A Great New Montana Film Made Its Debut in Missoula Last Night

Now here's a series of events that I did not see coming: last night, I got to go to the North American premiere of a brand new movie, and I got to do it right here in Missoula.

A little over a week ago, I wrote an article about a new movie called Ted K, a docudrama about Ted Kaczynski which starred Sharlto Copley in the lead role. The movie was set to open soon and I thought, since the entire thing was filmed in Lincoln, that Montanans might want to know more about it.

A few days after I wrote the article, a co-worker came into my studio to tell me that there was someone on the phone for me. So I called him back and, it turns out, it was Matt Flanders, one of the producers of Ted K. He appreciated the article and invited me to the premiere of the movie! They had made the decision to have the premiere at The Wilma in Missoula, so of course, I had to go check it out.

Doors opened at 6:30, so we got there and had my name crossed off a list to enter. When we got in, we were told we could sit anywhere we wanted, and were each given a ticket that was good for one free popcorn and one free drink.

Here we are reacting to the idea of getting free stuff:

I know The Wilma used to be a movie theater before it was a concert venue, but that was before my time in Missoula - so it was pretty cool to see the place for what it used to be!

Before the movie, Matt Flanders and director Tony Stone took the stage to introduce it. They told us that this was the North American premiere of the film, and in fact, it was pretty much the first time that it had ever played in a theater (it was part of the Berlin Film Festival, but that was all-virtual).

And then, the movie started! And I can vouch for it - it's very good. If you're at all interested in the story of Ted Kaczynski, it's essential viewing. Sharlto Copley gives an incredible performance, the score and the surrounding soundscape are terrific, and the movie has tons of beautiful Montana cinematography.

After the movie, Flanders and Stone came back out for a Q&A that really illuminated the process of making Ted K, and how they pretty much utilized the entire town of Lincoln, Montana to help develop it. (At one point, they asked anybody who had worked on the movie in the crowd to stand up, and it was like half of the people there.)

Thanks again to Matt Flanders and the Ted K team for inviting me out to the premiere. And if you're looking to see Ted K, it starts playing at the Roxy here in Missoula beginning on Friday. You can buy tickets at the Roxy's website right here.