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

JoyPhillips@gsemg.com betsyrudnick@falcoink.com

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 9^th…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.

Jacob Vaughan (Editor) assumed the editorial reigns. Vaughan and Holdridge labored for over three months to shape and perfect the story. By late summer, they had a presentable cut.

POST-PRODUCTION AND BEYOND

ANNE WALKER-MCBAY (Executive Producer) was a big fan of Holdridge’s after seeing his first two films.  Walker-McBay - the first person to receive a copy of Vaughan and Holdridge’s cut – instantly loved the film and signed on to Executive Produce.  She had visited the set during production and reminisced on the similarities to her first film, Richard Linklater’s Slacker. Walker-McBay, eager to help the film reach a wider audience, sent Midnight Kiss to her long-time friend JOHN SLOSS of Cinetic Films.

John Sloss loved the film at first sight and suggested that the movie premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. The team grew to include sound designers and digital colorists. Additionally, the team worked hard to get the word out by producing a website and publicity photo shoot. Through the entire production this talented and hardworking team has relished in their collaboration and friendship to make a great piece of art together!

Biographies – Cast

Scoot McNairy

Besides starring in and producing “In Search of a Midnight Kiss” (directed by his old buddy Alex Holdridge) Scoot has appeared on TV (“Six Feet Under”, “Jake in Progress”, “Close to Home”), in two TV pilots (“More, Patience” and “Good Girls Don’t”) and in films (“Art School Confidential” from director Terry Zwigoff and opposite John Malkovich; “Twisted” from Director John Asher; “The Shadow Effect” from directors Jared and Justin Varava; the upcoming “The Listening Party” opposite Selma Blair, Neil Young, and Seth Green, and “The Fall” from director John Krugger,). 

Scoot McNairy started on a winding, fateful path to Hollywood by way of Richardson, Texas.  His love of the entertainment industry found its seeds in a local theater where his parents sent him for an after school activity.  However, after doing a number of plays at a young age Scoot’s love of the outdoors won out and he spent the rest of his childhood fishing. 

When Scoot moved to Austin, Texas he met Alex Holdridge, who gave him his first movie role in the feature film “Wrong Numbers”, which went on to win the Ausitin Film Festival.  You would think this experience would have led Scoot straight to Hollywood.  But no, Scoot decided his next move should be to British Columbia to be a glacier guide.  When a back injury put Scoot’s hopes of climbing on hold he finally found himself in Los Angeles, pursing his interest in cinematography at film school.  A year later Scoot landed a job building sets, which led to a friend at work introducing Scoot to an agent.  “I met John and he told me there was not a chance in hell he would represent me.  So I showed up at his office two weeks later with some 4X6 photos and he gave it a run, which has turned into five years of working together”.   From this chance meeting with John, Scoot has recently started his own production company, Group Films, partnering with John Pierce and his former agent from UTA Josh Klein.   They are currently working on a film project with director Tony Kaye (“American History X”) and writer Robert McKee.

Sara Simmonds Sara Simmonds became a local Texas star of commercials, theatre, and independent film before her recent move to Los Angeles. She co-starred in Sexless from director Alex Holdridge, which won the Jury Prize at the South by Southwest Film Festival. Holdridge wrote In Search of a Midnight Kiss with Sara in mind.

This stunning native of Houston, Texas was born to very young, artistic parents; mom a painter and dad a building designer so Sara was mostly raised by her grandparents. She was in tap and ballet class from age four and loved theatre as early as junior high. No school play went forward without Sara, including her stellar performance in The Scarlet Letter; she then studied acting at the University of Houston for a couple of years. She left school when professional acting assignments were taking all of her time. Thrilled to be a working actress and a member of the prestigious Main Street Theatre Company, she starred in Beth Henly’s Debutante Ball and won Best Actress from the Houston Chronicle Theatre Awards.

Realizing that a future in film would require a move to Los Angeles, she relocated and immediately found an agent. Just a few weeks later Sara landed a starring role in New World Pictures feature Echoes of Innocence opposite Jake McDorman (Aquamarine, Bring It On: All or Nothing), which was released nationally in 2006.

Brian Matthew McGuire is a man of many talents. Actor. Writer. DJ. Musician. He can currently be found planning to shoot Working The Combover, a joint collaboration with writing partner Dan Finkle.

McGuire’s acting credits include Appetite for Construction for which he won the Cinema Texas Best Actor Award; The Cassidy Kids starring Anne Ramsay (“Six Feet Under”), Kadeem Hardison and Judah Freidlander (“30 Rock”); Dear Pillow, winner of the Atlanta Film Festival Grand Jury Award and the Boston Underground Film Festival Bunny Award; Sexless written and directed by Alex Holdridge; Wrong Numbers, another feature written and directed by Alex Holdridge, co-written by Sam Merrick, and winner of the Austin Film Festival Audience Award; Adam Rifkin’s Detroit Rock City; a co-starring role in “Two Mothers for Zachary,” a GLAAD Media Award winning made for TV movie starring Vanessa Redgrave; and a leading role in Jesus for Judson written by award winning Jacob Vaughn.

McGuire is also a successful musician fronting his band “GENE WILDER” as well as DJing at nightclubs around the world. Some of Mcguire’s music is featured on the soundtrack for In Search of a Midnight Kiss and can be found on his label, LEFTHOUSE RECORDINGS.

McGuire was born in Chicago Illinois. He is the second of seven Irish kids and lives true to the quote, “Only real Irishmen are from Chicago.”

Katy Luong stepped on the acting scene over ten years ago. Her film credits include a leading role in the short Lead; co-starring roles in Hunger, a film set for release later this year; Color Blind, a short currently on the festival circuit and Spirits, a Vietnamese horror film. Luong’s supporting film roles include Missing Brendan starring Adam Brody, Edward Asner and Illeana Douglas; 8 Days, a short written and directed by comedian Dane Cook; Green Dragon starring Patrick Swayze and Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker; Dead Man on Campus directed by Alan Chon (“The Real World”) and starring Tom Everett Scott, Mark Paul Gosselaar and Linda Cardellini and 2 Days in the Valley starring Jeff Daniels, Teri Hatcher, James Spader and Academy Award winner Charlize Theron.

On the small screen Luong has taken on supporting roles in “Threat Matrix”, “JAG”, “The Magnificent Seven” and “Baywatch”.

Luong was born in Vietnam and grew up in Orange County which allowed her to enter the acting scene at a young age. Her hobbies and passions include cooking and photography.

Bret Roberts most recently appeared on FX’s “Dirt” as Courtney Cox’s love interest. He has worked on several indie films including MAY directed by Lucky McKee and starring Jeremy Sisto (“Six Feet Under”, Clueless) and Anna Faris (Scary Movie 1-4); Hillside Strangler and Night Stalker (lead), directed by Chris Fisher, and White of Winter (lead) directed by Robert Saitzek - all Sundance Selections. Midnight Kiss is Roberts’ first Tribeca appearance. An upcoming project is HBO’s KUSH directed by York Shackleton.

Twink Caplan is an American actor, comedian and producer.

She recently returned from London wrapping the romantic comedy I Could Never Be Your Woman, playing Michelle Pfeiffer's costume designer with Paul Rudd as well as Producing. The film marks her twenty year acting reunion with Michele Pfeiffer playing her best friend in Falling in Love Again.

Caplan will soon be seen playing a vulgar past-her-prime movie star desperate for a come-back in Secrets of `a Hollywood Nurse; B. Lawney, a waitress with Richard Gere, co-starring Claire Danes, in The Flock directed by Andrew Lau; Mary Benett, a hard-edged bus driver for Jerry Bruckheimer’s CSI Las Vegas; and an odd and embittered Aunt June in Changing Spots, directed by Susan Turley.

In Night at the Roxbury Caplan played opposite Will Ferrell and Chris Katan; in

The New Homeowner's Guide to Happiness she worked with Bonnie Hunt as the nosey neighbor duo living next door to Demi Moore and Judge Reinhold. The massive hit that won a People's Choice Award , Look Who's Talking, which starred John Travolta and Kirstie Alley raising a baby voiced by Bruce Willis, Caplan played Alley's flirty best friend Rona and went on to do the sequel, Look Who's Talking Too. Caplan played the Home Economics teacher in "Fast Times," the series with Courtney Thorne-Smith, Patrick Dempsey, and Wallace Langham.

At Sony Studios Caplan produced "LOSER" starring Jason Biggs and Mena Suvari. Caplan played Mena's best friend at work (a nude dance bar). She is probably best known for her role as Miss Geist in the hit Clueless, starring Alicia Silverstone, Brittany Murphy and Paul Rudd. Caplan went on to play Miss Geist in the ABC series "Clueless" as well as Executive Produce.

Her favorite project is the just finished In Search of a Midnight Kiss, with her favorite director, Alex Holdridge, playing a newly divorced mother living in Florida --mother to Scoot McNairy.

Nic Harcourt (Radio DJ)

Regarded as being the ultimate “tastemaker” in music and named the “most influential DJ in America”, Harcourt has been an innovator as Music Director at the influential Los Angeles radio station, KCRW, and as host of the highly acclaimed music programs, “Morning Becomes Eclectic” and "Sounds Eclectic”.

Harcourt has through the years been an early champion of many artists including Coldplay, Dido, Moby, Death Cab For Cutie, Massive Attack, Interpol, Franz Ferdinand, KT Tunstall, Arcade Fire, Damien Rice, Jem, Pete Yorn, David Gray and Norah Jones.

Harcourt’s talents have made him uniquely suited to select innovative music for motion pictures, television and commercials. His program is monitored daily by studio and advertising executives. Harcourt has worked as a music consultant and/or music supervisor for such television shows as “Queer as Folk”, “Life As We Know It", "In Justice", “What About Brian” and “Love Monkey” (for which he was also a Co-Producer), as well as advertising campaigns for Mitsubishi Motors, Apple’s Ipod and Victoria’s Secret. During the next year, Harcourt will be the “voice of Land Rover” for all of their television and radio commercials. He has helped to select music for the motion pictures Ice Age, Ice Age II, Anchorman, Igby Goes Down and the upcoming movies Gone Baby Gone (directed by Ben Affleck) and Pride and Glory (starring Edward Norton, Colin Farrell and Jon Voight). He has also compiled and produced several volumes of live performance CD's under the SOUNDS ECLECTIC name and has completed and released his first book, MUSIC LUST (Sasquatch Books).

Harcourt also produces and hosts a monthly half-hour segment called “Second Sunday with Nic Harcourt”, on the television show “Breakfast With the Arts” for the A&E network, which focuses on new and emerging musical talent. He has filmed episodes which include interviews and performances from such artists as DAMIEN RICE, SI SE, BRAZILIAN GIRLS, GUSTER, REM and THE PINKER TONES.

Biographies – Filmmakers

Alex Holdridge (Writer/Director) went from high school valedictorian to straight-A college graduate to English major drop out. He says movies are to blame. He eked out his first feature, Wrong Numbers, while delivering chicken, waiting tables, and seeming like the could-have-been-something child. It went on to win the audience award at the Austin Film Festival and attracted attention from multiple studios in Hollywood. Working with his good friend, Jessica Bendinger (Bring it On, Stick It), he developed it as a re-make with Red Wagon (Gladiator). When the opportunity came to direct another script he had written, Sexless, he took it. Sexless won both the Jury and the Audience Award at the South by Southwest Film Festival and is the only movie to have done so since its inception. In Search of a Midnight Kiss is inspired by his transition to full-time life as a writer, director and human in L.A.

Seth Caplan (Producer) is a Chicago born award-winning filmmaker who has worked for production companies in New York, Los Angeles, and Amsterdam. Seth co-founded Enspire Learning, where he produced e-learning courses for Harvard Business School and the Department of Education. He holds degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and an M.F.A. from the American Film Institute. Caplan's thesis film "Duncan Removed" was honored with a student Emmy and was nominated for a Student Academy Award. His next project, "FLATLAND: THE MOVIE" is an animated film featuring the voices of Martin Sheen, Kristen Bell, and Tony Hale.

Anne Walker-McBay (Executive Producer) has produced: Dazed and Confused, Before Sunrise, SubUrbia, The Newton Boys, Waking Life, Tape, Before Sunset, Levelland, A Scanner Darkly, and Infamous. Anne recently started her own production company, Texas Avenue Films. Her current projects include the documentary: ‘A Place to Dance’, ‘The Two Bobs’, and the American adaptation of 13 Tzameti.

Robert Murphy (Director of Photography) also plays Jack-meaux, Vivian's ex-boyfriend and his band, Sybil, has a couple of songs featured on the film's soundtrack: "Discolite" and "Mocha Queen."

Murphy has been shooting films and making music for 17 years.  After growing up in the cultural mecca of Beaumont, Texas, he attended the University of Texas where he majored in film and English. Since then he has worked on a variety of film and video projects, ranging from a stint as a production assistant on Waiting for Guffman to a gig as the cinematographer of a French rap video for Tony Parker's record label. 

Murphy has written and directed one feature, All Night Boogie, in which he also starred.  He has also worked as the cinematographer on three independent high definition projects this past year, including horror film Christian Roane and comedic thriller Grammy's.

In his spare time, Murphy enjoys jamming with Sybil, who has had their extensive catalog of music featured on MTV's “The Real World”, the Dr. Demento radio show, XM Radio, and college radio stations across Texas.

Murphy’s heroes include Stanley Kubrick, Kurt Cobain, James Brown, Martin Scorsese, Liz Phair, Fiona Apple, his mom, dad, brother, close friends, Fellini, and Vince Young.

Frank Reynolds (Editor) has edited seventeen feature films. The most well-known is Miramax's In The Bedroom, which was a Best Picture nominee at the

2002 Academy Awards. His most recent project The Alphabet Killer, is a suspense/horror film starring Eliza Dushku, Timothy Hutton and Cary Elwes, and directed by Rob Schmidt (Wrong Turn, "Masters of Horror.") Reynolds edited the 2005 South African film Cape Of Good Home; the 1999 Fine Line comedy Man Of The Century; the 1996 cult film Tromeo & Juliet; and M. Night Shyamalan's first feature, 1993's Praying With Anger.

Jacob Vaughn (Editor) began his film career at the age of 10 with a film called “Jake, P.I.”, shot on his dad’s JVC camcorder. Jacob’s graduation from the University of Texas was followed by brief stints selling tickets to a comedy show, working at the Austin Film Society as the program coordinator, and going on walkabout around Mexico. Jacob produced, shot, and edited Dear Pillow in 2003. The film premiered at

the Slamdance Film Festival and went on to corrupt audiences around the globe, eventually earning an Independent Spirit Award nomination. In 2005 Jacob Vaughan directed The Cassidy kids which premiered at the SXSW film festival. He is currently writing a script to be shot in Houston and Mexico.