Warmed-Over Krautrock

What do you do when you love music, and music doesn’t love you back?

It’s a question that haunts Walt (JIM TAVARÉ), the owner of Essential Music, an indie record store in the heart of the L.A. skinny-jeans district of Silver Lake. Walt is all too aware of how his punk-rock glory days are fast fading in the rear-view... even as he can’t help recounting war stories to his much younger employees: Lysette (KATE DALTON), who has to contend with a parade of customers convinced she’s the Record Store Girl of their dreams; Chris (DEREK JAMES ELSTRO), the lead singer of Troubled Meats, a band poised for takeoff, and maybe not just in Chris’ mind; and well-meaning music nut Duane (ADAM WEBER), who’s a little too fluent in Rock Critic for his own good.

With a love of all types of music evident in every shot, WARMED-OVER KRAUTROCK is a comedy for anyone who’s ever spent too much time obsessing over playlists — and for anyone who’s ever been driven crazy by that type of person, too.

  • Mark Tompkins
    Director
  • Mark Tompkins
    Writer
  • Mark Tompkins
    Producer
  • Ming-Tzu Lee
    Producer
  • Carly Miller
    Producer
    Rogue: The Western
  • Jim Tavaré
    Key Cast
    "Walt"
    Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Californication, The Sketch Show
  • Kate Dalton
    Key Cast
    "Lysette"
    Bleecker, Even After Everything, Togetherness
  • Derek James Elstro
    Key Cast
    "Chris"
    GLOW, Red Light Diaries
  • Adam Weber
    Key Cast
    "Duane"
    Life Cycle, Varsity Punks
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 21 minutes 53 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 12, 2020
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    RED
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival
    Los Angeles
    United States
    February 19, 2020
    World Premiere
    Official Selection
Distribution Information
  • Gravitas Ventures
    Distributor
    Country: United States
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Mark Tompkins

“Over the years I had taken Film Studies classes, made an experimental short film (which no one ever needs to see), worked as a freelance movie reviewer, written screenplays, and drew storyboards for network TV shows.
"But the idea of making a feature had always struck me as far-fetched. When I used to live in San Francisco I saw how film crews would completely take over a neighborhood with trucks and equipment. That didn’t appeal to me.
"Fast-forward to a few years ago, when I was working with some undergraduate film students. I was inspired by their work ethic, the way they would bulldoze through obstacles in making their shorts. And I had reached a now-or-never moment with my own filmmaking aspirations. Armed with an early draft of Warmed-Over Krautrock, I enlisted a crew of recent grads (everyone working for a SAG day rate) and we figured out how to make a feature together.
"The process was 100 percent collaborative. I really enjoyed seeing other people build on my ideas and make them better. If the movie turned out well, it’s due to the crew, the DP [Luc Delamare], the composer [Carly Miller, also a co-producer], the editor [David Carlos Valdez], and above all the cast.
"There were moments where I was sure I was going to lose my mind. And I smashed my credit rating into a thousand tiny pieces. But all I do now is think about when I might get to do it again."

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

"The script for WOKR was inspired in part by being on the outer-, outermost periphery of the music world, knowing musicians in San Francisco, L.A. and New York, and hearing about their bands’ triumphs and misadventures (more the latter than the former).
"I couldn’t help noticing that the music world is often presented in very sentimental, emotional terms in movies and TV, which is understandable because it’s so bound up with people’s inner lives and dreams. But if you have any experience with the music industry in real life, there’s no mistaking how brutally unsentimental it is.
"Living in L.A., I’ve also noticed how musicians dwell in the shadow of Hollywood. It feels like musicians are expected to say yes to everything, to get exposure in any way possible. In WOKR, we see this in the singer Chris’ ambivalence about promoting himself on social media and how he flirted with the idea of reality TV.
"Almost all of Chris’ scenes and dialogue are based on things I’ve heard and seen in real life. Through Chris, Duane and Lysette we also touch on how the sexual politics around the music biz, and music stardom, are fast changing, and you better be aware of that. If not, Lysette will be there to bust your chops."