Oxford Film Festival 2011

So, last week "Where I Begin" held a sneak preview at the Oxford Film Festival and I cannot begin to tell you how well it was received. (More on this in a few.)

We decided to drive to Mississippi, which is one hell of a haul, but isn't bad if you have company along for the ride. Upon arriving and unloading, our first order of business was to kick off the week properly with a round of cold ones at City Grocery with WIB director, Thomas L. Phillips. After 13 hours on the road, that was just what the doctor ordered!

The next day, however, took an unexpected turn. Mother Nature proceeded to dump six inches of snow on Oxford, shutting down nearly everything! Now, no offense to my MS peeps, but you guys just don't do snow well. There were people all over the roads, in ditches; some just gave up and parked on the sides of the road. My buddy Darren & I couldn't help but laugh, because six inches is a dusting to us VA good ol' boys. Regardless, the evenings events were postponed and we were forced to make our own fun. We met a crew from The Discovery Channel that had been stranded and ended up hanging out with them and Joey Lauren Adams all evening. We had a blast!

Everything got back on track the next day, with stirring performances at Music in the Hall, by T. Lynn Mikeska and Robert Earl Reed. If you have not heard of these folks before, you should avail yourself of their talents. Lynn's music carries the attitude and irreverence of early Alanis Morrisette, and her voice would make Patsy Cline green with envy. Robert Earl brings a sound that isn't quite country, not entirely rock, but finds a happy medium in between. His voice has one of the most unique, haunting tones I have ever heard, and it's guaranteed to put goose bumps all over you. It was just a great show by two amazing talents.

Later that evening, the festival officially kicked off with a special show at The Lyric. It was a great time to network, catch up with old friends, eat some delicious food, and enjoy some icy cold brews, compliments of Lazy Magnolia Brewery. Nearly all of the WIB alums were reunited during the party, and we fell right back into our old routine like we hadn't been apart more than a few days.


Now, remember how I said we were laughing at everyone wrecking in the snow? Well, karma decided I had one coming for that, apparently. We transferred ourselves from The Lyric back to our favorite spot, City Grocery. For those of you who have never been to Oxford, the entire square utilizes beautiful old buildings, all of which have hardwood floors. Unfortunately, when those floors get wet, they get slick! As I turned to leave down the stairs, my boot hit a wet spot and up in the air I went!

All of a sudden, I was moving in what seemed like a slow motion sequence that was pitting all 240Lbs. of me, versus wooden stairs that have been standing for probably close to 100 years. Who won? Well, most people took the smart money and declared the stairs victorious, and judging from the bruise on my backside, there is plenty of evidence to support that argument. However, pride insists that I call it a tie, albeit a painful one.

So the next morning, I drug my extremely sore self out of the bed and made my way to the shower. Today was the day! Today we would see WHERE I BEGIN for the first time! None of the cast had any idea what to expect, and the butterflies were kicking around my stomach all day. I was so nervous I couldn't even eat. You would think I'd be used to it by now, but this role was so important to me that I just couldn't help it.

Finally 3:30 arrived! I really can't put into words how incredible it was to see what all of our hard work had produced. It's also impossible to describe the surreal feeling that comes when you're staring at a giant screen with nothing but your face on it, but I will say that it was especially sweet this time around.

I will not drop any spoilers, other than to say that if you don't see this film, you are missing out on an amazing cast! Cindy Hogan gives a performance so painful and beautiful that if you don't get choked up, you don't have a pulse. Alex Walters, Candice Barley, Lance Nichols, T. Lynn Mikeska, Elizabeth Connolley and Johnny McPhail all give stirring performances as well, that continually take your breath away throughout the film. John Wee's cinematography was simply amazing; undoubtedly one of my favorite things about WIB. The film ended to a great round of applause and we headed down to do our Q&A floating on a cloud.

When that ended, we were bombarded with folks congratulating us, handing us business cards, and taking pictures with us. It was overwhelming to say the least.

For me personally, my performance managed to garner a good bit of attention. "Tyler" isn't a very nice guy, but people were able to see the vulnerability I brought to him. I received several amazing compliments, including a few from some rather important industry insiders. I left the theater with my head spinning...and my stomach growling! So, off we went to grab some sushi at Two Stick.

I can honestly say that I wasn't expecting such a response to my character in WIB, but I spent the rest of the evening with random people coming up to me saying, "You are so mean! You scared the shit out of me!" Fortunately, it was usually followed by, "I can't believe how nice you are in person. How on earth could you play a character that mean?" I think it was about the best type of compliment I have ever received as an actor.

Saturday was a day of enjoyment & relaxation, since all the pressure was finally off of us. We spent the day catching some great shorts and documentaries, including WHEN COTTON BLOSSOMS. That one is a must see; very inspiring. Afterward, we managed to drop by and visit our friend, GG, and have a couple cold beers. That evening held lots of fun in store, so we headed over to Powerhouse for the post awards reception. I managed to get some networking done, and then we were off to the WIB after party.

I must say that our illustrious cast, except Lynn, should likely stick to acting. If WIB had required singing out of any of us, we might have ended up with a monstrous flop! Just sayin'... I had family coming in Sunday to see the film; that, coupled with pure exhaustion, caused us to turn in relatively early.

After some much needed rest and morning coffee with our wonderful hosts, we headed off to meet up with my family. We all met up with the cast over some BBQ nachos at Rooster's before making our way to Malco for the afternoon screening. This leads me to my only complaint about the Oxford Film Festival...seating!

I'm not so dense that I don't realize that they need to fill seats with paying customers; however, I still believe that they need a couple of reserved rows for cast & crew, at least for the features. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, so we had to go claim spots 4 hours early to guarantee a place to sit. It's not that we didn't enjoy the films we had to sit through, but there were a few others we would have liked to see in other theaters as well. Due to the lack of reserved space, I had to miss PILLOW, which I am still ticked about. Other than that, the festival was extremely well done!

Like all great things, the OFF had to come to an end. It was a magical few days that leads us to believe that it may indeed be an awesome year for all of us from WIB. Leaving all my WIB family and Oxford friends is always tough, but I was so happy to get home to my family and share the excitement with them. So, I'm home in VA once again, with Gallery of Guns waiting in the wings and visions of more festivals dancing in my head.

Until next time...