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a new documentary from Bob Ray
“a ballsy feature-length documentary...
a totally unapologetic profile of the ubiquitous [Austin] hero.”
-Vice Magazine
"a psychological treat"
-Phoenix New Times
“an outrageous and hilariously seedy journey into the Austin underground...
[Total Badass] bravely goes where no documentary film has gone before.”
-Flavorpill
“genuinely funny and touching”
-Monday Magazine
“[Total Badass] is a rough film, and that's a good thing: Holt comes across like a lost John Waters' collaborator, or like a real-life version of Nicolas Cage in Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans.”
-Austin Chronicle
“Holt is a modern day Texas punk rock version of a Kerouac character; speeding through life on whatever fuels him in a non-stop flurry of writing, drug dealing, singing, stage diving, love making, and guinea pig raising.”
-Austin Daze
directed by Bob Ray
produced by Kera Dacy, Bob Ray, Mia Cevallos
edited by Bob Ray and Andrew Segovia
featuring Chad Holt
with the music of: The Crack Pipes, Fruntbutt, BFE, Migas,
Honky, Lions, Peelander-Z, Wine and Revolution and more
TOTAL BADASS LOGLINE:
An insanely funny and wickedly debaucherous new documentary about crime, sex, art, drugs, music and life in the Austin underground.
TOTAL BADASS SHORT DESCRIPTION:
Texas filmmaker Bob Ray catapults the Austin subculture onto the big screen, reveling in its inspiring, unique and deliriously offbeat glory. With his latest documentary, “Total Badass,” Bob Ray takes you on an outrageous and hilariously seedy adventure into the Austin underground music and arts scene via wild man-about-town, social deviant, musical/stunt performer, notorious sex fiend, Guinea pig enthusiast, writer-publisher, father, weed dealing felon, hip-hop impresario, trashcan jumper and local maniac Chad Holt. Exploiting life as his unwitting canvas, Chad's take-no-prisoners artistry assaults funny bones, political correctness and common decency as he strives to leave a creative scar on the planet. Strap in for the riotous ride and follow this icon of the Austin counterculture as he blazes through his final year of felony probation, living his own brand of civil disobedience while manning the helm of a life-altering family crisis and going out smokin!
TOTAL BADASS LONG DESCRIPTION:
“Selling weed is the glue that keeps my life together financially…I can’t survive without it. It’s like magic,” declares Chad. “That’s how l pay to live on the planet.”
Living an illegal life under the heavy hand of the law, Chad practices his self-styled brand of civil disobedience. He deals weed openly in public and lives life by his own standards, laws be damned.
Scruffy Chad slouches on his messy bed in his cramped, unkempt room.
“As far as a local writer, I’m the best one. Hands down,” he proclaims.
In TOTAL BADASS, director Bob Ray explores the exploits of Austin’s singular Renaissance man, Chad Holt. Humorist and publisher, band leader, drug dealer and father, but perhaps most well known for the size of his manhood, Chad baffles family and cronies as well as onlookers. With his apparent goal of attracting the attention of the community (or the cops, or females of any description) Chad revels in the admiration, repugnance and confusion he engenders.
“I’m a total badass. That’s what the film is about.”
TOTAL BADASS follows and confronts Chad in his day-to-day activities, from holding court, to court appearances. Chad even turns a camera on himself for an “idio-mentary” effect. Filming himself pilfering a retiree’s medicine cabinet Chad announces, “Apparently I’m in charge of the movie now.”
Raising hell while on felony probation, Chad is more than an amusing and bewildering spectacle. He’s a publisher in the dying days of print, a performer risking life and limb for his art, an American outlaw, and ultimately, a single father who must provide a stable foundation for his children.
“I took a year off to raise guinea pigs with my girlfriend. And do cocaine,” Chad divulges.
Following Chad as he fulfills his final year of probation, TOTAL BADASS documents Chad’s life in the heyday of his chaotic existence and infamy. This bedlam eventually clashes with his domestic life, leading to Chad’s eventual transformation into head of household. Chad’s ex-girlfriend and mother of his son loses her home to foreclosure and Chad winds up with custody of both his son and step-daughter. In a touching twist, the perennial playboy and rabble-rouser suddenly finds himself a single dad desperately in need of a lifestyle change to accommodate his newfound situation.
TOTAL BADASS shows us a person, an artist, struggling to leave his creative mark. The extreme unconventionality of Chad’s lifestyle contrasts with a fundamental human truth: People long for the acknowledgement that they matter. In every facet of his life, Chad seeks validation of his artistic worth. Despite his unusual and at times, blatantly criminal ways, viewers will appreciate his efforts to establish himself. Audiences can relate to the essential truth in the tale of Chad’s yearning for recognition and acceptance.
“Whether or not I always do the right thing? I probably don’t. But, even if you abandoned the ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ side of it, I still try and make it entertaining.”
--Chad Holt
Bob Ray bio:
Under the Austin, Texas based CrashCam Films moniker, Bob Ray catapults the Austin counterculture onto the big screen, reveling in its inspiring, unique and deliriously offbeat glory. Frequently fusing comedic elements into tense and dramatic scenarios, his films push cinematic boundaries while challenging and delighting viewers.
Ray’s work includes the award winning stoner-comedy feature Rock Opera, the critically acclaimed roller derby documentary Hell on Wheels, myriad short films and music videos for Nashville Pussy, Riverboat Gamblers, Fuckemos, Golden Arm Trio, The Phantom Creeps and more. Bob Ray frequently collaborates with musical pioneers like …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, Brown Whornet and Butthole Surfers, and he has worked with The Polyphonic Spree, Black Eyed Peas, Eels, Jerry Cantrell, Blur, Supergrass, The Rapture, Junior Brown, Jurassic Five, Puffy, Modest Mouse, Pete Yorn, Clinic, Starsailor, Don Walser, The Shins, Ozo Matli, Stephen Malkmus, Hank Williams III, X-Ecutioners and many other artists.
Ray’s raucous side-splitting animated shorts include the animated series APESH!T and Platypus Rex as well as several one-offs. Flying under the CrashToons banner, these ‘toons are festival favorites and have been featured on Turner Network’s SuperDeluxe.com, Playboy.com and Comedy Central’s Atom.com.
This year Bob Ray brings you the new documentary Total Badass, a wild and hilariously seedy venture into the Austin underground with man-about-town, social deviant, musical/stunt performer, sex addict, writer/publisher, father, weed dealing felon and local maniac Chad Holt.
pics of Fruntbutt by Jerry Milton
