''Bill, the Galactic Hero'' is a 2014 science fiction student film directed by

Alex Cox Alexander B. H. Cox (born 15 December 1954) is an English film director, screenwriter, actor, non-fiction author and broadcaster. Cox experienced success early in his career with '' Repo Man'' and ''Sid and Nancy'', but since the release and co ...

and six student co-directors based on Harry Harrison's 1965 novel of the same name.

Plot synopsis

Bill is a farm hand who is drugged and shanghaied into the Space Troopers. Bill initially works as a fuse tender but when his ship is struck by enemy fire Bill finds himself the only remaining soldier capable of firing on the enemy Chingers. He destroys an enemy fleet with a lucky shot and is proclaimed a hero. He becomes lost in a labyrinth of bureaucracy, eventually recruiting his own younger brother into military service to the chagrin of his mother.

Cast

* James Miller as Bill *

Devon Wycoff Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon i ...

as Deathwish Drang *

Jesse Lee Pacheco Jesse may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jesse (biblical figure), father of David in the Bible. * Jesse (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Jesse (surname), a list of people Music * ''Jesse'' ( ...

as Sixth Class Tembo *

Kaitlin McManus Caitlin () is a female given name of Irish origin. Historically, the Irish name Caitlín was anglicized as Cathleen or Kathleen. In the 1970s, however, non-Irish speakers began pronouncing the name according to English spelling rules as , which ...

as Bown Brown / Sgt. Ferkel *

Eddy Jordan Eddie or Eddy may refer to: Science and technology * Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle *Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Lin ...

as X / Pinkteron * Hayden Winston as Chaplain / Laundry Officer * Brittany Handler as 1st Class Spleen * Nick Wagner as Old Sarge / Corp. DeSalius * Bradley Allf as Deplanned Outlaw * Lily Grisafi as Eager Beager * Pablo Kjolseth as The Emperor * Anneka Kumli as Mother / Officer 1 * Susan Sebanc as All Robots (voice) * Frank Vidana as Surgeon * Shayn Herndon

Production

Alex Cox had initially optioned the rights to a film version of Harry Harrison's 1965 novel in 1983 as he was completing '' Repo Man''. The project met with studio resistance and remained unmade until 2012 when Alex Cox had begun teaching film production at the

University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sys ...

. He had the idea to have his students film an adaptation of the novel and suggested the idea to Harrison, who granted Cox an academic license to produce a student film and was working with Cox on the screenplay for the film at the time of his death in 2012. In March 2013, Cox launched a

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

campaign, hoping to raise $100,000 to shoot the film. The campaign exceeded the goal and raised $114,957 from 1,106 backers. Cox also succeeded in getting numerous film professionals to work on a royalties basis. The film went into production in October. Scenes were shot in university buildings.

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...

, who wrote and performed the song "Repo Man" for Alex Cox's 1984 film, also wrote and performed the theme song for ''Bill, the Galactic Hero''.

Release

The film premiered in

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a home rule city that is the county seat and most populous municipality of Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, making it the 12th most populous city in Color ...

on December 12, 2014. It gained positive reviews. It was later shown on New Year's Eve at the Clinton Street Theater.

References

External links

* {{Alex Cox 2014 films American science fiction films American films with live action and animation 2010s science fiction films 2010s English-language films Films directed by Alex Cox Films set in the future Films based on American novels Films based on science fiction novels Kickstarter-funded films Films shot in Colorado 2010s war films American student films University of Colorado Boulder 2010s American films