Indie Fest USA - the Aftermath

Producer Anthony Sword and director Eric Naughton at Indie Fest USA.

Our screening at Indie Fest USA went very well. While not well attended we had a very enthusiastic crowd of fellow filmmakers there laughing all the way through.

Special thanks to my brother, Keith, and Joel Veenstra for attending the screening and supporting the film. It was Joel's first time seeing the film and he told me that he was really happy with how the film turned out and that it was great to see it on a big, huge theater movie screen (I'm paraphrasing, but accurate...).

Unfortunately, Anthony and I were unable to attend the closing night festivities due to scheduling conflicts. I later learned from Jeanie Clark, director of "Smalltimore" (the feature we screened with) and winner of the Best Director Award, that we were nominated for the Best Comedy Award. The award was won by "The Mel Bourne Ultimatum," an Australian film, but we were happy to receive the recognition.

Congrats to Jeanie! It was a pleasure meeting you, and best of luck to you with the rest of your festival run. Thanks also to Daniel Califf-Glick (director of "The Triumph of William Henry Harrison - an hilarious feature mockumentary) and Jamie Fessenden (director of "Boundaries of Attraction"). I'm looking forward to getting copies of your films!

Stay tuned for more news in the future... We anticipate a new festival announcement soon!

Eric

Indie Fest USA

"Cross-Eyed Dinner Theater Presents!" is an Official Selection in the Indie Fest USA film and music festival. The festival screens at the AMC 12 in Downtown Disney later this month. Our screening date is August 27th, the last night of screenings.

As soon as we have all the information, we'll post it here on the blog including ticket purchasing, festival website, exact screening time, etc... Check back soon for the updates!

Dances With Films Roundup

Cast member Mike Nelson, director Eric Naughton and producer Anthony Sword attend the Dances With Films film festival.

Our Dances With Films experience was quite good. As an alumni of the festival (with Mary/May in 2002), it was great to screen again at this awesome festival. DWF was held at the Laemmle Sunset 5 which was great, not because it's a block away from the Sunset Strip, but because it only took me 10 minutes to get there!

Our screening went well and we had a very good audience reaction, once they warmed up. We were the comic relief in the Short Film Group of Death. Out of the eight films, five were about death and one was a black comedy in which the main character is maimed in a hunting accident.

We were very well represented as Mike Nelson and Loren Lester showed up to see the film on the big screen. I could hear Anthony's kids screaming "Stella" a couple of rows away.

We saw a lot of great films and had a very good experience at the festival. I'm hoping many of you can attend the next one coming up soon...

Eric

Last Chance for Discount tickets

Today, June 4th, is the last day to get $10 discounted tickets for our JUNE 8TH, 5:00pm screening at Dances With Films. Tickets will be $12 for the shorts program we are in after today.

I'm hoping to see a whole bunch of you there!

~ Eric

Screening Announcement - Dances With Films

We will be participating in Dances With Films, a wonderful independent film festival right here in Los Angeles. For all of you who live in LA, this is a great opportunity to see "Cross- Eyed Dinner Theater Presents!" on the big screen. The festival is being held at the Laemmle Sunset 5 theaters at the corner of Sunset Blvd. and Crescent Heights, just east of the Sunset Strip.

As you know, we screened in the MOCKFEST recently. Our screening was nothing short of fantastic. We were part of a good lineup of short films and the audience reaction to our film was great. Everyone was laughing from start to finish, and people were even humming along with the music during the credits! Anthony, Leyla and I were joined by two of Leyla's sisters (one of whom came down from San Francisco for the screening).

Our Dances With Films screening will be on Monday, June 8th at 5:00pm. We are part of a short film program with a very good lineup of films.

You can purchase tickets directly from the Dances With Films website (it's easier and less confusing than buying through Laemmle's website). I have placed links to the screening schedule and our film's listing page on the left. Follow those links and you will easily find ticket information. (Unfortunately, I can't afford to buy tickets for everyone and DWF no longer provides comps to the filmmakers.)

I hope you can make it to the screening. There is nothing quite like the experience of an audience full of complete strangers enjoying your work!

Don't Miss Our MockFest Screening!

"Cross-Eyed Dinner Theater Presents!" will be part of the program for the closing night and awards ceremony for the 2009 Mockumentary Film Festival.

Our film will be screened with four other films. Check out the lineup here: http://www.mockfilmfest.com/2009%20Official%20Selections.html.

The screening begins at 3:00pm and will end with the awards ceremony. The venue is the Beverly Hills Fine Arts Theater at 8556 Wilshire Blvd. (http://tinyurl.com/cw77p8)

I'd love to go to a nearby watering hole after the festival so we can all socialize. I'm working on a few ideas, but if anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears.

I'm very excited that we're going to be a part of the festival and I look forward to seeing everyone (and their friends) at the screening!

You DO NOT want to miss this screening!!!

L.A. Premiere in May

I'm happy to announce that "Cross-Eyed Dinner Theater Presents!" has been accepted into The Mockumentary Film Festival, a.k.a. MOCKFEST.  I'm so excited that we will be having a screening here in Los Angeles and I hope everyone will be able to attend (and invite lots of people).  There is not yet a screening time or date, but MOCKFEST will be held in Hollywood on May 8th through the 10th.  As soon as we have all the information, I will update the blog and e-mail everyone.  We had a great screening at "The Mag" and I'm certain we'll all have a great time attending MOCKFEST 2009!

World Premiere

Anthony and I are back from our World Premiere at The 12th Annual Magnolia Independent Film Festival.  As expected, we had a great time at this outstanding regional film festival.  (NEW LINKS: articles about the festival)

Screening on the opening night of the festival, the theater hosted a nearly capacity crowd.  "Cross-Eyed Dinner theater Presents!" was part of a short film program that was followed by a brief intermission and a feature film.  The crowd was great, and was laughing right away.  Both Anthony and I felt that we got great laughs in all the right places and many people came up to us after the screening to tell us how much they enjoyed the film.  Compliments were abundant for everyone's performances and how well they felt the film looked.

I only wish our entire cast and crew were able to attend the screening.  I think everyone involved with the film would have enjoyed the atmosphere and would have been very pleased with the audience reaction.

Anthony and I made some new friends and acquaintances at the festival and would like to give a holla out to Sandy, Angela, David, Ashley, Dan, April, Nic, Bill, Michael, Elaine, Rob, CK and everyone who delighted us with film and who brought those films to us.  A special congrats to Sandy who's film won the writing award and to David and Ashley who won the excellence in filmmaking award!

On a final note, if you're ever in Starkville, MS, don't miss Petty's BBQ.  The pork ribs and sweet tea are the best!

~ Eric

Premiere Update

Our premiere at The Magnolia Independent Film Festival had been scheduled.  We will be playing on the opening night of the festival during a short film program preceding their opening night feature film.

Here's a link to the festival's schedule: http://tiny.cc/48mNP.

Anthony and I are both excited to be going to the festival.  Keep on the lookout for more announcements and a recap of our premiere experience.

~ Eric