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Big Apple Film Festival 2023 Official Selection, Of Things Past, a truly unique production, over 37 years in the making, at last will be enjoyed by North American viewing audiences beginning October 3^rd on Amazon, Vudu and major cable systems’ VOD.

Tony Award, Golden Globe and three-time Emmy winner Michael Moriarty returns to the big screen, with co-stars Louise Caire Clark and Tara Reid in the drama, that first began filming in 1985. The movie was never released and has been reimagined by TGA Productions and Cedar Films Studios, with an additional storyline shot in 2022, Directed by D. Paul Thomas and Eric Rafael Ibarra.

Louise Caire Clark and Michael Moriarty

“If you live long enough, you see nearly everything. Who would have thought that a movie filmed in 1985 that never saw the light of day, with lovely performances by Michael Moriarty and Louise Caire Clark, would be ‘reimagined’ by filmmaker Peter J. Bollinger and brought to the screen now,” comments Thomas.  “A special shout out to Dr. Sam Mayhugh, who shepherded the entire project through to a successful conclusion, and to the splendid ensemble in the original film.”

MOVIE TRAILER: https://vimeo.com/796491825

Filmed in the mountains of Mammoth Lakes, California, and inspired by true events, Of Things Past tells the moving story of Michael and Laura Dietrich (played by Moriarty and Clark), a young couple struggling to save their marriage after the tragic loss of their two-year-old son. Michael, a physician’s assistant, saves the life of a young girl, Kiki, seriously injured in an automobile accident. In saving her life, he begins to forgive himself for the death of his son. Nearly forty years later, as Michael is dying, an adult Kiki (played by Tara Reid), visits Laura (reprised by Clark) in Boston, revealing details of long-held secrets—the pain of betrayal and the power of forgiveness.

“What fun it’s been working on this unique project—taking a movie filmed previously and adding to it an additional storyline,” adds Ibarra. “Putting the two storylines together has been a fascinating and challenging process. A big shout out to Fotokem, CFI, Audionamix, and composer Amanuel Zarzowski for their work in helping us bring this one-of-a-kind movie to the screen.”

Legendary actor Michael Moriarty is a Tony Award winner (Find Your Way Home, 1974), three-time Emmy Award winner (1974, 1978, 2002), and Golden Globe Award winner in 1978 for his portrayal of the Nazi SS officer in the critically acclaimed miniseries Holocaust. He has starred in such films as, Bang the Drum Slowly, Who’ll Stop the Rain, Courage Under Fire, and Pale Rider. For four seasons, he played Executive Assistant District Attorney, Benjamin Stone, in the hit TV series Law & Order. In addition to his acting career, Moriarty is an accomplished jazz pianist, singer and songwriter, and displays those talents in the new movie.

Louise Caire Clark starred for three seasons as Maggie Scott in Disney Cable’s hit TV series Five Mile Creek. She has been in over 200 commercials, including the provocative “Harry and Louise” advertisements, and appeared in such shows as Matlock, Hardcastle and McCormick, Helter Skelter, and She’s Dressed to Kill. In 2000, she executive produced The Testimony of Taliesin Jones, a British drama starring Jonathan Pryce. Coming out of retirement in 2022, Clark reprises her role as Laura Dietrich.

Tara Reid is best known for her role as Vicky in the films American Pie (1999), American Pie 2 (2001), and American Reunion (2012). She played Bunny Lebowski in The Big Lebowski (1998) and April Wexler in the TV film Sharknado (2013), reprising that role in five sequels from 2013 to 2018. Reid began acting when she was six, becoming a regular on Child’s Play and Saved by the Bell: The New Class. She made her feature film debut in A Return to Salem’s Lot (1987), which incidentally, also starred Michael Moriarty.

Actors Gary Bayer, Macon McCalman, Peter Von Berg (Cast Away, Rollerball, Bad Company), and the late Jack Nance (star of David Lynch’s Eraserhead and Blue Velvet) round out the stellar cast.

Director, writer, actor, and producer, D. Paul Thomas is the co-director of the film, and while President of Victory Films, he directed and produced over 30 commercials, documentaries, and feature films, including Years of the Beast, They Cry in the Night, and The Calling. In film and on the stage, he has worked with such artists as Olympia Dukakis, Jason Robards, and Christopher Plummer. He directed the award-winning And, starring Tony-Award winner Ron Silver. His play Bonhoeffer 1945 was a “Best Pick” of the London Times. Recently, with colleague and the film’s executive producer Dr. Sam Mayhugh, he co-wrote The Odyssey of King David, and is currently Creative Director of TGA Productions.

Born and raised around the globe, co-director Eric Rafael Ibarra’s creative adventures began on the stage in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Manila. As many before him, after graduating from Emerson College, he made his way to Los Angeles to explore the artistic allure of Hollywood, working his way through independent features, network television shows, national commercials, and everything in between. With ten years in the industry and now an indie filmmaker, his portfolio includes five features directed and eight produced, with multiple festival awards along the way. An experienced cinematographer and producer, his music video and commercial work have garnered over 20 million views online and via broadcast, having been featured on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and in national spots on NBC, HGTV, and RokuTV.

CREDITS:

Directed by D. Paul Thomas and Eric Rafael Ibarra

Scripted by D. Paul Thomas, Frank Dent, and Peter J. Bollinger

Cinematography by Fred Paddock and Stephen Vanderpool

Prosthetics by Oscar winner Mathew Mungle

Stunt coordinator: “Doc” Duhame

Original soundtrack by Amanuel Zarzowski

Executive Producers: Dr. Sam Mayhugh, Peter J. Bollinger, Nora Betancourt, Eric Ibarra, D. Paul Thomas, Robert Vaughan, and Tara Reid

Distributor: Jerome Courshon, Lion Heart Distribution