Local director to debut film at Method Fest

BIG SCREEN-Josh Janowicz stars in "December Ends," a movie made by Calabasas filmmaker Lee Toland Krieger. The featurelength film will be shown at the eighth annual Method Fest starting March 31 in Calabasas. Visit www.methodfest.com. One of the top entries in this year's Method Fest independent film festival has roots in Calabasas and Westlake Village.

The nearly two-hour feature length film, "December Ends," will debut at 5:30 p.m. Sun., April 2 at the Carlson Family Theatre on the Viewpoint School campus in Calabasas.

"This is one of the biggest events of the festival," said Don Franken, executive director of the eighth annual festival. "('December Ends') has great acting and a strong story . . . We knew nothing about this film when we got it and, boom, we loved it."

Calabasas writer-director Lee Toland Krieger, the grandson of actor Lee Krieger ("Gunsmoke," "McHale's Navy," "The Andy Griffith Show") shot "December Ends" in April 2004 with a $75,000 budget. Some of Hollywood's big budget movies spend that much money on catering alone.

The film is one of 65 entries to be shown during the weeklong festival, which opens March 31.

"December Ends" is Krieger's first feature-length movie. He shot it in 17 days on location in Manhattan and Brooklyn. The movie is about a reluctant drug runner who must face the consequences of falling in love with his dealer's girlfriend.

"For 'December Ends,' what really triggered some ideas was a book called 'Twelve' by Nick McDonell," Krieger said. "My roommate had been reading it and he gave it to me and I read it in about a day and a half and loved it. It took place in New York about this kid who had lost his mom and was trying to figure things out."

Originally, Krieger wanted to adapt the book into a film, but he later decided to write an origihod Fest

nal story, also set in New York. Krieger spent a year writing the screenplay and raised the money for his project through private investors.

Krieger said he shot the movie on high definition video, using the same type of camera George Lucas used on the last two "Star Wars" movies.

"We screened a high def master of it and we had people asking me and my DP (director of photography) after the screening what film stock we shot on," Krieger said. "Everybody thought it was film. My DP is a talented guy."

The buzz surrounding the movie is already building.

"It's a discovery film and that's something we love to have-if we can-for a centerpiece screening," Franken said.

Krieger is hoping Method Fest will give his film the boost it needs when it comes time for distribution.

"We're going to try and play in as many festivals as we can and see what happens," Krieger said. "Probably by late spring or early summer, when we calm down with the festival route, we'll start shopping it pretty aggressively."

Krieger grew up in Westlake Village, attended Westlake High School and graduated from the USC School of Cinema and Television last year. He now lives in Calabasas.

In 2004, Krieger founded his Westlake Village-based production company, Autumn Entertainment. In addition to producing "December Ends," Autumn Entertainment produces music videos and recently filmed its first television pilot for a series called "The Wilton Hilton."

For more information about "December Ends," go to www.decemberends.com.

For more information about the Method Fest, visit www.methodfest.com.