( ENSPIRE Entertainment ) Documentary about the Legendary Talk-Radio Comic Legend Phil Hendrie Debuts on March 15
ENSPIRE Contributor: Grace Chai
Freestyle Digital Media, the digital film distribution division of Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group, acquired North American video-on-demand rights to the documentary HENDRIE. The film will be available to rent/own on all digital HD internet, cable, and satellite platforms worldwide, as well as on DVD, starting on March 15, 2024. Crafted as a comedy, the documentary HENDRIE tells the story of legendary talk-radio comic Phil Hendrie, focusing on The Phil Hendrie Show, which existed from 1990 to 2006 in various radio markets.
The film chronicles the life of a radio personality who satirized the very medium he was part of using a distinct and innovative method that hasn’t been attempted before or since. Some of show business’s funniest and most interesting names—including Bill Hader, Judd Apatow, Kevin Pollak, Henry Rollins, Derek Waters, Dana Gould, Wayne Federman, and many others—weigh in on Phil Hendrie’s legacy. The aforementioned guests narrate the film, and Phil himself contributes as he drives through the streets of his hometown Oxnard, California in a long black 1976 Cadillac Eldorado. He tells honest—and sometimes hilarious—stories of his career as a radio nomad, and the difficulty of relentlessly pushing forward in a medium that didn’t always share his often bizarre artistic vision.
HENDRIE was directed by Patrick Reynolds and produced by Reynolds and Jordan Brady.
“What a gift it’s been to swim around in the insane mind of Phil Hendrie these past years,” filmmaker Patrick Reynolds said. “He’s a one-of-a-kind creative force and I’m still floored that I got to run around talking to people about how cool Phil Hendrie is.”
Producer Jordan Brady, who was also a former standup comic and documentary filmmaker, commented on the momentousness of working with Hendrie.
“Hearing guys like Bill Hader and Judd Apatow speak with such reverence about Phil Hendrie is eye-opening,” he said. “For instance, when Simpsons writer Dana Gould talks about how everyone in the Simpsons writer’s room would speak in awe about Hendrie’s show, we understand what a massive talent he is.”
Freestyle Digital Media negotiated the deal to acquire HENDRIE with Glen Reynolds of Circus Road Films. Watch the trailer for HENDRIE here, and visit its website through this link.
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