Finding Kraftland
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''Finding Kraftland'' is a 2006 independent documentary from Richard Kraft productions starring Stacey J. Aswad, Richard Kraft, and Nicholas Kraft. It premiered at the
Santa Barbara International Film Festival The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is an eleven-day film festival held in Santa Barbara, California since 1986. The festival boasts screenings of over 200 feature films and shorts from different countries and regions. SBIFF al ...
on January 27, 2006 and continued to play in over 75 film festivals around the globe.


Plot

''Finding Kraftland'' is structured as a top ten countdown of the coolest attractions in Kraftland, which is the name given to Richard Kraft's house. Though the host, Stacey, continually bounces around between Richard Kraft's collectibles, the real focus of the film is the bond that develops between Richard and his son Nicholas. Richard remarks that, when Nicholas was born, he didn't know what to make of him, saying he felt as though an "alien being" was living with him. He then goes on to say that, around the time Nicholas turns 3, he realizes that he is "the most interesting person on the planet." This begins a whirl-wind love affair between father and son that sees the two trek around the globe in order to ride every roller coaster, launch themselves into a zero-gravity flight, and generally seek as many thrills as life has to offer. This story unfolds as Richard's collection, which consists of
James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
collectibles from the 1960s, pieces of
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and
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attractions, thousands of
board games Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a comp ...
, and
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memorabilia from Richard's childhood, is displayed and pored over by Stacy. The other story line that develops is Richard's relationship with his deceased parents and older brother, David Kraft, who died in 1993 due to
Crohn's disease Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that may affect any segment of the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms often include abdominal pain, diarrhea (which may be bloody if inflammation is severe), fever, abdominal distension ...
. The documentary comes to a climax when it is discovered that Richard has also developed Crohn's.


Music

Marc Shaiman Marc Shaiman (; born October 22, 1959) is an American composer and lyricist for films, television, and theatre, best known for his collaborations with lyricist and director Scott Wittman. He wrote the music and co-wrote the lyrics for the Broadw ...
provides a musical interlude with his performance of a song titled "Yes" which he wrote for his agent, Richard Kraft. The song pokes fun at Richard's inability to say "no" to any film project. Nicholas Kraft also composed a piano piece for the film called ''Kronicles of Kraftland''. It serves as the soundtrack for the ending montage. It is the only original piece of music in the film as all the other cues were picked by Richard Kraft from his extensive film music library. Austin Wintory composed 21 variations of ''Kronicles of Kraftland'' titled ''Kronicles of Kraftland: 21 Film Score Parody Variations on a Theme'' as a 21st birthday present for Nicholas. The variations are all parodies of Richard Kraft's favorite composers.


Production

''Finding Kraftland'' was intended to be shown once at a joint birthday party for the Krafts and was made as a sweet 16 present for Nicholas from his father. The reception at the showing was so great that they decided to submit the documentary to festivals. Completion of the film took place hours before the premier as last minute changes were made and a final audio-mix had yet to be bounced.


On screen contributors


Film festivals and awards

''Finding Kraftland'' was picked to be shown at 62 film festivals, from 2007–2009, winning awards at the following festivals: *2007 Santa Fe Film Festival: Best Creative Spirit *2007 Central Florida Film Festival: Best Documentary *2007 River's Edge International Film Festival: Jury Award *2007
The Feel Good Film Festival The Feel Good Film Festival (FGFF), also known as the Sunflower Film Festival, was held annually in Hollywood, California from 2008 to 2012. The Festival was the largest of its kind showcasing American, international, independent, and family-frien ...
: 2nd Place, Feature Films *2007 BSO Spirit Awards, Spain: Jerry Goldspirit Award (for music) *2007 Port Townsend Film Festival: Top Five Favorites, Audience Choice Awards *2008 Secret City Film Festival: First place, Documentary Films *2008 Tupelo Film Fest: First place, Documentary Films *2008 Twin Rivers Multimedia Festival: First place, Documentaries and Outdoor Films *2008 Black Earth Film Festival: Best of Fest *2008 Lake Havasu International Film Festival: Final Cut Award *2008 B Movie Film Festival: Best Documentary *2008 Phoenix Film Festival: Best Documentary *2008 Columbus International Film Festival: Honorable Mention *2008 Accolade Film Awards: Best Creativity/Originality, Best Editing, Best Humor/Humorist and Viewer Impact/Best Entertainment Value


Sequels

Richard Kraft and his son Nicholas have expressed interest in making two sequels to ''Finding Kraftland''. In an interview, Nicholas joked, " ..he second one will be called ''Selling Kraftland''. At the end of that movie, Richard dies and becomes
Obi-Wan Kenobi Obi-Wan Kenobi () is a fictional Character (arts), character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Within the Star Wars original trilogy, original trilogy, Obi-Wan is a Jedi Master as a supporting character and is portrayed by English actor Alec Guinn ...
for the third movie, where I raise my son and he gives me ghostly words of wisdom from beyond the grave." When asked if sequels to ''Finding Kraftland'' were seriously being considered, Richard responded, "Oh, absolutely! You can’t have lived this and then go, 'Well, that was the end of it!'"


That's From Disneyland

In 2018, Richard & Nicholas partnered with Van Eaton Galleries to create That's From Disneyland! which was a month-long exhibit and auction of their entire Disney collection which attracted 50,000 people, including celebrities such as
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Darren Criss Darren Everett Criss (born February 5, 1987) is an American actor, singer, and songwriter. He rose to fame starring on the television series ''Glee'' (2010–2015) and received Emmy and Golden Globe acting awards for his leading role as spree ...
,
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,
Rebel Wilson Rebel Melanie Elizabeth Wilson (born Melanie Elizabeth Bownds; 2 March 1980) is an Australian actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. After graduating from the Australian Theatre for Young People in 2003, Wilson began appearing as Tou ...
,
John Landis John David Landis (born August 3, 1950) is an American comedy and fantasy filmmaker and actor. He is best known for the comedy films that he has directed – such as ''The Kentucky Fried Movie'' (1977), ''Animal House, National Lampoon's Animal ...
,
Drew Carey Drew Allison Carey (born May 23, 1958) is an American comedian, actor and game show host. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, he gained stardom in his own sitcom, ''The Drew Carey Show'', an ...
,
Rachel Bloom Rachel Leah Bloom (born April 3, 1987) is an American actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. She is best known for co-creating and starring as Rebecca Bunch in The CW musical comedy-drama series ''Crazy Ex-Girlfriend'' (2015– ...
,
Ben Schwartz Benjamin Schwartz (born September 15, 1981) is an American actor and comedian. He has guest starred as Jean-Ralphio Saperstein on the NBC sitcom ''Parks and Recreation'' and Clyde Oberholt on the Showtime series ''House of Lies''; voiced Randy C ...
and
Paul Scheer Paul Christian Scheer (born January 31, 1976) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, director, and podcaster. Scheer is a SAG award-winning actor known for his roles in Showtime's comedy series ''Black Monday'' and FX/ FXX's ''The L ...
. The Krafts referred to the exhibit as "Selling Kraftland." The exhibit of Richard's entire Disney collection culminated in a two-day auction which netted $8.3M from the sale of Disney memorabilia" Magician
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purchased the Disneyland Hotel neon letter “D” for $86,250. American television personality
Kris Jenner Kristen Mary Jenner ( Houghton , formerly Kardashian; born November 5, 1955) is an American media personality, socialite, and businesswoman. She rose to fame starring in the reality television series ''Keeping Up with the Kardashians'' (2007 ...
purchased animatronic dolls from the
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ride as a Christmas gift for her daughter,
Kourtney Kardashian Kourtney Mary Kardashian (born April 18, 1979) is an American media personality and socialite. In 2007, she and her family began starring in the reality television series ''Keeping Up with the Kardashians''. Its success led to the creation of ...
.


References


External links

* * * {{Rotten Tomatoes
Adam Shell official site
(archived September 2007) American documentary films 2000s American films