Welcome to the New Araki Age

I love how many beefcake photos there are of director Gregg Araki when you go looking. But that does beg the question -- why haven't I been looking??? All these years I've been a fan, decades now, and this is the first time I've ever seen these photos from the set of Nowhere. Harumph, I say. Anyway last night broke news I have been waiting decades indeed for -- Strand Releasing will be releasing restored versions of all 3 films in Araki's "Teen Apocalypse" trilogy! The Doom Generation already played theaters earlier this year (and it's hitting blu-ray in a month!) and we'd heard (and posted about) the news that Nowhere was coming too. But this is the first confirmation I've seen of a restoration of the first film in the trilogy, 1993's Totally F***ed Up. All masterpieces, and all deeply formative for yours truly. I don't care how they release these things -- if they release each movie one by one and then drop a box-set down the road -- I will buy every filthy fucking copy I can get my grubby mitts on. And now let's start clanging the bell for Araki's other movies -- Splendor for instance! Anyway, like, hit the jump for the official press release on this legendary and spectacular news, or whatever...

Gregg Araki’s THE TEEN APOCALYPSE TRILOGY will screen at the Academy Museum with the restored versions of all three works, TOTALLY F***ED UP, THE DOOM GENERATION and the World Premiere of the newly restored NOWHERE on September 15 and 16th. Araki’s beloved cult trilogy comes to theatres across the country. 

September 15th - TOTALLY F***ED UP and
THE DOOM GENERATION
with conversation between filmmaker Gus Van Sant and Gregg Araki.
Buy tickets here.

September 16th - NOWHERE
RESTORATION WORLD PREMIERE
with conversation between Gregg Araki and Andrew Ahn
Buy tickets here.

September 23rd NOWHERE - Fantastic Festival
Austin, Texas - NOWHERE - Texas Premiere
 Conversation following screening with filmmaker Rick Linklater and Gregg Araki. Time and location TBA.

Details for the theatrical release of NOWHERE and special presentations of THE TEEN APOCALYPSE TRILOGY in cities and venues to be announced shortly on www.strandreleasing.com

“L.A.’s like nowhere. Everyone who lives here is lost.” From the opening Slowdive music cue to its outrageous finale, Gregg Araki’s long under-screened queer cult classic reverberates with rage and sexual frustration throughout, though it’s tempered, naturally, by a healthy dose of 1990s ennui. Like an episode of “Beverly Hills, 90210 on acid” or “California’s version of Kids,” Nowhere’s Los Angeles-dwelling cast of dozens—including an actual Baywatch star and a character named Jujyfruit—exchange sexual partners, discuss addiction, party their brains out, and grapple with an alien invasion accompanied by the era-essential tunes of Hole, Blur, Portishead, and Massive Attack.

About the Restoration

 

Due to circumstances beyond my control, NOWHERE was never properly distributed on DVD in the US - just VHS (!) and I guess, laserdisc (?!). So, for the past 20 or so years, every time I appeared for a panel or Q&A, fans have been asking if/when NOWHERE will get a proper release. Well, I’m thrilled to say that day is finally here!

Thanks to Marcus and Jon at Strand Releasing (who also did the recent DOOM GENERATION restoration), we’ve created a brand new 4K remaster of NOWHERE, color-timed from camera original 35mm negative at Roundabout Entertainment with totally remixed sound done at Monkeyland Audio.

In addition, we have also restored footage removed prior to the film’s original theatrical release. After NOWHERE’s world premiere at Sundance in 1997, the distributor and MPAA demanded we make cuts to “tone down” several scenes or lose our “R” rating. This remastered edition marks the first time the original, uncensored Director’s Cut has been available since then.

It is truly humbling and amazing the love and support out there for NOWHERE which has survived for all these years on the basis of crappy VHS copies, YouTube uploads, Russian torrents, etc. I am so grateful to finally be able to give the fans the ultimate, uncensored, beautifully restored and remixed 4K version of NOWHERE they deserve. Let the love feast begin!

-Gregg Araki

 

Synopsis

 

NOWHERE's weblike narrative charts a day in the hilarious and tragic life of Dark Smith (James Duval), a gorgeous, alienated 18-year-old obsessed with the End of the World and finding his one true and lasting love. The object of his affection, Mel (Rachel True), feels for him deeply but can't commit herself to any one person or gender, splitting her time between Dark and her curvaceous, acid-tongued girlfriend, Lucifer  (Kathleen Robertson). Dark, meanwhile, becomes enthralled by the beauteous Montgomery (Nathan Bexton), literally a vision to behold beneath the golden California sun.

NOWHERE stars an ensemble cast from the period including Guillermo Diaz, Alan Boyce, Jeremy Jordan, Chiara Mastroianni, Debi Mazar, Christina Applegate, Scott Cain, Heather Graham, Ryan Phillippe, Traci Lords, Shannen Doherty, Rose McGowan, Jaason Simmons and Jordan Ladd to name a few.