Age of Stupid Movie arrives in Auckland

Have you heard about the Age of Stupid?

The Age of Stupid is the new epic from McLibel director Franny Armstrong. Pete Postlethwaite stars as a man living alone in the devastated world of 2055, looking at old footage from 2008 and asking: why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?

Grey Lynn 2030 is thrilled to be showing the Age of Stupid on its first day in Auckland

“The Age of Stupid”

Wednesday 19th August

Bridgeway Theatre

122 Queen St, Northcote Point

8.00 doors open, 8.30 film begins

Come along early for a drink and meet your mates. We have been donated some green hampers from Easy Green Living and there are some spot prizes to be won before the film

Tickets are $20 to raise money for Grey Lynn 2030

Tickets can be purchased from:

The Wine Vault
453 Richmond Rd, Grey Lynn

There are no Door Sales on the night so please call in and see Jayson at The Wine Vault or buy your tickets on line.

Here’s the preview:

YouTube Preview Image

And here are some reviews:

“An emergency wake-up call to do everything possible to avert
impending catastrophe.” – New York Times

“Think “An Inconvenient Truth” but with a personality” – LA Times

“A Deeply Inconvenient Kick Up the Backside… you won’t see a more
important film this year” – News of the World ****

“Bold, supremely provocative, and hugely important….
a cry from the heart as much as a roar for necessary change.” – The Telegraph ****

“The most imaginative and dramatic assault on the institutional
complacency shrouding the issue” – The Times ****

“Captivating and constantly surprising… the first successful dramatisation
of climate change to reach the big screen” – The Guardian

“Lectures us sternly and pitilessly – but also intelligently
and provokingly” – Financial Times ****

“Enough attitude to power a large city… slaps you around
the face then punches you in the stomach” – The Sun ****

“I defy anyone to come out and not feel like they’ve got
to make a difference.” – Caroline Lucas, Leader of the UK Green Party

“Every single person in the country should be forcibly
made to watch this film”. – Ken Livingstone, former Mayor of London

“It is not a film to make you happy. It’s a film to make you sit back and think
‘What is my role on this planet?’” – Ashok Sinha, Director of Stop Climate Chaos coalition

“I hate this film. I felt as if I was watching all my own excuses for not doing
anything about climate change being stripped away from me.
Can I just pretend I never saw it?”- William Nicholson, Writer of Gladiator

“I was nodding to myself all the way through, thinking ‘How can I reduce my flights?,
‘Can I install a wind turbine at home?’. It is definitely going to change my life.
It was so powerful and so moving I wanted it to go on for another hour.”
- Gillian Anderson, actress

“The most powerful piece of cultural discourse on climate change
ever produced.” – Mark Lynas, author of “Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet”

“Jaw-droppingly impressive as to how such a raft of fantastic ideas were so superbly executed. From the solar-powered tent to the camera phone pictures of the audiences, from the campaign packs to The Met Office guy rubber-stamping the science, from the ultra-low transport footprint to the Big If (not forgetting Pete’s OBE etc…) and topping it all with the Maldives’ challenge to us all. What a night. Thank you all for showing me a way through the rest of my life.”
“I feel I have shared in the making of history this evening – such a privilege”

“Nothing else has ever made the issue clearer, the solutions more obvious, and the urgency more acute. Nothing else has ever shouted more loudly. I challenge anyone to watch this film and not feel compelled to take action.”
“What a triumph. Impressed beyond belief.”

“The audience were absolutely riveted by the film. At the end, the cutover to Leicester Square was so slick and the synchronisation perfect, it was like being transported to the cinema tent and we felt a real sense of being part of that audience — to the extent that there was clapping at the right moments and barracking (‘rubbish’) at some of the stuff Ed Miliband spouted. The sense of engagement with the Premiere was palpable — I have never experienced anything quite so intense in an audience that size. And moments like Pete saying that he would hand back his OBE were electric!”
“I work for a large corporate so I went back into the workplace on Monday filled with passion to make a difference and have set up a host of meetings to do just that.”

“Brilliant night in Cambridge – sold out – people turned away – fantastic atmosphere – congratulations to all of you!”

“The film was amazing. Saw it at The Light (Leeds) which was sold-out. I went with a friend who does lots of flying (holidays) and she came away very thoughtful indeed. The film had a huge impact on her and I’ll be very surprised if she doesn’t change her lifestyle. Pete P was such a wonderful person for the role, though clearly he wasn’t acting in this case.”

“The Age of Stupid has brought together local environmental groups from a wide area some of whom didn’t know the others existed, representatives from different groups attending meetings of other groups to listen and share ideas, a new network of like minded friends who are now discussing the possibility of an autumn gathering of all local groups in one place for tea/coffee and a chin wag! Imagine then the friendships that will forge every evening when these groups meet at the showings to talk to filmgoers; the optimism here in Inverness is exciting and electric.”

“The world seems a little different today.”

“I have seen countless climate change, activist films etc and none has moved me as much as yours. I had to try and be discreet when I could no longer hold back the tears, as I was without tissues and didn’t want to ask my friends for any!! And then just as I had found my composure, Pete got up on stage and gave such a rallying, passionate plea, that I began all over again!”

“Your film changed my life completely, it’s hard and scary but I’ve been converted to full on activist status!”

“Mum brought me tea this morning [the day after the premiere] and burst into tears on my bed. She had been up since 5am thinking about the film, and how we live, and getting upset. I have been banging on about this for years (quite ineffectively I realise), but the film acted to distill, and make stark, the totally misplaced and confused framework through which we value things. It really hit the soul of this household.”

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Age of Stupid movie is getting closer

I have been following with interest, the self distribution of what looks to be an amazing film. It looks like it is not too far now from arriving in New Zealand.
Here is a review of it.

‘The Age of Stupid’ featuring Hollywood star Pete Postlethwaite.The movie set a new world record for the largest simultaneous première when it was shown in 65 different locations across Britain in March.

Environmental campaigner Mr Hampton was one of a number of sponsors for the flick which delivers a stark warning about the planet’s future.

He believes the message of the film is crucial and will enlighten people as to how close the planet is to a climate catastrophe.

A eco-conference for world leaders will be held later this year in Copenhagen.

Mr Hampton said: “If leaders don’t come away from Copenhagen with a strict agreement then we have pretty much signed a death warrant for our kids.

“The current consensus is that governments our way behind something which will lead to our survival.”

Prince Charles recently told business leaders in a keynote speech in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, that there is “less than 100 months” to save the planet.

The heir to the throne warned that if nations fail to tackle deforestation and other problems over the next eight years then irreversible harm will be done to the environment.

Mr Hampton said: “If we don’t achieve substantial carbon reduction in thattime it will set up a chain reaction.”

Age of Stupid Animation

Here’s a note from the director. Franny Armstrong
Remember the UK People’s Premiere, which took us four months to set up and had more than 1000 people working on it?
Well, now we’re doing the same thing for
the Global Premiere on Sep 21/22,
but in all these countries at the same time, oh lordy: America, Antarctica, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece (unlikely), Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxemburg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania (TBC), Serbia  (TBC), Slovakia  (TBC), Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Costa Rica  (TBC), ElSalvador (TBC), Guatamala  (TBC), Mexico, Panama  (TBC), Argentina, Brazil, Chile  (TBC), Columbia  (TBC), Ecuador (TBC), Peru (TBC), Venezuela  (TBC), China  (TBC), Hong Kong  (TBC), India  (probably), Indonesia (TBC), Japan (probably not cos of conflicting distribution deal), Russia, S Korea  (TBC), Turkey  (TBC), Israel and South Africa.
And all the countries which don’t have satellite cinemas – all the poor ones, basically – will be able to watch the film + live event for free on the internet just for that one day.
All of which means that, if we pull it off, it will be the biggest simultaneous (ish) film event in movie history, beating some little flick called Star Wars.
This is extremely frightening.
But not as frightening as the latest predictions for the humanitarian catastrophe we’re going to trigger if we continue to not get our collective act together…. so may as well give it a go, what’s the worst that can happen? Complete flop, total embarrassment and lose a tonne of cash? Ah well.
Nevette our indefatigable New York event coordinator has managed to book a corner of Central Park for our solar cinema tent, though we haven’t quite raised the cash to pay for it yet – I’m sure you’re all looking forward to the fundraising request you can feel is coming your way….
There’s been a lot of laughing going on here at Stupid Towers as we write emails starting ”Dear Brad”,  ”Dear Barack”, “Dear Oprah” and “Dear Kofi”. We kid you not. Best not to think too hard about any of it, or you realise how ludicrous the whole thing is.
Australia & New Zealand are not on the Global Premiere list, not because we’re ignoring them, but because they are having their very own special premiere in Cate Blanchett’s eco theatre in Sydney on the 18th or 19th of Australia, depending on which day works best for the Australian eco-celebs. The good news is that Pete Postlethwaite is almost definitely able to make it, and as he is a big cheese in – and I’ve also sat on a few primetime Aussie chatshow sofas, thanks to McLibel being a big hit out there – we should be able to make a huge impact. Hence the decision to burn the fuel to fly there. (Please send any “you’re destroying all your own hard work” emails to abuse@ageofstupid.net). The Sydney premiere will be linked to our zero-waste tent in Auckland, New Zealand, which is being jointly organised by Oxfam and Greenpeace.
Australia’s biggest cinema chain, Hoyts, have just signed up and are now busy attempting to get 70 cinemas across Australia and 10 across New Zealand to take the show.
If you are an NGO in Australia or NZ who would like to get involved, please contact josh.wyndham.kidd@youthclimatecoalition.org and press/journalists please contact Annette Smith: nedco@bigpond.net.au
Age of Stupid Preview
Well, now we’re doing the same thing for the Global Premiere on Sep 21/22, but in all these countries at the same time, oh lordy: America, Antarctica, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece (unlikely), Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxemburg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania (TBC), Serbia  (TBC), Slovakia  (TBC), Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Costa Rica  (TBC), El Salvador (TBC), Guatamala  (TBC), Mexico, Panama  (TBC), Argentina, Brazil, Chile  (TBC), Columbia  (TBC), Ecuador (TBC), Peru (TBC), Venezuela  (TBC), China  (TBC), Hong Kong  (TBC), India  (probably), Indonesia (TBC), Japan (probably not cos of conflicting distribution deal), Russia, S Korea  (TBC), Turkey  (TBC), Israel and South Africa.
And all the countries which don’t have satellite cinemas – all the poor ones, basically – will be able to watch the film + live event for free on the internet just for that one day.
All of which means that, if we pull it off, it will be the biggest simultaneous (ish) film event in movie history, beating some little flick called Star Wars.
This is extremely frightening.
But not as frightening as the latest predictions for the humanitarian catastrophe we’re going to trigger if we continue to not get our collective act together…. so may as well give it a go, what’s the worst that can happen? Complete flop, total embarrassment and lose a tonne of cash? Ah well.
Nevette our indefatigable New York event coordinator has managed to book a corner of Central Park for our solar cinema tent, though we haven’t quite raised the cash to pay for it yet – I’m sure you’re all looking forward to the fundraising request you can feel is coming your way….
There’s been a lot of laughing going on here at Stupid Towers as we write emails starting ”Dear Brad”,  ”Dear Barack”, “Dear Oprah” and “Dear Kofi”. We kid you not. Best not to think too hard about any of it, or you realise how ludicrous the whole thing is.

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