GO FURTHER a RON MANN film Genie Award nomination for Best Documentary Featuring Woody Harrelson, Ken Kesey, Steve Clark and a Cast of Thousands with musical performances by Dave Matthews, Bob Weir, Anthony Kiedis, Natalie Merchant, String Cheese Incident, Michael Franti and Medeski, Martin &Wood (CANADA, 2003, 90 Minutes) Distribution 1028 Queen Street West Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M6J 1H6 Tel: 416-516-9775 Fax: 416-516-0651 E-mail: [email protected] www.mongrelmedia.com Publicity Bonne Smith Star PR Tel: 416-488-4436 Fax: 416-488-8438 E-mail: [email protected] High res stills may be downloaded from http://mongrelmedia.com/press.html GO FURTHER -a film by Ron Mann Synopsis Calling his new movie an “Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test on Tofu,” award-winning documentary director Ron Mann (Grass, Twist) joins actor/activist Woody Harrelson as he pilots a hemp-fuelled bus on an eco-consciousness raising incursion down the beautiful Pacific Coast. Outline Go Further, the new film by award-winning documentary filmmaker Ron Mann, explores the idea that the single individual is the key to large-scale transformational change. The film follows actor Woody Harrelson as he takes a small group of friends on a bio-fuelled bus ride down the Pacific Coast Highway. Their goal? To show the people they encounter that there are viable alternatives to our habitual, environmentally destructive behaviors. The travelers include a yoga-teacher, a raw food chef, a hemp-activist, a junk- food addict, and a college student who suspends her life to impulsively hop aboard. We see the hostility these pilgrims encounter, and watch as their ideas are challenged from within and without. We meet an entrepreneur who runs a paper company that does not harm trees; an organic farmer who believes nature is his partner, a man who teaches environmental activists to use humour as a strategic weapon. And throughout, we see Harrelson test his belief that the transformation of our planet begins with the small personal transformations that are within the grasp of each and every one of us, after which… we’ll go further. 2 Bios RON MANN -Director and Producer Ron Mann has been a festival and critic’s favourite since his first feature, Imagine the Sound (1981). Mann’s exuberant films, whether on jazz, comics, rock ’n’ roll, dance or marijuana are meticulously researched pop histories. Selected Filmography 1981 Imagine the Sound (Cecil Taylor, Archie Shepp) 1982 Poetry in Motion (Allen Ginsberg, Tom Waits) 1988 Comic Book Confidential (Robert Crumb, Art Speigelman) 1991 Twist (Hank Ballard, Chubby Checker) 1999 Grass ((Woody Harrelson, 60 Million Pot Smokers) 2003 Go Further (Woody Harrelson, Dave Matthews) WOODY HARRELSON -Actor and Activist One of the most acclaimed actors of his generation, Academy Award nominated actor Woody Harrelson has long considered his work on behalf of the environment to be as important to him as his ever-burgeoning film career. In the summer of 2001, Harrelson created and took part in the SOL (Simple Organic Living) tour, a spiritual and physical journey that had him and several other participants cycling from Seattle to Los Angeles. Along the way, he stopped and spoke at college campuses, extolling his views on the importance of creating freedom from industry and striking a balance between economic growth and ecological sanity. Long known as one of the country’s most vocal supporters of the environment, Harrelson generated international headlines when he planted hemp seeds in the state of Kentucky to challenge the state’s laws restricting the use of the plant that can be used as a valuable fuel and viable paper alternative. By actively challenging the state to differentiate between hemp and marijuana, he was arrested, tried and acquitted, all the time generating much national discussion about the issue. He continues to work on animal rights issues, sustainability, and promoting healthy alternatives to the current cycle of consumer led environmental degradation. He has also long been a supporter in the fight to save Headwaters Forests – America’s last stand of un-protected growth redwoods. 3 Harrelson also continues to act. He is one of a select group of actors that have triumphantly made the transition from the small screen to motion pictures. The actor first endeared himself to millions of viewers as a member of the ensemble cast of NBC’s long-running hit comedy, Cheers. For his work as the affable bartender Woody Boyd, Harrelson won an Emmy in 1988 and was nominated four additional times during his eight-year run on the show. Harrelson won Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild nominations as Best Actor for his critically acclaimed portrayal of controversial magazine publisher Larry Flynt in Milos Forman’s drama, The People vs. Larry Flynt – a particular triumph for Harrelson, since Flynt has also been known for years as a champion of free speech and social activism. He also starred with a stellar cast in Terence Malick’s Oscar-nominated war drama The Thin Red Line, in Stephen Frears’ acclaimed feature Hi-Lo Country, and in Ron Howard ‘s EDTV opposite Matthew McConaughey. He made his big screen debut as a high school football player in Wildcats, which also featured another burgeoning talent, Wesley Snipes, with whom Harrelson would later reunite in Ron Shelton ’s basketball comedy, White Men Can’t Jump, and the action thriller, Money Train. He starred opposite Robert Redford and Demi Moore in Adrian Lyne ’s drama, Indecent Proposal, and won acclaim as the homicidal Mickey for director Oliver Stone in the powerful drama Natural Born Killers. Harrelson also played the one-handed bowler Roy Munson in the Farrelly Brothers ’comedy Kingpin, a newspaperman caught in a web of intrigue in Volker Schlondorff ’s film noir thriller Palmetto and a journalist covering war-torn Bosnia in Welcome To Sarajevo. Other film credits include Wag The Dog, Sunchaser, Doc Hollywood, L.A.Story, The Cowboy Way, Ron Shelton ’s Play It To The Bone with Antonio Banderas, and opposite John Cleese and Alicia Silverstone in Scorched for director Gavin Grazer. Harrelson recently wrapped production on the comedy/drama Anger Management with Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler for director Peter Segal. In addition to film and television, Harrelson has made his mark in the world of theater as well. He starred in the Roundabout ’s revival of the N. Richard Nash play The Rainmaker, which centers on a con man who promises to bring rain to a drought-hit Midwestern town in the 1930s. Harrelson also starred opposite Sean Penn in Sam Shepherd ’s play The Late Henry Moss for San Francisco ’s Magic Theatre. He also wrote and directed the dark comedy Furthest From The Sun. The play first premiered in Los Angeles at the Tiffany Theater and was later staged in Minneapolis. He was recently in London on stage appearing opposite Kyle MacLachlan in On An Average Day, a play by John Kolvenbach at the Comedy Theatre. 4 The Merry Hempsters! Steve Clark A self-proclaimed junk-food addict, Steve Clark works as a production assistant on the hit sitcom Will &Grace, where he met Woody Harrelson who helped change his diet of cheeseburgers, fries and chocolate milkshakes. Steve is single, loves to dance and is always happy to meet available young women. Joe Hickey In 1994 hemp-activist Joe Hickey reactivated the Kentucky Hemp Growers Cooperative Association whose mission is to educate the public on the benefits of hemp. With his friend Woody Harrelson, Joe founded the company Tierra Madre (or Mother Earth) to help develop a non-wood agricultural based pulp and paper mill and to start building a North American hemp industry. Tom Ballanco Berkeley based lawyer and activist Tom Ballanco supports environmental causes and defends environmental activists in federal courts. Renee Loux Underkoffler Raw food chef Renee Loux Underkoffler co-founded the Raw Experience Restaurant in Paia, Maui in 1996. Renee also co-published Living Cuisine: The Art and Spirit of Raw Foods with Woody Harrelson. Jessica Chung Jessica Chung is a yoga and dance instructor based in Seattle, Washington. Joe Lewis Joe Lewis is a professional driver for film studios. Joe met Woody Harrelson during the filming of White Men Can’t Jump. 5 Sonia Farrell The SOL tour manager, Sonia Farrell is often found “down the pub” running the pool table with a pint of Guinness in her hand, a cell phone to her ear and a pager on her hip. Laura Louie Laura Louie manages the web site www.voiceyourself.com, which connects people to sustainable living and organic products. Writer and Activist Ken Kesey Author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and cultural icon, Ken Kesey’s 1964 cross-country LSD-fueled bus trip with his Merry Pranksters was immortalized by Tom Wolfe in his book The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. Ken passed away in November 2001. Musicians Bob Weir Guitarist and vocalist Bob Weir was a founding member of The Grateful Dead. Weir has continued performing as a solo artist and as a member of the groups Ratdog, The Other Ones, and recently The Dead. Natalie Merchant Natalie Merchant began her recording career as the lead vocalist and lyricist with the folk rock band 10,000 MANIACS, making six albums with the group before setting out on her own successful solo career. Anthony Kiedis As frontman for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Anthony Kiedis has inspired a generation of musicians with a fusion of punk and funk. 6 Michael Franti Activist and poet, Michael Franti was the founder of the Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy. In 1994 he formed the Hip-Hop group Spearhead, whose music speaks out for social progressive causes.