PRESS
Help Denver filmmakers Kickstart The Honey Cooler
The A.V. Club Denver
By Cory Casciato March 30,
2011
Click here to read full article.
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Interview with Denver Filmmaker Ryan Demers
On the Documentary ‘Battle for the Boot’
Jason Cangialosi,
Yahoo! Contributor Network
Mar 17, 2011
Denver Filmmaker Ryan
Demers
Date of Interview: 2/22/2011
Denver Filmmakers Ryan Demers and Paul Pendell brought a slice of Denver subculture to the Denver Film Festival. “Battle for the Boot” is their documentary about a ragtag league of extraordinary, beer guzzling renegades during an epic kickball season. The Denver Kickball Coalition (DKBC) rumbled beneath the radar for the past decade, mixing a concoction of Punk Rock grit with the grace of Lucha Libre wrestling on the field. Demers talked about the film, metaphors for kickball and what’s to come with Gaylord Street Films.
As your first feature length film, did Gaylord Street Films form around the documentary or were you seeking out projects?
Gaylord Street Films was formed as a result of a decision Paul Pendell and I made one day over a few drinks at Sputnik. That decision was to film the 2009 season of the DKBC and try to turn it into a feature length documentary. Paul, clever guy that he is, pointed out that both of us lived on Gaylord Street, thus the name. Please no stalking.
The DKBC has all the ingredients for a rock ‘n roll documentary: debauchery, wardrobe, rivalry and the rockstars to make it happen. As a filmmaker what attracted you most to the project?
We wanted to document something unique, interesting, not depressing and especially cheap. DKBC is comprised largely of local artists. This meant we had access to members of almost every local band, graphic designers and filmmakers. So we had the talent around us to make the movie. The bonus was they all liked to get really drunk and naked. Eventually, we decided to create a narrative for the documentary. So we traveled to Chicago and interviewed Joe Phillips, the founder of the league. I bought the guy a few shots and three hours later we had plenty of material to tell the history of the DKBC.
You once mentioned the ease of filming candid interviews, because no one thought a finished film would manifest. Was this lack of seriousness daunting or was it exactly what you wanted?