Archive for August, 2014

OSCILLOSCOPE’S DRUNK ON EGG NOG, ACQUIRES “JINGLE BELL ROCKS!” / August 26th, 2014

Oscilloscope Laboratories announced today that it has acquired U.S. rights to JINGLE BELL ROCKS, a feature documentary from director Mitchell Kezin. The film will be released by O-Scope during the upcoming holiday season.

In Jingle Bell Rocks!, Kezin delves into the minds of some of the world’s most legendary Christmas music fanatics and hits the road to hang with his holiday heroes – including hip hop legend Joseph “Rev Run” Simmons of RUN-D.M.C., The Flaming Lips’ frontman Wayne Coyne, filmmaker John Waters, bebopper Bob Dorough, L.A. DJ and musicologist Dr. Demento, and Calypso legend The Mighty Sparrow. In his search for the twelve best, underappreciated Christmas songs ever recorded, Kezin both asks and answers the question, “Why, when Christmas rolls around, are we still stuck cozying up with Bing Crosby and dreaming of snow?”

Equal parts social history, pop culture pilgrimage and revealing character study, Jingle Bell Rocks! follows this motley crew of merry misfits as they confront the Christmas music mainstream, reinventing the seasonal soundtrack for the 21st century. With rollicking live performances, intimate interviews, and a kaleidoscope of touching and rare archive footage, Jingle Bell Rocks! is a cinematic sleigh-ride into the strange and sublime universe of alternative Christmas music. It’s also a mix-tape of twelve of the weirdest, wildest, most poignant Christmas songs you’ve never heard.

About the acquisition, Oscilloscope’s Dan Berger and David Laub said, “As lovers of great underground music and terrifically offbeat characters, we felt this film was a perfect fit for O-scope. Mitch has made a funny and endearing documentary that we think will be a holiday staple for years to come. At least for us two Jews.”

Filmmaker Mitchell Kezin said, “It’s been an incredibly long and difficult journey bringing this film to completion and to have it end up embraced by Oscilloscope in this way is truly a Christmas miracle! I won’t be asking Santa for anything more this Christmas and with O-Scope by my side, I look forward to saving Christmas music, one great unknown song at a time!”

Jingle Bell Rocks! is the debut feature documentary from Mitchell Kezin produced in collaboration with Daniel Cross, Mila Aung-Thwin & Bob Moore of EyeSteelFilm Inc., along with Jeffrey Kline of Darby Pop Productions.