I walked into the theater with prejudice, ready to NOT LIKE the film “Occupy Texas.” You see, as a rule of thumb, I walk into a theater knowing as little as possible about the film … my anti-spoilage mechanism … or ASM … I digress …
So … When I heard “Occupy” was one of the films to see, I thought it might be some documentary on the Occupy Movement, of which I was not a fan. (I visited Occupy in several cities, including the mother ship in New York on Wall Street … unimpressed.)
I was so pleasantly surprised … and yes, this was the world premiere of the Texas film, to boot.
Gene Gallereno, “Occupy Texas”
“Occupy Texas” is about an overachiever, who has a setback in life, and he checks out. He goes to NYC for the occupation, and when that fizzles out he struggles/wanders without any purpose whatsoever.
After a major shakeup in the family tree, Gene Gallerano … “Mr. (no)Occupation” is saddled with huge responsibilities back at home — Texas.
As he re-enters the real world and real family, he is overwhelmed. His family teeters on disfunction. His coping skills are zilch. He runs into his old flame. The gardner doesn’t recognize him. A carpool cougar wants to devour him. Enough spoilage.
You will love it. Hilarious much of the time … but also, even the most hardboiled audience members teared up a time or two. AND YES … modern day filmmakers, it is okay to have a happy ending!
Break out the rating system. “Occupy Texas” is a wonderful little boot scoot of a film. Lots of Dallas landmarks. Again, a world premiere. Some Texas-who’s-who in the cast members … even real Texans’ cars/trucks loaned out for the film – That’s right you’re from Texas … near perfect score … 6 pings.
Before the screening, the PingWi-Fi lens hit another red carpet ceremony. I was very impressed with Patrick Duffy’s sense of humor and good sportmanship as he gave some hilarious answers to questions that were even more ridiculous than something I might ask. Duffy is tall, btw … difficult to get a shot where he is not looking down … The red carpet is pretty generous in who it considers to be journalists … (I don’t think major media outlets are shooting with iPhones this year …) I got a kick out of Duffy playing along with them … OH … I didn’t have the heart to tell him I have never seen a single episode, not a single second of his classic Texas TV Holy Grail “Dallas.” For realz.
Shemg-Lee Huang, Livia Under, Duffy “Hotel Dallas”
Also on the red carpet, I shot a few puppets and their caregivers … several really interesting writers and directors … and then there were these two teenage girls. I had no idea who they were, despite the tip sheet that remained folded in my shirt pocket. (No spoilage.) But I shot them … Regardless of who they were, they were really interesting. Maybe close in age, one blonde and outgoing, the other with dark hair, black dress, moody … perhaps a “goth” attitude. Any who … as the cameras started clicking, they seemed about as nervous/shy/uncomfortable … did I saw awkward too? … as anyone I have ever seen on a red carpet.
Lorelei Linklater, Catherine Elvir
Ha … A couple of hours later, I saw their film. They were the two teen stars of “Occupy Texas.” The “sisters” — Lorelei Linklater and Catherine Elvir a.k.a. – the moody “Claire” and the impressionable “Arden,” respectively. Their red carpet performance could have been them “in character.” I don’t know … very interesting.
WHAT? No Janine Turner on the red carpet. (I did watch “Northern Exposure” …)
Jeremy Lange, Alix Blair “Farmer/Veteran”
Good after party … made some new friends from the PR/journalism worlds, and saw an old friend … a former PR client … longtime Dallas communicator Ken Capps. Ha … seeing him brought back memories of just a few film festivals years back when he had a cameo appearance in a documentary on Texas six-man football.
Good times. Ken and a colleague were hosting filmmakers from another featured film, “Farmer/Veteran.”
Put your boots on and see some film at the 2016 Dallas International Film Festival!
Know what I sayin?
