George Hickenlooper: Despite his death, series about cousin John Hickenlooper moves forward

Yesterday, we told you about plans to dedicate the Starz Denver Film Festival to George Hickenlooper, a filmmaker who died in Denver on Saturday, only days prior to the fest premiere of his latest film, the Kevin Spacey vehicle Casino Jack. But another project near and dear to Hickenlooper's heart...

By Michael Roberts

November 2, 2010

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Yesterday, we told you about plans to dedicate the Starz Denver Film Festival to George Hickenlooper, a filmmaker who died in Denver on Saturday, only days prior to the fest premiere of his latest film, the Kevin Spacey vehicle Casino Jack. But another project near and dear to Hickenlooper's heart -- Hick Town, a limited series about his cousin, Denver Mayor and gubernatorial candidate John Hickenlooper -- will reportedly live on.

That's the word from the Hollywood Reporter, which quotes Donald Zuckerman, George's longtime producer, who'll be in Denver on Thursday for Casino Jack's screening at the Denver FilmCenter/Colfax, as saying "the last two episodes chronicling the rise to power of Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, George Hickenlooper's cousin, will go forward."

Although Hick Town, which focused on the mayor during the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, hasn't sold to date, George never gave up on it. During Westword's last communication with him, during late July, he wrote that he expected to distribute Hick Town on DVD "sometime later this year." In addition, he continued, "I am hoping to come back to Denver soon to shoot more footage of John on the campaign trail. I did that earlier this month. Traveled with John and shot footage for his website."

If Hickenlooper manages to hold off American Constitution Party candidate Tom Tancredo and becomes Colorado's governor despite the pro-Republican tidal wave that seems to be underway, Hick Town would have a new hook -- and George had been hoping to capture a potential victory from behind his camera. As Zuckerman told the Reporter, "We owe it to him to finish the series as he was looking forward to covering... election day."

Look below to see a 2008 video by George simultaneously promoting Hick Town and Barack Obama's candidacy; it doesn't contain footage of the mayor dropping an f-bomb, which appeared and then disappeared from a trailer back in 2009.

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

Contact: Michael Roberts

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