TOM DELONGE UNVEILS FIRST TRAILER FOR HIS NEW MOVIE
Tom DeLonge has never aspired to be a movie star, but the founder of punk-pop band blink-182 is eager to make his debut behind the camera.
Thursday morning, DeLonge unveiled the first trailer for the feature-length “Monsters of California,” a sci-fi-tinged coming-of-age movie that marks his directorial debut. He had previously produced “Love,” a 2011 sci-fi drama that featured a score by DeLonge’s current band, Angels & Airwaves.
A Poway native who coleads the band Angels & Airwaves, the singer and guitarist co-wrote “Monsters of California’s” semi-autobiographical screenplay with Ian Miller. The storyline focuses on DeLonge’s passions for paranormal activity and skateboarding, accented by some of the teen hijinks that inspired a number of blink-182’s songs.
The cast includes Tony Award-nominee Richard Kind, Emmy Award-nominee Arianne Zucker, Sports Illustrated model Camille Kostek and newcomers Jack Samson, Jared Scott and Jack Lancaster. You can watch the trailer below.
“Anyone who knows me, or follows me on social media, knows I’m no stranger to the paranormal, which is why directing ‘Monsters of California’ was a nobrainer,” DeLonge said in a statement issued Thursday.
“The film takes my fascination with the unexplained, combines it with the skate culture I grew up a part of, and tosses in my ridiculous sense of humor that millions got to witness during my blink-182 days.”
“Monsters of California” has been at least five years in the making, with at least one title change alone the way.
In 2017, DeLonge announced he would direct “Strange Times,” a film about a group of rebellious group San Diego skateboarders investigating extreme paranormal activity.
It was scheduled to be cowritten with Ben Kull, his collaborator on the 2014 animated short film, “Poet Anderson: The Dream Walker,” and to feature music by Angels & Airwaves, the San Diego band that teams DeLonge with multi-instrumentalist Ilan Rubin of Nine Inch Nails.
Asked in a 2017 U-T interview how autobiographical “Strange Times” would be, DeLonge replied: “That was my life — skateboarding and music! And, to this day, I wish I still skateboarded. I look at skateboards and wish I could (ride), but I’d break my (expletive) neck!
“The movie is about North County and San Diego, and most likely will be filmed here, on Highway 101 in Encinitas. Encinitas will be on the big screen! I It’s a coming-of-age, Spielbergmeets-John-Hughes movie, but with a hard ‘R’ rating. It will be really funny, but scary, and touch on what it’s like to grow up here.”
“Strange Times” has now evolved into “Monsters of California” and features music composed by DeLonge, Angels & Airwaves co-leader Ilan Rubin and Rubin’s brother, Angels & Airwaves producer Aaron Rubin.
DeLonge currently is seeking a distributor for “Monsters of California.”