Jason Becker inspires something akin to awe in his army of fans. So much so that one, producer/director Jesse Vile, aspired for fifteen years to make a film about him. And, when the time came, several hundred more came forward with the cash to make it happen.
Their devotion could be attributed to any one of a number of reasons. Perhaps they were fans of the virtuoso shred guitarist from his days touring with Cacophony – perhaps they saw Jason and a pre-Megadeth Marty Friedman jamming and fell under their spell. Maybe they read the cover stories that screamed from the metal mags when, in 1989, Jason was made lead guitarist of David Lee Roth’s new band. He was 19-years-old at the time.
Or are they fans of the haunting music he is composing and producing now – 22 years after Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Als) devastated his career, paralysed and sentenced him...
Their devotion could be attributed to any one of a number of reasons. Perhaps they were fans of the virtuoso shred guitarist from his days touring with Cacophony – perhaps they saw Jason and a pre-Megadeth Marty Friedman jamming and fell under their spell. Maybe they read the cover stories that screamed from the metal mags when, in 1989, Jason was made lead guitarist of David Lee Roth’s new band. He was 19-years-old at the time.
Or are they fans of the haunting music he is composing and producing now – 22 years after Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Als) devastated his career, paralysed and sentenced him...
- 12/7/2012
- by Emily Breen
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Philadelphian filmmaker Jesse Vile will be hoping that the UK cinematic release of his debut documentary Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet (2012) on 16 November, followed closely by its DVD release on 3 December courtesy of Dogwoof Films, will inspire viewers and raise awareness of the film's extraordinary subject and guitar virtuoso, Jason Becker. To find out more about how it was to work with guitar hero Becker - who, whilst paralysed from the neck down, is still writing music to this day, and the ultimately inspiring network of fans, family and friends that surround and support him around the clock - CineVue were lucky enough to be granted a special one-to-one chat with Vile, the film's talented director and producer.
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- 12/3/2012
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Tell us about the films you've seen in the past few days – and read what our critics made of them
See any good films over the weekend? Or bad ones for that matter? Whether you went to the cinema, watched movies on TV, or even visited what used to be known as the video shop, we'd like to hear about your recent viewing in the comments thread below.
On last week's thread, the main topic of discussion was Argo:
shonagon said:
A comedy and a thriller (kind of) at the same time. Very enjoyable. Very easy to guess the outcome. Very easy to know who the good guys are, and there are no goody bad guys to play havoc with our emotions.
Alef Ra said:
Despite some historical anachronisms and irregularities, I liked it a lot … Argo is but another indication of Ben Affleck's genius in creating edge-of-the-seat thrillers.
See any good films over the weekend? Or bad ones for that matter? Whether you went to the cinema, watched movies on TV, or even visited what used to be known as the video shop, we'd like to hear about your recent viewing in the comments thread below.
On last week's thread, the main topic of discussion was Argo:
shonagon said:
A comedy and a thriller (kind of) at the same time. Very enjoyable. Very easy to guess the outcome. Very easy to know who the good guys are, and there are no goody bad guys to play havoc with our emotions.
Alef Ra said:
Despite some historical anachronisms and irregularities, I liked it a lot … Argo is but another indication of Ben Affleck's genius in creating edge-of-the-seat thrillers.
- 11/19/2012
- by Adam Boult
- The Guardian - Film News
By now I imagine we are all a little bored of hearing how brilliantly Skyfall is doing at the box office, so I’ll keep it brief this week and simply say, still making big bucks, 5th highest gross of all time so far, Avatar in its sights. I think that just about covers it.
Last week’s two big releases were Ben Affleck’s Argo and the Kevin James vehicle Here Comes the Boom. Despite a strong showing in the Us and hugely positive reviews over this side of the pond too, the studio may be a little disappointed with Argo’s opening week takings of just £1.2million which wasn’t enough to see it unseat Madagascar 3 which retains its second spot. That being said, with Skyfall still reigning supreme and the subject matter perhaps not being that enticing to UK audiences, it’s still a strong opening for the political thriller.
Last week’s two big releases were Ben Affleck’s Argo and the Kevin James vehicle Here Comes the Boom. Despite a strong showing in the Us and hugely positive reviews over this side of the pond too, the studio may be a little disappointed with Argo’s opening week takings of just £1.2million which wasn’t enough to see it unseat Madagascar 3 which retains its second spot. That being said, with Skyfall still reigning supreme and the subject matter perhaps not being that enticing to UK audiences, it’s still a strong opening for the political thriller.
- 11/16/2012
- by Rob Keeling
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Jason Becker is a rock legend. A virtuoso shred guitarist who had earned the respect of the industry’s finest and landed the greatest gig on earth by the age of nineteen. Jason Becker is an inspiration: his perseverance and dedication to his craft, in the face of unimaginable adversity, win him new fans every day. Yet Jason has never toured the world. He has never played Wembley or rocked an arena tour. The sold-out stadiums his talent guaranteed were robbed by a debilitating disease that was diagnosed the very same year all his dreams came true.
Everything I know about Als I learned from the 2001 TV Movie Jenifer. I know there is ongoing research into the benefits of stem cell therapies. I know it is nicknamed Lou Gehrig’s Disease, because it is the disease that felled the baseball superstar. And I know that this neurodegenerative disease is a killer.
Everything I know about Als I learned from the 2001 TV Movie Jenifer. I know there is ongoing research into the benefits of stem cell therapies. I know it is nicknamed Lou Gehrig’s Disease, because it is the disease that felled the baseball superstar. And I know that this neurodegenerative disease is a killer.
- 11/16/2012
- by Emily Breen
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The UK opening of Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet on Friday 16th November marks another milestone in the difficult journey debut feature director Jesse Vile undertook to fulfill a promise to his 15-year-old self. That one day he would make a film about Jason Becker – the greatest shred guitarist in the world!
Over the years, several filmmakers have approached the Becker family with plans to tell the guitar virtuoso’s story. All of their plans fell through. Meanwhile, that 15-year-old kid grew up, trained in film production and relocated to the UK. In his time here, Jesse produced the Raindance Film Festival for three successful years and made a handful of film shorts. But he never forgot about Jason.
Combining extraordinary family access, great archive footage and unobtrusive, earnest, interest in his subject matter, Jesse Vile has made a truly remarkable film. We sat down with him earlier this month...
Over the years, several filmmakers have approached the Becker family with plans to tell the guitar virtuoso’s story. All of their plans fell through. Meanwhile, that 15-year-old kid grew up, trained in film production and relocated to the UK. In his time here, Jesse produced the Raindance Film Festival for three successful years and made a handful of film shorts. But he never forgot about Jason.
Combining extraordinary family access, great archive footage and unobtrusive, earnest, interest in his subject matter, Jesse Vile has made a truly remarkable film. We sat down with him earlier this month...
- 11/16/2012
- by Emily Breen
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
★★★★☆ The adjectives 'tragic', 'powerful' and 'heart-breaking' don't really do justice to Jesse Vile's Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet (2012), a documentary about the life (to-date) of titular guitar-virtuoso, Jason Becker. Vile's film invokes far more than just sympathetic sentiment, with it's truly inspirational story of the tragedy endured by both Becker and his family. This is a true testament to the power of the human spirit, and offers an expose of the strength that genuine love from family and friends can afford. At the age of just five, Becker was given his first guitar. At age 12, his rare talent began to show as he played Eric Clapton guitar solos, note-for-note to audiences at school.
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- 11/14/2012
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Raindance have just announced their line-up for their 20th annual film festival. The 2012 festival will, like every year showcase some of the best independent movies that we can expect in the coming year and beyond. Raindance 2012 will take place 26th September to 7th October at the Apollo Cinema, Piccadilly Circus in London. This year we can expect to see 105 features, more than 138 shorts, 64 UK Premieres, 13 International Premieres, 5 European Premieres, 19 World Premieres and 24 Directorial Debuts from 38 countries.
Scroll down to see the full press release as well as all the feature films that will be showing at the festival. To find out more, click here to visit their official site.
Opening the festival on Wednesday 26th September is the International Premiere of Here Comes The Devil a powerful fantasy horror from Mexico. Shot in Tijuana, a married couple lose their children while on a family trip near some caves in Tijuana.
Scroll down to see the full press release as well as all the feature films that will be showing at the festival. To find out more, click here to visit their official site.
Opening the festival on Wednesday 26th September is the International Premiere of Here Comes The Devil a powerful fantasy horror from Mexico. Shot in Tijuana, a married couple lose their children while on a family trip near some caves in Tijuana.
- 9/4/2012
- by David Sztypuljak
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Seen at the 8th Jecheon International Music & Film Festival (Jimff). When director Jesse Vile presented his film ahead of its screening he asked how many people were already familiar with legendary guitarist Jason Becker. I was part of the majority that was not and as a longtime axeman myself I am little ashamed of this fact. However, I'm very glad that I now know who he is. Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet follows the life of a young guitarist, a progeny who took the guitar world by storm in the early 1990s but only for the briefest of times. Following his huge break, when he landed the vacant lead guitar spot on the David Lee Roth band following Steve Vai's exit, which was the...
- 8/12/2012
- Screen Anarchy
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