[Updated 05.01.06]
IT'S HERE! THE DVD HAS ARRIVED!
Get your copy now.
CLICK HERE TO BUY IT!
Packed with all new scenes and these extras:
+ New interviews from all the surviving members
+ Interview with director Anthony Scarpa
+ Comment tracks with band members and the director
+ Deleted Scenes
+ Easter eggs
+ Downloadable Music Videos
+ Where Are They Now? Featurette
+ Bianca's Polaroid Gallery
[Updated 03.14.06]
WAKE THE DEAD!
BETTY BLOWTORCH RETURNS WITH A SPECIAL SCREENING OF
ANTHONY SCARPA'S "BETTY BLOWTORCH AND HER AMAZING TRUE LIFE ADVENTURES"
SATURDAY, APRIL 22ND
AT HOLLYWOOD FOREVER CEMETERY
Festivities begin at dusk.
Film screens at 8:00 pm.
$10 donation at the door.
Guests are encouraged to bring picnic dinners/drinks, blankets or low
back chairs for the screening. Free parking on cemetery grounds. Hollywood
Forever Cemetery is located at 6000 Santa Monica Blvd. (between Gower and Van Ness) in Hollywood
DVD RELEASE OF DOCUMENTARY SET FOR APRIL 25TH
The new expanded edition of "Betty Blowtorch And Her Amazing True Life
Adventures" will premiere during the DVD pre-release party at the legendary
Hollywood Forever Cemetery, the final resting place of lead singer Bianca
"Butthole" Halstead, on Saturday April 22nd. The festivities will include a
massive outdoor screen, stilt walkers, fire-breathers and circus acts with
rare classic rock and punk videos preceding the premiere of the new cut of
the movie. The entire night will benefit MusicCares MAP Fund; a resource to
address addiction recovery and sober living needs of musicians.
The award winning documentary directed by Anthony Scarpa, chronicles the
rise of the hard rocking, foul-mouthed female foursome from its roots in the
P.M.R.C. targeted band Butt Trumpet, through it's tragic ending with the
death of leader Halstead. Along the way the film unfolds as a hilarious,
head-banging, compelling look at a truly remarkable human being. A rock star
and a rock band that overcame impossible odds and could have changed the
landscape of the music industry, and the way females are perceived in it, if
only given the chance. "Bianca Butthole's life may have been cut short,"
says Scarpa "but the fact that she made it as far as she did is pure
triumph."
The DVD is set for nationwide release on April 25th by influential
distributor Cinema Libre who have brought us such memorable documentaries as
Robert Greenwald's "Outfoxed," "Uncovered: The War On Iraq," and Tim
Robbins‚ "Embedded Live."
"The movie in a sense is being brought home to Bianca," states Victoria
Roberts, Bianca's sister. "Her wish was to be laid to rest in a place where
her friends could all visit her. It is exciting to me that not only her
friends and admirers will be there but her former band-mates will be
together for the first time since her death."
For those unaware of the bands history, tensions between the members was at
a breaking point on what turned out to be the band's final tour. It will be
five years on December 15th since Bianca tragically died while the band was
on the road. Her ashes are buried in her prized KISS lunchbox, with her
graveside nearby other rock icons including Dee Dee and Johnny Ramone. The
Hollywood Forever Cemetery, built in 1899, is also the final resting place
for many of the biggest names of the golden age of the silver screen.
"I feel blessed to have had a very close and personal friendship with Bianca
that started many years before Betty Blowtorch formed," says guitarist
Sharon Needles. "What an incredible opportunity that we can all literally
be together to celebrate her life and the accomplishments of our great
band."
There have been powerful, attractive and talented women rockers in the past,
but few managed to captivate and charm both males and females the way this
Los Angeles quartet did during its heyday. Betty had a sassy swagger, a
sonic supremacy and a junkyard dog-like tenacity never seen before or since
from a rock band, female or otherwise.
"Betty Blowtorch was a really special band -- I am proud of all we
accomplished together and that our music is still being enjoyed so many
years later," says drummer Judy Molish. "Bianca meant a lot to us and I am
glad that we will all come together at the screening to honor her memory."
Bianca Butthole, Blare N. Bitch and Sharon Needles met in 1993 while backing
up singer Thom Bone in Butt Trumpet, the first punk rock outfit since the
Sex Pistols to sign a worldwide record deal with EMI Records. When Tipper
Gore and her cronies sank their teeth into the one Butt Trumpet song sung by
guitarist Needles, it gave the band more exposure than misfortune but also
caused turmoil within the band. After Butt Trumpet's lead singer abruptly
quit in the middle of a show, Bianca took over lead vocals (that night!) and
was an immediate crowd pleaser.
Eager to put Butt Trumpet behind them and follow their own vision, they
formed the all girl band Betty Blowtorch in 1998 with new drummer, Judy
Molish. Their chemistry and instrumental potency was undeniable. The band's
no-bullshit approach and boisterous live shows were not only wildly
entertaining, but their punk meets metal anthems were also catchy as hell
and often shamelessly hilarious to boot. With such songs as "Shut Up and
Fuck," "Size Queen and "I Hate Dresses," Betty said what many girls think
but are reticent to say out loud. As the front person for the band, Bianca
was known for being sexually aggressive, raw and confident on stage. She
often started shows with her famous tag "We‚re Betty Blowtorch and we‚re
from Hollywood and we don‚t give a fuck!"
Guns N‚ Roses/Velvet Revolver bassist Duff McKagan produced the bands
controversial debut EP "Get Off", whose title song is a loud and angry
affront to Bianca's former stepfather for his molestation. The EP gained
them a rabid following around the country. However, the EP received limited
airplay being deemed too "hardcore" for many radio outlets.
In 2001 the band finally began garnering the mainstream attention they
deserved with their now classic Foodchain Records release "Are You Man
Enough?" Which leads us, inevitably, to the sad part of the Betty Blowtorch
saga. The part that turned Anthony Scarpa's documentary about a vibrant and
promising all girl band blazing its own bold trail to success into a
tragedy. Amidst a very difficult tour, Bianca was killed in a high-speed
automobile accident in New Orleans. A passenger in a car driven by a
Chicago-area fan that had befriended the quartet, Bianca died instantly when
the car collided with oncoming traffic.
"Betty Blowtorch And Her Amazing True Life Adventures" is a glimpse into the
lives of a group who were as flawed as the rest of us. Childhood abuse,
drug use and relationship drama, it is all in there. Betty Blowtorch
channeled it all into something magical and fun and bawdy and badass. Betty
blew us away, and thankfully, through this movie they‚ll continue to do so
for decades to come.
Film Threat Magazine named the movie #1 of its "Top 25 Docs That Rock" and
gave the movie four stars, praising, "We dare you not to be moved by the
tragic story presented here. Once the film has ended, you can‚t help but
feel the tremendous loss documented." The American Film Institute hails the
film as "Honest, vulnerable, gritty and unafraid set against the backdrop of
one of LA's most prestigious and infamous punk bands. The film refuses to
be become melodramatic even when faced with death. The subject never becomes
saintly or smoothed over. Betty Blowtorch And Her Amazing True Life
Adventures‚ is a film every music-lover owes it to themselves to see."
"It's been a long time comin' ... the Betty movie is finally coming out on
DVD," says lead guitarist Blare N. Bitch. "Bianca will be there in spirit
and all of her friends and the band will be there too. I'm very proud of
Tony Scarpa and the work he did. Come on down and celebrate Bianca and Betty
Blowtorch. This is an event not to be missed."
"This movie is Bianca's legacy", concludes Bianca's sister, Victoria. "I am
truly grateful to Anthony Scarpa for being there to document, and taking the
time to create a feature film, which I believe shows a glimpse of how
incredibly special Bianca was. It means the world to not only myself, but
the whole family."
[Updated 12.20.05]
It's finally happening!
The special expanded edition DVD of "Betty Blowtorch and Her Amazing True
Life Adventures" will be released nationwide April 25 2006!
It will be jam packed with new interviews from all the surviving members plus the film maker. There will also be added live performances and music videos and a brand new expanded cut of the film featuring new interviews and never before seen footage.
The DVD will also include optional commentary tracks with Blare, Sharon, Judy and Anthony Scarpa. There will be a huge event in Hollywood California to kick it off the week prior to the release. Keep your eye on this site for more info in the coming months.
[Updated 12.30.04]
"Betty Blowtorch and Her Amazing Adventures" is coming to DVD in 2006! If you wish to be contacted when the DVD is available, send an email to twelverakes@hotmail.com and we'll keep you informed.
[Updated 12.30.04]
"Betty Blowtorch and Her Amazing Adventures" will screen The Reel Music Festival in Portland OR on Jan 14-15. Presented by the Portland Art Museum and the North West Film Center. Information can be found here: www.nwfilm.org [click on the Reel Music Fest link].
Spread the word!
[Updated 11.23.03]
New trailers are up in the Clips section!
[Updated 09.24.03]
'Betty Blowtorch and Her Amazing True Life Adventures' will screen in The 18th Annual Fort Lauderdale Int'l Film Festival on Monday, November 3, 7:30pm at the prestigious Cinema Paradiso.
[Updated 09.19.03]
'Betty Blowtorch and Her Amazing True Life Adventures' wins
the 'Audience Award' at the 2003 Silver Lake Film Festival.
Los Angeles' Leading Alternative Film Festival.
[Updated 08.28.03]
Film Threat picks 'Betty Blowtorch And Her Amazing True
Life Adventures' #1 in it's list of top 25 documentaries saying
'We dare you not to be moved by the tragic story presented
here.'
[Updated 08.13.03]
Betty Blowtorch will be featured September 16th at 7:30 PM at the 2003 Silver Lake Film Festival at the Gallery Theater at Barnsdall Park 4800 Hollywood Blvd. in Los Angeles, CA.
[Updated 07.02.03]
The AFI music documentary series was a huge success!
Betty Blowtorch And Her Amazing True Life Adventures sold out the the largest theater at the Arclight in Hollywood (425 people!). It was far and away the best attended film in the series. We know a lot of people were turned away at the door (Arclight says it was in the hundreds) so stay tuned to this page as we are weighing options for the next Los Angeles screening.
We will keep everyone informed of coming screenings in L.A. and beyond.
back to the Betty Movie Site
