Announcing the Midwest theatrical premiere of THE LAST LULLABY this Friday, May 8, at the Collins Road Theatre, Cedar Rapids, IA!

THE LAST LULLABY, director Jeffrey
Goodman’s version of my novel
THE LAST QUARRY,
has been doing very well on the film festival circuit over the last year or so.
On the weekend of April 3 & 4, the film came to my home turf, where it won Best
Professional Feature (The Gold Eddy Award) from the
Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival. I
introduced the film, which was given the honor of the prime Saturday
evening slot (8 pm). The audience at the
Collins Road Theatre (no,
neither the road nor the theater was named after me) seemed to love it.

This festival win has special resonance because the short Quarry film, “A Matter of
Principal,” that was expanded into THE LAST LULLABY (and THE LAST QUARRY, for that
matter), had won Best Short Film at the same festival in 2003. In 2004, director
Goodman, having done so well with the short, commissioned me to a feature-length
version and started the ball rolling, or anyway got it rolling further. I did two
drafts of the screenplay, another writer did another draft when the production moved
to Louisiana and locations shifted, then I came in and provided extensive notes that
amounted to a sort of last-minute polish. The film differs in some respects from THE
LAST QUARRY, but I really like it. Tom Sizemore, baggage and all, is a wonderful
Quarry (herein called “Price”), and there’s a lovely modern noir atmosphere. We showed
it at the last Bouchercon to nice response, and it’s been an official selection of
numerous festivals with some impressive wins.

There will be a limited theatrical release starting in May. It will primarily be
showing in cities where the film has done well in fests, or where there’s a tie to the
film — meaning Louisiana (Jeffrey’s home state and the site of the filming) and Iowa
(my home state) will be on the list, with its Midwestern theatrical premiere at the Collins
Road Theatre on Friday, May 8. Director Jeffrey Goodman will join me at the 7 and 9
PM screenings to present the film, and take questions and answers from the opening
night audience. THE LAST LULLABY will also be showing in the Quad Cities the following week —
stay tuned for more details.

The original Quarry short, written by me and directed by Jeffrey, is part of my
anthology DVD, SHADES OF NOIR (essentially the bonus DVD on the boxed set of my indie
stuff, THE BLACK BOX).

THE LAST LULLABY Official Trailer

M.A.C.