A captivating journey into the world of a savant street musician, his lifelong search for love, and his struggle to find fame as a recording artist.

A street trumpeter and part-time guest on a local rock radio station, Richard fills his world with obsessions. This includes "Sea Hunt" (and the "Son of Sea Hunt", Jeff Bridges), the "Golden Age of Television" production music, (which inspires four albums/CDs produced with help from the Seattle music scene), stalking local TV celebrities, and a fanatical interest in Johnny Mathis. The unique relationship between Richard and Mathis (the Pop icon breaks his reclusive silence in the film) is the catalyst for one of Richard's most remarkable and heartfelt compositions, "Love on the Golf Course".

Between his street gigs and a stint as a piano player in a grunge club, mega-band "The Stone Temple Pilots" discovers Richard's music. Richard's moment in the spotlight is short-lived however, when he is confronted by the human cost of his obsessions, revealing the dark family secret he has lived with his entire life.

Richard Peterson is best known for composing “My Second Album,” the first track off the Stone Temple Pilot’s Purple. But to the Seattle community, Peterson is the trumpet-playing, eccentric, musical savant frequently seen in front of the King Dome or on the streets of the city.

Big City Dick follows Peterson through nearly a decade of his life, depicting his many personal oddities as he seeks a regularly paying gig as a musician and composer.

Directors Scott Milam, Todd Pottinger and Ken Harder, had begun documenting Peterson’s life separately until 2002 when they realized combining forces would create a greater retrospective for the film. While at first they didn’t agree on how the film should be presented, Big City Dick allows the experience of Richard to reveal itself rather than including narration.

A tricky character study, since Peterson is clearly not your average guy, Milam was very aware of the ethical issues involved with the project. “We didn’t want for people to just make fun of him,” Milam explains. “So we did edit out things that could be potentially hurtful. Like his pants’ crotch being ripped, stuff like that.” However, it was clear from the onset that Peterson was excited about making a movie. “He’s a born showman,” says Milam. “He wanted to make the movie about his life. When he first saw it he was glued [to the screen]. He started to count all the personalities featured.”

Slamdance Festival: Best Feature Audience Award

Directed by Ken Harder, Scott Milam, Todd Pottinger

Big City Dick web site: www.bigcitydick.com