Oscilloscope Laboratories to SHUT UP AND PLAY THE HITS
New York, NY (April 2, 2012)—Oscilloscope Laboratories announced today that it has acquired North American rights to SHUT UP AND PLAY THE HITS, a Pulse Films production directed by Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace, which documents the final days of LCD SOUNDSYSTEM. SUAPTH had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and an encore presentation at last month’s SXSW Film and Music Festival. The film will be released in special one-night-only engagements in theaters nationwide this summer. Tune in later for more program information.
If it’s a funeral… let’s have the best funeral ever.
One year ago today, LCD Soundsystem played its final show at Madison Square Garden. LCD frontman James Murphy had made the conscious decision to disband one of the most celebrated and influential bands of its generation at the peak of its popularity, ensuring that the band would go out on top with the biggest and most ambitious concert of its career. The instantly sold out, near four-hour extravaganza did just that, moving the thousands in attendance to tears of joy and grief, with NEW YORK magazine calling the event “a marvel of pure craft” and TIME magazine lamenting “we may never dance again.” SHUT UP AND PLAY THE HITS is simultaneously a document of a once-in-a-lifetime performance and an intimate portrait of Murphy as he navigates both the personal and professional ramifications of his decision.
Adam Yauch, Beastie Boy and Head of Oscilloscope said, “Perhaps having grown up in a band for most of my life – a band that formed when I was 16 years old – and having released our first record when I was still in high school, this film addresses so many questions. For instance, it can be pretty clear when a band starts, but perhaps less so when it ends, or how it should end. In that sense, it”s brilliant of James to end it in such a definitive way.”
SUAPTH was produced by Lucas Ochoa and Thomas Benski of Pulse Films and James Murphy. Keith Wood, Christine Vachon, and The Creators Project executive produced. The deal was negotiated by David Fenkel of Oscilloscope and Mark Anker at WME Global.
For more information about the film visit or follow SHUT UP AND PLAY THE HITS on Twitter @LCD_SUAPTH.
About Oscilloscope Laboratories:
Oscilloscope Laboratories is a film production and theatrical distribution entity launched in 2008 by Adam Yauch of Beastie Boys. Yauch modeled the company after the indie record labels he grew up around, choosing films and then selecting and marketing them films with the same artistic integrity with which they were made. The company, which is an extension of Yauch’s recording studio of the same name, has an in-house DVD distribution and production arm, and its paper packaging is reminiscent of the heyday of LP record jackets. All of the company”s plastic-free DVD packaging is printed on FSC Certified 80% post-consumer waste paper and produced in a carbon-neutral hydroelectric plant.
Currently in release is Lynne Ramsay’s Golden Globe® Nominated, WE NEED casino TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN starring Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, and Ezra Miller. Upcoming films include Todd Louiso’s HELLO I MUST BE GOING (August 10th), Ron Fricke and Mark Magidson’s SAMSARA (August 24th), Andrea Arnold’s WUTHERING HEIGHTS, Matt Ross’s 28 HOTEL ROOMS, Ryan O’Nan’s BROOKLYN BROTHERS BEAT THE BEST and Jeff Orlowski’s CHASING ICE.
About Pulse Films:
Founded in 2005 by Thomas Benski and Marisa Clifford, Pulse Films is a talent management and multidisciplinary independent production company creating content for film, television, advertising, music video and online.
Pulse’s film department produces high-quality and compelling feature length documentary, drama-documentary and fiction. The company’s most recent film productions include Take That: Look Back Don’t Stare, Werewolves Across America, Libertines: There Are No Innocent Bystanders, Lovelace and Southern’s Grammy® Nominated No Distance Left To Run and the forthcoming Who Is Dayani Cristal starring Gael Garcia Bernal.
The film department at Pulse is headed up by Lucas Ochoa. Together, Thomas Benski and Lucas Ochoa work as a producing partnership across all of Pulse’s feature length projects and were the team behind SHUT UP AND PLAY THE HITS.
About The Creators Project:
Launched in 2010, The Creators Project is an ongoing global initiative dedicated to supporting artists in realizing their creative visions through technology. The project includes an online community and video channel, TheCreatorsProject.com, a content creation studio, and a global event series. To date, there are more than 150 Creators involved, hailing mostly from seven countries (United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Brazil, South Korea and China) along with other artists from around the world. This year we are proud to have been able to celebrate and support the work of directors Dylan Southern, Will Lovelace, and LCD Soundsystem.