SCA Alumni Screening Series Presents: THE WACKNESS

ABOUT THE WACKNESS

It's the summer of 1994, and the streets of New York are pulsing with hip-hop and wafting with the sweet aroma of marijuana--but change is in the air. The newly-inaugurated mayor, Rudy Giuliani, is beginning to implement his anti-fun initiatives against "crimes" like noisy portable radios, graffiti and public drunkenness. Set against this backdrop, Luke Shapiro (Josh Peck) spends his last summer before college selling dope throughout New York City, trading it with his shrink (Ben Kingsley) for therapy, while crushing on his step-daughter (Olivia Thirlby). Famke Janssen, Mary Kate Olsen, and Method Man round out the cast in this edgy, bittersweet, and funny coming of age story.

Rated R, running time: 95min. Releases on Thursday, July 3rd, 2008.

To learn more about the film and to view the trailer, click here.

Print provided courtesy of Occupant Films and Sony Pictures Classic.

Felipe Marino (Producer) started his career in the entertainment business working in Literary Affairs at Paramount Pictures in New York. A year later, he left New York to join Paramount’s Motion Picture Group in Los Angeles as a story analyst. After arriving to Los Angeles, he enrolled in the Peter Stark Producing program at the University of Southern California (USC). In May 2003, Marino left Paramount for Fox Searchlight to assist Peter Rice, the company’s president. In August 2005, he co-founded Occupant Films, where he since produced the feature films All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, The Key Man and The Wackness. Marino holds a B.A. from Columbia University and an M.F.A from the Peter Stark Producing Program at the University of Southern California.

Joe Neurauter (Producer) started his career as a journalist writing for Austria’s prestigious news magazines "trend" and "profil". In 2002, he came to the US to pursue his passion in film, where he attended the Peter Stark Producing Program at USC. During his studies, he worked at New Line Cinema and for producer Mark Gordon's company. In August 2005, he co-founded Occupant Films, where he since produced the feature films All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, The Key Man and The Wackness. Neurauter holds an M.A. in journalism from the University of Vienna, Austria and an M.F.A from the Peter Stark Program at the University of Southern California.

OCCUPANT FILMS is an independent LA-based production company established in August 2005 by producers Keith Calder, Felipe Marino and Joe Neurauter, who met while attending the Peter Stark Program at USC. Occupant's first film, ALL THE BOYS LOVE MANDY LANE, premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2006, where it was acquired by The Weinstein Company within two hours after its world premiere and is now scheduled to get a theatrical release in the fall of 2008 through Senator Entertainment. The company's next film THE WACKNESS, starring Academy Award-Winner Sir Ben Kingsley, Josh Peck, Olivia Thirlby, Mary-Kate Olsen and Method Man premiered at the 2008 Sundance Festival, where it won the prestigious Audience Award. The film was picked up by Sony Picture Classics and will have its nationwide release on July 3rd 2008. The company is currently in post-production on THE KEY MAN, written and directed by Peter Himmelstein and starring Hugo Weaving , Brian Cox, Jack Davenport and Judy Greer.

ABOUT CHECK-IN & RESERVATIONS

This screening is presented free of charge and is open to all USC students, faculty, staff and alumni. The theater will be OVERBOOKED to ensure capacity and the RSVP list will be honored on a first-come, first-serve basis, with no reserved seating. Please bring a photo ID or print out of your reservation confirmation, which will be automatically sent to your e-mail account upon successfully making an RSVP through this website. Check-in will begin at approximately 6:15PM.

ABOUT PARKING

The USC School of Cinematic Arts is located at 850 W. 34th St., Los Angeles, CA 90007. Parking passes are available for Parking Structure D and Lots M & V (across the street from the George Lucas Building) for $8.00. You must pull into Gate 5, located at the intersection of McClintock Ave. and W Jefferson Boulevard and purchase your parking pass with the booth attendant. Street parking is also available along W Jefferson Blvd.