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Read our exclusive interview with Ruth Anson Sowby. |
you get a strong hint that this might not be a fan tribute. The film, which won the audience favorite award at the 2008 Mockfest Film Festival in Hollywood, is a documentary about how an obscure event still reverberates some 40 years after the fact. In 1965, Ruth Anson, then an attractive young reporter for a local Los Angeles TV station, covered the arrival of the Beatles in the city. When she asked Paul McCartney if he had plans for marriage, his answer, caught on film and shown several times in the DVD, was "Only if you'll marry me." The words stuck with her. Forty years later, Anson, now Ruth Anson-Sowby, attempts to reconnect with the event and experience closure by getting in touch with McCartney. A filmmaker, Marc Cushman, decides to take on the project of making a documentary about her quest. When things don't work out as initially planned, it becomes a reality-TV project, and with it comes little regard for the feelings of Sowby, much to the dismay of some of her family and friends. Finally, Cushman decides the group should connect with McCartney at the Grammy Awards. The ups and downs of preparations, along with the efforts to even see Paul McCartney at the event, form the almost-comic climax of the film. There is plenty of vintage footage of Sowby interviewing celebrities here, including the original McCartney footage, plus others, including Ronald Reagan, Bob Hope and George Murphy. The McCartney footage is run several times. It is heard in the film the makers had to pay a large sum to license the footage and they use it often. Much of the time, reality TV goes for cheap entertainment at the participants' expense. That's the bottom line here. This is not a celebration of the Beatles, but like much of reality TV, this documentary of one woman's dream is a sad song that doesn't get better. (Bonus features include twelve Beatle-like songs.) Update (8/30/08)
on DVD on Tuesday:"Desperately Seeking Paul McCartney"
Update (5/20/08) A review of the film from the blog "The Tattler."
Update (5/14/08)Update (5/10/08)
Update (5/5/08)
(4/30/2008) A press release:
Hollywood, CA (OPENPRESS) April 29, 2008 -- “Desperately Seeking Paul McCartney” will have its Los Angeles Debut at the 2008 Mockfest film festival on Sunday, May 18 at 5pm. The film will screen at the Vine Theatre, 6321 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, CA, 90028.
The comedy documentary is the story of Ruth Anson, who in 1965 was a teenage reporter for KABC-TV in Los Angeles. While doing an interview with The Beatles at Capitol Records, Ruth asked Paul McCartney if he had any plans for marriage. His on camera response was…“Only if you’ll marry me.” More than forty years later, now married, a mother and a college professor, Ruth contemplates, “What if I had said, yes?” With photo in hand, Ruth goes to a pitch session on screenwriting and tells her story to a panel of professionals. Their response is initially mixed, until an opportunist director/producer, Marc Cushman, decides to take on the project. In the spirit of reality TV, he has a camera crew follow Ruth. She goes to her old haunts and tracks down previous interviewees, but no one will allow her in the door or grant her an on camera interview. He decides to set her up with a Paul impersonator, to practice for the big interview, but the Fake Paul thinks she’s crazy. He then goes to his shrink and sends her to a session, just to confirm both of their sanities, but the shrink stops returning his phone calls. He gets her beauty and fashion advice, which she refuses to listen to and, on top of that, they are refused press passes for the Grammy’s where they know McCartney will be in attendance. Faced with mounting production costs, which include paying for the original news clip, Ruth’s unsupportive family, and unable to locate a local address for Sir Paul, Cushman is forced to realize that this documentary is well on its way to becoming a real dud. That is, until he has a brainstorm. He will manipulate it into a real life on-camera embarrassment for Ruth, but in the eleventh hour a ‘larger than life’ character comes to her rescue and helps her to succeed in “Desperately Seeking Paul McCartney.” The cast also includes Susan Osborn Templeton as the Production Coordinator, Ryan James as the 2nd Unit Director, Shay Burbridge as PA #1, Yvonne Yao as PA #2, Kathryn “Kat” Farren as PA #3, Dr. Lynn Meek as The Shrink, Joe Giamalva as the Fashion Expert and Jeff Toczynski as the Paul McCartney Impersonator. Award-winning actor/singer/songwriter Alan Bernhoft (“The Jekyll and Hyde Rock ‘N Roll Musical”) provided five songs for the motion picture soundtrack. They are “Keep Your Hands Off My Baby,” “Playdate,” “Everything Is Fine,” “Magic Everywhere” and “Be Mr. Nice.” Bernhoft has performed in numerous Beatles Tribute Shows, portraying John Lennon and in 2006 was awarded ‘Artist of the Year’ by the Evolving Artist Network. “Dear Paul” was written by Marc Cushman and Jeff Toczynski. “Desperately Seeking Paul McCartney” was recently screened at the 1st Annual Fallbrook Film Festival. BRI is the broadcast and international licensing agent, and MVD (Music Video Distributors) is scheduled to release the DVD this summer. For ticket information and full festival schedule log on to www.mockfilmfest.com. For more information on “Desperately Seeking Paul McCartney,” log on to www.myspace.com/dearpaul.|
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