Themes: Religious Zealotry, Message From God, Miraculous Events
Main Cast: Keith Gordon, Amanda Plummer, Bob Gunton, Barton Heyman, Lily Knight
Release Year: 1985
Country: US
Run Time: 90 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Keith Gordon plays a oddball loner who builds a very special kind of TV set. He claims he can tune in to images of Heaven, and all evidence points to the veracity of his claim. Gordon's eccentric religiosity attracts the attention of wacko evangelist Bob Gunton, who'd like to snatch the TV for his own purposes. Director Mark Romanek went on to hone his unique style with a number of high-profile music videos. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Jane Hoffman - Emitly; Reathel Bean - Fred Savins; Kitty Mei Mei Chen - Li; Eugene Lee; Uma Ridenhour
Credit
Mark Romanek - Director, Emily Paine - Editor, The The - Composer (Music Score), Johnny Cash - Composer (Music Score), Brian Eno - Composer (Music Score), Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Composer (Music Score), Japan - Composer (Music Score), Cynthia Sowder - Production Designer, Jeff Jur - Cinematographer, Amy Ness - Producer, Cynthia Sowder - Set Designer, Keith Gordon - Screenwriter, Mark Romanek - Screenwriter, Elvis Presley - Featured Music
The film, which was written by the film's star Keith Gordon and director Mark Romanek, was Romanek's directorial debut. Romanek went on to direct various music videos and the 2002 film One Hour Photo, starring Robin Williams. Static was filmed in Page, Arizona and Lake Powell, Nevada. To date, Static has not received a legitimate DVD release.
A quirky, out-of-of place worker (Keith Gordon) at a crucifix factory in the Bible Belt invents a device he claims can show pictures of Heaven. Discouraged and confused by the inability of those around him to see anything but a screenful of static, he charismatically hijacks a bus of friendly elderly people in order to get media attention for his invention.
