See My Big Break and Talk to the Director

Students in Prof. Kathy Larsen's Fame and Fandom UW20 course are working on understanding why so many of us seek fame when most of us agree that it can be so destructive. Working with the Student Association Program Board, Prof. Larsen has brought the yet-to-be-released film My Big Break along with its filmmaker to campus to explore these question. The film screens this Friday (January 30) at 7 pm in the Marvin Center Amphitheater.

This Friday at 7 in the Marvin Center Amphitheater the SA Program Board Film Series and the University Writing Program are co-sponsoring the screening of the documentary My Big Break. There will be a Q&A with the director following the screening. No admission will be charged.

Filmed over a period of ten years, My Big Break follows five roommates (four actors and a director) as they try to make it in Hollywood. More than just a behind the scenes peek, the film captures (as it is happening) the effects of the quest for fame - seeking it, experiencing it, succumbing to it, and turning away from it – on all five.

Tony Zierra’s controversial documentary puts an achingly real, and sometimes disturbing face on the actors and the industry that many of us study but rarely get to see from this perspective. Featuring Wes Bentley, Chad Lindberg, Brad Rowe, Greg Fawcett, and Tony Zierra.

For those interested in writing, My Big Break is also a marvelous study in revision. The film opens with Zierra scrapping an early incarnation of the film and then traces the sometimes painful steps he takes to reimagine his work. His own journey as an artist is as riveting as that of the actors whose loves he chronicles.

Check back here after the film to leave your comments about the film, and maybe to see video of the Q&A.

Visit the event's Facebook page here.

Visit the film's official website here.