Flashes of Panic

I got email this morning from one of my former roommates, which I think is worth sharing (mostly) in full. Links, emphasis, etc. are mostly mine.

As many of you know, my girlfriend Amy Fox has written a movie called Heights, which is premiering next week at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah and will open officially on June 10. The screenplay was bought and produced by Merchant Ivory and is being released by Sony Pictures Classics. It stars Glenn Close, Elizabeth Banks, Jesse Bradford and James Marsden, among others.

It’s a great film and all signs lead us to believe it will be a big hit.

It’s also Amy’s chance to, put bluntly, cash in on eight years of toiling away at her computer in relative obscurity to try to make a big splash as the entertaining, quirky writer we all know that she is. If this premiere goes well, it could take her career to a whole new level. That’s good both for Amy and for anybody who appreciates seeing smart, sexy and fresh stories at their local movie house.

Why am I telling you all this?

In the film business, the writer is often overlooked in the rush to swoon over celebrity actors and star directors. Heights is Amy’s story, based on a play she wrote in 2000 and adapted by Amy over a three-year period leading up to filming. She has worked hard crafting each subtlety that makes this film work. But she could use some exposure.

I have attached a press release about the opening of Amy’s film to this e-mail. In the spirit of viral publicity, please forward it to people you know who are in the film or media industries, especially those who, for example, write about movies for magazines, newspapers or television. Our goal is to build buzz about Heights; make sure that people who talk publicly (or privately) about Heights also talk about Amy; and, of course, to hook Amy up with people who may want to be involved with her next projects.

As far as I know, I only know one person in the film industry: Amy. And while I know plenty of people in media industries, they don’t generally write about movies for magazines, newspapers, or television. Furthermore, I’m not sure about helping my roommate “hook up” his girlfriend with “people who want to be involved with her.” (That’s a joke. I promise.) But maybe you do.

Or maybe you just know Amy and/or Z. and appreciate the news. Either way, the name-dropping is a bit fun, and if I don’t have actual contacts to contribute, at least I can throw in a little Google juice.

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