BIG CITY DICK: RICHARD PETERSON'S FIRST MOVIE

Saturday, May 8, 6:00 PM, Charles Theatre 2

Director:Scott Milam, Ken Harder, Todd Pottinger

Cast: Richard Peterson, Muriel Peterson, Jeff Bridges, Johnny Mathis, Dean Deleo, Scott McCaughey, Young Fresh Fellows

Country: U.S.
Year: 2004
Running Time: 129 minutes
Format: Beta SP

 

This captivating documentary explores the world of Richard Peterson, a savant musician playing trumpet on the streets of Seattle and playing piano in bars frequented mostly by alternative rock bands. A very colorful character, Peterson spends his time feuding with another street musician, stalking local TV celebrities, befriending Jeff Bridges (the Son of Sea Quest), and co-hosting a radio show. Fueled by obsessions for Johnny Mathis, the TV show Sea Hunt, and production music from “The Golden Age of Television”, he has managed to release four albums and play with Stone Temple Pilots and the Young Fresh Fellows. Richard’s moment in the spotlight is short-lived, though, when he is confronted by the human cost of obsessions, revealing a dark family secret he has lived with his entire life. At times comical, at other times dark, and some times even darkly comical, Richard’s mental health, joy of life, and musical talent make him a fascinating, lovable character.

-- Skizz Cyzyk

Presented By: Scott Milam (director)
Scott Milam has 20 years of music videos, small films and industrials under his kilt. In 1995, he and Ken Harder, working as struggling musicians trying to make it during the Seattle Grunge Wave, had a chance encounter with Richard Peterson during his gig at Moe’s nightclub. This moment become the inspiration for their project. In 2002, Milam and Harder teamed up with Todd Pottinger, who was already making a documentary about Peterson. The trio’s combined forces produced a dazzling 150+ hours of material, which Milam painstakingly edited into Big City Dick: Richard Peterson’s First Movie.