NEWS: Trailer and Festival Screening

Wednesday September 16th, "Beautiful Loser" opens the SoCal Film Festival.

All the information is here.

Adam Lamberg, Keith David and Bill Katt will be there, along with producers Steven Wolfe and Scott Hyman.

I'm bringing The Hot Little Number I Call Mrs. Nolte and looking forward to seeing everyone again.

We also have a terrific trailer which can be viewed here.

UPDATE: Festival Screening

Sorry it's taken so long to update this. My intent was to do so earlier but I forgot my password and username ... again. Then, SUDDENLY it came to me in a flash and so here we are.

The screening went very well. Of 200 films, ours was one of about 20 to sell out and one of the fastest to sell out. The festival directors said that had they programmed it sooner they would've added a screening or two.

The screening itself was most encouraging. A survey was taken afterwards and the film scored very well. 3/4's of the audience liked, and or loved it. There were a number of people very moved. A few women sitting near me were crying when the lights came up.

I was nervous going into the screening -- especially at such a big city festival -- that it would die. It didn't. I'm happy. The producers are happy. The festival directors are happy, and want to help us get it programmed elsewhere.

This festival experience was my first and an awful lot of fun. It was nice to hang out with the producers again, Steven and Scott, and the festival directors took very good care of us; taking us everywhere -- clubs, restaurants, making sure we had a ride wherever we needed. It was first class all the way. It was also exhausting. Some people live that life -- I prefer the visit.

I had most of Saturday afternoon to myself and used the opportunity to play tourist in Philly: I saw the Liberty Bell, Continental Congress, the Betsy Ross house, etc... I love all that corny stuff. To see where this great country of ours began was pretty amazing. To walk where those great men walked, equally so.

Festival Screening **SOLD OUT**

We received this rather surprised email from the Philadelphia Film Festival today:

Morning – just wanted to let you know that the screening for your film Beautiful Loser is sold out. It was kind of unexpected since we do significantly better with international films and American Indies with either stars (like last night with William H. Macy and The Deal) or films with a Philly connection. So it looks – on first glance – you have a film people want to see!

Sure hope it goes well. I won't be there. I'll be across the street getting drunk.

I hate Beautiful Loser. Oh, the movie's fine, it's what the movie does to me. I swear, I'm not even close to a neurotic with anything else in my life. Being a neurotic is an entirely new experience, and I hate it.

Festival Screening

Hello everyone. Sorry, it's been so long since I last posted, but there was nothing to say until now.

Finally, some good news. Beautiful Loser will have it's premiere screening at the Philadelphia Film Festival -- Friday, April 11th at the Ritz Theatre 2.

I'll be there along with the producers. Anyone in the area interested in attending can check out the festival here: http://www.phillyfests.com/pff/home.cfm -- on the right column there's a prompt which allows you to download the festival guide. We're on page 76.

Here's the write-up, which I think is an excellent plot summation of the film -- better than anything I've written.

In this fresh indie, three high school friends, flush with the promise of first love, each make a decision that sets the course for the rest of their lives -- decisions that will come back to haunt them 20 years later.

Secrets and decisions of the past haunt the lives of a well-drawn cast of characters in this drama that introduces us to a group of high school buddies before moving the action forward to reveal the characters two decades later. Reggie (Adam Lamberg) is the wild card of this group of friends. Perpetually single and lacking ambition, he is prone to making inappropriate comments to girls. When the object of his affection breaks up with her bad-boyfriend, Reggie clumsily asks for a date. Things almost happen, but not quite, and the promise of a kiss still haunts Reggie (Lenny Von Dohlen) 20 years later. On the other hand, Diego (Giancarlo Carmona) and Bonnie (Caker Folley), dated all through high school. But when Diego went to Mexico to help his family, Bonnie (Cynthia Gibb ) lost whatever faith she had in men. Now she's a tough lawyer with a young son and a husband she can't trust (John Schneider of Smallville.) when Diego (Eddie Velez ) returns and unexpected emotions surface. Finally, Morgan and Dennice were high school sweethearts who married as teens and are still happy together, but secrets suddenly overwhelm them. Tender moments and crisp storytelling make this indie a worthy festival offering . . Scott Cranin

If anyone has any question about the festival, or would like to send me money, my email address is: jjmnolte@hotmail.com.

There will also be another Los Angeles are screening sometime in April. I will let you know when that date firms.

I note that even though it's been 6-months since I last posted, this site is still generating an average of 7 hits a day. I don't know who you seven are, but I do admire the perserverence.

Screening, Monday the 24th

We'll be at the AFI building in Hollywood that evening. If you'd like to come, email me jjmnolte@hotmail.com

Me? I'm fine. Thanks for asking. Busy. As. Hell. in a good way with a rewrite and a ton of meetings. Heading to Universal in an hour -- going early as usual to take a gander around. Other than their wardrobe department I've never been on that backlot.

Most excited about a Happy Madison meeting coming up. That's Adam Sandler's company and I love what those guys do. They read a script and asked to meet with me so who knows? Of course, should The Mighty Rob Schneider show up I'll pass out from the vapors.

What else...? What else....?

I'm still doing movie reviews and was offered the job of editor. We'll have to work out money issues but if it goes as hoped that could be my ticket back to NC as I could work out my home in my underwear while eating cookies.

Graf...

I forwarded your note to Adam.

Sorry, I have nothing to report for the rest of you other than it's 104 degrees here. I know... You're gonna tell me it's at least it's a dry heat. Well, so's an oven.

I suck, I know...

I know I've been remiss in posting. But I've been buried. Good buried, but buried nonetheless.
No BL updates. We've submitted to festivals and have only heard and been declined by one. They said the film wasn't edgy enough. Knew we should've added that scene where we rape Dakota Fanning.

My action script is being budgeted now. That's interest at least. No small thing. If the planets align I'll be asked to do a rewrite to make it cheaper. But hell, to just get the news someone likes it enough to budget it made my week.

The film critic thing continues to be a dream job.

It's hot here. Unbelievably hot. I hate L.A.