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Last Goodbye on DVD

The DVD release of Last Goodbye on Warner Home Video is set for October 18, 2005.

Purchase the DVD from Amazon (pre-order).
Rent the DVD from Netflix (pre-order).

DVD Bonus Features include:

Last Goodbye takes home Atlanta Film Festival award

At the closing ceremonies of the 28th Annual Atlanta Film Festival, Last Goodbye was presented with the Fred Dresch Memorial Award. Introduced this year, the award honors the best local production that was shot in Georgia by a filmmaker who is also currently living in Georgia. One of Atlanta’s Pioneer filmmakers, Fred worked in both Atlanta and Los Angeles for more than 30 years, directing many television shows as well as feature films. Fred, who passed away last June, was insistent upon staying an integral part of the Atlanta filmmaking community. This award is designed to honor those who trace his footsteps and carries the festival’s highest monetary prize.

Shot from the heart
Creative Loafing
The independent film scene is littered with the products of laptop coffeehouse toil.

Some 40,000 scripts are submitted to the Writer's Guild of America each year. But hard work alone will get you only so far. What an independent filmmaker needs is something more like luck.

And on a warm May evening a year ago at Primorski, a raucous Russian nightclub and restaurant in New York's Brighton Beach, luck appeared to Atlanta filmmaker Jacob Gentry in human form...

Read the full Creative Loafing cover story by clicking here

Jacob Gentry: Friend of Famous Kids
NY Times by Julia Chaplin

That was Faye," said Jacob Gentry, a 27-year-old film director from Atlanta, as he folded up his cellphone while walking down a rain-soaked street on Wednesday night. He was on his way to a producer's party at an art gallery in TriBeCa. "She says she's sorry that she can't make it."

That's Faye, as in Faye Dunaway. And Mr. Gentry, in his baggy jeans, disheveled bed hair and layered T-shirts, may be one of the luckiest filmmakers alive. His first feature, "Last Goodbye," stars Ms. Dunaway and Liam O'Neill, 23, her son; David Carradine and Kansas, his daughter; and six other celebrity offspring, including Clementine Ford, Cybill Shepherd's daughter; Dominik, Andy Garcia's daughter; and Alex, Anthony Quinn's son.

The Guinness Book-sounding cast came about when Mr. Gentry, who is part of an underground film collective, sent his script to a childhood friend in Los Angeles, who passed it along to Cassandra Gava, a producer and actress. Ms. Gava gave it to her friend Ms. Dunaway, who thought that a story set during a hot Atlanta day about the intertwining lives of a Buffyesque television starlet, a rock star, a teenage groupie and an office loner was perfect for her son's debut.

"So we flew to New York last year to meet Faye and Liam at this Russian restaurant in Brooklyn," Mr. Gentry said between mouthfuls of his dinner on a picked-over buffet table — carrot sticks, colored chips and free Stella Artois. "It was some after-party for the Guggenheim, and Dr. Ruth was there. I kicked into survival mode and started knocking back white Russians and talking about the movie."

It was Ms. Gava who hatched the kids-of-celebrities plan, he explained. "At first I was like, `That's so gimmicky, there's no way I'm going to do that!' " Mr. Gentry said. "But then, I thought there are so many movies out there, you have to have a hook to get people's attention."

By 9:45, Mr. Gentry, with his producer, Alex Motlagh, and P. T. Hall, an Atlanta musician who plays the guitarist in the film's band, Altruistic, were to hook up with the cast at Bowlmor Lanes near Union Square. Another film party was taking place there. They had all flown in for the movie's TriBeCa Film Festival premiere the following night.

When they arrived, Ms. Ford, 25, and Sara Stanton, 24 (Harry Dean Stanton's niece), mauled Mr. Gentry. "Jacob!" they screamed throwing their arms around him. "We missed you!"

Mr. Quinn, 27, was with his brother Sean, who had just picked him up from the airport. "I've lost 30 pounds since the movie," he said pulling his thrift shop jacket across his gut.

Ms. Ford, who had bit parts in "American Pie" and "Bring It On," was wedging on her bowling shoes. When she auditioned for "Last Goodbye," she said, she had no idea that it was a celebrity kids movie. "Chad was there, and he told me," said Ms. Ford, referring to Chad McKnight, Mr. Stanton's nephew. Ms. Ford has her mother's delicate features and smile. "At first, I was like, `I should leave.' But I liked the script, and then I met Jacob, and after 20 minutes, I was like, `I would do anything for this guy.' "

At about 11, Kansas Carradine, 26, arrived from Los Angeles in a long skirt and denim jacket. She had taken the subway in from Kennedy Airport. "She does stunts," said Mr. Gentry, beaming. He was talking about her past as a teenage rodeo star. "I think she played an Arab horse rider in `Hidalgo.' "

Ms. Carradine, who is also the niece of Keith Carradine, persuaded her father to be in the film. She is still looking for her big break. "In Hollywood right now they want famous names, not just famous last names," she said. "So what's wrong with banding together to get noticed? Keith's kids are trying to get into movies now. Maybe the three of us can make a movie together."

By midnight, the open bar had closed, and most of the jetlagged cast had gone back to their hotel rooms. Only Ms. Carradine, Mr. Motlagh and some of the film crew from Atlanta remained. "Let's go to the next party," Mr. Gentry said with a director's authority. "There'll be more free beer there."

Last Goodbye premieres at 2004 Tribeca Film Festival
POPfilms debut feature, Last Goodbye, is set to premiere at the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival. Screening times for Last Goodbye are May 6 at 6:00pm, May 7 at 2:30pm and May 8 at 8:45pm. The filmmakers will be in attendance.

In 2002, the Tribeca Film Institute successfully launched the First Annual Tribeca Film Festival. Created by Jane Rosenthal and Robert De Niro, the mission of the Tribeca Film Festival is to enable the international film community and the general public to experience the power of film by redefining the film festival experience.

Last Goodbye featured on ABC's 20/20
The making of Last Goodbye, POPfilms first feature, was chosen by ABC's 20/20 for a news segment. Correspondent Deborah Roberts interviewed the film's cast members, director Jacob Gentry, and producer Alexander Motlagh. Film industry relatives of the cast members — including Faye Dunaway, Cybill Sheperd and Andy Garcia — were also interviewed. The original airdate for the piece is February 6, 2004 at 10:00p.m. est.

• View the 20/20 segment online.
• Read the transcript from ABC News.
  

Interview with David Carradine (excerpt)
Insite magazine
One of the featured guests at this year's convention is David Carradine. The prolific Carradine is best known as Caine, the title character from "Kung-Fu". The role propelled him to superstardom until he left the show after the third season to focus on his film career. He has appeared in over 100 films, dozens of television movies, and a range of theatre both on and off Broadway. He won a Golden Globe nomination for his role as Woody Guthrie in Hal Ashby's Bound for Glory.

Carradine is coming back this year in a big way. He is playing the lead character, Bill, in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill which is scheduled for release this fall. He also continues to record and perform music with his band, Soul Dogs. David took time recently to talk to INsite about his upcoming films and the character of Caine from "Kung-Fu".

You were in Atlanta earlier this year to film The Last Goodbye with your daughter, Kansas Carradine. What was that like?

Jacob Gentry, the director, is like Tarantino when he came on to the scene. He's got that energy. He is 24 years old and it's his first feature film. It stars children of famous people and they all turned out to be really handy. Like the niece of Harry Dean Stanton, I watched her first performance before a movie camera. Awesome, she is just awesome. My daughter Kansas is in the film. She is the light of my life. An absolute joy. She is just breaking into the business. This is her fourth independent film. Her first audition, she got the leading role. She is batting 1.000. After I got out of the Army, it took me 52 auditions before I got one part.

Here's Why We're Wearing Red
Glamour magazine
Click the image to see a larger size photo of Last Goodbye star Clementine Ford and her mother Cybill Shepherd.

Critics' Picks — Best Local Filmmakers
Creative Loafing
At the risk of jumping on the bandwagon, Jacob Gentry and his POPfilms confreres prove that you don't have to live in New York or L.A. to make films that get noticed. Gentry has wrapped filming and is currently editing his breakthrough feature Last Goodbye. Other POP filmmakers offer their continually smart vision on projects for collaborative filmmaking ventures like the local Dailies Project and national 48-Hour Film Project, with POPfilm's The Hap Hapgood Story winning the Best Film award for the Atlanta leg of the competition.

Midnight Channel Scores with "Southern Gothic"
Remote magazine
Monsters, murderers and the undead continue to breath life into the fledgling Midnight Channel, lead by runaway hit "Southern Gothic." Recently renewed for a second season, the series follows the exploits of a sweet southern belle — who's also a vampire hunter. Scoring big with male teens, the campy series is the cable network's highest rated show.

press releases
Members of the press wanting to obtain more information on the project should contact POPfilms at info@lastgoodbyemovie.com.