Sedona.TV Blog

The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present “Cinema Under the Stars” at Tequa featuring the exclusive Arizona premiere of the sophisticated, moving and offbeat comedy “The Extra Man” on Friday, July 16.  There will be one screening of the film outdoors at the Tequa Marketplace courtyard in the Village of Oak Creek.

A live concert performance by Meadowlark — the duo of Rick Cyge and Lynn Trombetta — will kick off the evening at 7 p.m. Come early, bring lawn chairs and blankets … and enjoy the sounds of these renowned performers! The film will follow the concert at approximately 8 p.m.

“Just like last month, this promises to be an extraordinary night of music, film and fun as we celebrate summer with the second of our ‘cinema under the stars’ events,” said festival director Patrick Schweiss. “Where else can you experience an incredible concert and an award-winning film under the beautiful Sedona night skies?”

The Sedona premiere of “The Extra Man” marks the film’s debut two weeks before it’s U.S. theatrical release in New York and Los Angeles. The comedy features a stellar ensemble cast led by Academy Award and Tony Award winner Kevin Kline, Paul Dano, Katie Holmes and Academy Award and multi Golden Globe nominee John C. Reilly.

A sophisticated and moving comedy, “The Extra Man” follows Louis Ives (Paul Dano), a lonely dreamer who fancies himself the hero of an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel.  When a deeply embarrassing incident forces him to leave his job at an exclusive Princeton prep school, Louis heads to New York City to make a fresh start.

He quickly finds a nine-to-five job at an environmental magazine, where he encounters an entrancing, green-obsessed co-worker Mary (Katie Holmes). But it’s Louis’ new home life that really sparks his imagination. He rents a room in the ramshackle apartment of Henry Harrison (Kevin Kline), a penniless, wildly eccentric but brilliant playwright.  When Henry’s not dancing alone to obscure music or singing operettas, he’s performing — with great panache — the duties of an “extra man”, a social escort for the wealthy widows of Manhattan high society.

These two men, separated in age by more than forty years, develop a volatile mentor/apprentice relationship. Through a series of urban adventures where they encounter everything from a leaping lion to a wildly jealous hirsute neighbor, from drunken nonagenarians to a shady Swiss hunchback, Louis and Henry form a memorable bond that bridges their differences.

“Anyone who has lived in New York City has met someone like Henry Harrison,” said writer Jonathan Ames, who penned the novel that the film is based on as well as co-wrote the screenplay. “Impossibly charming and sophisticated, despite having no fixed income or easily discernible job, Henry is the kind of person who knows how to get into the opera for free, wangle invites to the poshest of parties, and winter in Florida with the jet-set. In other words, he’s just the kind of mentor that shy, passionate, would-be writer Louis Ives needs when he moves to Manhattan to pursue his literary dreams.”

The mentor-protégé relationship between Henry and Louis is at the heart of “The Extra Man”, brought to the big screen by Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman, the Oscar-nominated team who directed the indie hit “American Splendor”.  The New York Times raves that “The Extra Man” is “hands down Kevin Kline’s funniest role in years.”

Food and beverages will be available for purchase from the Tequa Marketplace restaurants. In addition, movie snacks and concessions will be available to benefit the Sedona Boy Scout Troop 48. Guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, blankets and beach towels.

The title sponsors for the event are Tequa Marketplace and the Verde Valley Caregivers Coalition. The series is also made possible by a grant from the Arizona Commission on the Arts and National Endowment for the Arts, the City of Sedona and the Sedona Community Foundation.

“The Extra Man” will be shown outdoors at Tequa Marketplace in “Cinema Under the Stars” on Friday, July 16 at 8:00 p.m., with a pre-film concert beginning at 7:00 p.m. This event will go on rain or shine! In case of monsoon rains or bad weather, the event will be held in the Hilton Sedona Resort Ballroom, adjacent to Tequa Marketplace.

Tickets are $12 or $9 for Film Sedona members, and will be available starting at Tequa beginning at 6 p.m. that evening. Cash or checks only. Film Sedona members can purchase tickets in advance at the Sedona International Film Festival office, 1785 W. Hwy. 89A, Suite 2B, or by calling 282-1177. For more information, visit: www.SedonaFilmFestival.com.