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Jack Has A Plan is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV, Android smartphones, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Tablet, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, and Vizio.
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About the Show
"Jack Has A Plan" is a documentary about musician and storyteller Jack Tuller. Jack carries himself through the world like a celebrity despite having no actual claim to fame beyond his affable personality. Jack’s career as a budding San Francisco Bay Area performance artist was forever altered in 1994 when he was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor and given six months to live.
"Jack Has A Plan" tells the story of the following 25 years, as Jack dodges one bullet after the next—but the tumor, an existential threat, persists. How is it even possible for somebody to be terminal for two-and-a-half decades?
Jack turns his brain surgeries into a Left Coast creative documentary-performance project complete with experimental movies, music, diaries, and spontaneous funky dance moves.
The central narrative of "Jack Has A Plan" begins when, at 55, Jack is finally running out of luck. He literally hears angelic voices and trumpets in his head. Jack can no longer work and loses the wherewithal to manage creative projects. So, he enlists his close friend, filmmaker Bradley Berman, to document his life story—before it’s too late and his memory and capacity for language retreat forever.
This award-winning documentary, a film festival favorite, reveals universal truths about mortality, as well as the range of available options for how to approach the inevitable. "Jack Has A Plan" is a compelling personal movie that explores the nature of love and friendship. It’s also an inspiring story about self-determination, creativity, and transcendence.