Obscured Releasing, a new distribution company founded by film veterans RJ Millard and Bill Gentzler, has acquired North American distribution rights to Starman. The film, directed by Academy Award nominee Robert Stone, is scheduled to be released on VOD platforms in March following a national theatrical tour in February.
This documentary is about Gentry Lee, a legendary NASA engineer and best-selling science fiction author who has explored space science, robotic exploration, and the human imagination. At age 82, he came to a revelatory conclusion. Among other highlights of his space engineering career, Lee worked on the Galileo mission from 1977 to 1988, the Stardust and Deep Impact missions to comets in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and had technical oversight responsibility for the Mars rover that landed in 2004. Lee co-authored the books “The Cradle” and “Rama II” with Arthur C. Clarke, and appeared in Carl Sagan’s 1980 series “Cosmos.”
Following its world premiere at SXSW, “Starman” has also enjoyed strong film festival screenings, including screenings at the Seattle International Film Festival, Docklands Film Festival, and most recently, the Woodstock Film Festival. Along with Stone, the film was produced by Ray Rothrock and Keith Haviland.
Obscured Releasing was founded in 2025 by Millard, a public relations expert with strong ties to the indie community, and Guentzler, who most recently led acquisitions at Gravitas Ventures. It has acquired several films, including “Westhampton,” starring Finn Wittrock, and the animated documentary “Endless Cookies.”
“With Starman, director Robert Stone expands audiences’ understanding of the universe by skillfully examining Gentry Lee’s extraordinary life and monumental career. In the film, Lee himself offers answers to universal questions while opening up otherworldly possibilities for us all to ponder,” said Gentzler and Millard.
“We are very excited to be working with Obscure to bring ‘Starman’ to general audiences and are honored to be one of their first acquisitions. With their deep knowledge and experience in the ever-changing realm of documentary promotion and distribution, we are confident that this film will be a hit,” said Stone.
The deal was negotiated by Stone with Gentzler and Millard of Obscure Releasing.
