For all inquiries about the forthcoming DVD release – hang tight! We’re still trying to nail down a deal with a distributor. If you’d like to be notified about the release date, please LIKE us on Facebook and/or subscribe to our newsletter (go to the homepage and enter your e-mail address in the form on the right-hand side). In the meantime, here’s a Halloween treat to all of you Rabbit Fever fans. This pattern was designed by the film’s director – Amy Do. Enjoy!
Red rocks here we come! Rabbit Fever is proud to be an Official Selection of The 17th Sedona International Film Festival, named the “Fest to Impress” by MovieMaker Magazine, which runs from February 20-27th (see showtimes & info ). Director Amy Do will be in attendance for a Q & A session after the screenings.
But before hopping to Arizona, Rabbit Fever will be making a pit stop in San Leandro, California for one night at the historical Bal Theatre, hosted by the 4-H Redwood Rabbits Club. This special screening is made possible by Sami Segale, 4-H Rabbit Leader and Pets Columnist at the Oakland Examiner and the gracious support of Dan Dillman, owner of the Bal Theatre and no stranger to the plight of indie filmmakers himself. Thank you for this wonderful opportunity, guys! For more information about the San Leandro screening, click here.
It was a whirlwind week leading up to the premiere of Rabbit Fever at the Heartland Film Festival, capped off by a television appearance on FOX 59 News (scroll down to watch video) and a glamorous black-tie Heartland awards gala that would give the Oscars a run for its money!
“When I saw the stretch limo waiting for me at the airport after landing in Indianapolis, I knew that the rumors were true: the Heartland Film Festival really IS ‘Filmmakers’ festival!’ Not only is the staff the most helpful bunch I’ve ever worked with in terms of making the premiere of Rabbit Fever a successful event, but on top of that, they made sure I was pampered by offering me spa services (i.e. stress relieving massages, hair & makeup for the gala) and took care of my cast and crew members as well. You can tell how much the festival and its patrons really respect indie filmmakers, and that aspect alone made my decision to premiere at Heartland so worthwhile.” Director Amy Do says.
Red Carpet Gallery: View photos of the Heartland premiere event!
Director Amy Do & Cast: Johnny Haussener, Paula Courtney, Jeremy Garrett. Photo Credit: Paul To
Fortunately, all of the promotion that Director Amy Do set out to do – direct outreach to the Indiana state rabbit breeders and 4-H, TV coverage and speaking to an avid class of film students taught by Media Instructor & Filmmaker C. Thomas Lewis at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis – really paid off.
Line up! AMC Castleton Square, Indianapolis. Photo Credit: Paul To
The theater was buzzing with bunny ear-wearing patrons, respectively quiet when the lights turned down low and you could hear a lot of gasps and heart-filled laughs at all the right moments. Afterward, the audience members enjoyed seeing three of the main “hare-raising” stars of the film, Jeremy Garrett, Johnny Haussener and Paula Courtney, join Director Amy Do up on stage for an engaging Q&A session. “I couldn’t have asked for a better audience,” Do says.
Premiere Screening, AMC Castleton Square, Indianapolis. Photo Credit: Paul To
Like the previous morning on IndyStyle (Channel 8, WISH-TV), Director Amy Do and Indiana rabbit breeders Jody Olson and Pam Batten set out to spread the word about Rabbit Fever, this time on FOX 59 News. After the segment, many people in the FOX News office and studio left their desks to pet the stars of the show – the bunnies!
Video of Director Amy Do promoting Rabbit Fever on FOX 59 News
The World Premiere of Rabbit Fever at the 2010 Heartland Film Festival is sponsored in part by KW Cages (www.kwcages.com), the leading supplier of award-winning small animal housing. Not only are KW Cages products naturally featured in Rabbit Fever, but I’m very happy that they are being so supportive in helping the film get off the ground by providing us with an awesome photo backdrop for our event! KW Cages has provided animal housing for the hit Disney movie, G-Force, and the popular ABC television show, Extreme Makeover Home Edition.
In other news, Director Amy Do and Indiana rabbit breeders Jody Olson and Pam Batten were featured on the the TV morning show, IndyStyle (WISH-TV, Channel 8), to promote the World Premiere of Rabbit Fever in Indianapolis, IN. On-air personalities Andi Hauser and Tracy Forner were thrilled to have bunnies on the show, however, they didn’t forget to run a lint roller on their clothes to make sure that they were camera-ready for the next segment! Scroll all the way down to see the video!
I never thought I’d say this, but this Hare has finally caught up with the Tortoise and finished the race! After more than 8 years in the making, Rabbit Fever is finally having its World Premiere at the 2010 Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis!
The goal of the Heartland Film Festival is to honor “beautifully made films that celebrate the positive aspects of life.” Seeing as how Rabbit Fever is a very positive, family-oriented film, it truly is a perfect fit for the festival. Also, our last stop when filming Rabbit Fever was at the ARBA (American Rabbit Breeders Association) National Convention in Indy back in 2005. So, going back to premiere Rabbit Fever there will symbolically bring everything full circle, especially for the teens in the film who are now in the process of graduating college!
Kudos to Scott, Jeff, Chris and Sara at Remedy Editorial and Colorist Genius Gary Coates who have been a tremendous help in getting the film prime for theatrical exhibition (see photos below). Thanks to them, Rabbit Fever will be projected digitally in all its mastered glory on HDCam at the AMC Castleton Square 14 in Indianapolis on Sunday, October 17th at 5:30pm. Advance tickets and additional screening times are available by clicking here.
Previous Heartland award winner recipients include: Steven Spielberg, Dakota Fanning, Ellen Burstyn and Rob Reiner and films such as Blindside and Dreamer.
WORLD PREMIERE OF RABBIT FEVER
(Official Heartland Film Festival Selection)
Sunday, October 17, 2010 at 5:30pm AMC Castleton Square 14
6020 E. 82nd Street
Indianapolis, IN 46231 Buy Tickets
EVENT INFO:
Everyone is invited! Celebrate Halloween early – don some bunny ears and join us for the Exclusive World Premiere event of Rabbit Fever at the 2010 Heartland Film Festival! Each ticket holder will receive bunny ears to wear and get their photo taken with the entire theater audience for a grand “bunny” portrait. Director Amy Do and members of the Cast are scheduled to be in attendance for a Q&A after the Premiere screening on October 17. Purchase advance tickets now!
As many of you know, Ignatz-award winning cartoonist Jeffrey Brown illustrated the movie poster for Rabbit Fever. Since I live in California and he lives in Chicago, we basically communicated back and forth through e-mail regarding the look and feel of the design and he even watched footage of the film over the Internet. While I usually enjoy meeting face-to-face with people that I collaborate with, you’d be surprised with how much work I was able to accomplish with the rest of my crew and cast members this way. It’s really amazing how much of the filmmaking process can take place online!
At any rate, I still wanted to meet Jeff, not only to thank him in person for the wonderful work that he did on the poster, but also because I’m a big fan of his autobiographical graphic novels. Luckily, I was able to meet Jeff last January when he flew in from Chicago to make an appearance at Indy Euphoria, a toy & comic convention located in Sacramento, CA. Not only is Jeff a swell guy, but he also agreed to sit down for a video interview about the making of the Rabbit Fever poster!
Win a Jeffrey Brown Comic Book & Official Rabbit Fever Poster!
It’s so easy, just TWEET!
Jeff released a new mini comic book entitled “Process” that’s about…well…the PROCESS of drawing and writing his comic books. I picked up one for myself at the Sacramento convention and it’s GREAT – full of behind-the-scenes insight and self-deprecating humor. But, the REALLY cool thing about this comic book is that it comes with original artwork – scraps that never made it to the final stages and pages ripped right out of Jeff’s sketchbooks! Right now, it’s only available to purchase at comic conventions and book signings wherever Jeff appears, however, one lucky reader can WIN a copy of “Process” along with a Rabbit Fever poster by sharing the link to the YouTube video of Jeff’s interview on Twitter! To be eligible, please include the hashtag: #RabbitFever in your tweet so that we can find you. Alternatively, if you’re only interested in winning the movie poster alone, share the link to the official Rabbit Fever movie trailer. The winners will be announced by Monday, March 29th, 2010 on Rabbit Fever’s Facebook Fan Page and Twitter (@RabbitFever) page.
Jeffrey Brown’s Mini Comic, “Process”
Please note: Each copy of “Process” comes with its own unique set of original scraps/artwork. What you see here is just an example.
For more information on Jeffrey Brown’s books, hop to his official website at www.jeffreybrowncomics.com.
To purchase an official Rabbit Fever poster, visit our Online Store.
I had the pleasure of meeting with Marylou Zarbock, Editor of Rabbits USA, last October at the ARBA National Convention. She not only watched Rabbit Fever, but she also wrote a great story on it that’s featured prominently in the magazine. You can pickup a copy at your local bookstore, Petco, Petsmart and select pet shops. Thanks again, Marylou! Interest in the project just keeps on growing and this will make more rabbit people aware of the film!
Excerpt: What do you get when you combine more than 150 hours of filming, multiple visits to 11 states, more than 38,000 miles of travel via plane or car, and film footage of more than 64,000 rabbits and interviews with numerous rabbit enthusiasts? You get a documentary entitled Rabbit Fever! At least that’s what you get when you’re director, writer and producer Amy Do. But that’s only part of the story behind how the film Rabbit Fever got made.
Do caught the “rabbit bug” as a child when she owned Dutch rabbits. Years later when she was in film school at USC, she chose rabbit showing as the subject of a film short for a class. That decision took her on an eight-year journey that will be fully realized when the full-length documentary Rabbit Fever enters the film fest circuit. It already had a preview screening as a work-in-progress at the San Francisco Documentary Film Festival in October 2009 and was also previewed at the American Rabbit Breeders’ Association annual show and convention in November 2009.
For the full article, pick up the 2010 issue of Rabbits USA (page 82) at your local Petco or Petsmart!
Where else is Rabbit Fever spreading? Head on over to our Press page to find out.
During our Work-in-Progress Screening, we infected the legendary Roxie Theater with Rabbit Fever in the Mission District of San Francisco on Sunday, October 25th at 7pm.
To see the entire photo album on Flickr, click here.
“Director Amy Do’s endearingly amusing feature-length debut follows the annual competition at the National American Rabbit Convention, where more than 20,000 rabbits and their adorably quirky breeders gather to celebrate their common passion. Adults vie for the “Best in Show” title, while teenage attendees contend for “Rabbit King” and “Rabbit Queen” honors. If that makes Rabbit Fever sound like something Christopher Guest might have dreamed up for one of his mockumentaries, that’s not far off the mark, though Do, an avowed fan of the competition, clearly has a real affection for her subjects that’s sometimes missing from Guest’s razor-sharp barbs.”
