"It was incredibly gratifying to sit with real people and hear the laughter," said Leddy. "You always hope it's going to play well, but you never know until you're sitting with a paying audience." The film premiered on Wednesday March 8th, the first day of the festival and the buzz spread quickly, leading to a sold out screening on Saturday. "You're always showing at the same time as four or five other films -- and some of them are big movies like the new Weitz brothers film 'American Dreamz' -- so you have to do a lot of promotion to get your screenings packed." In addition to posters, post cards, and knit "Shut Up and Sing" hats, the filmmakers recruited an undergrad a cappella group from the University of Colorado called Extreme Measures to come to Aspen and sing on street corners and in hotel lobbies on Friday. "The generosity of Extreme Measures to drive up through the snow and sing all day on behalf of our film is just another example of how incredible the a cappella community has been in supporting this film. People heard the music and saw the posters and it really piqued their interest."
Steven Marchegiani from Extreme Measures summed it up this way: "My experience and the rest of Extreme Measures' members trip an be summed up in two words. Star Struck! It was just amazing to us to be able to meet and sing for so many well-known comedians, actors and actresses. We were actually singing a Jackson 5 song as Joe Jackson (Michael Jackson's father) walked right by us into the Wheeler Opera house. That was a really neat moment throughout our day. We were thrilled to do the show and promote a movie that shared so much in common with our group. The bonds formed in any a cappella group are ever-lasting and the memories are priceless. We sang our hearts out until literally some members were losing their voices because we were having so much fun. It was an all-around fantastic time."
"Shut Up and Sing" will next be featured at the GenArt Film Festival in New York City on April 9th. The indie film is currently seeking distribution.
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