Nothing to enter, nothing to answer, just print yourself a pass to one of the funniest adult comedies in years. FOR A GOOD TIME, CALL… doesn’t open for a few more weeks, but we’ve got a pass for you and a guest to check it out early and free, in Dallas that is. As a special bonus, the stars of the film Ari Graynor and Lauren Anne Miller and director Jamie Travis will also be in attendance, and there will be a special Q&A following the film. I had the pleasure of moderating a Q&A with Ari in 2011 for the Gil Cate Jr. dark comedy LUCKY at the Dallas International Film Festival. Here’s a quick little clip of Ari and I after the screening.
Let me tell ya folks, she alone would be reason enough to attend this, but add in Lauren and Jamie, and you’ve got a can’t-miss show. If you live in Dallas, you simply MUST be there. So it’s very simple, just CLICK HERE and print yourself a pass (only one per person please – and remember each pass admits 2 people). Standard screening rule apply, a pass does NOT guarantee you a seat, make sure to arrive early to get a good seat. If you show up just before the movie is scheduled to start, and are turned away, don’t blame us! Also note this is an ADULT comedy, so leave the kiddos at home or with a sitter.
ABOUT THE FILM
Cast: Ari Graynor, Lauren Anne Miller, James Wolk, Nia Vardalos, Mimi Rogers, Sugar Lyn Beard, Steven Shaw, Mark Webber, Justin Long
Director: Jamie Travis
Writers: Lauren Anne Miller & Katie Anne Naylon
Distributor: Focus Features
The contemporary comedy that world-premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, lifting audiences to their feet and lifting their spirits. Two young women, short on the funds needed to live in New York City, agree to room together. But they’re an at-odds couple; Lauren (Lauren Anne Miller) is reserved, while Katie (Ari Graynor of “The Sitter”) is irrepressible. These roommates have nothing in common – until Lauren discovers that Katie is working as a phone-sex operator, and recognizes a good business opportunity. As the money begins to roll in, the two realize the value of not just their booming partnership but their growing friendship.
ARI GRAYNOR (Katie Steele)
In addition to For a Good Time, Call…, Ari Graynor can be seen starring in several other 2012 feature films. These are Celeste & Jesse Forever, directed by Lee Toland Krieger and starring Rashida Jones and Andy Samberg, which world-premiered at the Sundance Film Festival alongside For a Good Time, Call…; Jamie Linden’s Ten Year, with an ensemble including Justin Long of For a Good Time, Call…; and Anne Fletcher’sThe Guilt Trip, starring Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogen of For a Good Time, Call…
She made her feature film debut in Clint Eastwood’s Academy Award-winning Mystic River. Among her subsequent movies were Alan Brown’sBook of Love; Dan Harris’ Imaginary Heroes; Tim Daly and Clark Mathis’ telefilm Bereft; Michael Hoffman’s Game 6; Danny Leiner’s The Great New Wonderful, opposite Maggie Gyllenhaal; Christopher Guest’s For Your Consideration; Tommy O’Haver’s An American Crime; and Chris Eigeman’s Turn the River.
Ms. Graynor then memorably appeared in Peter Sollett’s Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist, with Michael Cera and Kat Dennings; Miguel Arteta’sYouth in Revolt; Drew Barrymore’s Whip It, as “Eva Destruction;” Kevin Asch’s Holy Rollers, opposite Jesse Eisenberg; Shawn Levy’s Date Night; Tony Goldwyn’s Conviction, with Hilary Swank and Sam Rockwell; Mark Mylod’s What’s Your Number?, opposite Anna Faris; David Gordon Green’s The Sitter, with Jonah Hill; and, in the starring role, Gil Cates Jr.’s Lucky, with Colin Hanks.
Among her television credits are standout arcs on The Sopranos, as Meadow Soprano’s (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) troubled roommate Caitlin, and onFringe, as Olivia’s (Anna Torv) younger sister Rachel.
Ms. Graynor has starred on Broadway in Daniel Sullivan’s staging of Donald Margulies’ Brooklyn Boy, which earned her the prestigious Clarence Derwent Award for Most Promising Female; Douglas Carter Beane’s The Little Dog Laughed, staged by Scott Ellis, with Tony Award winner Julie White; and in Relatively Speaking, starring in Woody Allen’s one-act “Honeymoon Motel,” directed by John Turturro. Off-Broadway, she has starred in Paul Weitz’s Trust, directed by Peter DuBois, and Bert V. Royal’s Dog Sees God, alongside Kelli Garner and staged by Trip Cullman.
She has been singled out by Entertainment Weekly as one of the “Top 25 Funniest Actresses in Hollywood,” and in 2009 was the recipient of the Young Hollywood Awards’ Comedy Award.
LAUREN ANNE MILLER (Lauren Powell)
Lauren Anne Miller, a Long Island native, moved to Lakeland, Florida when she was 8 years old. After graduating from the Harrison Center for the Performing and Visual Arts High School with a concentration in Visual Arts, she moved to New York City to study fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Technology. While getting her Associates Degree at FIT, Lauren began her acting career.
Leaving her sewing machine behind, she earned a Bachelor’s Degree from the film school at Florida State University, where she wrote and directed four short films, two of which played at film festivals around the country; and produced, edited, production-designed, and crewed on over 50 other short films.
After graduation, she moved to Los Angeles and worked as an assistant to Academy Award-winning producer Steve Starkey. Making the decision to focus on writing and acting, she had small parts in such movies as Greg Mottola’s Superbad, Jody Hill’s Observe and Report, and Jonathan Levine’s 50/50; and earned a “New Writer’s Deal” at the (now-defunct) Fox Atomic motion picture arm, and wrote two (unproduced) feature scripts for the studio. For a Good Time, Call…marks her feature producing debut, after producing several short films, and is her first feature script to be produced.
Ms. Miller is currently reteamed with Katie Anne Naylon, writing a new original screenplay for actress/producer Elizabeth Banks.
JAMIE TRAVIS (Director)
Jamie Travis has built an international reputation as a writer/director of precise vision with his genre-bending and darkly comedic short films The Saddest Boy in the World (2006), The Patterns Trilogy (2005; 2006), and The Armoire (2009).
His films have played to considerable acclaim at film festivals and art galleries alike, from Sundance to the Toronto International Film Festival (where all of his works have premiered) to the Centre de Georges Pompidou in Paris. Upon his first international retrospective at London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts, Time Out London called him “one of the world’s most talented and intriguing experimental filmmakers.” Retrospectives have followed in Nashville, St. Louis, and Prague. In 2010, Zeitgeist Films released a collection of his short films on DVD; his works can also be viewed at vimeo.com/jamietravis.
For a Good Time, Call… marks Mr. Travis’ feature directorial debut.
Born and raised in Dallas, Mark has been a movie critic since 1994, with reviews featured in print, radio and National TV. In 2001 he started the Entertainment section of the Herorealm website, where he contributed film reviews and celebrity interviews until 2004. After three years of service there, he started Bigfanboy.com, which has become one of the Dallas film community's leading information websites. Bigfanboy hosts several movie screenings in the Texas area, and works closely with film and TV studios and promotional partners to host exciting events and contests. The site also features a variety of rare celebrity and filmmaker interviews, and Bigfanboy.com regularly covers the film festival circuit as well. In addition to Hollywood reporting, Mark has worked for many years as an advertising and sci-fi/comic book artist. Clients have included Lucasfilm Ltd., Topps Trading Cards, The Dallas Mavericks and The Dallas Stars. From 2002 until 2015 he managed the Dallas Comic Con, Sci-Fi Expo and Fan Days events in the DFW area. He currently catalogs rare comic books and movie memorabilia for Heritage Auctions, and runs the Dallas Comic Show conventions, but remains an avid moviegoer and cinema buff. 
