had its world premiere at the Hot Docs Festival in Toronto, Canada on April 27, 2014. The film's U.S. premiere was held at the Montclair Film Festival in New Jersey on May 3, 2014.
  
The project was first announced in March of 2012, and a Kickstarter campaign was launched and successfully funded that summer. The film was completed by mid-January 2014,<ref>[https://twitter.com/Copper_Pot/status/423885877954494464 Copper Pot tweet - January 16, 2014]</ref> and had its world premiere at the Hot Docs Festival in Toronto, Canada on April 27, 2014. The film's U.S. premiere was held at the Montclair Film Festival in New Jersey on May 3, 2014.
   
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In October, it was announced that [[Tribeca Film Festival|Tribeca Film]] had acquired the U.S. distribution rights and will release the film theatrically on May 6th 2015 and through video-on-demand services on May 5th.<ref>[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/i-am-big-bird-doc-744118 The Hollywood Reporter - 'I Am Big Bird' Doc Picked Up by Tribeca Film]</ref>
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In October, it was announced that [[Tribeca Film Festival|Tribeca Film]] had acquired the U.S. distribution rights.<ref>[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/i-am-big-bird-doc-744118 The Hollywood Reporter - 'I Am Big Bird' Doc Picked Up by Tribeca Film]</ref> The film was released through video-on-demand services on May 5, 2015 and theatrically on May 6. The film was released on DVD on August 11, 2015.
   
 
==Official description==
  
==Official description==
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*The Screening Room - Newburyport, MA <small>(September 21, 2014)</small>
  
*The Screening Room - Newburyport, MA <small>(September 21, 2014)</small>
 
*[[Brooklyn Academy of Music]] - Brooklyn, NYC <small>(October 25, 2014)</small>
  
*[[Brooklyn Academy of Music]] - Brooklyn, NYC <small>(October 25, 2014)</small>
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==Video releases==
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<gallery>
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Image:Noimage-big.png|{{GNH|DVD}}2015<br>Cinedigm Entertainment<br>TF4691
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</gallery>
   
 
==See also==
  
==See also==

Revision as of 16:15, 20 August 2015

IAmBigBird
Released 2014
Duration 86 minutes
Director Dave LaMattina & Chad Walker
Written by Dave LaMattina
Music Joshua Johnson
Studio Copper Pot Pictures
I Am Big Bird poster
I_AM_BIG_BIRD_Trailer

I AM BIG BIRD Trailer

Trailer

I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story is a feature-length documentary about Caroll Spinney, the original Muppeteer behind Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street. The documentary is produced by Copper Pot Pictures, with founders Dave LaMattina, Chad Walker and Clay Frost as the filmmakers.

The project was first announced in March of 2012, and a Kickstarter campaign was launched and successfully funded that summer. The film was completed by mid-January 2014,[1] and had its world premiere at the Hot Docs Festival in Toronto, Canada on April 27, 2014. The film's U.S. premiere was held at the Montclair Film Festival in New Jersey on May 3, 2014.

In October, it was announced that Tribeca Film had acquired the U.S. distribution rights.[2] The film was released through video-on-demand services on May 5, 2015 and theatrically on May 6. The film was released on DVD on August 11, 2015.

Official description

“I AM BIG BIRD is a feature-length documentary about Caroll Spinney, who has been Sesame Street’s Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch since 1969… and at 80 years old, he has no intention of stopping.

Think you know everything there is to know about Sesame Street? You don’t. You might know that Frank Oz turned down an offer to play Big Bird, but you probably don’t know that until a last minute change of heart by NASA, Big Bird was supposed to go to space aboard The Challenger. Or you may know that Oscar the Grouch got his voice from a cantankerous cabbie, but you’d be surprised to learn that a fire in his trash can almost led to Caroll’s untimely demise.

Caroll’s stories are the stuff of legend. He has been a constant presence in our lives for over 40 years, his path weaving through American history like that of Forrest Gump. His time inside the Bird has taught him about the world and about himself. I AM BIG BIRD will peel away the instances in his life that inspired his creation of characters that have influenced generations of children. And, as the yellow feathers give way to grey hair, it is the man, not the Muppet, who will steal your heart.”

Credits

IAmBigBirdCrew

Filmmakers Dave LaMattina, Chad Walker and Clay Frost with Oscar the Grouch.

  • Directed and Produced by: Dave LaMattina & Chad Walker
  • Written by: Dave LaMattina
  • Cut and Shot by: Chad Walker
  • Music Composed by: Joshua Johnson
  • Executive Producer: Clay Frost
  • Additional Footage: Victor DiNapoli

Interviewees

Caroll Spinney, Debra Spinney, J Milligan, Sonia Manzano, Emilio Delgado, Bob McGrath, Lorretta Long, Joan Ganz Cooney, Norman Stiles, Carol-Lynn Parente, Ouyang Lianzi, Frank Oz, Matt Vogel, Jane Henson, Michael Davis, Judy Valentine, Jerry Nelson, Lara MacLean, Laurent Linn, Michael Schupbach, Cheryl Henson, Victor DiNapoli, Melissa Spinney, Benjamin Spinney, Jessica Spinney, Martin G. Baker, Frank Avruch.[3][4][5][6][7][8]

Screenings

  • HotDocs - Toronto, Canada (April 27, 28, 30 and May 1, 4, 2014)
  • Montclair Film Festival - Montclair, NJ (May 3, 2014)
  • Seattle International Film Festival - Seattle, WA (May 25-27, 2014)
  • Los Angeles Film Festival - Los Angeles, CA (June 14, 2014)
  • AFI Docs - Washington, DC; Silver Spring, MD (June 21, 22, 2014)
  • Melbourne International Film Festival - Melbourne, Australia (August 16, 17, 2014)
  • The Screening Room - Newburyport, MA (September 21, 2014)
  • Brooklyn Academy of Music - Brooklyn, NYC (October 25, 2014)

Video releases

See also

External links

Sources

  1. ↑ Copper Pot tweet - January 16, 2014
  2. ↑ The Hollywood Reporter - 'I Am Big Bird' Doc Picked Up by Tribeca Film
  3. ↑ Copper Pot tweet - January 31, 2013
  4. ↑ Copper Pot tweet - December 8, 2012
  5. ↑ Copper Pot tweet - January 2, 2013
  6. ↑ Copper Pot tweet - February 12, 2013
  7. ↑ Copper Pot tweet - November 29, 2012
  8. ↑ Copper Pot tweet - January 17, 2013
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