In Search Of A Midnight Kiss ***PRODUCTION NOTES*** Runtime: 90 Minutes This film is not yet rated. Written and Directed by Alex Holdridge Starring: Scoot McNairy, Sara Simmonds, Brian McGuire, Katy Luong And Twink Caplan With Nic Harcourt Press Contacts: Los Angeles New York Joy Phillips Betsy Rudnick GS Entertainment Marketing Group Falco Ink [email protected] [email protected] 323.860.0270 (office) 212.445.7100 ext. 17 832.654.4360 (cell) www.InSearchOfAMidnightKiss.com FILMMAKERS: Writer/Director Alex Holdridge Producers Seth Caplan Scoot McNairy Executive Producer Anne Walker-McBay Director of Photography Robert Murphy Editor Frank Reynolds Editor Jacob Vaughn Gaffer Justin Huin Lost Shoe Photography Johanna Jarco www.thelostshoeproject.com CAST: Wilson Scoot McNairy Vivian Sara Simmonds Jacob Brian Matthew McGuire Min Katy Luong Buoy Bret Roberts Wilson’s Mom Twink Caplan Jack Robert Murphy Radio DJ Nic Harcourt Neighbor #1 Annie Chatterton Neighbor #2 Cindy Drummond Maitre d’ Giorgio Pierangeli Child Michael Pierangeli Stevie Bruce Jay Jacob’s Mom Stephanie Feury Wilson’s Sister Julie Levin Vivian’s Mom Alicia McNairy Karen Via Osgood Neptune Justin Huin Subway man with roses Angel Diamond Gay Date Caller Sandra Lindquist Hooker Caller Regina Crosby Party DJ Travis Johnson In Search of a Midnight Kiss “One man's search for a midnight kiss on New Year's Eve.” Synopsis In Search of a Midnight Kiss is a rollicking comic ride and tender journey though love, sex, and modern romance in Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve. WILSON (Scoot McNairy), a twenty-nine-year old guy who has just had the worst year of his life, is new to Los Angeles, has no date, no concrete plans and every intention of locking the doors and forgetting the last year ever happened. That is until his best friend, Jacob (Brian McGuire), browbeats him into posting a personal ad on Craig’s List. When Vivian (Sara Simmonds), a strong-willed woman hell bent on being with the right guy at the stroke of midnight responds, a chaotic, sometimes hilarious, sometimes touching journey through the black and white streets of L.A. begins. In the waning hours of the year, emotional vulnerability and bitterly honest humor seem to be waiting around every corner. In Search of a Midnight Kiss is directed by award-winning filmmaker, Alex Holdridge, whose last film, Sexless, is the only movie to have won both the Jury and Audience Award for best feature film at the SXSW film festival (2003). The veteran art house producer Anne Walker, (Before Sunrise, Dazed and Confused) is Executive Producer. It stars Scoot McNairy (Art School Confidential, Six Feet Under) and Sara Simmonds (Echoes of Innocence). The film is produced by Seth Caplan (Flatland) and Scoot McNairy. Editing is by Jacob Vaughn (Cassidy Kids, Dear Pillow) and Frank Reynolds (In the Bedroom). In Search of a Midnight Kiss is a blend of up-and-coming talent and proven experience making it a dazzling independent film not to be missed. Production Notes ORIGINS The origins of In Search Of A Midnight Kiss begin in Austin, Texas where ALEX HOLDRIDGE (Writer/Director) made his first two films (Wrong Numbers, Sexless). Both films were well received, and the success of Sexless – the first film ever to capture both the SXSW Audience and Jury awards – motivated Alex to move to Los Angeles to pursue his film career. Holdridge took heavy inspiration from his early days in LA for In Search of a Midnight Kiss. The film follows the theme of what aspiring young Hollywood hopefuls do when the phone doesn’t ring. Knowing that resources would be scarce, Alex wrote the film with several key collaborators in mind, including SCOOT MCNAIRY (Producer, “Wilson”), BRIAN MCGUIRE (“Jacob”), SARA SIMMONDS (“Vivian”), and ROBERT MURPHY (Cinematographer, “Jack”). On January 2, 2006 Alex contacted SETH CAPLAN (Producer), who was busy soaking up college football after just wrapping two features in the past six months. Alex pitched the opening scene of the movie, the basic plot and the actors who had already signed-up. Caplan had to turn the television off and get to work as Holdridge had arranged for the cinematographer and camera package to arrive in LA to begin shooting on January 9th…just one week away. CAST For casting Holdridge first looked to his old friends whom he’d worked with on two previous films. The talented Scoot McNairy, fresh from a role in Terry Zwigoff’s Art School Confidential and a multi-episode stint on HBO’s Six Feet Under, was a natural for the main character. McNairy’s genuine everyman quality and great sense of comedy make "Wilson" a sympathetic and funny lead for the film. Scoot was also critical in making the movie happen, whether it was finding an actor, obtaining production equipment or providing that can-do spirit to help resolve any challenge that production presented. The beautiful Sara Simmonds had just completed her starring role in the film Echoes of Innocence when Holdridge mentioned the project to her. Holdridge brought Simmonds on early and she helped him develop the ideas, talking through the story while actually walking the streets of Downtown LA. Much of what they discussed on their walks made it into the final script. Holdridge understood her range as an actor and felt comfortable building a complex comedic character that in the end had to disarm and show subtle vulnerability. The hilarious Brian McGuire was real-life roommates with Holdridge when they first moved to LA. Wilson and Jacob’s apartment in the movie is the actual apartment where McGuire and Holdridge lived. Playing a leading role in Sexless, Alex knew how deep Brian’s comedic and dramatic talents were and developed the part around him. Brian brings a strong likable quality to Jacob’s character, coming off as shy even when he’s being boisterous. RORBERT MURPHY who shot the film beautifully also plays the part of the wild, cowboy, "Jack". Robert’s performance in previous films as a wild Southerner, inspired Holdridge to develop an uninhibited confrontational scene, he knew Robert would play perfectly. His performance is certainly one of the funniest and most memorable of the entire film. Scoot McNairy also helped cast the film by finding KATIE LUONG (Min) and TWINK CAPLAN (Wison’s Mother). Twink joined the project when in a pinch, Scoot called his manager and business partner, JOHN PIERCE, to help fill a role that was set to be filmed that evening. Twink received the call and threw caution to the wind and agreed. Not having seen the script till she showed up on set, she delivered an amazing performance that became a highlight of the movie. PRODUCTION Holdridge and Caplan, both avid University of Texas football fans, took inspiration for the production from UT’s title winning game on January 4, 2006. In that famous game, quarterback Vince Young led an underdog UT team to victory over the University of Southern California in the Rose Bowl. The cast and crew of Midnight Kiss – all of whom are either from or have lived in Texas – identified with the UT football team. They too were a group of underdog Texans fighting for victory in Los Angeles against the large institutional forces of Hollywood. Production was focused, efficient, and creative. The guerilla-style shoot required everyone to pitch in to make each shot happen. From dialogue suggestions to holding a bounce board, every actor and crew member contributed to the project in more ways than their title reveals. A large portion of production was shot on the streets of downtown Los Angeles. Director Holdridge’s vision for the film was to utilize the grimy faded grandeur of Downtown LA. While downtown is a film production hub of the city, Midnight Kiss is unique for shooting this area in a vérité style that exposes both its decay and its beauty. After filming the first 70 pages of the script in just nine days the team knew this would be a special movie. Holdridge began cutting scenes together and the magic jumped off the screen. As soon as team members saw the footage a decision was made to raise more money and complete shooting of the original script The entire team reconvened one month later for two more weeks of filming. With renewed purpose the cast and crew labored through 20 hour days to finish filming. The production’s light and quick nature allowed for the improvisation required of low-budget filmmaking. One day the team set up to shoot Vivian’s motel room scene. Holdridge and Murphy had planned out all the shots in the room. However, once the hotel owner spotted the set dressing -- empty liquor bottles and prescription drug pill boxes --he kicked everyone off the set and threatened to call the police. The team packed up while producer Caplan found a hotel down the street and booked a room. Ninety minutes later the scene had been set-up and shot in the new hotel room…just as the manager of that hotel threatened to call the police based on similar suspicions. Additional filming took place in Austin, Texas to complete footage for montage sequences including the opening shots of kissing couples. EDITING After production wrapped director Holdridge took a first pass at cutting together the footage. Holdridge sent a rough assembly to FRANK REYNOLDS (Editor), editor of the Academy Award nominated film In the Bedroom. Extremely impressed with what he saw, Reynolds caught a plane to Los Angeles within a week. Reynolds spent eight weeks shaping the first assembly of the film before departing to work on a previous editing commitment back in New York.