"Cross-Eyed Dinner Theater Presents!"

CEDTP Screening

2010-03-08T13:46:00.000-08:00

"Cross-Eyed Dinner Theater Presents!" will have one final screening. We have been accepted by the 2010 Faux Film Festival. CEDTP will screen in the shorts program on April 3rd, 2010 at 7:00pm.

We have had a great run and want to let you all know how rewarding this film's experience has been. It was wonderful to work with all of you and gratifying that we have had such terrific responses from audiences. We have also been very happy that many of you have been able to attend screenings and share in the experience.

I hope you will all stay in touch and if anyone is able to attend the Faux Film Festival screening in Portland, OR, let us know.

From Eric and Anthony, thank you all for your hard work and support for our film. It would not have been possible or successful without all of you!!!

Indie Fest USA - the Aftermath

2009-08-31T15:16:00.000-07:00

Producer Anthony Sword and director Eric Naughton at Indie Fest USA.

Our screening at Indie Fest USA went very well. While not well attended we had a very enthusiastic crowd of fellow filmmakers there laughing all the way through.

Special thanks to my brother, Keith, and Joel Veenstra for attending the screening and supporting the film. It was Joel's first time seeing the film and he told me that he was really happy with how the film turned out and that it was great to see it on a big, huge theater movie screen (I'm paraphrasing, but accurate...).

Unfortunately, Anthony and I were unable to attend the closing night festivities due to scheduling conflicts. I later learned from Jeanie Clark, director of "Smalltimore" (the feature we screened with) and winner of the Best Director Award, that we were nominated for the Best Comedy Award. The award was won by "The Mel Bourne Ultimatum," an Australian film, but we were happy to receive the recognition.

Congrats to Jeanie! It was a pleasure meeting you, and best of luck to you with the rest of your festival run. Thanks also to Daniel Califf-Glick (director of "The Triumph of William Henry Harrison - an hilarious feature mockumentary) and Jamie Fessenden (director of "Boundaries of Attraction"). I'm looking forward to getting copies of your films!

Stay tuned for more news in the future... We anticipate a new festival announcement soon!

Eric

Indie Fest USA

2009-08-05T09:32:00.001-07:00

"Cross-Eyed Dinner Theater Presents!" is an Official Selection in the Indie Fest USA film and music festival. The festival screens at the AMC 12 in Downtown Disney later this month. Our screening date is August 27th, the last night of screenings.

As soon as we have all the information, we'll post it here on the blog including ticket purchasing, festival website, exact screening time, etc... Check back soon for the updates!

Dances With Films Roundup

2009-08-05T09:21:00.001-07:00

Cast member Mike Nelson, director Eric Naughton and producer Anthony Sword attend the Dances With Films film festival.

Our Dances With Films experience was quite good. As an alumni of the festival (with Mary/May in 2002), it was great to screen again at this awesome festival. DWF was held at the Laemmle Sunset 5 which was great, not because it's a block away from the Sunset Strip, but because it only took me 10 minutes to get there!

Our screening went well and we had a very good audience reaction, once they warmed up. We were the comic relief in the Short Film Group of Death. Out of the eight films, five were about death and one was a black comedy in which the main character is maimed in a hunting accident.

We were very well represented as Mike Nelson and Loren Lester showed up to see the film on the big screen. I could hear Anthony's kids screaming "Stella" a couple of rows away.

We saw a lot of great films and had a very good experience at the festival. I'm hoping many of you can attend the next one coming up soon...

Eric

Last Chance for Discount tickets

2009-06-04T06:35:00.000-07:00

Today, June 4th, is the last day to get $10 discounted tickets for our JUNE 8TH, 5:00pm screening at Dances With Films. Tickets will be $12 for the shorts program we are in after today.

I'm hoping to see a whole bunch of you there!

~ Eric

Screening Announcement - Dances With Films

2009-05-20T13:37:00.000-07:00

We will be participating in Dances With Films, a wonderful independent film festival right here in Los Angeles. For all of you who live in LA, this is a great opportunity to see "Cross- Eyed Dinner Theater Presents!" on the big screen. The festival is being held at the Laemmle Sunset 5 theaters at the corner of Sunset Blvd. and Crescent Heights, just east of the Sunset Strip.

As you know, we screened in the MOCKFEST recently. Our screening was nothing short of fantastic. We were part of a good lineup of short films and the audience reaction to our film was great. Everyone was laughing from start to finish, and people were even humming along with the music during the credits! Anthony, Leyla and I were joined by two of Leyla's sisters (one of whom came down from San Francisco for the screening).

Our Dances With Films screening will be on Monday, June 8th at 5:00pm. We are part of a short film program with a very good lineup of films.

You can purchase tickets directly from the Dances With Films website (it's easier and less confusing than buying through Laemmle's website). I have placed links to the screening schedule and our film's listing page on the left. Follow those links and you will easily find ticket information. (Unfortunately, I can't afford to buy tickets for everyone and DWF no longer provides comps to the filmmakers.)

I hope you can make it to the screening. There is nothing quite like the experience of an audience full of complete strangers enjoying your work!

Don't Miss Our MockFest Screening!

2009-04-28T11:00:00.000-07:00

"Cross-Eyed Dinner Theater Presents!" will be part of the program for the closing night and awards ceremony for the 2009 Mockumentary Film Festival.

Our film will be screened with four other films. Check out the lineup here: http://www.mockfilmfest.com/2009%20Official%20Selections.html.

The screening begins at 3:00pm and will end with the awards ceremony. The venue is the Beverly Hills Fine Arts Theater at 8556 Wilshire Blvd. (http://tinyurl.com/cw77p8)

I'd love to go to a nearby watering hole after the festival so we can all socialize. I'm working on a few ideas, but if anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears.

I'm very excited that we're going to be a part of the festival and I look forward to seeing everyone (and their friends) at the screening!

You DO NOT want to miss this screening!!!

L.A. Premiere in May

2009-04-04T12:51:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to announce that "Cross-Eyed Dinner Theater Presents!" has been accepted into The Mockumentary Film Festival, a.k.a. MOCKFEST. I'm so excited that we will be having a screening here in Los Angeles and I hope everyone will be able to attend (and invite lots of people). There is not yet a screening time or date, but MOCKFEST will be held in Hollywood on May 8th through the 10th. As soon as we have all the information, I will update the blog and e-mail everyone. We had a great screening at "The Mag" and I'm certain we'll all have a great time attending MOCKFEST 2009!

World Premiere

2009-02-24T12:42:00.000-08:00

Anthony and I are back from our World Premiere at The 12th Annual Magnolia Independent Film Festival. As expected, we had a great time at this outstanding regional film festival. (NEW LINKS: articles about the festival)

Screening on the opening night of the festival, the theater hosted a nearly capacity crowd. "Cross-Eyed Dinner theater Presents!" was part of a short film program that was followed by a brief intermission and a feature film. The crowd was great, and was laughing right away. Both Anthony and I felt that we got great laughs in all the right places and many people came up to us after the screening to tell us how much they enjoyed the film. Compliments were abundant for everyone's performances and how well they felt the film looked.

I only wish our entire cast and crew were able to attend the screening. I think everyone involved with the film would have enjoyed the atmosphere and would have been very pleased with the audience reaction.

Anthony and I made some new friends and acquaintances at the festival and would like to give a holla out to Sandy, Angela, David, Ashley, Dan, April, Nic, Bill, Michael, Elaine, Rob, CK and everyone who delighted us with film and who brought those films to us. A special congrats to Sandy who's film won the writing award and to David and Ashley who won the excellence in filmmaking award!

On a final note, if you're ever in Starkville, MS, don't miss Petty's BBQ. The pork ribs and sweet tea are the best!

~ Eric

2009-01-27T18:23:00.000-08:00

Premiere Update

Our premiere at The Magnolia Independent Film Festival had been scheduled. We will be playing on the opening night of the festival during a short film program preceding their opening night feature film.

Here's a link to the festival's schedule: http://tiny.cc/48mNP.

Anthony and I are both excited to be going to the festival. Keep on the lookout for more announcements and a recap of our premiere experience.

~ Eric

2008-12-31T13:57:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

We hope everyone is having a great bunch of holidays!

To ring in 2009, we have some exciting news. Just a few days ago, we were accepted by The Magnolia Independent Film Festival! This is a great, regional festival that takes place in Starkville, Mississippi in February. Another film Eric produced, "Mary/Mary," screened there in 2002. Though he didn't attend, the director of that film did go and said it was one of the best festivals he attended.

At this time, we do not have a screening date, but we'll update the blog when that information is available from the festival. "The Mag" will be held February 19th through the 21st this year and their website is www.magfilmfest.com if you want to check it out.

Next week, Eric will be available to pass out DVDs to those cast & crew members who weren't able to attend the screening in December. Due to limited monetary resources at this time, he won't be able to send the DVDs by mail (unless you moved away, like to Kansas or someplace like that).

We're hoping that 2009 brings lots of happiness and joy to you all, and we hope to continue reporting good news regarding the film. Best wishes to everyone!!!

Eric & Anthony

Screening & Holiday Note

2008-12-19T21:46:00.000-08:00

Our cast & crew screening last Saturday was great!!! I hope all who attended enjoyed the movie and I especially want to thank Amelia (Anthony's wife) for taking care of all the yummy vittles! I'm so glad that so many of you were able to attend and I'm very disappointed in the rest of you. JUST KIDDING!!!

I want all of you to know that if you'd like a copy of the DVD, I'll be back in Los Angeles after January 4th, and we can make arrangements to get you a copy. Since I blew all the rest of my money on DVDs and festival entry fees, I can't mail copies to everybody, but I'm sure we can all figure out a way for you to drop by my house and pick up a copy.

I hope you all have a great bunch of holidays! I look forward to good things in the New Year and I hope everyone stays safe whether they travel or remain at home. I hope to see you all sometime in the near future, and look forward to working with you all again!

Best Wishes,

Eric

DVDs on the way

2008-10-19T18:39:00.000-07:00

I know that I said we'd be finished with this little movie weeks... okay, months ago. I am happy to announce that the film is finished!!! The biggest holdup was technical difficulties in creating the master DVD. This affected screeners to send to film festivals, as well as making the final copies to give everyone. After successfully making a test master that was good quality, I had to spend a little time tweaking some stuff to get everything right.

I will be making DVD copies this week and arranging for a screening party. As soon as I have a venue, a day and a time, I will send out Evites to everyone and announce it here on the blog.

Eric

THE TRAILER has arrived!

2008-07-15T23:24:00.001-07:00

I hope you enjoy the trailer everyone. You can also watch it on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es4i3G24vR4

I can't wait to show the finished film. We're starting the sound editing this week and should be finished soon.

Let me know what you think of the trailer. I'm also putting it in the sidebar so it stays up after this blog gets archived.

~Eric

2nd half of 2008...

2008-07-07T16:24:00.000-07:00

Photo: Wolfgang preparing a dish.

(Victor McCay)

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July! I just wanted to post a quick update. After some back and forth, and trying out a few different things, and having some people watch the film, and getting comments... we changed some things and re-edited some things and now we're on the verge of finishing the whole thing. Whew!

This week we're submitting to four more film festivals and putting the finishing touches on music before going into the final sound editing for the film.

It's still exciting to watch the (nearly) finished production. I had such a great time making this film with everyone involved. I was very lucky to be able to assemble such a fun and talented cast and crew for the film. I'm looking forward to sharing the film with everyone and hoping we all get to attend some film festivals and see the film with an audience!

Come back soon to see a trailer for the film!

~Eric

Picture Lock

2008-06-19T14:25:00.000-07:00

Photo: David shows Michael the theater.
(Kurt Ela, Stephen Simyak)

What does "Picture Lock" mean? It means that we've completed a vast majority of the post-production for "Cross-Eyed Dinner Theater Presents!" Of course, little things like final credits and the title sequence will change slightly for music and timing purposes, but editing the film has been completed.

Other news for the week of June 16th, 2008: Original music is being composed as we speak (type, whatever), it might actually be finished (I have to make a phone call).

News for the week of June 23rd, 2008: Next week we'll get the film into the hands of the sound editor. He'll be working with the film to smooth out all the rough edges, and enrich the film with layers and layers of sound. I did some work like audience walla (a cute term for non-descript background conversation) and other stuff like that, just to have a temporary sound mix to send out to some preliminary film festivals. Now we'll really get the ball rolling and make it sound professional.

~Eric

The first blog...

2008-06-08T18:29:00.000-07:00

This is the very first blog for our short film. Since we're not quite finished with the film, let's start with a little background...

The film is a short comedy, written and directed by Eric Naughton and produced by Anthony Sword and Eric Naughton. Eric and Anthony have been working together since 1990 when they were studying film production at Penn State.

Production of "Cross-Eyed Dinner Theater Presents!" started in November of 2006 with the shooting of a few scenes at Anthony's house. In January and February 2007, scenes were shot outside of the NoHo Arts Center which served as the theater exterior. After securing the final locations, the rest of the film was scheduled to be shot in September.

The production met with a little snag when Eric was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease. With so much work being done on the film so far, and so many people generously donating their time and efforts, it was unthinkable to postpone the shoot. So the production went forward even though the majority of the scenes would be shot only two days after Eric's first chemotherapy treatment. In November 2007 the last couple of scenes were shot and Eric took some time off to finish his cancer treatment.

Post production really began in April of 2008. Eric began editing on Avid Express Pro at home and slowly but surely, the film took shape.

As picture lock is nearly here, we are looking forward to beginning post-sound with original music being composed and all other sound design and editing taking place over the next couple of weeks. The film is projected to be completed by the end of June 2008.

Look for more blogs in the coming days and weeks from Anthony and Eric and from the cast and crew.

~ the folks at "Cross-Eyed Dinner Theater Presents!"