RI Director Richard Griffin to Premiere ‘Normal’ This Sunday

Friday, January 24, 2014

GoLocalProv Lifestyle Team

Check out the premiere of 'Normal' at Cinemaworld in Lincoln on Sunday, Jan. 26.

Scorpio Film Releasing will premiere its new film entitled Normal on Sunday, January 26, 2014 at Cinemaworld in Lincoln, RI. Normal is the latest effort from award-winning director Richard Griffin, and award-winning playwright and screenwriter Lenny Schwartz.

Described as a contemporary psychological thriller, Normal is about Jim, a lonely, troubled young man who works as an apartment superintendent. Unfortunately, Jim keeps reliving his tortured past. Through a series of flashbacks, and interactions with his mysterious tenants, we not only learn of Jim’s dark secrets, but also what it means to be normal. The answers Jim finds in his journey shatter his perceptions of the past, as well as his fragile grip on reality.

A personal journey

Griffin and Schwartz hatched the idea for the film very late one night. Schwartz grabbed the idea, and fueled by the grief, anger and pain of losing his father awhile ago, labored for three months, writing constantly. “I couldn’t shake it when it was done” said Schwartz. “Part of me still can’t. Part of me still feels like I’m stuck in that movie script.”

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Griffin drew from his own pain and losses of the past to help shape the film. "When I first read the screenplay for Normal from Lenny Schwartz, I found that with each page my emotions ran the gamut from a deep, visceral sadness to unmitigated fear," Griffin told GoLocal. "So many movies today are violent, but what Lenny wrote so brilliantly was a movie about violence. And not the blood and guts variety, but a violence that's deep, emotional and profound. Weeks after reading the screenplay I couldn't shake the emotions, and I still can't."

"I hope the audience shares in the same troubling nightmare Lenny wrote so brilliantly when they see the film in theaters. I am honored to have the chance to direct such a masterwork," Griffin added.

Local talent

Both Griffin and Schwartz are thrilled that local actors, now enjoying careers in Los Angeles are leads in the film: Michael Reed and Sarah Nicklin. No stranger to Scorpio Film Releasing, Reed and Nicklin have collaborated with Griffin on numerous occasions, including most recently on Exhumed.

In addition to Reed and Nicklin, Normal's cast and crew features countless other talented local actors and filmmakers, including Rhode Islanders Rich Tretheway, Michael Thurber, Elyssa Baldassarri, Shannon Hartman, and Patrick Keeffe.

Schwartz noted, “The world of filmmaking is all about remakes or re-imagining these days. I encourage people to come support a local filmmaker, actors, and crew, who have put blood sweat and tears into making something original. This is something you haven’t seen before.”

Providence's most prolific

Normal marks the 14th feature film for Providence native Richard Griffin. This past summer, GoLocal spoke to Griffin about his forthcoming effort Future Justice, a science fiction tale that Griffin funded by using the international crowdfunding site Indiegogo. To view the trailer, go here.

Normal premieres at Cinemaworld in Lincoln on January 26, 2014. There are two showings at 7pm and 9pm. Tickets are $10 each. For more information visit the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/229308907226989/

Check out the trailer for Normal below.

RI Director Richard Griffin to Premiere ‘Normal’ This Sunday

A personal journey

Local talent

Providence's most prolific

Related Slideshow: 25 Movies Filmed in Rhode Island

Moonrise Kingdom

Mr. North

There's Something About Mary

Federal Hill

Age of Innocence

True Lies

High Society

Thirteen Days

Little Children

RIPD

Amistad

Outside Providence

Me, Myself & Irene

Evening

The Great Gatsby

Self Storage

27 Dresses

Dan in Real Life

Hachi: A Dog's Tale

The Education of Charlie Banks

Meet Joe Black

Reversal of Fortune

Underdog

Tanner Hall

Dumb and Dumber

1994

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