Video Version of this Article Photo/Video: Matthew McConaughey/Focus Features/ Hollywood Insider YouTube Channel Early Life into Acting Most people are familiar with Matthew McConaughey and his films. He’s won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe in addition to being nominated for an additional Golden Globe and two Emmys. McConaughey has been in the industry for three decades, but he didn’t grow up thinking he’d become an actor. In an interview with the SAG-atra foundation, McConaughey describes attending the University of Texas with an eye on becoming a lawyer. A timely intervention of encouragement from a friend, S.R. Bindler, and coming across the book The Greatest Salesman in the World, inspired McConaughey toward film school. While in film school, McConaughey landed a few commercials and his debut in film with Dazed and Confused. He learned about the film while he was at a bar. The...
- 11/4/2020
- by Drew Alexander Ross
- Hollywood Insider - Substance & Meaningful Entertainment
There’s a town in East Texas where the local Nissan dealership gives away a new pickup to whoever can hold on to it the longest. The event starts with 20 contestants, who take their places around the vehicle, keeping one hand on the vehicle at all times until their sanity snaps or their legs give out. The publicity stunt repeated every year for two decades straight, until the 2005 edition took a horrible turn. But before it turned tragic, the “hands on” competition was the stuff of legend — the modern-day equivalent of the desperate Depression-era dance marathons depicted in “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” — giving ordinary folks an opportunity to change their lives: All you had to do was outlast everyone else, and the truck was yours.
In 1997, S.R. Bindler made a legendary documentary about the peculiar Texas tradition, a feisty cult favorite called “Hands on a Hard Body,” and Robert Altman...
In 1997, S.R. Bindler made a legendary documentary about the peculiar Texas tradition, a feisty cult favorite called “Hands on a Hard Body,” and Robert Altman...
- 4/2/2020
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
As a fan of S.R. Bindler's acclaimed and quirky 1997 documentary, I closely followed the creation and development of Hands On A Hardbody. Previews for the initial La Jolla Playhouse production begin in April 2012, and it officially opened on May 12. The musical was well received by critics and audiences alike in California, generating buzz for it transfer to Broadway. The entire La Jolla cast reunited for the New York premiere of the show, which started previews on February 23, 2013 and officially opened at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on March 21, 2013. Sadly, the well-reviewed small show had a hard time finding an audience and had its final Broadway bow on Saturday, April 13. However, Ghostlight Records excited fans and those of us who were interested in the project when that announced they'd be recording an Original Broadway Cast Recording on that same fateful Saturday in April.
- 8/28/2013
- by David Clarke
- BroadwayWorld.com
So who else is going to see Hands on a Hardbody tonight at the Marchesa? Read Don's review to find out why so many of us are so pleased to see this 1997 documentary available again. Filmmaker S.R. Bindler will be there with one of the film's subjects, Benny Perkins ... I hear there will even be an actual Nissan Hardbody in attendance. If you're not interested (because you're crazy) you could head over to Blue Starlite and watch Dazed and Confused.
Austin Film Society's Best of the Fest series brings the movie In the Family to the Marchesa on Sunday and Monday nights. It's about a father whose partner dies and leaves their son to his sister, sparking a difficult custody battle. Writer/director/actor Patrick Wang will attend the screenings.
On Monday night, Alamo Drafthouse's Cinema Club series continues at the Ritz with a 35mm screening of Grand Hotel, the glitzy 1932 drama starring John Barrymore,...
Austin Film Society's Best of the Fest series brings the movie In the Family to the Marchesa on Sunday and Monday nights. It's about a father whose partner dies and leaves their son to his sister, sparking a difficult custody battle. Writer/director/actor Patrick Wang will attend the screenings.
On Monday night, Alamo Drafthouse's Cinema Club series continues at the Ritz with a 35mm screening of Grand Hotel, the glitzy 1932 drama starring John Barrymore,...
- 4/26/2013
- by Jette Kernion
- Slackerwood
It's a human drama thing. It's more than just a contest and it's more than just winning the truck. -- Benny Perkins, Hands on a Hardbody
If you're unfamiliar with Hands on a Hardbody, the essential thing to know about this compelling documentary is that that it's not about trucks. It focuses on a contest to win a truck, but the tricked-out 1995 Nissan Hardbody pickup is merely a prop at the center of a fascinating collection of character studies and a great commentary on human nature. The movie has finally been released on DVD and will have a special screening in Austin on Friday.
In S.R. Bindler's cult-classic 1997 film, a Longview, Texas car dealership sponsors a contest in which two dozen contestants compete to win a new pickup. The event is a grueling test of endurance: The lucky (and exhausted) winner is whoever remains standing the longest with at...
If you're unfamiliar with Hands on a Hardbody, the essential thing to know about this compelling documentary is that that it's not about trucks. It focuses on a contest to win a truck, but the tricked-out 1995 Nissan Hardbody pickup is merely a prop at the center of a fascinating collection of character studies and a great commentary on human nature. The movie has finally been released on DVD and will have a special screening in Austin on Friday.
In S.R. Bindler's cult-classic 1997 film, a Longview, Texas car dealership sponsors a contest in which two dozen contestants compete to win a new pickup. The event is a grueling test of endurance: The lucky (and exhausted) winner is whoever remains standing the longest with at...
- 4/23/2013
- by Don Clinchy
- Slackerwood
New York -- Mirroring the tough-luck lives portrayed in Hands on a Hardbody, the economics of Broadway proved too unforgiving for the show, which has posted a closing notice for Saturday April 13. Based on the 1997 documentary by S.R. Bindler, the musical has a book by Pulitzer winner Doug Wright (I Am My Own Wife), lyrics by Amanda Green, and an original score co-written by Phish frontman Trey Anastasio and Green. Neil Pepe directed the production, with an ensemble cast led by Keith Carradine and Hunter Foster. Like the film, the show chronicles an endurance contest held
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- 4/9/2013
- by David Rooney
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
An odd, homemade blend of Garrison Keillor and Jackass, as filtered through an early Errol Morris-like lens, S.R. Bindler’s 1997 documentary Hands on a Hard Body is now having one of the most unexpected independent film second lives ever. Hands on a Hard Body the film has led to Hands on a Hardbody the Broadway musical, starring Keith Carradine, directed by Neil Pepe, with a book by Pulitzer-Prize winner Doug Wright and a score by Phish’s Trey Anastasio and Amanda Green. It opened at the Brooks Atkinson Theater last week, and Charles Isherwood wrote in the New York Times, “…this …...
- 3/28/2013
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
In 2005, Richard Vega removed his hands from a truck in the lot of Patterson Nissan, the most famous car dealership in Longview, Texas. It was an unexpected move for Vega, until then a fierce competitor in the dealership’s annual “Hands On A Hardbody” contest. Whoever’s hand stayed on the truck the longest got to keep it.
Vega disconnected three minutes before the break whistle (the rules entailed five-minute breaks on the hour, 15-minute breaks every six hours, with no sitting, leaning, squatting, or sleeping in between). “He took it very personally," a BBC reporter covering the contest later recalled, trying to make sense of what happened next. Vega crossed the street to the Kmart, threw a trash can through the entrance, stole a shotgun and shells from the sporting goods section, and killed himself.
How far off the edge will the desire for a pickup truck push someone?...
Vega disconnected three minutes before the break whistle (the rules entailed five-minute breaks on the hour, 15-minute breaks every six hours, with no sitting, leaning, squatting, or sleeping in between). “He took it very personally," a BBC reporter covering the contest later recalled, trying to make sense of what happened next. Vega crossed the street to the Kmart, threw a trash can through the entrance, stole a shotgun and shells from the sporting goods section, and killed himself.
How far off the edge will the desire for a pickup truck push someone?...
- 3/22/2013
- by Mallika Rao
- Huffington Post
A new musical about a car dealership contest in Texas might not be what you would expect from Phish frontman Trey Anastasio. In Hands on a Hardbody, there are no 15 minute guitar-heavy, lyrics-free, pot-fueled run-on jams, just a collection of stories about the people competing in a small town contest to win a pickup truck, focusing on 10 characters with their hands firmly fixed on the Nissan in question. Below, Anastasio and lyricist/co-composer Amanda Green (Bring It On: The Musical) discuss the show, which opens on Broadway this Thursday, and preview some of the songs from the new musical.
Hands...
Hands...
- 3/20/2013
- by Laura Hertzfeld
- EW.com - PopWatch
Here's the latest in Austin and Texas film news.
Factory 25 has acquired David and Nathan Zellner's awardwinning feature Kid-Thing (Don's review), according to The Hollywood Reporter. The movie, about a mischief-making 10-year-old girl in East Texas who stumbles on a mysterious abandoned well in the woods, will be released theatrically in New York on May 24, followed by a nationwide tour through the early summer. The Brooklyn-based distributor has scheduled a digital release via VOD and iTunes, among other outlets, on May 24 as well.SXSW has been chosen as an Academy Award-qualifying festival in the Documentary Short Subject category. This means that recipients of the Documentary Short Film award at this year's SXSW Film Festival will qualify for consideration in the Academy Awards' Documentary Short Subject category without the standard theatrical run, provided the film complies with Academy rules.Fans of the 1997 long-lost documentary Hands on a Hard Body will...
Factory 25 has acquired David and Nathan Zellner's awardwinning feature Kid-Thing (Don's review), according to The Hollywood Reporter. The movie, about a mischief-making 10-year-old girl in East Texas who stumbles on a mysterious abandoned well in the woods, will be released theatrically in New York on May 24, followed by a nationwide tour through the early summer. The Brooklyn-based distributor has scheduled a digital release via VOD and iTunes, among other outlets, on May 24 as well.SXSW has been chosen as an Academy Award-qualifying festival in the Documentary Short Subject category. This means that recipients of the Documentary Short Film award at this year's SXSW Film Festival will qualify for consideration in the Academy Awards' Documentary Short Subject category without the standard theatrical run, provided the film complies with Academy rules.Fans of the 1997 long-lost documentary Hands on a Hard Body will...
- 3/4/2013
- by Jordan Gass-Poore'
- Slackerwood
For years, S.R. Bindler's 1997 documentary "Hands on a Hardbody," has been unavailable to its fans beyond asking prices in the hundreds for DVDs and prints of the long lost film. But now, fans can finally get their hands on a completely remastered version of the film, when it is released on DVD and available for download April 1. The film documents a yearly endurance competition in Longview, TX, in which twenty-four participants attempt to hold onto a pickup truck by hand for the longest period of time. Upon its release, it won the audience award at the Los Angeles Film Festival and played at an Austin theatre for 16 months before going out of print and becoming unavailable for the last 15 years. "Hands on a Hardbody," has since become something of a cult classic, gaining the attention of Robert Altman, who was planning a feature adaptation before his death, and Ira Glass,...
- 2/26/2013
- by Cameron Sinz
- Indiewire
"Hands on a Hardbody," the new musical about 10 down-on-their-luck Texans vying to win a new truck by being the last to keep a hand on the vehicle, is set to open on Broadway March 21, 2013, at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. Inspired by true events and based on S.R. Bindler's 1997 documentary of the same name, the musical features a book by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Doug Wright ("I Am My Own Wife"), lyrics by Amanda Green ("Bring It On: The Musical") and music by Green and Trey Anastasio of Phish. Also...
- 10/2/2012
- by Lisa Fung
- The Wrap
Hands on a Hard Body, the new musical based on S.R. Bindler's award-winning 1997 documentary about an endurance competition organized by a Texas car dealership, has secured a Broadway berth, beginning previews Feb. 23 for a March 21 opening at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. The show had its world premiere early this summer at La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego. Doug Wright, a Pulitzer and Tony winner for his 2004 solo play I Am My Own Wife, penned the book for the musical, while Trey Anastasio of prog-rock band Phish wrote the music, with lyrics by Amanda
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- 10/2/2012
- by David Rooney
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The new musical Hands on a Hard Body is making the move to Broadway for the 2012-2013 season after its current run at California’s La Jolla Playhouse, the show’s producers announced Tuesday. The show, based on the quirky 1997 documentary of the same name by S.R. Bindler and Kevin Morris, follows the contestants of a car dealership contest, in which the competitors must keep at least one hand on the body of a truck for as long as possible. The last person standing drives the car away. The musical was scored by Phish frontman Trey Anastasio with lyrics by...
- 5/29/2012
- by Laura Hertzfeld
- EW.com - PopWatch
Mark Landsman’s Thunder Soul hits theaters this Friday, so in lieu of a traditional interview we asked him, what five documentary films influenced him as a filmmaker during the creation of Thunder Soul.
I find it challenging whenever anyone asks me to list a ‘top five’ of anything--especially movies--because I love a lot of them for a lot of different reasons--it’s tough to do a process of elimination. But in thinking about it, in terms of the top five docs that have made the greatest impact on me as a filmmaker and most influenced my current project, Thunder Soul, I think it’d be these. I offer them up knowing that there are many more that live in the brain drive and influence me even when I not realizing it.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jet-Ubwk5l8
The Times of Harvey Milk (Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Freidman, 1984)
In...
I find it challenging whenever anyone asks me to list a ‘top five’ of anything--especially movies--because I love a lot of them for a lot of different reasons--it’s tough to do a process of elimination. But in thinking about it, in terms of the top five docs that have made the greatest impact on me as a filmmaker and most influenced my current project, Thunder Soul, I think it’d be these. I offer them up knowing that there are many more that live in the brain drive and influence me even when I not realizing it.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jet-Ubwk5l8
The Times of Harvey Milk (Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Freidman, 1984)
In...
- 10/3/2011
- by Film Independent
- Film Independent
Until I got the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, I had no awareness of Surfer, Dude (please note the comma), a Matthew McConaughey surf comedy that's getting a little-heralded release in less than 100 theaters after premiering in the McConaughey-friendly turf of Austin, Texas. But now that I've seen the trailer, I'm not sure I'm going to be satisfied until I've seen this movie for myself: McConaughey appears to play some kind of über-surfer who, strapped for cash, is tempted to sell out his surfin' ways. Also: It has Woody Harrelson and Willie Nelson, so there's a better than good chance it was at least fun for those making it. Adding to the intrigue is the presence of S.R. Bindler, best known for the respected documentary Hands On A Hardbody, as director. This has to be some...
- 9/24/2008
- avclub.com
Having been rumored to line up for Captain America part in "The First Avenger: Captain America" earlier, Hollywood hunk Matthew McConaughey recently let out that he prefers to portray Hulk if he is given the choice. Revealing the matter to MTV News, he said, "My favorite one growing up has already been done twice and that was The Incredible Hulk."
Apart from talking about which superhero he is inclined to tackle, the two-time co-star of actress Kate Hudson in "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" and "Fool's Gold" indicated that he has no idea of him being speculated as potential Captain America depicter. Said to be surprised by the rumor, he further added that he was not a big comic book reader, but added that Captain America is "a super cool name".
McConaughey's latest project is "Surfer, Dude". The S.R. Bindler's comedy tells the story about free-spirited...
Apart from talking about which superhero he is inclined to tackle, the two-time co-star of actress Kate Hudson in "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" and "Fool's Gold" indicated that he has no idea of him being speculated as potential Captain America depicter. Said to be surprised by the rumor, he further added that he was not a big comic book reader, but added that Captain America is "a super cool name".
McConaughey's latest project is "Surfer, Dude". The S.R. Bindler's comedy tells the story about free-spirited...
- 9/16/2008
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
Matthew McConaughey was out with friends in Santa Monica before getting dressed up in all denim to join Camila Alves and his costars for another premiere of Surfer, Dude. Matthew was hitting the airwaves from all angles yesterday — he also visited La's NPR station to play a few of his favorite songs as part of their Guest DJ project. Matthew and his familiar drawl are no stranger to voice work since he just recorded some spots for a Baby Longhorns DVD, so Matthew was probably a natural on air. To see more of Matthew's day at the beach and premiere just read more Images include: Matthew McConaughey, Jeffrey Nordling, Camila Alves, Sarah Wright, S.R. Bindler, Christina Gabrielle, Gus Gustawes, Hannah Cornett, Dennis Weiss, Gordon Prend Source and Source...
- 9/11/2008
- by Molly
- Popsugar.com
Where else would you expect to see the world premiere of a comedy in which Matthew McConaughey is shirtless for the entire film? It had to be Austin. Instead of the traditional red carpet, the stars of Surfer, Dude strolled down a green carpet in 90-plus-degree weather last night, as part of a benefit screening for Austin Film Society. McConaughey (who kept his shirt on the entire time, sadly) was joined by a half-dozen of his co-stars, including Woody Harrelson, as well as director/co-writer S.R. Bindler. Bindler's previous film, the documentary Hands on a Hardbody, played at the Dobie in Austin for more than a year back in the late 1990s. Even McConaughey's parents were on the green carpet, although I don't think they appear in the R-rated comedy. The only disappointment was that Willie Nelson, who also has a role in Surfer, Dude, wasn't around.
After the jump,...
After the jump,...
- 9/4/2008
- by Jette Kernion
- Cinematical
By Neil Pedley
This week's trip to the multiplex offers a jaunt around the globe where, amongst other things, there's a case of mistaken ethnicity in Boston, Nic Cage gets another wig fitted in Thailand, there's whimsy and surrealism in Scotland and Matthew McConaughey is right at home in Malibu, where he might finally have found something he does well, maybe.
"August Evening"
Strained emotional bonds and the transitory nature of the life of an illegal immigrant provide the backdrop for Chris Eska's quietly affecting family drama that stars Pedro Castaneda as an aging farmhand who loses his job at a chicken farm in a sleepy Texas town, forcing he and his devoted daughter-in-law (Veronica Loren) to relocate to San Antonio to stay with his older children and the grandchildren he never knew he had. As Alison Willmore pointed out in last week's Lunchbox, Castaneda is a first-time actor...
This week's trip to the multiplex offers a jaunt around the globe where, amongst other things, there's a case of mistaken ethnicity in Boston, Nic Cage gets another wig fitted in Thailand, there's whimsy and surrealism in Scotland and Matthew McConaughey is right at home in Malibu, where he might finally have found something he does well, maybe.
"August Evening"
Strained emotional bonds and the transitory nature of the life of an illegal immigrant provide the backdrop for Chris Eska's quietly affecting family drama that stars Pedro Castaneda as an aging farmhand who loses his job at a chicken farm in a sleepy Texas town, forcing he and his devoted daughter-in-law (Veronica Loren) to relocate to San Antonio to stay with his older children and the grandchildren he never knew he had. As Alison Willmore pointed out in last week's Lunchbox, Castaneda is a first-time actor...
- 9/1/2008
- by Neil Pedley
- ifc.com
The wave-catching surfer movie "Surfer, Dude" has caught its red band trailer. The new trailer is restricted to those who are underage since it contains some nudity and also shows lots of smoking. Aside from that, the compilation of clips is basically similar to the previous trailer released in July.
Resolving around longboarding soul-surfer Steve Addington, the Anchor Bay Entertainment's comedy starring Matthew McConaughey follows Addington as he returns to his Malibu hometown only to find that the waves have gone flat. In needs of money, he is forced to expand into the world of Virtual Reality Video Games and Reality TV. But, what he really needs is real waves.
A comedy movie from S.R. Bindler, "Surfer, Dude" also features the likes of Woody Harrelson, Willie Nelson, Alexie Gilmore and Sarah Wright. It is expected to make its way to limited theaters on September 5.
"Surfer, Dude" Restricted Trailer:...
Resolving around longboarding soul-surfer Steve Addington, the Anchor Bay Entertainment's comedy starring Matthew McConaughey follows Addington as he returns to his Malibu hometown only to find that the waves have gone flat. In needs of money, he is forced to expand into the world of Virtual Reality Video Games and Reality TV. But, what he really needs is real waves.
A comedy movie from S.R. Bindler, "Surfer, Dude" also features the likes of Woody Harrelson, Willie Nelson, Alexie Gilmore and Sarah Wright. It is expected to make its way to limited theaters on September 5.
"Surfer, Dude" Restricted Trailer:...
- 8/26/2008
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
- Quick Links > Picturehouse Films > Robert Altman In Development > The Tortoise and the Hare > Mata Hari > Paint It sounds like what hardcore bodybuilders like to do the most, but it’s actually a competition that would be of great preparation for some of the challenges on television’s Survivor. The Hands on a Hard Body was the focal point of a 98’ documentary film and now it might become a full length feature. What is surprising is the helmer who has wanted to direct the project as The Hollywood Reporter states “for years”. After health complications, A Prairie Home Companion’s Robert Altman is looking to team up again with again with Picturehouse Films on this next project. Inspired by the events depicted in S.R. Bindler's 1997 documentary Hands on a Hard Body: The Documentary: basically fans should think Gosford Park + a large pick-up truck. Altman and co-writer Stephen Harrigan
- 10/6/2006
- IONCINEMA.com
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