World Premiere Announced

Monday, March 14, 2011
We're very happy to announce that "Revenge of the Electric Car" will have its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on Earth Day, April 22nd, 2011 in New York City! We heard the news while getting started with our sound mixing and color correction, which we will wrap up just in time to deliver the film straight from the editing room to the festival.

Tribeca announced that “Revenge of the Electric Car" will make its grand debut during the opening weekend as its Spotlight feature documentary. We’re especially excited to be premiering at such a prestigious festival. “For many people, this is year 1 of the electric car,” said director Chris Paine. "For us to be playing at Tribeca in New York on Earth Day is a great sign that the electric car revolution is more than just a great story, it's our future with less imported oil."

"Revenge of the Electric Car" tells the story of how the plug-in car has come back from the dead in a few short years. With gas prices rising around the world again in monetary and environmental terms, many drivers want alternatives. “Revenge of the Electric Car” went behind the scenes for 3 years with 3 carmakers and 1 converter as they race to bring their electric cars to market.

After the Earth Day premiere, the film will have a handful of other screenings at the Tribeca Film Festival. Tickets to those screenings will go on sale at the festival’s website here.  Stay tuned for more details on the festivities surrounding the premiere- it’s going to be a great event!

BTW, Thank you for overflowing our email box with messages about when the film will be showing near you! So far the only answer we can give is “as soon as we can!” After our premiere at Tribeca, we’ll be mapping out our release strategy to bring the film to the cities with the most requests for it first. If you haven't already please request the film here and pass it along. The future is electric!

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It's a call to electric arms

Monday, November 29, 2010
We recently announced that the Revenge of the Electric Car trailer will premiere on Facebook when we reach our 10,000th fan.  Since then, we've been watching our fan count increase at a dizzying rate, and as of this blog entry we're already well over halfway there!  Since last weekend was Thanksgiving, we'd like to say that we're so thankful to our loyal fans for spreading the word about the trailer on Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and good old-fashioned call-your-friends-and-tell-them-about-it methods.  And we're just as thankful to our new fans for joining us- welcome to the Revenge of the Electric Car family!

We know everyone wants to see the trailer as soon as possible, and we want to post it as soon as we can.  If you've been an electric car advocate for a while, then you know what it's like being the underdog, and our push for 10,000 Facebook fans is our underdog moment in the film industry.  Just as electric cars are now starting to pick up momentum in the auto industry, our film needs to generate its own momentum as well.  Right now we're handling all of the promotion and distribution for the film with our own production company and we want to continue this plan so we can bring the film to more places on our own.  Which means that we have to collect all our fans and hear from them!

So if you haven't already done so, please "like" us on our Facebook Page, tell your friends, spread the word through your EV clubs and associations, and get ready for the trailer!  We promise it will be worth the wait!
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First week with a Tesla

Friday, November 28, 2008
Even I was surprised. In my rear view mirror I watched a Los Angeles Sheriff's car pull out of the Chevron and turn on both its blue and red flashing lights to pursue me down Ventura Boulevard. It had only been hours since I eased out of the Tesla dealership in West Los Angeles and already I had a date with the police. This was not the Burbank police who arrested Alexandra and Colette in 2005 for trying to stop EVs from being crushed.  Nevertheless, I was a bit nervous as three officers approached.  I had conducted a couple of acceleration 'experiments' during my drive from Santa Monica to Hollywood via Malibu, but it just seemed too soon to get pulled over. "Your car is missing plates," the officer said.  I started to point out the registration taped to the window, but he interrupted. "This is the electric car?" 

"Yes" I said.  And with that he burst into a rave about the car to his fellow officers. "This is the Tesla that I told you about. It does zero to 60 in under 4 seconds, and it's totally electric." Obviously this was not a bust. "How far has it been going on a charge?"  (I didn't know yet.) 

"Does it really work competely without gasoline?" (Yes.) "Have you heard what Arnold or Clooney think of their cars?" (I'm guessing they are very happy.) "How much noise does it make." (Just a whirrrr.) And finally, "Do you like it?" (Ahh...that would be yes.) The car is lightning fast — an instant throwback to the purr of the EV1 electric car — only this time there is almost universal agreement that the car is damn sexy.  Case in point? It's the first time valets at the Roosevelt Hotel or any other hotel (demigods of the LA car scene) have ever asked me to leave an electric car parked up front.  "No need for a valet ticket — just leave it parked up here by the front entrance." 

"And sir, no need to stand in line to get into the pool area — just go right in."  How long have I lived in Hollywood?!  When I returned to the car an hour later, a crowd of people had gathered around. So much to talk about. My first electric car, twelve years ago, turned me from a car-hater into a car-lover, and the Tesla only heats this up more.  The Roadster is faster then anything on the road, including the young guy in a fuel cell SUV who improbably challenged me to a Saturday night race on Hollywood Blvd. Yes he was joking. The Roadster is definitely a sports car — low to the ground, tight handling, and quick. You've got to pay attention to avoid SUVs, spine crunching pot holes, and drivers who let their cars drift into you as they stare. 

One thing easy to avoid is the gas station. The flashing charger port on the car (insert phallic symbol here) makes the Star Wars light sabre look dull.  And early results suggest a range of 175 to 200 miles, although I've never gotten close to running out of power. Specs are 4 hours for a "complete charge" but  I've been getting what I need in about 45 minutes. Night time grid charging is cheapest ("$1 a gallon") and the whole process will be even greener come the end of January when our roof (finally) gets solar panels. The last two weeks have flown by in a second.

Highlights have included giving the visionary LA Councilman Eric Garcetti a ride. Eric cameoed in Who Killed the Electric Car and has driven EVs for years so I let him drive it himself. His verdict: Awesome. I've also had a bunch of great interviews including Croatian TV (yes, Nicola Tesla would be proud), and French journalists doing a story about "Revenge of the Electric Car." Midlife crisis be damned, I'd rather have this Tesla than any Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lotus or Porsche. Those cars are just as expensive and far far more polluting. Complaints? None. I just wish everyone could have this experience for themselves and more plug-in cars start filling the roads everywhere.
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