Main Cast: Adam Goldberg, Nicky Katt, Clea Lewis, Giovanni Ribisi, Cole Hauser
Release Year: 1998
Country: US
Run Time: 117 minutes
Plot
Taking a stylistic cue from the French New Wave and Cassavetes, Adam Goldberg wrote and directed and stars in this black-and-white neo-noir -- with "additional dialogue by the cast." Writer wannabe Jim (Goldberg) lives in a seedy L.A. apartment building where he tries to write and broods over his lost love Ilsa, portrayed by Clea Lewis (who actually is Goldberg's former girlfriend). Jim's drinking buddies make a retro bid for the lifestyles of '50s hipsters. The gang gathers at the Catalina Bar and Grill to catch jazz singer Jimmy Scott perform "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child". A friend cruises into town with a car, enabling the group to go to the beach. Otherwise, they visit hookers, gamble after hours, walk empty streets, and hang around noir-style pre-1957 locations such as the colonnaded Venice, California -- buildings seen in Orson Welles' Touch of Evil. Familiar jazz classics punctuate the soundtrack. Shown at the 1998 L.A. Independent Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
Rio Hackford - Stanley; Phil Maturano - Otto; Ajay Naidu - Armand; Ricardo Richards - Val; Jimmy Scott - himself; Hubert Selby, Jr. - Cubby; Robert Pastorelli - The Skipper
Credit
Marty Cohen - Associate Producer, Mary Vernieu - Associate Producer, Mary Vernieu - Casting, Anne McCarthy - Casting, Adrienne Gruben - Co-producer, Carol Katt - Costume Designer, Christopher Salzgeber - First Assistant Director, Adam Goldberg - Director, Adam Goldberg - Editor, Annette Davey - Editor, Max Heller - Editor, Adam Goldberg - Executive Producer, Nicky Katt - Executive Producer, Thomas Haden Church - Executive Producer, Earl Goldberg - Executive Producer, Aaron Latham - Line Producer, Andrew Leary - Musical Direction/Supervision, Jeffrey (Tex) Schell - Production Designer, Mark Putnam - Cinematographer, Robert Bauer - Producer, Francesca Silvestri - Producer, Sara Sullivan - Set Designer, B.J. Lehn - Sound/Sound Designer, Erik Magnus - Sound/Sound Designer, Rich Wilkinson - Sound/Sound Designer, Adam Goldberg - Screenwriter
