Lil Bub & Friendz

Lil Bub & Friendz
Release poster
Directed byAndy Capper
Juliette Eisner
Produced byJuliette Eisner
CinematographyDanilo Parra
Edited byDevin Yuceil
Production
company
Release date
Running time
65 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Lil Bub & Friendz is a 2013 documentary directed by Andy Capper and Juliette Eisner.[1] It stars Lil Bub and her owner Mike Bridavsky and looks at cats on the Internet, Internet memes and viral videos.[1] Lil Bub & Friendz premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 18, 2013, and won the Tribeca Online Festival Best Feature Film.[1][2][3]

Synopsis

The film follows Lil Bub and Bridavsky as they visit other "cat-lebrities" and go to the first Internet Cat Video Film Festival in Minneapolis, Minnesota.[1][4] The film has appearances of Keyboard Cat, Nyan Cat and Grumpy Cat and an interview with their self-described "meme manager" Ben Lashes.[2][5][6][7]

Cast

  • Lil Bub as herself
  • Mike Bridavsky as himself
  • Keyboard Cat (Bento) as herself
  • Grumpy Cat as herself
  • Ben Lashes as himself, a self-described "meme manager"

Production

Development

Eisner's original pitch was a video short about "crazy cat people" at the first Internet Cat Video Film Festival.[8] Eisner contacted Lil Bub and Bridavsky because Vice worked with them on an earlier video.[8] Capper and Eisner knew that Lil Bub would be the star as soon as they met her.[7][8] They decided to make a full-length film after seeing the turnout of 10,000 people at the festival in Minneapolis including travelers from New York City, China and Seattle.[5][9] Filming took five months.[8]

During filming Lil Bub had a serious health episode but recovered.[6][9] Bridavsky called it "a very scary week"[6] and Capper said "this is going to be the most depressing cat movie ever."[9]

Promotion

Vice created three movie posters including a parody of Jaws with Lil Bub looking up at a swimming woman and a shot from her photoshoot with Bullett Magazine.[10][11] Complex ran "Lil BUB Week" leading up to the premiere.[12]

Release

Tribeca Film Festival

Lil Bub & Friendz premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 18, 2013.[1][2] It was also screened at the Tribeca Drive-In and Tribeca Online Festival.[1] Lil Bub, Bridavsky, Capper and Eisner attended the Tribeca Drive-In outdoor screening at the World Financial Center Plaza on April 20.[1][9][13] Lil Bub did a petting and photo session.[9][13] Festival co-head Robert De Niro met Lil Bub at the Director's Brunch on April 23 after co-head Jane Rosenthal quipped to The Hollywood Reporter "I keep saying Little Bub needs to meet Big Bob."[14][15] Lil Bub & Friendz won the Tribeca Online Festival Best Feature Film.[3]

Screenings

Lil Bub & Friendz was screened at the Seattle International Film Festival.[16] It was shown at Metro Chicago on October 10 raising $1,800 for Tree House Humane Society.[17][18][19]

Online

The movie was released online on the VICE website on September 6, 2013.[20][21]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Lil Bub & Friendz | 2013 Tribeca Film Festival". Tribecafilm.com. Archived from the original on 2013-04-26. Retrieved 2013-04-25.
  2. ^ a b c Makarechi, Kia (2013-03-18). "'Lil Bub & Friendz' Trailer: From Meme To The Movies (VIDEO)". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2013-04-08.
  3. ^ a b The Editors (2013-04-25). "Here Are Your TFF 2013 Award Winners | Tribeca". Tribecafilm.com. Archived from the original on 2013-04-30. Retrieved 2013-04-29. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  4. ^ Ryzik, Melena (2012-08-31). "Internet Cat Video Film Festival, at Walker Art Center". The New York Times.
  5. ^ a b Angela Lutz (2013-04-11). ""Good Job Bub": Lil Bub and Friendz Turns the Internet Cat Video Into an Adorable Documentary - Page 1 - Film+TV - Los Angeles". LA Weekly. Retrieved 2013-04-19.
  6. ^ a b c Rothman, Lily (2013-03-07). "'Lil Bub & Friendz': Internet Cats, Behind the Memes". Time. Retrieved 2013-04-19.
  7. ^ a b Sykes, Tom (2013-04-19). "Lil Bub, The World's Cutest Cat, Stars In Documentary Lil Bub & Friendz at Tribeca". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
  8. ^ a b c d "Interview: Director Juliette Eisner Discusses the Making of "Lil BUB & Friendz"". Complex. 2013-04-19. Retrieved 2013-05-02.
  9. ^ a b c d e Zakarin, Jordan (2013-04-21). "Lil Bub Movie: Tribeca Film Fest Screening Delights Fans". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2013-04-22.
  10. ^ VICE Staff (2013-03-06). "Lil Bub & Friendz Premieres at Tribeca! | VICE United States". Vice.com. Retrieved 2013-05-02.
  11. ^ Price, Kathryn. "The Many Faces of Lil Bub, the Most Famous Cat on the Internet". Bullettmedia.com. Archived from the original on 2013-04-25. Retrieved 2013-05-02.
  12. ^ "Presents: Lil BUB Week!". Complex. 2013-04-15. Retrieved 2013-05-02.
  13. ^ a b Wortham, Jenna (25 April 2013). "Lil Bub Hits the Tribeca Film Festival - NYTimes.com". Artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2013-05-14.
  14. ^ "Robert De Niro Met Internet Kitty Lil Bub and Took This Amazingly Adorable Photo". E! Online. 24 April 2013. Retrieved 2013-04-25.
  15. ^ Zakarin, Jordan (2013-04-09). "Tribeca: Robert De Niro, Lil Bub and New York Flavor". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2013-04-25.
  16. ^ "SIFF stereotypes challenged with cat-studded 'Lil Bub & Friendz' - Blog". MyNorthwest.com. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
  17. ^ "Tijdlijnfoto's". Facebook. Retrieved 2013-10-11.
  18. ^ "Metro | Chicago | Concert Calendar". Metrochicago.com. Archived from the original on 2013-10-12. Retrieved 2013-10-11.
  19. ^ "Tijdlijnfoto's". Facebook. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
  20. ^ "Tijdlijnfoto's". Facebook. 2012-07-04. Retrieved 2013-09-09.
  21. ^ "Lil Bub & Friendz". VICE. 2013-08-27. Archived from the original on 2013-09-09. Retrieved 2013-09-09.