Quite cool (click to see it full size)…
All that, and I have yet to take a breath and update y’all about Robbye’s, Dean’s, and my grand adventure at the Great American Pitchfest. I will do that, but it’s gonna take a little time, as there’s a lot to tell. Look for that tomorrow or Friday.
In the meantime…we’re sittin’ here in hog heaven in anticipation of next Tuesday night. There will be press in the Minneapolis StarTribune, the Mpls./St. Paul Magazine website, and other publications over the weekend. Because you, however, deserve the scoop straight from the horse’s mouth, here is the press release:
Minnesota Screenwriters Workshop
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Hollywood Meets the Twin Cities: Upcoming ScriptNight Reading of INCARNATION to Feature Local and National Talent
Minneapolis, MN – The Minnesota Screenwriters Workshop
is proud to announce it has chosen Incarnation, a new project by
award-winning Minnesota-based filmmakers Dean Lincoln Hyers and Bill True, to
be part of its prestigious ScriptNight Reading Series.
The script, written by
True from an original story by Hyers and True, will be read by professional
actors hailing from both the Twin Cities and Hollywood
this coming Tuesday, July 8, at 7:30 PM at the Ritz Theatre, 345 13th Ave. NE, Minneapolis, MN. The staged reading
will be directed by Hyers
Hollywood actors John Ashton (Beverly Hills
Cop and Gone Baby, Gone), who appeared as the title character in
Dean’s debut feature, Bill’s Gun Shop, and Chris Mulkey (Cloverfield) are scheduled to appear
side-by-side with some of Minnesota’s top actors, including Sue Scott (Prairie Home Companion), to bring voice
to the script.
The event is open to the public, and tickets are available at the door for
$10.
There will be a Q&A and reception immediately following the reading, so
everyone will have an opportunity to discuss both the script and the experience
with the filmmakers and actors.
The ScriptNight reading series, produced by Robb Mitchell and Mark Gallagher,
runs 3-4 times per year. Recent presentations include scripts from John
Carrol Lynch (Zodiac), Shawn Otto (House of Sand and Fog),
and Christine Walker (Factotum). The Incarnation event is being sponsored by Best Buy, the Minnesota
Film & TV Board, Fredrickson & Byron law firm, emixie.com, and
SagePresence.
Incarnation focuses on the story of Harry Bayer, who, after
years of searching, stands at the brink of confirming a seven-year-old girl,
Shanice, is the reincarnation of his wife. But his only avenue to reach
her—Polly, the girl’s fractured mother—just lost custody. As Harry helps
Polly pick up the pieces of her life, they unexpectedly fall for each
other. Then FBI agent Artie Neckman arrives on the scene and raises
suspicions that point to Harry being a potential danger to Shanice.
True and Hyers are collectively in development with at least four film and TV projects for both Hollywood and independent production
companies. In addition, along with their partner, communications expert
Pete Machalek, M.A., they formed SagePresence, a consortium of filmmakers who
specialize in bringing the professional equivalent of “stage presence” to
organizations such as Target Corporation, Prudential, Symantec, and The
Department of Homeland Defense.
BILL TRUE
(screenwriter) was named one of New Mexico’s premiere new playwrights in the ‘90s for his
play Hell is a Diner. For the
next seven years, he worked as an actor, writer, and director for various
community and professional theatre companies, including the American Southwest
Theatre Company and the Guthrie Theatre Lab. He was hand-picked by
Tony-Winner Tim Rice to play the title role in the American Premiere of his
rock opera, Blondel. For nearly a decade, Bill was a Product
Director and Director of Communications for Fortune 200 Express Scripts.
Bill’s debut feature, Runaway,
premiered to universal accolades at the Tribeca Film Festival. Since
then, it has gathered an impressive bouquet of laurels, including screenings at Toronto, Woodstock,
Vail, and Avignon.
Bill also won the top prize at the prestigious Austin Film Festival and
Screenwriters’ Conference for his work on Runaway,
which is slated for release in 2008.
More information: www.billtrue.net.
DEAN HYERS
(director) was already showing feature films he wrote and directed at film
festivals around the nation by the time he was 18. Upon graduating from Gustavus Adolfus College,
Dean launched his own interactive media company, Digital Café, as his entrée
into the movie business. Through Digital Café, Dean directed and
distributed electronic promotions for mainstream Hollywood blockbusters like Godzilla, Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: the Movie,
and Die Hard III.
Upon selling Digital Café to advertising heavy-hitter
Campell Mithun in 1999, Dean returned to the director’s chair with his debut
feature, Bill’s Gun Shop, which Dean
also produced. Dean took top honors at the SMMASH Film Festival and won Minnesota’s top
directing prize, the DL Maberry Award, for his work on Bill’s Gun Shop, which was subsequently released through Warner
Bros.
More information: www.deanhyers.com.
True Life 
Good luck on Tuesday. You don’t really need it, but it’s the shortest way I could think of to say that I hope the reading turns out to be all that you want/need it to be.