Once upon a time, Spike introduced a show called Blue Mountain State that would later become one of my most re-watched addictions. No matter how many times Thad Castle ran the cookie race or hit Golden Arm with his truck, the BMS Goats hilariously reveled in their asinine, drug-fueled absurdity.
Sure, it’s fratty, brobeans comedy on steroids, but creators Eric Falconer and Chris “Romanski” Romano cover all their bases (or manage all their assignments?) rather well for a show built on relentless immaturity. That was until Spike unceremoniously axed the show after Season 3, and BMS fans were left without Alex Moran’s senior year.
It was then that Falconer, Romanski, and the faithful Goats started a Kickstarter fund to save Blue Mountain State, and they were met with an offering of $1.9 million from their devoted fanbase. This outpouring of generosity is why we now have the newly-released movie, Blue Mountain State: The Rise Of Thadland – a damn funny film that hopes to bring BMS back into our homes with more regularity.
It was in New York City that I was able to meet with Eric Falconer and Romanski, along with their Thadland co-writer, Thad Castle himself, Alan Ritchson. We chatted about the usual – golden dildos, naked zip-lining, pocket pussies – but also about the phenomenon of Blue Mountain State, and how its faithful fans rallied to make a feature film happen.
These three warriors went through hell to keep BMS alive, and the gratitude shown towards their fans is something to admire. When you’re reading each response, please understand how genuinely thankful these men are for their Mountain Goat Army – a bond as strong as Thad’s love for cocaine.
Read on to learn about the trials and tribulations of indie filmmaking, along with plenty of juicy tidbits about your favorite BMS moments and characters!
We Got This Covered: To start things off, can you run through some of the highs and lows of crowdsourcing? How did it help shape Blue Mountain State: The Rise Of Thadland?
Alan Ritchson: How long is this interview? [Laughs]
Eric Falconer: The biggest high was being able to personally connect with the BMS fanbase. That was very cool, and still is. We’re doing our second premiere screening [back on February 3rd], and we have over 220 Kickstarter backers coming to see the movie tonight, followed by some celebratory drinks. That’s pretty incredible, to actually watch a movie with your fanbase and then celebrate with them.
Romanski: A fanbase who helped pay for the movie, too.
Eric Falconer: They all feel ownership in the movie, and that’s pretty incredible.
Alan Ritchson: Our genuine appreciation and adoration for the fans, and our desire to create this intimate community, has a lot to do with the success of the BMS brand. It’s a symptom of our love for the fans. We love that this intimate thing that started as a core group of hardcore BMS fans is now millions strong, but we’re still finding ways to reach and connect with everybody. That’s the best part.
Eric Falconer:Â I would say the lows, or the biggest low at least – it’s the good and the bad. We had 24,000 people donate, which is incredible. We raised almost $2 million dollars, but now we have to keep 24,000 people happy. We feel a humongous sense of obligation to them. From sending out t-shirts and sunglasses, to making sure people have their invitations to the premiere. We literally did the whole Kickstarter thing by ourselves…
Romanski: This is it. We were up at 5:30-6:00 every single morning, and didn’t go to bed until midnight. It was like Groundhog’s Day.
Eric Falconer:Â It was a full-time job for months. Then we hired a fulfillment company who we thought were going to take care of us, and let’s just say they didn’t. We essentially became our own fulfillment company, and we’re still, to this day, a year-and-a-half later, at a storage space in Pasadena a couple times a week shipping out boxes of t-shirts.
Romanski: We look crazy out there. Like three homeless dudes living out of a storage facility.
Eric Falconer: Drenched in sweat, eating sandwiches off the floor. Trying to match labels to their orders.
Published: Feb 9, 2016 01:32 pm