FOUR COLOR EULOGY Screens at Schlafly Bottleworks September 1st

The St. Louis-lensed FOUR COLOR EULOGY screens Thursday September 1st at 7:00pm at Schlafly Bottleworks (7260 Southwest Avenue Maplewood, MO 63143). $6  for the screening. Cast members will be signing autographs and fundraising DVDs will be available for sale. Cool comic book stuff will also be available from The Fantasy Shop before and after the screening.

Read my interview with Wyatt Weed, director and co-writer of FOUR COLOR EULOGY  HERE

Shot in the St. Louis area by the team behind SHADOWLAND, FOUR COLOR EULOGY is a dramatic comedy that shows it’s never too late to let go of the past or to create a new future. Growing up the only child of a single mother, aspiring comic-book creator Chris (Jason Contini) escaped St. Louis 10 years ago and moved to Portland, Ore., with girlfriend Anne to forge a new life. But when Chris learns that his mother is ill, he and Anne have no choice but to pack up their lives and move back home. Uprooted, his life completely disrupted, Chris is forced to face both his mother’s mortality and a nagging childhood question: Who was his father and why wasn’t he around? With the help of longtime buddy Brian, a pop-culture geek, and family friend Rich, a bartender with a secret, Chris will have to determine what’s ultimately more important: the hero’s origins or his ongoing journey.

FOUR COLOR EULOGY features a cast of familiar faces from the stages of St. Louis theaters representing over 30 metro area production companies. Prominent local actors Jason Contini and his father John developed the concept together and both star in the film. John plays a bartender and mentor to Jason’s character. “The opportunity to create this film with my Dad has been such a rewarding experience, from writing the film via Skype…to watching these characters come to life …to the release of the film,” reflects Jason. “And then to include people like Nicholas J. Hearne, who has been a surrogate brother of mine for 15 years, and Wyatt Weed, the older brother I never had, into the process made this a giant ‘family’ experience in every aspect.”

Coupling 18 years of Hollywood experience with a love of all things comic-related, director, co-writer and cinematographer Wyatt Weed assembled a final product that puts geek culture into the main-stream. Weed feels that “FOUR COLOR EULOGY has been an opportunity to really mash things up – the look of the film is straight out of Close Encounters, but the mood is somewhere between a classic 50’s melodrama and an 80’s comedy. Yes, there are some in-depth geek references, but you don’t have to get them in order to understand the film. [Overall the film] is about family, friendship, and love and when it’s over…it will make you appreciate your family and your crazy friends.”

FOUR COLOR EULOGY is Weed’s second St. Louis-based feature film project with his producing partner Gayle Gallagher and second collaboration between Weed and Jason Contini. Weed praises Jason as a very experienced and studied actor, and states “I can always call on him for anything, behind the camera or in front of it. Through all of this we’ve become really good friends.”

St. Louis stage actors aren’t the only ones who get to shine in this feature, the soundtrack features songs from popular local bands and musicians such as Clockwork, Taylor Pietz and Abby Stahlschmidt.

Shot exclusively in the St. Louis area during the summer of 2014, local businesses and institutions such as Uncle Bill’s Pancake House on South Kingshighway, Melrose Club on The Hill, Newcastle Comics in Maryland Heights and Saints Mary and Joseph Catholic Church feature prominently in the film.

A yummy variety of food from Schlafly’s kitchen is available as are plenty of pints of their famous home-brewed beer.

A Facebook invite for the event can be found HERE

https://www.facebook.com/events/1005490002905064/1015659955221402/

“Culture Shock” is the name of a film series here in St. Louis that is the cornerstone project of a social enterprise that is an ongoing source of support for Helping Kids Together(http://www.helpingkidstogether.com/) a St. Louis based social enterprise dedicated to building cultural diversity and social awareness among young people through the arts and active living.

The films featured for “Culture Shock” demonstrate an artistic representation of culture shock materialized through mixed genre and budgets spanning music, film and theater. Through ‘A Film Series’ working relationship with Schlafly Bottleworks, they seek to provide film lovers with an offbeat mix of dinner and a movie opportunities.