I have been a listener of Mark and Brian for almost 10 years and was shocked when I came across this film on IMDB, written, directed, and starring Mark Thompson. To say I am intrigued would be an understatement.
However, I have not been able to find a copy of this movie anywhere. Nor have I ever heard Thompson talk about it on his show. Does anyone have any idea where I can locate a copy?
Just saw Mark and Kevin being interviewed by Leonard Maltin on Reelz channel and went to look it up.
According to Mark, it was made on weekends from Dec. 2001 through Thanksgiving 2002 and then was on the film festival circuit, but was never picked up by a major studio. It was released on DVD on April 3, 2007.
I just got it on Blockbuster Online, and Netflix has it, too. I really liked it. Writer/Lead Actor Mark Thompson must have called in a lot of favors to get this amazing talent pool to support him. Essentially, this is his reel of film with him doing scenes with Joe Mantegna, Dana Delaney, Kevin Pollack, Charles Durning, Garry Marshall. But as a bonus, the movie is an unexpectedly good story about a man struggling with his feelings.
I'm not even a fan of Mark & Brian, but I am now a Mark Thompson fan. Hope you find a copy, and please come back and let us know how you liked it, too.
I finally tracked a copy down and I was impressed. Although it is certainly an indie film, without the glossy look and feel of most Hollywood motion pictures, it has a lot of heart behind it. I recommend watching the film twice, once in its final stage and once with the commentary on. Thompson and Rich Thorne have some very interesting conversations during the commentary that really let you into the process.
shareThanks for the tip, I will check out the commentary. Just recently became a fan of commentary because of "The Shield" and "24" DVD commentaries.
It is kind of hard to feel sorry for the Mark Thompson character, who appears to have a great business, a partner he likes and trusts, a wonderful wife and child, and an affluent life. But it really did get down to the human part of everyone's life. If Mark Thompson never acts on film again, this shows him really going for it with laughter, tears, impatience, and all these "actorly" emotions, and he has some fantastic players to support him through these scenes. Interesting that it was complete for so long, and we are just now finding out about it. I wish Thompson well.
I love the commentaries for "The Shield". That is a fantastic show.
I just read on IMDB that Thompson has a new project coming out in 2008 that he wrote and starred in called "Two:Thirteen". Apparently it's some kind of horror-thriller. I know from listening to his radio show that he is a huge fan of this genre, so he might take it in some interesting directions.
Additionally, the film features many of the actors from Mother Ghost, including Kevin Pollack.
Could be worth checking out...
Thanks for the tip, see you around the IMDB board, Nate!
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