It's been a while since we made it, but if you have any burning questions about the movie then post them here. I will try to answer them as best I can. Apart from complex time travel questions. The writer was the expert on those...
Neil,
First of all, thanks for popping in here, it's nice to be able to get info from an authoritative source. Secondly, thanks to all for making the film, it was so well crafted and an absolute pleasure to watch and I've tried to spread the word about it to many many of my friends.
Now the questions:
1) Are there (were there?) any plans to make a sequel following the parallel universe concept revealed at the ending?
2) Why did this not get a theatrical release in the US?
3) Are there plans for a Region 1 (or region-free) DVD release? If so, do you know when it is scheduled to be available? If not, why the #$(*# not?
4) I realize that the viewer was intentionally not shown what was written on the piece of paper, but were there any casual discussions among the cast/crew as to what was possibly written down?
5) Admittedly silly question: Have you seen the recent Futurama episode titled "The Late Philip J. Fry" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1630896/)? If you haven't (and you actually like time-travel stories), I recommend you check it out - it's an enjoyable (and pretty clever) take on the concept.
Thanks in advance for responding.
G
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On the IMDb, nobody knows you're a (I said nobody knows!).
Hi G,
Thanks for the post. It's always good to connect with someone who saw the film you'd spent so long making. It's even better when they like it!
In response to your questions:
1) There was a plan to make a series of FAQs About…. The next one we had started to outline was about a Parallel Universe. We had discussed Ray, Pete and Toby intervening in another Ray's life. This Ray was a bit of a fascist who was threatening the fabric of the space time continuum itself through rather weird experiments. Still think there's a good movie idea in there somewhere. I’d just watched a film called The Man Who Haunted Himself starring Roger Moore and could see the endless possibilities. Ah well...
2) Ironically, it wasn't great timing for us. We delivered the film just as HBO Films, Warner Independent Pictures and Picture House were all shut down. Picture House was supposed to distribute it, got closed down, then WIP were supposed to distribute it and they got closed down. It then didn't really make much sense for HBO to push for a release as they make their money through cable subscribers. It is a real shame, because it does play really well in front of an audience.
3) Same answer as above. It's stuck at HBO, for whom the numbers probably don't add up for a DVD release. I think the absence of a DVD release has driven audiences to other less legitimate channels. TorrentFreak told me that the film had been downloaded illegally 1.2m times. That's a lot of support!
4) We had a number of futile discussions about what the idea could be, but inevitably we couldn’t think of anything that was world changing enough to justify showing it. In the end we went for the Pulp Fiction reference in the reveal to underline the fact that is is a MacGuffin. However, there WAS a discussion between the boys at the theme night about what could have been on the paper that we cut out from the final edit. Toby thought that it might have been one of his inventions; a lamp that is a dog with one of those cones on their heads that they wear after surgery. That’s the reason why the film is produced by DogLamp Productions. We almost got some produced as a sideline business.
5) Haven’t seen that episode. I’ll track it down on DVD. I’m a bit of a science fiction fan so appreciate the suggestion.
Hope that helped…
N
There was a plan to make a series of FAQs About…
We hoped to make a series of lower budget comedies that looked at time travel, parallel universes, etc. Not enough people knew about it when it was released so it didn't make much impact on the box office. If only I knew of a toilet somewhere...
share"If only I knew of a toilet somewhere... "
What would you have done differently then?
About your comment on torrentfreak, I can tell you that people in my circles have all heard/seen it trough torrents, and I am sure the DVD sales would go smoooth!
I really enjoyed it, great job ! :>
*´¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*¨)
(¸.·´ (¸.·´ I had these stars in my signature first !
Thanks for the post and glad you enjoyed the film.
Here's a short list of stuff I would have differently if I could travel back in time:
(i) I would take back a bit more money and expand the middle section so that the boys get the chance to explore the future world.
(ii) showed the distributor the torrentfreak stats I had bought back with me to convince them that people wanted to see it.
(iv) I would have spent some more time with the director Gareth, enjoying his company, as he passed away earlier this year.
Neil,
I'm very sorry to hear about Gareth Carrivick. In looking through his credits, FAQATT seemed to be his first feature film directing job - what a wonderful beginning. Definitely sad that he wasn't able to continue on with this part of his career.
Do you see any possibility of having a "made to order" DVDs available for sale in the US? Amazon has done this for a small subset of films. I understand the overhead is quite low, since they are DVD-R discs that are pressed when you order them. I bought one through them and the quality of mine was excellent (including the artwork).
Warner Bros has recently released a number of titles from their archives in this way (as well as making them available for downloads), and you can buy the Warner Bros DVD-R "Archive Collection" through Amazon. See this article for more info: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE52M7OB20090323).
Finally, from your short list... What is (iii)?
G
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On the IMDb, nobody knows you're a (I said nobody knows!).
Hi G,
Thanks for the pointer re the DVDs I will ask HBO if they would be okay to do that. Sounds like a great way of getting niche movies out there.
As for (iii)... well that's written on the back of a piece of paper I left in a pub a few months ago. Probably won't amount to much
N
I just finished watching this movie and came here in hopes to see that a sequel was in the works. It is so upsetting that a movie like this does not get the play it deserves. Instead Hollywood pumps out sequel after sequel followed by remake after remake because they are too afraid to take a chance anymore.
Neil, this was a great ride that ended way too soon. I am planning on watching it again tomorrow night because I enjoyed it that much. It is a sad business that you are in when genius goes without reward. Please know that no matter what the financial gains from this was (I'm sure not enough), you have made a very enjoyable film that will hopefully find its way to the main stream in the near future. Great work and I (we) thank you for your hard work and great effort. Please continue----->
Many thanks. I'll pass this on to the team who will be very happy to hear your comments! Keep up the good work of tracking down the undiscovered. There are so many good films that don't get heard of that are well worth the extra effort of finding.
Neil
It is really amazing to be able to speak to someone involved in the FAQ experience. I hope you get to read this.
I am from Mexico and I just recently watched this, of course, downloaded from internet because getting anything here is a lot more difficult than in the US even.
I loved it and have been recommending it to all of my film buff friends.
Keep up the great work and you did an amazing thing, Thank you!
"If only I knew of a toilet somewhere... "If I only had a quarter for every time I've said that! share
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LOVED this movie to bits.
PLEASE make a sequel!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE!
I just watched the movie and really loved it, great work! It had some good laughs combined with a very interesting plot, I'm always fascinated by time travel stories. I will definitely recommend this to my friends.
I got two questions: the old man who got killed by the giant ant, is he indeed the same as the moustached guy who fled into the ladies' toilet later on in the film? If so, poor guy.
Also, was there any explanation from the writer how, at the end, they retained their memories about all the events? Wasn't Ray arguing that, if they'd change the past or future, their future selfs would cease to exist , along with their memories?
Thanks for the recommend... means a lot.The old guy that gets eaten isn't the same one as the guy in the pub. He's just some post apocalyptic survivor. In retrospect it would have been a nice twist if it had been the old guy in the pub as he could have been transported forward at some point by the faulty toilet.
Your final questions is a good one. And one the writer always had an answer to. I just can't remember it. I'll ask him to join in the thread if he's willing. Otherwise, imagine I am pointing to a distant object over your shoulder, you turn around to see what it is and when you turn back...
Hello. I've just finished watching the film after it was recommended by a friend. Just want to say, it was brilliant! Extremely well written, and a good watch from start to finish. I will definately recommend it to others, and also think it's a shame there won't be a sequal :(
Still, the film you've given us is brilliant. Thanks :)
We have done the impossible, and that makes us mighty . . . .share
"I got two questions: the old man who got killed by the giant ant, is he indeed the same as the moustached guy who fled into the ladies' toilet later on in the film? If so, poor guy."
I have a follow-up-question; is that the SAME ANT that we see earlier in the movie as a close-up, that the main character even looks at for awhile, before brushing it off?
Well according to torrentfreak.com by March 2010 it had been downloaded illegally 1,184,495 times so you wouldn't be alone! It's always frustrating as a producer not to be able to have more input into distribution as I'd willingly burn you a copy and send it to you for $1.99 ;) Hope you find a way to see it soon.
Hi, Neil, if you're still around, just wanted to say, that I loved this film, watched it again last night and it's a real shame that there won't be a sequel.
shareWhat an absolute honour it is to be able to speak to somebody involved with the film.
FAQ was an amazing experience. So simple yet so so entertaining. It had the perfect cast and perfect story.
It's such a crying shame that there won't be any more sequels. Is there no chance that the film could still be released in the US/Worldwide despite this legal mess or whatever it is? (You'll have to excuse me, I'm not 100% familiar with how this works).
And a quick question - I take it the makers/writers of the film are big Superman fans? I couldn't help but smile at the title sequence, especially as I'm a huge fan of the Christopher Reeve films myself.
Thank you again for making such a wonderful product :)
caught the movie late last night. it was awesome, i'm a huge science fiction fan [ not sci-fi ]. here's a thought, why not make a tv series.
In the sequel...
Don't ever explain that weird ending. It's great as it is.
I like the concept of jumping between parallel universes though. I think you can create a time jump story with parallel universes in which one of your heroes tries to create a greatest hit package of himself. The pay-off is that not only does he accomplish the grandfather paradox but in the evil universe he fathers Hitler and has to kill himself because he can't bear the guilt.
Also you have to pay homage to Stephen Hawkings in which he hosted a party for time travelers. Nobody showed up.
Maybe you weren't looking for notes.
I have a question about the end.
Spoilers ahead for those who haven't seen it.
The end sequence reminded me a lot of the TV show "Sliders". Was there any inspiration from it?
Thanks.
From the ashes of disaster, grow the roses of success
It was a fun movie, a coup to be able to get some Hollywood stars for itSource:Movie Reviews Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travelhttp://moviereviews.noskram.com/2009/10/movie-reviews-frequently-asked -questions-about-time-travel
shareIt might be too late to chime in here... but I finally got to see it--and I really enjoyed it! Good luck to the creative team! I hope to see more from everybody involved!
shareheya liked the witty,2 hours of escapism you guys made
just one thing(and apologies if you get offended)
how does someone in the industry feel about downloading,even if illegal
I(download) always try to put forward the argument of "How can somebody charge money for their thoughts and actions?",very narrow question on a broad subject I know,but the likes of the guy playing music in a pub or an amateur play don't charge for their creativity(again I realize their prod costs are waaaay lower)
Not trying to pidgeon-hole you as a Fat Cat producer,would be interesting to see how someone inside the tent pissing out feels about it.
Just saw it again last night in the UK dvd, after watching it 2 years ago on Emirates. Brilliant movie, the second view was even more entertaining. Pity for the absence of extras in the dvd.
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