Punk's Dead, or Is It?

Victoria Watson
Staff Writer

  If you haven't already seen the movie SLC Punk by James Merendino you should probably get started because there is already a sequel in the making going by the name Punk's Dead. SLC Punk came out in theaters 1983, a story about punk culture in Salt Lake City and the friendship between two Punks, Sevo (played by Matthew Lillard) and Heroin Bob (Michael Goorjian), two guys fresh out of college that decide to take their great education and live an anarchist lifestyle.

The Plot

  The story takes place 18 years later in Salt Lake City. Though Bob has died, the main character of the story appears to be his son whose mother is of course Trish, his name is Ross, a Death Rock (Goth/Punk) kid. Follow Ross as you see his observations and misadventures in life all while finding out what happened to all the previous characters affected by Bob's death including Stevo, the previous main character of SLC Punk and Bob's best friend.

“Why would SLC Punk need a sequel?”

  James Merendino responded to the questioning of Punk's Dead in Twitter post saying “Why SLC P Sequel? I got tired of f**king Babyboomers saying 'James,that punk thing you were into was cute, but thank God you grew out of it.'” The movies are based off of Merendino's teenage and years and so are some of the characters seen in the movie. This movie shows what happens to a Punk's as they grow older in the Mormon town of Salt Lake City, all while giving you a view into the creator's past life.

 Fan Support

   It’s all thanks to the fans of SLC Punk for making things happen. Using a site called Indiegogo.com fans helped fund for the movie buy sending in money, buying and selling SLC Punk merchandise, making advertisements and a fan support page to help get word of the movie out into the world. Of course none of this could be done without James Merendino himself, who is very hands on with his fan base even offering them parts in the movie, which seems rightly when you understand how much they helped make things possible. “It’s going to be a wonderful experience to be in the sequel,” says Annabeth Gish, who plays the role of Trish, in response to the efforts of fans. “Thanks so much for your support, everyone! Let's get this movie made.”

Punk's Dead should be out by the near end of 2014.