As the  Blue Like Jazz  bus tour treks across the country with its director Steve Taylor, author Donald Miller, and star Marshall Allman in tow, widespread support and praise for the film is burgeoning amongst a diverse crowd. College students, pastors, celebrities, nuns, and critics are all responding to the film with laughter, celebration and high praise.
 
"I wasn't expecting this level of enthusiasm — long queues of early-arriving fans, packed theaters, lots of hugs and hi-fives afterwards," comments Taylor about the response the film has received at screenings from coast to coast. "Viewers consistently tell us this is a breakthrough movie, and unlike anything they've seen or expected."

Here's just a small sampling of what people are saying after viewing the film:
 
"When I first saw this movie, my hope was that every parent of a graduating senior and college freshman would see this with their child and that they would discuss it afterwards. This could make a huge difference in helping these students transition, and parents understand, the things their kids are struggling with. It would be great for those of us mentoring these students to see it and dialogue with them as well." - Mike Gaffney, VP Young Life College
 
"In a culture that perpetually castigates faith and organized religion, Blue Like Jazz gives us a new, refreshingly honest perspective. This is an intelligent tale of love, pain, forgiveness and redemption that is buoyant and full of hope."
-Darren Whitehead, Teaching Pastor, Willow Creek Community Church, Chicago, IL
 
"Powerful!"  - Paste magazine, which also called Blue Like Jazz " one of the 30 most anticipated films of 2012"
 
"Blue Like Jazz, a provocative and realistic look at Christianity….an exceptional movie with moments of dialogue worthy of Aaron Sorkin” - Westword, Denver, CO

"Blue Like Jazz changed a lot of things for me. It gave me permission to be honest and caused me to believe that my story and the characters inside it were not small things. We often say that To Write Love on Her Arms is an attempt at an honest conversation. It began with a story and I don't think it would exist if not for Blue Like Jazz." - Jamie Tworkowski, To Write Love On Her Arms
 
"The filmmakers have done a masterful job bringing a modern Christian classic to the big screen, and Marshall Allman establishes himself as a rising star." -Mark Moring, Pop Culture Editor, Christianity Today
 
"I really loved the movie! It's definitely not 'safe for the whole family' and has some "real world" situations missing from other Christian themed films. There were several things in it that might be offensive for some believers to see. But that can be good sometimes...to challenge us and to help us to ask questions about our faith, where we stand in our relationship with God, and what we truly believe. Great story!" -Mac Powell, Third Day
 
"Because Blue Like Jazz is a movie about Christian spirituality and specically the person and work of Jesus, EVERYONE should see this movie with someone, or many someones, to kickstart a conversation about Jesus."
- Pastor Kim Skattum, Crossroads Baptist Church, Denver


“Each week, the real life struggles heard on my show challenge your thoughts on life and faith.  Blue Like Jazz will challenge you in the same way! This film moved me. I truly enjoyed it.” - Dawson McAllister, host of the nationally syndicated radio show Dawson McAllister Live
 
"...this is the first truly honest college/campus/coming-of-age film that doesn’t pretend young people are NOT talking about God and religion!" -  Sr. Helena Burns, media nun
 
"In total, the story works — and not just because the characters are believable, the music is great, and the message is sincere and relevant. People feel strongly about Miller and his story, and they will have strong feelings about his movie. Feel about it how you will. It’s a story that needed to be told." -  Christian Piatt, Sojourners.com, HuffingtonPost.com
 

….the movie successfully explores themes of forgiveness, authenticity, and the question of God’s existence…. the effective storytelling aspects of Miller’s book create a well-structured narrative. Quality cinematography and a complementary soundtrack make the film fun to watch. - WORLD magazine
 
 "Just as Donald Miller's bestselling 2003 memoir sought to redefine Christianity for a hipper, looser generation of believers, so this likably low-key adaptation of "Blue Like Jazz" tries to deviate from the earnest, preachy norms of so much faith-based cinema….the film also abstains from any overt message-mongering; if it has a lesson to impart, it's that spiritual transformation begins from a place of inward-looking humility, of owning one's own shortcomings before decrying anyone else's." - Variety
 
"This movie stands on its own. It's quite funny, touching, realistic, and diverse in that you WILL find at least one scene or catchy line that will forever resonate with you. The acting was so perfect with great casting... The book that changed lives for the better will now be a movie that changes even more lives."  IMDb Author:  craigoh-324-907841 from Texas

"Just like the Scriptures address mature themes insightfully for mature audiences, so will believers who participate in culture-making actions, when addressing mature themes.  That's what's happening in Blue Like Jazz.  Its not shocking at all as just another movie.  But when put on screen by such Christian culture icons as Steve Taylor and The Don, I found it arresting and something I had to deal with. Above all, this is truly a work of art through which people who happen to be believers have chosen the medium of film in order to explore ideas of beauty, truth and wonder in a unique and effective way." - Dr. Mike Moses, founder and lead pastor of  Lake Forest Church in Huntersville, NC.
 
Following the film's Official Selection to premiere at the South-by-Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival, top media outlets are starting to showcase the film and tell of its road to the big screen, including  CNN,  USATODAY, the Huffington Post and Religion News Service.
 
"Spending thirty days on the road showing this movie helped me believe my faith experience is anything but unique," says Miller. "My guess is there are millions of us. I think this film will create a large community of people who can finally admit they live in the space between faith and doubt, the church and the world, and religion and a relationship with God."
 
Presented by Roadside Attractions, Blue Like Jazz opens in select markets across the country on April 13.

Roadside Attractions has acquired all U.S. rights to the film BLUE LIKE JAZZ. Directed and co-written by Steve Taylor (THE SECOND CHANCE) the film will have its World Premiere in the Narrative Spotlight section at the 2012 South-by-Southwest Film Festival before opening in theatres on April 13th. Lionsgate will handle all ancillaries including DVD, VOD and TV through their output deal.
 
Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller spent 43 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list and has sold over 1.5 million copies to date.  The semi-autobiographical story was adapted for the screen by Miller, Steve Taylor and Ben Pearson.
 
In the early days of pre-production, the project was forced to be put on hold due to lack of funding, prompting a website to be created by fans, for fans, called “Save Blue Like Jazz”.  The site urged loyalists to help raise money to fund the movie through Kickstarter, an online matchmaker for filmmakers and financial backers. The campaign went on to raise a record-setting $345,000, more than doubling the original goal of $125,000, allowing the film to start production.
 
In Blue Like Jazz, Don (Allman), a pious nineteen-year-old sophomore at a Texas junior college, impulsively decides to escape his religious upbringing for life in the Pacific Northwest at one of the most progressive campuses in America, Reed College in Portland.  Upon arrival, Reed’s surroundings and eccentric student body proves to be far different than he could possibly imagine from the environment from which he came, forcing him to embark on a journey of self-discovery to understand who he is and what he truly believes.
 
The film boasts a cast of rising stars including Marshall Allman (TRUE BLOOD), Claire Holt (THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, PRETTY LITTLE LIARS), and Tania Raymonde (LOST). Blue Like Jazz was produced by Taylor, J. Clarke Gallivan and Coke Sams for Ruckus Film.
 
Additional outreach and grassroots partnerships will continue to dominate the entertainment, college and faith oriented landscape in the coming weeks with a number of promotional activities:
 
SOUTH-BY-SOUTHWEST – Blue Like Jazz will have its World Premiere at the 2012 SXSW Film Festival on Tuesday, March 13th at the historic Paramount Theatre.  Film star and Austin native Marshall Allman is expected to attend along with Steve Taylor and Don Miller.
 
PROMOTIONAL BUS TOUR – Steve Taylor and Don Miller will kick off a 30-city bus tour on February 29th during which they will host screenings, events and discussions geared towards fans of the book and early supporters of the film.  Please visit: http://www.bluelikejazzthemovie.com/ for more information.
 
KICKSTARTER - 4500 Kickstarter backers on record, along with other fans and Blue Like Jazz followers are being organized into ‘street teams’ for the purpose of creating awareness for the film.  Over 5,000 supporters are already confirmed to participate with offline and online promotion impressions that are set to reach an estimated 2.5 million potential moviegoers.
 
RELEVANT – An unprecedented promotion with leading Christian culture media outlet RELEVANT commenced February 14th. The partnership includes promotion across all print, web, live event and social media platforms through the film’s opening.
 
CATALYST – Christian leadership organization CATALYST has been a supporter of the project at events in 2011 and will continue through its Spring opening. The film was featured for a select group of influencers at Catalyst East in October and will be featured at Catalyst West this April.
 
WORLD VISION – The international aid organization will support the film through the launch of its new “act:s” network of creative activism. The film will be a featured campaign on the February launch of this new initiative where followers will be challenged to host screening parties in opening weekend markets.
 
"Releasing a meaningful and smart film like BLUE LIKE JAZZ, which has a grass roots following from both the bestselling book and its successful Kickstarter origins, is a coup for Roadside Attractions," said Co-President Eric d'Arbeloff. "We look for our films to speak to many different audiences, and BLJ's story of college freshman's journey speaks to both a faith audience and a young audience in general."
 
"Roadside Attractions has been our first choice for a distributor ever since I told Howard and Eric about the project five years ago,” says director Steve Taylor. “They've got a great track record bringing eclectic movies to the widest possible audience, and we're thrilled to be partnering with them."
 
The deal was negotiated by Howard Cohen on behalf of Roadside with Taylor and V.T. Murray for Tennessee-based The Panda Fund on behalf of the filmmakers.