Free DVDs of Ben’s film “Johnny Got His Gun” are being offered to high schools in the U.S.

DONATE OR REQUEST A DVD

Each year, thousands high school students read Dalton Trumbo’s National Book Award-winning novel, Johnny Got His Gun, as part of their English Literature, Social Studies, and Political Science classes.

Dalton Trumbo’s Johnny Got His Gun, starring Ben McKenzie (Southland, The O.C., Junebug), was originally conceived to enhance those studies, as well as courses in Film, Theater Arts, Nursing, and Acting.

While we were honored to have our small independent film picked up for distribution in art house cinemas, our goal has always been to have a copy of this movie distributed to every high school library in the country.

THE NEED

At a time when most schools no longer offer basic Civics courses, Dalton Trumbo’s Johnny Got His Gun offers a perspective beyond the video games and multimedia images which bombard students and all too often depersonalize the human aspect of war.

Included with the film are a pre-screening and a post-screening discussion guide, which offer educators an opportunity to explore and discuss with their students many of Trumbo’s themes.

Sadly, many school districts today no longer have the financial resources to purchase educational DVDs, which come with the necessary ‘Public Performance Rights’ licenses that enable teachers to screen them in the classroom. And even though Johnny is priced well below the average cost of such educational videos, it remains out of reach for many schools.

THE SOLUTION

Greenwood Hill Productions is working to match each high school library in the country with a donor willing to purchase a copy of the film for them.

These DVDs are a teaching tool which can be utilized by educators across multiple curriculums, as noted above.

Furthermore, each video comes with the legally required Public Performance Rights license, which allows teachers to show the film year after year, for the lifetime of the DVD.

Finally, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of each DVD go to the Fallen Patriot Fund to help veterans and their families.

Go to the film’s website and request a copy for your school

Posted on 2010 May 05 | Filed under Johnny Got His Gun, Media Alerts | 0 Comments | News Archive

More from the set of “Sin Bin”

From the movie’s blog:

This was the Sin Bin set Friday night into Saturday morning. It was a night shoot—6 p.m. to 6 a.m.—inside Happy Foods, a grocery store in Chicago’s Edgebrook neighborhood. The actors (or talent as they’re called) working that night were Ben McKenzie, Gillian Jacobs, Brian Petsos, Chicago’s own Brad Morris (of Second City fame), Michael Seater, and Brenda Marie King.

Posted on 2010 April 23 | Filed under Film News & Reviews, Gallery Updates, Sin Bin, Site Updates, Video Updates | 0 Comments | News Archive

Ben on the set of “Sin Bin”

From the movie’s blog:

It’s 4:24 in the morning–do you know where your Sin Bin crew is?

They’re still shooting scenes with Ben McKenzie, Gillian Jacobs, Brian Petsos, Brad Morris (an actor from Chicago’s Second City), Michael Seater, and Brenda Marie King, in and near Happy Foods, a Chicago grocery store.

Here’s a pic of McKenzie, Jacobs, Petsos, and Morris holding a pack of Everwood condoms–a faux brand of rubbers made specially for Sin Bin. They’re standing in aisle 4 of Happy Foods.

Posted on 2010 April 17 | Filed under Gallery Updates, Sin Bin, Site Updates | 0 Comments | News Archive

Ben films “Sin Bin” in Chicago

Update from the Sin Bin wordpress site:

Day 9 of Principal Photography: Location, location, location

It was a long day for the cast and crew of Sin Bin. They filmed in three locations in Chicago: the Lincoln Park Zoo, Superdawg, and on and near the 3900 block of Kenmore in the city’s Wrigleyville neighborhood.

I grabbed some video of a scene shot on Kenmore, in which the characters Michael (played by Ben McKenzie) and Benny (played by Brian Petsos) meet outside the home of Lauren (played by Gillian Jacobs).

That’s Sin Bin writer Chris Storer, in the glasses, watching the action on the monitor.

When the crew finished this scene, they packed up and moved about one block west to a park bench. Sin Bin director Billy Federighi explains what’s going on.

Posted on 2010 April 16 | Filed under Sin Bin, Site Updates, Video Updates | 0 Comments | News Archive

New project for Ben: The independent film “Sin Bin”

Ben will be in Chicago in the coming days working on a new film. The name of the movie is “Sin Bin” and it’s an indie comedy that will be shooting for 20 days. The film’s screenwriter describes it as “a high school take on The Apartment and the constant quest to find our own personal space.” Ben plays a supporting role; he’s the fiance of the character played by Gillian Jacobs (You may know her from NBC’s “Community”). She plays the former girlfriend of Benny, the lead character’s older brother.

To learn more about the movie, you can visit the blog about the making of the movie, Sin Bin on Twitter, Flickr and on Youtube.

Posted on 2010 April 13 | Filed under Sin Bin, Site Updates | 0 Comments | News Archive

“Johnny Got His Gun” DVD is now on sale.

The johnnygothisgunthemovie.com site has been updated. The DVD of the film is now on sale.

This DVD is an educational/institutional version that was made primarily for use in high schools, colleges and universities, and for community libraries with film collections. a portion of each DVD sold is being donated to THE FALLEN PATRIOT FUND, assisting families of fallen or seriously injured veterans.

The site also has a featurette that you can watch online. The featurette includes interviews with Ben Mckenzie, the director Rowan Joseph, playwright Bradley Rand Smith, and Christopher Trumbo, the son of Dalton Trumbo. It has footage of the rehearsals and scenes from the film.

Click on “featurette” on the upper part of the screen: http://www.johnnygothisgunthemovie.com/

Posted on 2010 January 19 | Filed under Film News & Reviews, Gallery Updates, Johnny Got His Gun | 0 Comments | News Archive