Readers of this blog have been following the progress of the movie Girlfriend
for quite some time. It's the first full-length feature from writer/director/producer Justin Lerner, and I attended the gala World Premiere at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival (see my review and pictures of the Q&A and afterparty).
Girlfriend stars Evan Sneider (The Replacement Child), Shannon Woodward (The Haunting of Molly Hartley), Jackson Rathbone (The Twilight Saga), and Amanda Plummer (Pulp Fiction). I first met Lerner and reviewed his short film The Replacement Child at the 2008 Santa Barbara Film Festival and had been eagerly awaiting this debut. It far exceeded my expectations. It's hard to watch at times but is one of those films that deserves the label "important." This movie about (and starring) a young man with Down's Syndrome has some scenes which may make audiences uncomfortable but, to me, that's one of the definitions of true art -- it moves you, makes you happy, sad, angry -- it affects you emotionally on a deeply personal level.
The band 100 Monkeys -- Jackson Rathbone, Jerad Anderson, M. Lawrence Abrams, Ben Johnson, and Ben Graupner -- wrote the original music featured in the film.
Now Girlfriend is having its well-deserved theatrical release. On Friday, July 15, 2011 I chatted with Jackson Rathbone and Jerad Anderson, actors/producers/composers of Girlfriend, on the morning of the film's New York opening. We also spoke about their band 100 Monkeys and Jackson's new life following his career-changing casting as Jasper Hale in The Twilight Saga. This was followed by an in-depth discussion with writer/director/producer Justin Lerner.
The audio interviews can be found at larryrichman.com. You can listen live (scroll to the bottom for latest interview) and download the mp3.
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