CRAZY, an Award-Winning Feature Inspired by the Life of Guitar Legend Hank Garland, Opens the 2008 Jacksonville Film Festival on May 15 at 7:30PM - Members of the Garland Family Will Attend

CRAZY, an Award-Winning Feature Inspired by the Life of Guitar Legend Hank Garland, Opens the 2008 Jacksonville Film Festival on May 15 at 7:30PM - Members of the Garland Family Will Attend

Q&A AND GALA CELEBRATION WITH MUSICAL PERFORMANCES TO FOLLOW

WAYLON PAYNE (WALK THE LINE) AND ALI LARTER (HEROES) STAR IN CRAZY, WHICH WON THE JURY AWARD FOR BEST FEATURE AT THE CHARLESTON INT'L FILM FESTIVAL AND BEST SCREENPLAY AT METHOD FEST

LOS ANGELES, May 15 /PRNewswire/ -- CRAZY, an award-winning independent feature film inspired by the tragic life and groundbreaking music of legendary 1950s-era guitarist Hank Garland, is the opening night selection at the 2008 Jacksonville Film Festival (5/15-21) in Jacksonville, Florida. CRAZY will inaugurate the Festival's sixth annual year with a 7:30PM red carpet screening on Thursday, May 15 at the venerable Florida Theatre (128 E. Forsyth St., Jacksonville, FL, 32202), a magnificently restored, circa 1927 venue named on the National Register of Historic Places.

Immediately after the screening, there will be a Q&A with director Rick Bieber and actor Waylon Payne, who's winning major acclaim for his star-making turn as Garland. Payne brings his own musical pedigree to the role, lending his performance even more intensity -- named for his godfather Waylon Jennings, he's also a country music artist and the son of GRAMMY-winning country singer Sammi Smith and Jody Payne, longtime guitarist for Willie Nelson. Scott Michael Campbell, who plays another Nashville guitar master, Billy Byrd, will also be in attendance. Following the Q&A, opening night festivities continue at Jacksonville's new Mavericks venue with a gala celebration including musical performances of songs from the film. Musicians on the bill include Jacksonville-area aces Jimmy Bruno, David Smith, Skip & Nancy Frye, Jerry Carris, Ed Cotton and Dave Plummer, plus CRAZY cast members Stacy Earl and Ryan Cross.

The late Hank Garland lived the last four decades of his life near Jacksonville with his brother and sister-in-law, Billy and Amy Garland, who cared for him after a near-fatal car accident and debilitating electroshock treatments ended his career. The Garlands and their daughter Shelby -- along with an extended family of friends and musicians -- will attend on May 15, making this festival particularly meaningful for everyone involved with CRAZY. Billy Garland commented, "I think it was bold people that made this movie...It means everything to me that the truth of what happened to Hank is revealed after all this time."

Most recently on the festival circuit, CRAZY was an Official Selection at the Charleston International Film Festival, where it claimed the Jury Award for Best Feature. For Charleston, SC's Post and Courier, head film critic Bill Thompson wrote, "CRAZY has a bedrock feel of authenticity...the work of a filmmaker who genuinely cares about the story he is relating and the man at its core...a lively, emotionally resonant movie -- with wonderful music -- that is an uncommonly seamless meld of character study and period recreation." Earlier this spring, at the L.A. area's 10th Annual Method Fest in Calabasas, CA, the film won the Daily News Award for Best Screenplay for a script co-written by director Bieber, Jason Ehlers and Brent Boyd.

Bieber was introduced to the project, and to Hank Garland, by Ray Scherr, who Executive Produced CRAZY in tandem with guitar hero Steve Vai (who performs a cameo as Hank Williams) under the Favored Nations Films mantle. Scherr had known the Garland family for over a decade, and believed Hank's true story had great potential for a compelling drama. Hank consulted on the screenplay and was involved with the project until he passed away in December '04, shortly before principal photography began. The Garland family continued to be a primary source of information throughout production.

Waylon Payne, acclaimed for his debut film role as Jerry Lee Lewis in the Oscar-winning Johnny Cash biopic Walk The Line, headlines CRAZY opposite Ali Larter (Heroes, Legally Blonde, etc.), who plays Hank's beautiful but troubled wife Evelyn Garland. Cast members also include: Lane Garrison as Billy Garland (who was also Hank's manager); singer Stacy Earl as country crooner Goldie Hill; Evans Forde as Nashville legend Chet Atkins; and Ryan Cross as jazz bassist Joe Benjamin.

CRAZY chronicles Hank Garland's rise to fame in Nashville, from playing on hits for icons including Elvis Presley, Patsy Cline, the Everly Brothers and Roy Orbison through his brief but influential solo career as a visionary jazz artist. It also explores his tempestuous marriage as well as his repeated clashes with the "Nashville Mob" -- who then controlled the country music establishment -- over artist's rights, civil rights and other issues. The car crash and electroshock treatments that derailed Garland's life are starkly portrayed, and the enormity of what was lost is deeply felt at the film's end.

CRAZY is also an official selection at upcoming 2008 festivals including: the Big Island Film Festival (5/15-18); Hoboken International Film Festival (5/30-6/5); New Jersey International Film Festival (5/30-6/15); Colorado's Breckenridge Festival of Film (6/5-8); Boston International Film Festival (6/6-14); International Film Festival of England (6/9-13, Tamworth, U.K.); Maui International Film Festival (6/11-15); Provincetown International Film Festival (6/18-22); Long Island International Film Expo (7/9-17); Napa Sonoma Wine Country Film Festival (7/16-28) and the Scottsdale International Film Festival (10/3-7).

For more information, log on to http://www.crazy-themovie.com/

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Favored Nations Films

CONTACT: Erin Podbereski, +1-626-585-9575, erin@jensencom.com, for
Favored Nations Films

Web site: http://www.crazy-themovie.com/

---

Profile: International Entertainment