WELCOME
TRAILER
STILLS
KEY ART
ONE
SHEET
MUSIC
PRESS:
PRESS RELEASE
SHORT SYNOPSIS
THE MAKING OF PEEPS
BEHIND-THE-SCENES PHOTOS
CAST & CREW
ADVENTURE WITH A FRIEND...
DISTRIBUTION:
SALES SHEET
TIP SHEET
SYNOPSIS
DEMAR ENTERTAINMENT
COMPLETE CREDITS
STREET TALK
CONTACT:
310.288.3659
contact@thaPeeps.com
INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION
After just completing postproduction in March 2005, Peeps was
accepted into five international film festivals. Peeps premiered
at Dances With Films (DWF) at Laemmle Theaters in Los Angeles
on May 12, 2005. Peeps was selected out of 1,400 entries.
DeMar music compositions have been performed live and recorded with a publishing compilation at MIDEM 2005 in Cannes, garnering international interest. "Hauntingly alluring — tantalizingly sensual and hypnotic," reviews Tobi Knight of Clear Channel's Talk 2 Knight.
EXPERIENCE
Peeps is Tom DeMar's second film. His first is a documentary
of teen street rhymers facing a tragic circumstance, and how they emerge
and develop over the next five years of their lives (in
postproduction). He is also writing a new full-length feature.
Peeps is based on the successful play, Danny & tha Peeps, which DeMar wrote, composed, cast and directed. After the music play enjoyed a three-week run on Hollywood's Theater Row in December 2004, it was broadcast live on KXLU FM radio in Los Angeles, from the campus of Loyola University, on December 20.
DeMar interviewed at KXLU FM studios.
DeMar performed original shows in New York City with Broadway principals such as Lafayette Harris, music director for Bring In Da Noize! Bring In Da Funk!, and acted, directed, and wrote on and off-Broadway, honing his "torn t-shirt" skill at The Actor's Studio, Ensemble Studio, Atlantic Theater, Naked Angels, and Lincoln Center. He has a BA from Penn State University.
DeMar studio recording on classical guitar.
RESEARCH
Peeps began as a teen discussion about communication breakdown
in school. DeMar added his experiences with the youth outreach effort
Victory Over Violence
and from researching current world events. His training in Shakespeare
and the classics stirred his fascination with the double-meanings in language,
especially youthful idioms, which are often expressions to assert individual
opinion, rebellion, and self-respect.
Some actors were cast from the Los Angeles Job Corps, lending to the production's authentic urban feel. The choreographer is an official Soul Train dancer. An original theme beat was produced by DeMar in collaboration with two teenage up-and-comng dub composers Hassani and DeShtolz.
OPINION
Says Peeps writer/director Tom DeMar, "A friend invited
me to visit with a Soka
teen performing group to write something new that expressed the students’
frustrations at an inability to communicate with their teachers. Peeps
was written for that group. The street language and feel are from talking
with young friends, current music, and discussions with real rhymers and
g's."
"Deeper issues are ignored by the media. Open minds with a common interest of peace begin with education. It's time to let it out, through the unrestrained expression of youthful honesty, through rhyme, through dance, and through song. We each hold a key for a nonviolent peace and to end the mournful contradictions that plague our world." Tom's original intent was to finish and perform Peeps before the November 2004 national elections.
Tom DeMar claims not to be an authority on street or hip hop culture, and yet he's been there by simple twists of fate, which allowed him to appreciate and open his heart. He recently sang "I Have A Dream," at Los Angeles City Hall for a retirement party for John Mack Day, the Urban League President who's widely regarded as having positively impacted living conditions in inner-city Los Angeles neighborhoods through coalition-building, and economic and education initiatives that help those less fortunate.
