WAYLON PAYNE (WALK THE LINE) AND ALI LARTER (HEROES) STAR IN CRAZY
CRAZY WINS THE VANGUARD AWARD AT THE JACKSONVILLE FILM FESTIVAL, BEST
FEATURE AT THE BIG ISLAND FILM FESTIVAL, JURY AWARD FOR BEST FEATURE AT
CHARLESTON INT'L FILM FESTIVAL AND BEST SCREENPLAY AT METHOD FEST
LOS ANGELES, June 6 -- CRAZY, an independent feature film
inspired by the tragic life and groundbreaking music of legendary 1950s-era
guitarist Hank Garland, is an official selection at the Boston
International Film Festival (6/6-14) in Boston, MA. CRAZY will be shown at
8:15PM on Saturday, June 7 at the AMC Loews Theater Boston Common (175
Tremont St., Boston, MA, 02111).
CRAZY's Boston connections include Boston native Stacy Earl, a
successful recording artist with a number of Top 10 hits, who portrays
country crooner Goldie Hill in the film. Executive Producer --- and famed
guitar hero -- Steve Vai is an alumni of Boston's Berklee College of Music,
and was presented with an Honorary Doctor of Music degree in 2000.
CRAZY just won the Vanguard Award, top honor at the Jacksonville
International Film Festival in Jacksonville, FL. Hank Garland lived the
last four decades of his life near Jacksonville with his brother (and
manager) Billy Garland and Billy's wife Amy, who attended the opening night
screening. The film also won Best Feature at Hawaii's Big Island Film
Festival and the Jury Award for Best Feature at the Charleston
International Film Festival. For Charleston's Post and Courier, Bill
Thompson wrote, "CRAZY has a bedrock feel of authenticity ... a lively,
emotionally resonant movie that is an uncommonly seamless meld of character
study and period recreation." At the L.A. area's Method Fest in Calabasas,
CA, CRAZY won the Daily News Award for Best Screenplay for a script
co-written by Bieber, Jason Ehlers and Brent Boyd.
Bieber was introduced to the project -- and to the late Hank Garland --
by Ray Scherr, who served as Executive Producer for CRAZY along with Steve
Vai (who also performs a cameo as Hank Williams) under the Favored Nations
Films mantle. Scherr had known the Garland family for over a decade, and
believed Hank's true story had great potential for a compelling drama. Hank
consulted on the screenplay and was involved with the project until he
passed away in December '04, shortly before principal photography began.
Waylon Payne, acclaimed for his debut film role as Jerry Lee Lewis in
the Oscar-winning film Walk The Line, stars as Hank Garland. LA.com
recently wrote, "The brash and brilliant musician is well played by
charismatic actor Waylon Payne." In addition to acting, Payne is a country
artist with deep musical roots. He was named for his godfather, Waylon
Jennings, and is the son of GRAMMY-winning country singer Sammi Smith and
Jody Payne, longtime guitarist for Willie Nelson.
Payne headlines CRAZY opposite Ali Larter (Heroes, Legally Blonde,
Varsity Blues, etc), who plays Hank's beautiful but deeply troubled wife
Evelyn Garland. Cast members also include: Lane Garrison as Billy Garland;
Scott Michael Campbell, as Garland's friend and fellow guitar ace Billy
Byrd; singer Stacy Earl, as Goldie Hill; Evans Forde as Nashville legend
Chet Atkins; and Ryan Cross, as jazz bassist Joe Benjamin.
CRAZY chronicles Hank Garland's rise to fame in Nashville, from playing
on hits for icons including Elvis Presley, Patsy Cline, the Everly Brothers
and Roy Orbison through his brief but influential solo career as a
visionary jazz artist. It also explores his tempestuous marriage as well as
his repeated clashes with the "Nashville Mob" -- who then controlled the
country music establishment -- over artists' rights, civil rights and other
issues. The car crash and electroshock treatments that eventually ended
Garland's performing career and derailed his life are starkly portrayed,
and the enormity of what was lost is deeply felt.
CRAZY is also an official selection at upcoming '08 festivals
including: New Jersey International Film Festival (5/30-6/15);
International Film Festival of England (6/9-13, Tamworth, U.K.),
Provincetown International Film Festival (6/18-22), Long Island
International Film Expo (7/9-17), Napa Sonoma Wine Country Film Festival
(7/16-28), Woods Hole Film Festival (MA, 7/26-8/2), Rhode Island
International Film Festival (Providence, 8/5-10), Sacramento Music & Film
Festival (CA, 8/8-17), and Scottsdale International Film Festival (10/3-7).
For more information, log on to http://www.crazy-themovie.com
See Also
