''5-25-77'' is a

coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can ...

film written and directed by

Patrick Read Johnson Patrick Read Johnson (born May 7, 1962) is an American filmmaker, special effects artist and screenwriter. Born in Wadsworth, Illinois, he is best known for his directorial work on the films '' Spaced Invaders'', '' Angus'', '' Baby's Day Out'', ...

and produced by

Fred Roos Frederick Ried Roos (born May 22, 1934) is an American film producer. Biography Fred Roos was born on May 22, 1934, in Santa Monica, California, the son of Florence Mary (née Stout) and Victor Otto Roos. He attended Hollywood High School and sub ...

and

Gary Kurtz Gary Douglas Kurtz (July 27, 1940 – September 23, 2018) was an American film producer whose list of credits includes ''American Graffiti'' (1973), ''Star Wars'' (1977), ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980), ''The Dark Crystal'' (1982) and ''Retu ...

. It stars

John Francis Daley John Francis Daley (born July 20, 1985) is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, and musician. He is known for playing high school freshman Sam Weir on the NBC comedy-drama ''Freaks and Geeks'' and FBI criminal profiler Dr. ...

as a teen-age director living in

Wadsworth Wadsworth may refer to: People * Wadsworth (surname) * Wadsworth (given name) Places * Wadsworth, Illinois, United States, a village * Wadsworth, Kansas, United States * Wadsworth, Nevada, United States, a census-designated place * Wadswo ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, and his excitement for the premiere of ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

'' on May 25, 1977.

Production

Johnson began funding the project in 2001 and filming took place from 2004 to 2006. Additional shots and special effects were filmed in 2015, 2016, and over the following six years, making the film's production span a total of 18 years. The film was first known as ''5-25-77''; the title was then changed to ''77''. In 2012, the title was reverted to ''5-25-77''. It is also the final film appearance of actor

Justin Mentell Justin Michael Mentell (December 16, 1982 – February 1, 2010) was an American artist and actor. He was best known for his role as Garrett Wells on ''Boston Legal''. He died in a car accident in Iowa County, Wisconsin. Life and career Ment ...

, released almost 12 years after his death on February 1, 2010.

Release

The film's official premiere was on May 22, 2017 at the

Genesee Theatre Genesee Theatre is a concert hall and movie palace in Waukegan, Illinois. Today, the venue has seats for 2,403 people and opened in 1927. It's both used as a vaudeville theater and cinema and hosts musical artists and shows. History In 1926, A.L ...

Waukegan, Illinois ''(Fortress or Trading Post)'' , image_flag = , image_seal = , blank_emblem_size = 150 , blank_emblem_type = Logo , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivisi ...

. A short theatrical run followed. On December 25, 2020, its director announced on his Facebook and Twitter pages that it would be available to stream, buy and see in select theaters on May 25, 2021, but the release was postponed. On May 25, 2022, MVD Entertainment announced that they had acquired the film's worldwide rights and that it would be released in the fall of 2022. The final version debuted at the Skyline Indie Film Fest in Winchester, Virginia on September 8, 2022. It made its L.A. debut at the DTLA Film Festival a week later on September 15, and began a run on 100 screens on September 23. It was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on November 22, 2022.

References

External links

* 2010s coming-of-age comedy films American coming-of-age comedy films Films directed by Patrick Read Johnson Films produced by Gary Kurtz Films set in 1977 2017 comedy films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films {{2010s-comedy-film-stub