Tonight Oxford Film Festival is hosting a one-night only premiere of James Franco’s “As I Lay Dying.” This special screening is being held at the Lyric Theatre on the Square.
The movie was filmed in Mississippi in 2012 and is based on William Faulkner’s novel of the same title. In attendance will be the producer Lee Caplin and executive producer Heidi Jo Markel as well as several local actors who have roles in the film. Special guests will talk about their experience in making the film and there will be a Q&A session with the producers following the screening.
The story is set in the 1930s and follows the journey of a family transporting the dead body of one of the members through Mississippi. It is set in Yoknapatawpha County, which Oxford natives like to call, Lafayette.
The film is starring James Franco as Darl Bundren, Logan Marshall-Green as Jewel Bundren, Danny McBride as Vernon Tull, Tim Blake Nelson as Anse Bundren, Beth Grant as Addie Bundren, Jim Parrack as Cash Bundren, Jesse Heiman as Jody and Scott Haze as Skeet MacGowan.
Faulkner’s original story and the film have both received monumental praise. The novel itself was written in only six weeks and is ranked among the top novels every written. The film has been made some eighty years after the original publication and the script was written by Franco and Matt Rager, receiving great reviews.
“When the Video on Demand and DVD release date was announced, producer Lee Caplin and I worked together to make a screening happen for Oxford. Executive Producer, Heidi Jo Markel was on board, and together the three of us quickly arranged for the film to be shown here,” said Oxford Film Fest executive director, Molly Fergusson.
The Atlantic Wire website calls Franco, the new William Faulkner and The New York Times recently wrote that Franco has “accomplished something serious and worthwhile.”
The film first premiered in May at the Cannes Film Festival and has been seen in New York and Los Angeles. It is a fundraiser for the Oxford Film Festival which is Feb. 6-9, 2014. It is also being released on iTunes. This special event at the Lyric will allow audiences to be the first to see the film and to see it on the big screen.
Melanie Addington, Oxford Film Festival Development Director comments, “Screenings like this are exactly why the Oxford Film Festival is in place, so that when a film about Mississippi comes out in New York and Los Angeles, Mississippians also are among the first to see it. We are very excited that Millenium Films and producer Lee Caplin and executive producer Heidi Jo Markel have provided us with the Mississippi premiere of As I Lay Dying. I think everyone here will enjoy being part of a historical experience seeing the film in the theater that Faulkner’s relatives originally built and then he premiered Intruder in the Dust. We will by historical luck, have the best screening of this film anywhere.”
The film begins at 7 p.m. and the Q&A segment follows each screening. There will be a cocktail hour at 6 p.m. where audience members can mingle and meet the producers. The Yalobusha Brewing Company is also hosting a free tasting of their new beer during this hour and a cash bar will be available.
Tickets are available for purchase now through www.oxfordfilmfest.com or can be purchased at the door of the Lyric. They are $20. Donations for the festival are also being accepted at the door and are tax-deductible. The official trailer can be found online.
