Festival Bound

Megan_Bra_320x240 As you read this, I'm on my way to Louisville, Kentucky  today to attend the Derby City Film Festival, where my film REMAINDERED is screening this Sunday and where our leading lady, Sebrina Siegel, is up for Best Actress Honors. 

As fate would have it, REMAINDERED is an official selection of the Beaufort International Film Festival, which is also being held this weekend, way out in South Carolina. Since I can't be in two places at once,  our film will be represented there by PJ Starks, our DP, and Rodney Newton, one of our producers. 

I chose to go to the Kentucky festival because our movie was shot in Owensboro and it's a chance to finally have the cast-and-crew screening we never had. And it's a rare opportunity to be addressed as Colonel Goldberg everywhere I go (yes, I am an official Kentucky Colonel).

By the way, REMAINDERED has just been picked as an official selection of the Beverly Hills Shorts Film Festival, which is being held in Beverly Hills in March.  At least I won't have to catch a plane for this one…but with LA traffic, it will probably take as long for me to get from my house to Beverly Hills as it does to fly to Louisville. 

I will report back and let you know how we fare in Louisville and Beaufort.

REMAINDERED Gets Some Ink

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The Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer reported today about REMAINDERED being chosen as a finalist in two film festivals so far. The article said, in part:

"Remaindered," written and directed by veteran television writer Lee Goldberg, has been selected to be screened at the Derby City Film Festival, which is Feb. 18 to 20 in Louisville, and the Beaufort International Film Festival, which is Feb. 16-20 in Beaufort, S.C.

The film premiered in mid-October at Bouchercon, an internationally known mystery convention that attracts mystery writers, fans and others in the mystery world.

"It's gotten greater feedback than I ever anticipated," Goldberg said. "Greater positive feedback."

"Remaindered" was shot over a September weekend at locations in Owensboro and Henderson. Daviess County residents Rodney Newton, a producer of the film, and P.J. Starks, the film's photography director, did most of the editing on the project.

Most of the crew were local residents, and the cast was composed of local and regional actors. Newton said he was pleased that the movie has been selected for film festivals.

"We put a lot of work into this," he said. "It's good it's going to get out there to a wider audience (more) than anything else."

The cast and crew plan on attending the Derby City Film Festival. It will be the first time they seen a screening of their movie together.

Newton said he was thankful to the people who made the film possible, including the RiverPark Center and the individuals and businesses who provided places to shoot scenes.

[…]Goldberg filmed "Remaindered" in Owensboro after participating in the 2008 and 2009 International Mystery Writers Festivals at the RiverPark Center.

Goldberg called "Remaindered" a great calling card for the mystery festival. The festival was canceled in 2010 because state funding came through too late for RiverPark officials to raise matching funds. The RiverPark Center hasn't decided if it will host the festival in 2011.

Goldberg said another city will decide to host the festival if Owensboro doesn't.

"This film is like a Goodwill ambassador for Owensboro and the mystery writers festival all around the country," he said. "I just hope that the folks in Owensboro continue to support the festival."

Goldberg said he's been flattered by the film's reception, not just for himself, but for the cast and crew as well.

"I was just lucky to be the captain of the ship," he said.

Many thanks to reporter Beth Wilberding for the great article.

REMAINDERED is Chosen

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I'm thrilled to report that REMAINDERED has been chosen as an official selection of the 2011 Derby City Film Festival in Louisville, Kentucky. 

Our film is scheduled to screen Sunday, February 20th, 2011 at 1pm in the Eifler Theater as part of their "Kentucky Filmmaker" program.  Over 59 films representing 5 countries were selected for the festival. 25 are international films, 7 are World Premieres and 2 are US premieres…and we are honored to be among them.

Tickets and passes will go on sale January 1st at 10 am Eastern Time via the Festival Website. 

Stinging and Accomplished

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Author and screenwriter Stephen Gallagher wrote about REMAINDERED today and to say I am flattered would be an understatement. He says, in part:

Last night I got to see Lee Goldberg’s stinging and accomplished short film Remaindered, and I’m going to recommend it to you without reservation. Yes, I know Lee, and no, friendship has nothing to do with it.

The tale’s as well-turned as you’d expect from a pro, and it takes imaginative flight from a reality that’ll be recognised by anyone who’s ever faced the world over a stack of books at a signing table. OK, so not everyone’s done that. But it’s about those dying-inside times when your soul and your sense of self-worth are laid bare for strangers to pick at, and there’s no escaping them as they oblige.

It’s the mise-en-scene, to get fancy about it, that takes it to another level. The small-town Kentucky locale is perfectly textured for the story, and Lee’s choices are all spot-on. From the opening shots you’ve real sense of a place and its people. A special shout-out here for Todd Reynolds as Detective Bud Flanek, whose easy John Goodman-like screen charisma left me surprised to see that he doesn’t have a long resume of Hollywood character roles.

 

Wow. Thank you so much, Stephen!

Hitchcockian

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Media critic Bill Peschel had some great things to say about REMAINDERED on his blog today, singling out the performances of Sebrina Siegel and Todd Reynolds for praise. 

“Remaindered” is a tight 20-minute tale of a writer, Kevin Dangler (played by Eric Altheide), whose first novel was the peak of his career and his second was, in the words of the book’s best review, “a 778-page suicide note for a once-promising writing career.” Dangler is reduced to traveling to backwater towns, flogging his third book with signings in grocery stores.

There, he meets Megan, the town librarian with a passion for first editions and those who write them. She’s played by Sebrina Siegel, who gets a lot of mileage out of a black bra and a line like “read to me.”

Needless to say, their meeting doesn’t end well, but I won’t say more. It’s a neat mystery short-story, complete with a twist ending that loops back to the beginning, and in-jokes mystery fans will appreciate, including a “Monk” reference.

My favorite performances were by Siegel, who played the librarian with the right mix of fannish admiration and seduction, and Todd Reynolds as the detective. He had a small role, but he made it memorable (it didn’t hurt that he was given some very sharp lines).

If someone ever decides to retool Alfred Hitchcock’s old TV show, “Remaindered” would fit in nicely. It reminded me of one of the mystery story’s great pleasures: of following a tightly plotted tale with unexpected plot twists and a satisfying conclusion. It’s difficult to pull off, but I’m happy to say that Lee succeeded.

Thanks so much, Bill!

Read To Me

Megan Bra JPG ver 1 J. Kingston Pierce at The Rap Sheet blog has some very nice things to say about REMAINDERED, the short film that I write and directed in Kentucky. He says, in part:

This may be the only time you’ll ever hear the dictate “Read to me” uttered quite so seductively. Telling more about Goldberg’s plot would spoil its many criminal and comic delights. And even though I immediately caught the mistake on which this story’s conclusion depends, I never lost interest in its unfolding. Remaindered may not be a mammoth Hollywood production, but Goldberg–whose TV-writing credits include Diagnosis: Murder, Monk, Spenser: For Hire, The Cosby Mysteries, and A Nero Wolfe Mystery–has invested no less attention in its crafting because of that.

Remaindered has evidently been entered in several film festivals, but I hope it also receives wider distribution. It’s a quirky, fun picture that members of the crime-fiction community are sure to enjoy.

And cop-turned-author Paul Bishop also said some very nice things to say, including:

Remaindered is a smooth piece of business – not only crisply directed and acted, but with a sense of humor that resists the temptation to go over the top offered by the film’s content.

We haven’t heard back yet from any of the film festivals that we’ve submitted to…but we have our fingers crossed.  I hope they like the movie as much as Paul and the Rap Sheet did.  Thanks for those great reviews!

Remaindered Raves

Bill Crider has some nice things to say about my short film "Remaindered" on his blog today:.

This twenty-minute film is funny, sharply observed, and very well put together. It might be a low-budget production, but it doesn't look it. The actors are having fun, and Goldberg gets the most out of every shot.

I'm pleased to say he's not the only author who enjoyed the movie. Here's some of the other post-Bouchercon feedback that we've received:

“REMAINDERED is brilliant! Hilarious, suspenseful, with booksigning sequences that induce PTSD… bravo! And the music was great, too,” Barry Eisler, bestselling author of “Hard Rain.”

“REMAINDERED was such a hoot. I loved everything about it and had so much fun. More awesomeness from Lee Goldberg,” Sara Gran, author of “Dope” and “Come Closer.”

“REMAINDERED was so well done on some many levels,” Naomi Hirahara, bestselling author of “Blood Hina.”

“The story was great and the actors were outstanding,” Joel Goldman, author of “No Way Out.”

“I loved REMAINDERED!” Daniel J. Hale, co-author of “Red Card.”

“I enjoyed REMAINDERED immensely,” Hal Ackerman, author of “Stein Stoned” and co-chair of the screenwriting department of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television

“One of the highlights of Bouchercon – the world mystery convention – was watching Lee Goldberg's independent film REMAINDERED. If it comes to a film festival near you, don't miss it. It rocked the house,” Julie Kramer, author of “Silencing Sam.”

“A marvelous script. Haven't heard that much out loud laughter from an audience in a long time,” Robert S. Levinson, author of “Ask a Dead Man.”

The short film is not yet available to the public — we've submitted it to a bunch of festivals around the country and are waiting to see how that plays out first. However, if you are a blogger or print reviewer and are interested in receiving a screener, you can contact me at lee AT leegoldberg.com for a download link or a DVD.

UPDATE 10-24-10: Paul Bishop also blogged about REMAINDERED today and he said, among other things:

"Remaindered is a smooth piece of business – not only crisply directed and acted, but with a sense of humor that resists the temptation to go over the top offered by the film’s content.

Remaindered taps into the nightmare known to many writers, the sophomore slump – when the follow-up book to a bestselling debut novel goes in the tank. In Remaindered, our intrepid author is trying to survive his sophomore slump by schlepping a third novel – this time self-published – through a series of signings in small backwoods venues because nobody else wants to give the book shelf space or attention – nobody else that is except the author’s biggest fan.

Remaindered is a hoot, a low budget production with a big heart and exceptional values. A twenty minute film that keeps you holding your breath until it explodes with laughter.

Thanks so much, Paul!

Bouchercon Day 3

Sara Gran, me, Scott Phillips Another lively day at Bouchercon… it started with a panel on the legacy of Robert B. Parker. My fellow panelists were Joseph  Finder, Dick Lochte, Mark Coggins, Declan Hughes, and Russel McLean. The panelists and the audience seemed to really enjoy it.  Afterwards, a guy came up to me and said "You look like the most hated politician in San Francisco… but now that you're standing, I see that you're fatter."

I thanked him.

The panel was  followed by a signing. A woman asked me to sign her program and, as I was doing so, she said "I really enjoyed your books back  when they were good."

I thanked her, too. Oh, these dumb comments remind me of one that came up when I was "in conversation"  with William Link. A guy in the audience stood up and asked Link "When you created COLUMBO, how much were  you influenced by Huckleberry Finn?"

"Not at all," Link said.

"This brings up an interesting question," I said. "When you created MANNIX, how much were  you influenced by CATCHER IN THE RYE?"

Link was still laughing about the Huckleberry Finn question  today when I signed with him after the Parker panel.

After the signing,  I grabbed a sandwich at Boudin and got a little writing done…then hung out in the bar for a while, talking with David Hewson, Bill Crider, Lynn Sheene, Doug Lyle, Christa Faust, Robert Ward, and probably a dozen others throughout the afternoon. 

But the highlight of the day  and the conference for me was the screening of my short film REMAINDERED tonight. The room was packed with authors, editors, agents, booksellers and fans. And they all seemed to love  it. I couldn't have asked  for a better  first screening. It really was the perfect audience for the film. I just wish the cast and crew could have been there to enjoy it with me. 

The screening  was followed by a lively Q&A and then I headed up to the bar, where I talked ebooks and the future of publishing with Penguin/NAL senior editor Sandra Harding…and later with Mulholland  Books editor John  Schoenfeller and agent Josh Getzler. I also caught up with Sara Gran, Scott Phillips, Joe Konrath, Cameron Hughes, Megan Abbott, Allison  Gaylin, and several other authors.

All in all, it was a terrific Bouchercon for me. I'm so glad that I  came up for it. 

(Pictured: Sara Gran, me, Scott Phillips)

Open Up Those Golden Gates

Kevin Signing 4 I am heading up to San Francisco this morning for Bouchercon, the world mystery conference. I’m on a bunch of panels, including one on self-published ebooks and another on the legacy of Robert B. Parker, but what I am really looking forward to is my on-stage conversation this afternoon with COLUMBO writer/producer/co-creator William Link and the screening on Saturday of my short film REMAINDERED. I’ll try to post a few reports from the conference while I am up there.

(Pictured: a screen grab from the film)