Ahhhh… technology. The geniuses at Plexifilm have spent the past two years developing a Sharpie pen that actually writes in Helvetica! This pen is so experimental that it’s priceless… literally. You can’t buy one, but you can get one free with any Helvetica-related purchase (DVD, T-shirt, etc.). Get your free pen while they last. It’s a great gift for that person in your life with sloppy handwriting…

* Warning: if you are John Downer or Marian Bantjes then the pen will actually write in Helvetica. Otherwise your results may vary. Do not swallow. Keep away from open flame and co-workers. May cause drowsiness.

The US television premiere of Helvetica on PBS’s Independent Lens has been moved up from January 13 to January 6. That’s the national date, check your local PBS station for exact date/time in your area. Apparently PBS is now doing a “quick strike” documentary about the financial crisis on the 13th. Actually, I’m surprised no one has blamed the financial crisis on Helvetica yet! All those greedy financial institutions, with their Helvetica logos…

This is awesome… but I wonder what it says?

Lots going on in Tokyo this week: there’s a Helvetica exhibit at the Laforet Museum in Harajuku, sponsored by Grand Petit Publishing and Asmik Ace Entertainment, with screenings of the film, workshops, and more. Asmik Ace is also releasing the Japanese DVD edition of Helvetica this Friday.

Kanpai!

Attention voters! A Helvetica fan has nominated the movie for the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Awards People’s Design Award. Take a minute and vote for your favorite font film. The voting deadline is October 21st. Yes we can!

The US television broadcast date for Helvetica has been set. The film will air January 6th nationwide on PBS, as part of the awesome Independent Lens series. It’s a shortened version of the film (54 minutes versus the original 80) but the edits were done by myself and original editor Shelby Siegel. It’s funny, but by going back and re-examining the film and being forced to cut things out, we actually figured out a few ways of handling certain parts differently that I sort of wish we would’ve done in the original film…

Helvetica will also be included in ITVS’s Community Cinema program, with free public screenings in 65 cities across the country in December. Stay tuned for more details.

Yesterday, The New York Times published another profile of Beastie Boy Adam Yauch and his new film distribution company, Oscilloscope Pictures:

“Oscilloscope Pictures will operate in a model similar to an independent record label, Mr. Yauch, 44, said over green tea in a de facto conference room at his TriBeCa office.”

Hmmm… that sounds familiar. Not the green tea part (straight espresso for me, thanks), the film-company-as-record-label part. Oh, it’s because that’s what I’ve been doing for exactly seven years today!

On Monday, September 10th 2001, we switched on the lights at the offices of Plexifilm (okay, it was the living room of my Brooklyn apartment). I was obsessed with these shiny new discs called DVDs, but I had no idea how the film industry worked. I had worked at an indie record label before (SST), and I’d been involved in various DIY media projects for over 15 years, so I wanted to start sort of a record label, but for films. On that first day it was just me and my first employee, Sean Anderson, who’d recently left the Criterion Collection, and ironically had also produced the Beastie Boys video compilation Criterion put out. Day One was uneventful; we worked on a press release that we were going to send out to the world the next morning. I spent Day Two on the roof of my building, looking at the smoking wreckage of the World Trade Center and watching thousands of ash-faced people walking slowly back over the Manhattan bridge. We had to wait a few months before sending out that press release.

Seven years after our chaotic beginnings, together with a band of revolutionaries who joined me, we’ve managed to release about 40 incredible films (above), produce a half-dozen original documentary projects, and get these films in front of millions of viewers. We’ve thrown countless parties and premieres, and only been thrown out of a couple of them. We’ve pissed some people off, but hopefully inspired a lot more. But most of all we’ve been honored to have met and been able to work with so many great filmmakers. Being involved with their projects pushed me to make my first film a few years ago, Helvetica, and has set me on a course of documentary filmmaking that I hope to continue for the rest of my life.

Looking back, it’s all a blur, maybe because there has never been any time to relax and take in what we were accomplishing. Running a small, totally independent (i.e., no corporate backers or investors) film distribution company is a constant, stress-filled, cash-starved struggle. In some ways, I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. But we’ve had a lot of help over the years, from far too many people and companies to list here, and somehow we’ve managed to keep it going. And I’m extremely proud of all the films we’ve released.

Back to Adam Yauch. Seven years ago when I launched Plexi, I was convinced that a few months later there would be dozens of other indie DVD labels sprouting up, that DVD technology and DIY philosophy would produce an indie music-esque DVD revolution. It hasn’t exactly panned out that way… so it’s nice to see another label like Oscilloscope out there that shares our philosophy, and I wish Adam the best of luck. Although, has Plexifilm ever received a New York Times profile? Or any profile for that matter? Nope. But I’d like to think that by helping all these films get distributed, we’ve changed people’s lives just a little bit, as I’m sure Oscilloscope will with the films they release.

So thanks to Matt, Chris, Brian, Laurence, Leslie, and everyone who’s worked for, or been involved with Plexifilm. Who knows what the independent film business will look like seven years from now, or what we’ll all be doing then, but the past seven years have been the best and most inspiring of my life.

– Gary

More iTunes blow-by-blow: first Helvetica had to kick 27 Dresses to the curb last week en route to our peak at #10 on the overall iTunes movie sales chart. But no other film has even dared challenge our #1 documentary position, until now: Martin Scorcese’s Rolling Stones concert film Shine a Light has rocketed up to the #2 documentary spot, and I can smell Keith Richard’s breath from here…

Bring it on, old timers. Bring it on.

First off, I want to thank all of you for your support during the making and release of Helvetica. The last two years have been quite an adventure, and it was my privilege to have you along with me. So I’m hoping you’re up for joining me on another adventure: Objectified, my forthcoming documentary feature about industrial design. It’s about the manufactured objects we surround ourselves with, and the people who make them. It’s about the world of creativity behind everything from toothbrushes to tech gadgets, featuring some of the world’s most influential industrial designers. It’s also about consumerism, sustainability, and identity.

I’ve launched a new website and blog for the film here:

http://www.objectifiedfilm.com

I’ve been lucky enough to find a fantastic group of designers and design experts for the film so far:

Paola Antonelli (Museum of Modern Art, New York)
Chris Bangle (BMW Group, Munich)
Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec (Paris)
Andrew Blauvelt (Walker Art Center, Minneapolis)
Anthony Dunne (London)
Naoto Fukasawa (Tokyo)
IDEO (Palo Alto)
Jonathan Ive (Apple, California)
Hella Jongerius (Rotterdam)
Marc Newson (London/Paris)
Fiona Raby (London)
Dieter Rams (Kronberg, Germany)
Karim Rashid (New York)
Alice Rawsthorn (International Herald Tribune)
Rob Walker (New York Times Magazine)
and more participants TBA

The film will premiere in early 2009; in the meantime on the blog we’ll be discussing the issues covered in the film, posting still photos from the shoots, and video excerpts as we finish the movie.

Thanks again for your support, and I hope you’ll enjoy the new film!

Cheers,

-Gary