USA/FILM LOCATIONS: NEW COMEDY 'SPLENDOR' FROM GENERATION X INDEPENDENT FILM MAKER GREGG ARAKI

Record ID: 388667

  • Title: USA/FILM LOCATIONS: NEW COMEDY 'SPLENDOR' FROM GENERATION X INDEPENDENT FILM MAKER GREGG ARAKI
  • Date: 22nd October 1999
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 25) (REUTERS ACCESS ALL) (SOUNDBITE) (ENGLISH) JOHNATHON SCHAECH SAYING OF GREGG ARAKI, He's always been very, very specific on what he wants. His, you know, he's a writer/director, and he writes his own material which is, every character is an aspect of himself. He's very into the visuals, the colors, the chemistry. he creat
  • Embargoed: 6th November 1999 12:00
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  • Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES AND FILM LOCATIONS
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVABOLYKN5FVEG5XLDW89KWQROJQ
  • Story Text: Generation X indpendent filmmaker Gregg Araki takes a break from the darker atmosphere of his earlier films in his newest comedy called "Splendor," the story of a menage-a-trois starring "Beverly Hills 90210" star Kathleen Robertson, Johnathon Schaech and Matt Keeslar.
    Although this isn't Robertson's first feature film since landing her plum role on the TV show "Beverly Hills 90210," it is her first lead role.In "Splendor," she plays Veronica a struggling actress living in Los Angeles who hasn't had a date in over a year.
    But that changes drastically when, on the very same night, she meets both Zed, a punk rock drummer played by Matt Keeslar, and Abel, a writer and freelance rock critic played by Johnathon Schaech.Soon, she finds herself falling in love with both of them.
    But rather than forcing herself to chose between them, she convinces them to enter into a romantic menage-a-trois, and, within weeks, the three of them are living together in her small apartment.
    Of course, this situation doesn't stay perfect for very long, as jealousies and the real life challenges of being roommates of the opposite sex intervene and force Veronica into looking elsewhere for romance, living Abel and Zed behind trying to figure out a way to win her back.
    "Splendor" is another a long series of sexually-charged independent films for Araki.He previously director Schaech in "The Doom Generation" and Robertson in his most recent film "Nowhere." But unlike those dark, nihilistic angst-ridden films, "Splendor" is considerably lighter in tone, more resembling the screwball comedies of the 1930's and 1940's by such filmmakers as Preston Sturges and Howard Hawks.
    Of course, the subject matter put the three lead actors in the potentially uncomfortable position of having a three way love scene on the set, but all three actors agree that getting to know each other in the rehearsal process and Araki's easy, laid-back style helped ease their nerves when it came time to shoot those scenes.
    In addition to his work with Araki, Schaech has also been seen in the films "How To Make an American Quilt" and Tom Hanks' "That Thing You Do," while Keeslar has played in Wilt Stillman's "Last Days of Disco" and the Irish coming of age tale "Run of the Country."
    "Splendor" is now playing in theaters throughout the United States.
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