Documentary prepares for New York premiere and Park City Music Film Fest

April 14, 2010 — New York, N.Y. — “Sonicsgate: Requiem For A Team,” the acclaimed feature documentary profiling the tragic death of the Seattle SuperSonics, today announced it has been nominated for two 2010 Webby Awards in the categories of Best Sports Film and Best Editing. A panel of judges decides the winners, which are announced on May 4 before the Webby Awards ceremony on June 13 in New York City.

With these nominations, “Sonicsgate” is also eligible in both categories for the Webby Awards People’s Voice in which fan votes determine the winners. These Webby nominations continue to build momentum for “Sonicsgate” as the film prepares for a four-day New York City premiere and today announces its special selection for the prestigious Park City Music Film Festival.

April 28 thru May 1 at The PIT – New York City

“Sonicsgate” will screen for four days at the People’s Improv Theater (154 W. 29th Street, second floor) in NYC. The first two screenings are reserved for members of the press and invitation only; the Friday and Saturday screenings are open to the public. All four NYC screenings start at 3:00 P.M. local New York time. Advanced tickets at www.sonicsgate.org.

May 20 at Park City Music Film Festival – Park City, Utah

“Sonicsgate” has been selected for the Park City Music Film Festival in association with the Park City Film Series, which recognizes “unique and exceptional cinematic efforts.” The film will screen on May 20. More info at www.parkcityfilmseries.com.

“Sonicsgate” director Jason Reid is also scheduled to appear on ESPN during an upcoming episode of “Outside The Lines” to discuss the national implications of the film and how the Sonics scandal affects other cities with professional sports franchises.

Please direct media inquiries and ticket requests to the following contacts:

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In an effort to demonstrate some sort of coherent consistency with this blog, I’m introducing the Monday Round Up – a brief update on the status of all things Seattle/Kitsap Sports. Nothing will be off limits. Enough with the introduction, let’s give it a shot.

Huskies Basketball – As just about everyone knows, UW made its way into the Sweet 16 this past Saturday. They pulled off a great game against 6th seed Marquette and obliterated the 3rd seeded New Mexico. They now move onto play number 2 seed West Virginia (the second worst state in the Union behind that state which shall not be named), which will be a very tough game. The Mountaineers are ranked number five in the nation and will be favored going in.

Huskies Football – Spring practice will take place from March 30th to April 30th. Additionally, the Dawgs received a commitment this week from Elijhaa Penny, a 6-2, 240 tight end/defensive end from Norwalk, Calif.

Kitsap Pumas – Signed the former number one overall pick in the 2005 MLS Superdraft – Nik Besagno. He’s a midfielder who hasn’t quite lived up to his potential, but will have his time to shine in Kitsap.

Mariners - Cliff Lee was hurt in a preseason game and also was suspended for the first five games of the season for throwing at Arizona’s Chris Snyder. It’s been a bumpy road so far for Lee.

Milton Bradley has also had issues (these seem to be inherent with him; can you say baggage?), getting ejected from two straight games for arguing balls and strikes. Wakamatsu’s take: “To me, it’s almost like a witch hunt,” Wakamatsu said. “It’s almost embarrassing to me that egos get in the way and [Bradley] doesn’t even get a chance.”

The Mariner’s season opener is April 5th at Oakland.

Seahawks – No one seems to be safe on the roster. Burleson is gone to Detriot, Seneca Wallace and Darryl Tapp have been traded and we have two key signings – TE Chris Baker and QB Charlie Whitehurst (who looks like the second coming of Jesus). For a full run down, check out Field Gulls.

It’s basically spring cleaning time for the new administration. While I commend their desire to make new moves, I have yet to see any progress on the two most important fronts: Offensive and Defensive line.

Sounders – The MLS Strike issue has been resolved and the season is set to kick off this Thursday at Qwest. We take on the Philadelphia Union, who stole Sebastion Le Toux from us in the expansion draft. I’ll be there.

Seattle Sonics – Nothing new. Check out the Sonicsgate Documentary to learn how everything really went down.

All for now.

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Documentary film contends for Best of 2009 lists

December 22, 2009 — SEATTLE, Wash — “Sonicsgate – Requiem For A Team,” the feature documentary film profiling the true story of the Seattle SuperSonics’ tragic exodus from Seattle, has been named the “Most Persuasive Grassroots Flick” in the Dec. 21 issue of Sports Illustrated.

Featured on Page 73 in between Spike Lee’s documentary on Kobe Bryant and the new Mike Tyson documentary, “Sonicsgate” received the following praise from Sports Illustrated:

“The Most Persuasive Grassroots Flick (of 2009). The makers of Sonicsgate, which examines how Seattle lost its NBA team, felt so strongly about its message (the team’s fans were screwed by a whole lot of people) that they gave the movie away on their website. Don’t be fooled by the price tag: This pitch-perfect documentary shows the collateral damage when a team leaves town.”

The film has receive overwhelmingly positive reviews, the majority of which are linked at www.sonicsgate.org/reviews, and director Jason Reid said he hopes this passion project will contend for several Best of 2009 lists and awards.

• “Sonicsgate” is free for anyone to watch online at www.sonicsgate.org.  The film’s producers have not attempted to turn a profit with this project, wanting only for the world to see the events that caused the tragic theft of their team in the hopes that it will create momentum for the rebirth of the Sonics in Seattle.
• The feature film finished a week long run at Seattle International Film Festival Cinema from Dec. 11 – 17, during which it was the third highest (#3) grossing film in the country among films shown only on one screen.
• The two-hour documentary dissects the modern business of professional sports, nationwide public subsidy of arenas, corporate malfeasance, political impotence and the true helplessness of die-hard fans toiling against these powerful forces.

We would like to mail you a press kit including a DVD screener. Please direct media inquiries to the film’s producers.

Adam Brown
Media/Producer
P: (206) 919-3778

E: info@sonicsgate.org

Jason Reid
Director/Producer
P: (206) 419-4649

E: info@sonicsgate.org

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I just got hold of this press release from the folks over at Sonicsgate:

Sonics legend Slick Watts scheduled to attend

SEATTLE, Wash. – December 8, 2009

“Sonicsgate – Requiem For A Team,” the feature documentary film profiling the true story of the Seattle SuperSonics’ tragic exodus from Seattle, today announced that every person who attends the film’s upcoming theatrical run at Seattle International Film Festival Cinema (321 Mercer Street) will receive a free DVD copy of the film.

After two sold out preview screenings in October, SIFF Cinema picked up “Sonicsgate” for a weeklong theatrical engagement from Friday, Dec. 11 to Thursday, Dec. 17. Legendary Sonics guard Slick Watts is scheduled to attend the screening on Saturday, Dec. 12. Tickets and showtimes at siff.net.

The film’s producers will distribute free DVD copies to all attendees after the screening, which is the only way the general public can obtain the film in this format. More than 60,000 people have already watched the full movie online at sonicsgate.org, and producers plan to make the DVD available for sale sometime in 2010. For now, director Jason Reid says they are giving away these exclusive promotional copies to spread the film’s message throughout the local community.

With a mission to educate the public about the plight of all sports fans in the modern era, the film dissects the modern business of professional sports, nationwide public subsidy of arenas, corporate malfeasance, political impotence and the true helplessness of die-hard fans toiling against these powerful forces.
ESPN’s Bill Simmons, author of the #1 New York Times Bestseller “The Book Of Basketball” recently wrote: “The Sonics were stolen from Seattle – literally, STOLEN, and if you don’t believe me, watch this movie.” (Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009, espn.com). More reviews at sonicsgate. org/reviews.

NBA Commissioner David Stern’s credibility has been under fire as disgraced referee Tim Donaghy’s book “Personal Foul” hit shelves this week. Donaghy served time in Federal prison for gambling on games he officiated while under control of the mafia. His book alleges that the NBA instructs its officials to make certain calls for specific star players and extend playoff series to maximize television revenue. “Sonicsgate” is an equally devastating scandal that has been largely swept under the rug, until now.
Please direct media inquiries to the film’s producers:

Adam Brown
“Sonicsgate” Media Director / Producer
P: (206) 919-3778
E: info@sonicsgate.org

Jason Reid
“Sonicsgate” Director / Producer
P: (206) 419-4649
E: info@sonicsgate.org

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I’ll be gone over the next week on a deer hunting trip in Montana, so there will be subsequently be no posts during that time. I therefore like to take the opportunity to have the readers weigh in.

If you have any questions, comments, feedback, suggestions or otherwise for this blog, please send them to me. Email me here. Any questions you have may be featured in future blog post.

Samples:

Who the hell this Derek Dunlap character? Why do you keep including him in blog posts?

Do you think Jake Locker will go pro?

Why do you think the Sounders will be the first Seattle team to win a major championship since the Sonics of ’79?

What’s so special about the Sonicsgate documentary?

Cheers,

Sports Guy

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Steve Blake doing his best Jack O' Lantern impression

The Portland TrailBlazers defeated the team which shall not be named (aka the Zombie Sonics) last night, 83-74. It stings a bit watching the old Seattle team in action, especially after watching the true story on how they left town (See the Sonicsgate documentary).

Former Washington Husky Brandon Roy started slow, but rallied to get 16 points and 5 rebounds. Zombie Sonic Kevin Durant also had 16, but was an atrocious 3-21 from the field. The Blazers are now 2-2.

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For those Sonics fans out there, check out the new documentary “Sonicsgate” located at www.sonicsgate.org. It’s a two hour special focusing on the Sonics abrupt departure/theft from Seattle and the hands of Clay B*nnet. The documentary features interviews with community leaders, reporters, politicians and former players.

Note: I’ve been inspired by ESPN Sports Guy Bill Simmons. Herein, the following words will not be written in this blog: 1) Oklahoma City and 2) Thunder. Said team shall be referred to as either the “Zombie Sonics” or “The team which shall not be mentioned”.

Sonicsgate Trailer

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