Beat Angel - the Spirit of Kerouac
	In Stock, Ships Immediately!	DVD: $19.95
		Download: $7.99 Read Before Purchase! Our downloads are in MP4 format and should play on video iPods, iPhone, Zune and other hardware devices. Common video players, most notably Windows Media Player, can be a little finicky the first time and may ask you to install a plugin. Please download this small sample and test it with your desired player before making a purchase as all MP4s are not created equal.

	This film hasn't been tagged yet.

Film Overview

Directed By: Randy Allred Written By: Bruce Boyle, Frank Tabbita, Randy Allred with Vincent Balestri View Official Website	Release Date: 2006-10-24 Running Time: 1:39 Content Rating: not yet rated	DVD Region: All Regions Media Format: NTSC-DVD Aspect Ratio: 4:3 Audio Language(s): English Subtitle Language(s): French, Spanish, Italian
Genres: New Age :: Comedy >> Stand-Up :: Drama >> General

Synopsis

On the 30th anniversary of his own death, the angelic spirit of Jack Kerouac--legendary author of "On the Road"--returns to Earth in the abandoned body of a street bum and drops in on a poetry slam being held in his honor---"a generation is waiting to be written."

Gerard Tripp (Frank Tabbita), bitter from a long-ago brush with literary success, lives alone in an abandoned hotel. Like the decrepit building, his life crumbles around him. As the bulding's nominal caretaker, he has plenty of time for literary pursuits.

He writes by night, purely for himself, then locks his manuscripts away in a trunk---"undiminished" by editors, critics, readers. No one knows Gerard still writes, not even his sometimes-girlfriend Carol (Lisa Niemi), who owns his favorite tavern.

Vic, an old college chum, is in town to offer Gerard a job as a commercial literary executive. Gerard doesn't want to be an editor, but he's about to lose his job and home at the old hotel.

When some young poets in Carol's bar prepare a poetry slam for the 30th anniversary of Jack Kerouac's "Death Day," Gerard loudly derides the legendary On the Road author---"most overrated writer of the century!" he tells them--and selfishly spurns questions from Mary (Amy Humphrey), a young writer seeking advice and inspiration.

But Gerard seems to know a lot about the "King of the Beats" and he vividly recounts Kerouac's grisly 1969 death from alcoholism. As he speaks, a pitiful hobo (Vincent Balestri) wanders in. Past and present collide as the hobo falls dead---then miraculously comes back to life, telling the stunned crowd his name is "Jack...Jack Kerouac!"

"Jack" becomes the star of the slam! Gerard, amused at first, grows wary and determines to unmask the imposter when Jack recites one of Gerard's hidden poems.

After the slam, Jack leads Mary, Carol and Gerard through a night of revelation. When Gerard tries to sleep, Jack becomes his "Big Sur" nightmare---but was it really just a dream?

Cast

"Jack": Vincent Balestri | bio
Vincent Balstri has worked in theatre since leaving Chicago's Goodman School of Drama in 1968. Roles over the years range from the lead in Charles Ludlam's Bluebeard; to Peechum in Brecht's Three Penny Opera; and Jacques in As You Like It. Ensemble work includes Waiting for Lefty with Seattle's One World Theatre, Animal Farm with the Caravan Farm Theatre of British Columbia. Mr. Balestri was nominated for a best actor award in Chicago for originating the role of Old Buk in the premiere of Paul Peditto's The Life and Times of Charles Bukowski.

Mr. Balestri directed a national children's theater touring group and has directed his own theatre company. He designs and directs acting workshops both privately and for schools. Vincent's first one-actor show, Red Earth: A Western Myth was performed in Canada and the U.S.

In 1980, Vincent began working on what would become Kerouac: the Essence of Jack. While directing Alice in Wonderland at the Punch and Judy Theatre in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, a friend introduced him to Edie Kerouac, the first wife of writer Jack Kerouac. The two developed an instant affinity and Edie encouraged the actor to take on the role he had already been pondering for quite some time. She supplied tapes of Jack reading (unavailable to the public at that time) and they spent hours talking about the era. Vincent began a series of hour-long performances in a friend's loft in Chicago. The first road performance was a benefit for a group of stranded actors at David Thompson University in BC. The story goes that scenes kept being added and improvised for eight hours until the janitor arrived and kicked everyone out. Full production began in 1981; the early shows lasted about three hours with no intermission. As the actor has grown, so has the show. Over the years, Jack's friends and family who have seen the show have provided insights and anecdotes. The performance now is usually about two hours long -- including the intermission.

Essence has played in many cities across the U.S. and Canada, including extended runs in San Francisco and the Bay Area, Chicago, and Austin, Texas. Jack's hometown, Lowell, Massachusetts, has hosted the piece. It has been seen and enjoyed by many of Jack's family and old friends, as well as by those who are less familiar with Kerouac.

"The actor is the lighthouse of his country, civilization and age. He represents the emotions we all feel, objectively. He understands philosophy, psychology, history and religion. He searches in total freedom of the imagination, with his heart, soul and mind, the living being: Man. Our condition as a culture is represented through and by the actor; that is an actor's subtext. It's a very serious, naked, risk-taking profession. The true actor's eyes are his country's eyes."

--Vincent Balestri
Gerard: Frank Tabbita | bio
Frank plays Gerard Tripp in Beat Angel, and has served as a Writer and Producer on the project from its inception.

His stage credits include a small role as Jack Kerouac in Janis, a musical about Janis Joplin; the role prompted an interest in the Beat Generation writer, and his research led him to Vince Balestri's one man play Kerouac: the Essence of Jack, which became the inspiration for Beat Angel. Frank later produced two runs of Essence in Seattle.

Frank has performed leading roles in A Streetcar Named Desire, Dracula, When Ya Comin' Back Red Ryder?, Waiting for Godot, The Man of La Mancha, Grease, and The Sound of Music, among other roles in both dramatic and musical productions. Frank is also a singer, instrumentalist and award-winning songwriter.

On film, Frank played a gang leader in With These Hands; he played Debra Winger's date in Paper Man, a short film made from a Tom Robbins script, and he has a role in "The Happiest Moment of My Life: Take Two" directed by Thomas Phillips.

Frank recently created the role of Tesla, in a one-man show he wrote with Michael Newlight, a Bellingham writer and associate producer of Beat Angel. Tesla explores the life and work of Nikola Tesla, one of history's greatest inventors.
Carol: Lisa Niemi | bio
Ms. Niemi's film credits include Steel Dawn, Percy Adlon's Younger and Younger, and Bankrupts and Voices. On TV, Lisa starred in the action drama Super Force, was a recurring guest lead in Max Headroom and the TV movie Live From Death Row. She has also made special appearances on Saturday Night Live, The Word Music Awards and Oprah.

On Broadway she has played the role of Ziegfeld's Favorite in Will Rogers Follies and appeared in Hellzapoppin with Jerry Lewis. Other theater credits include Love Letters, which she performed with her husband, Patrick Swayze; the award-winning Without a Word, a theater/dance piece she conceived, wrote and performed with Mr. Swayze and Nicholas Gunn; Potpourri and Porcupines; Shadows; The Whore of Mensa; the award-winning Brick and The Rose; and Moonchilderen.

Ms. Niemi has her directorial film debut with One Last Dance, filmed from a screenplay she wrote based on her and her husband's dance experiences in New York.

Lisa was educated in Houston including the High School for the Performing Arts, Houston. She went on to study or perform with the Alley Theater; Studio 7; Patsy Swayze's Dance Studio, Houston; Harkness Ballet Theater School, New York; Houston Jazz Ballet and the Joffrey II Ballet.
Mary: Amy Humphrey | bio
Amy began work on Beat Angel by chance while studying at Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biology/Anthropology.

Although she has always had a passion for the arts, her portrayal of Mary was her first acting experience. Working on the set inspired her to pursue a career in film production. Since Beat Angel, she has been working professionally in media production and has created short films of her own. Amy aspires to continue acting, writing, traveling, and learning.

Crew

Director: Randy Allred
Writer: Bruce Boyle, Frank Tabbita, Randy Allred with Vincent Balestri
Production Company: Beat Angel Productions LLC
Copyright: Beat Angel Productions LLC

Bonus Features

Deleted & Extended Scenes
Director Commentary
Scene Selections

Accolades

Awards

Special Prize of the Fest

Festivals

Wine Country Film Festival

Press Reviews

David Amram | show/hide snippet
"BEAT ANGEL is a remarkable film done in a style that is as original and refreshing as the work of Kerouac itself. Spontaneous and always communicative, the film tells a story that keeps you engrossed, thanks to the brilliant performances of all the actors, who always seem as natural as Kerouac's characters do when you meet them while reading his books.

Like those of us who played jazz during our era, and told our musical stories by using the harmonies of familiar songs to improvise new stories based on familiar material, this film is equally well structured.

It is a series of variations and improvisations based on the spirit of our era, and the flavor of Jack's work, seen by young people in 2004, rather than being a docudrama or dramatization of Jack's books.

There are hilarious sendups of poetry slams, stone hearted publishers and Wanna-Beats, balanced by moments of passion and reflection that are deeply touching.

This film will, like "Pull My Daisy' find its own audience and enter into the tiny repertoire of films made about our spirit and our Era that will last.

It will be shown and appreciated as long as people read our books, look at our paintings and listen to our music.

Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso, Larry Rivers and I all made "Pull my Daisy" in 1959 in part to show our kids and grandkids someday that we were for real and able to enjoy life and one another, rather than being a soured group of stereotypical "Beats." "Pull My Daisy' reflected the fun we had together, as well as the hard work we did when alone.

Like "Pull My Daisy' and Henry Ferrini's masterpiece "Lowell Blues", "Beat Angel" is free of any Hollyweirdness and Post Modern gloom. Instead, "Beat Angel" is full of soulfulness, joy, surprises, warmth and humor, always full of positive energy, all of which serve as a refreshing antidote to those who wish to incarcerate our spontaneous and idealistic visions of America into the academic tombs of a Penitentiary of the Beat Generation, to be squeezed drop by drop from a bottle of "Beat" Formaldehyde, rather than opening up the doors and inviting everyone to join us.

"Beat Angel" is a celebratory toast to Jack and all of us, with drinks on the house!!

-------
David Amram is a composer/conductor/multi-instrumentalist and was Kerouac's principal musical collaborator 1956 until his death. He is the author of the book, Offbeat: Collaborating with Kerouac.
Jerry Cimino www.kerouac.com | show/hide snippet
NEW FILM "BEAT ANGEL" IS MAGNIFICENT! SEE IT IF YOU CAN!

The reason John Cassady and Josh Wilbur and I went to the MethodFest film festival was to attend the world premiere of Beat Angel, a film starring Vincent Balestri. Many of you have undoubtedly seen Vincent on stage as he has been touring the country doing his one-man show about Jack Kerouac for close to twenty years. Thank goodness we all had the good fortune that Vincent hooked up with Randy Allred and Frank Tabbita and Bruce Boyle to capture forever on film his magnificent performance as Jack Kerouac.

I've seen probably every film on Kerouac and the Beats and while there are many good ones, Beat Angel is unique in the sense it is not a documentary but a full-length feature and it is done superbly. I think the reason I like it so much is I found kindred spirits in Vincent and the other people involved in the making of this film - and the reason is because they tried to convey, and indeed succeeded in capturing on film, the Spirit that Jack brought to his art.

We first see Vincent as an alcoholic bum on the street and immediately learn that he is destined to die the next day and that the spirit of Jack Kerouac will enter his "meat machine" body and pass on the flame to an inspired yet cynical writer named Gerard (Frank Tabbita) whose hidden writings must be seen by the world so the flame can continue to be passed on and on and on. Gerard can not accept that the spirit of Jack Kerouac has returned to earth and spars with Kerouac continuously ('my brother Gerard was a saint') in a series of showdowns that take him from Kerouac's football glory days with the re-creation of the famous Thanksgiving Day game that introduced Jack to Lou Little and Columbia to the top of Desolation Peak and the beauty of Hozomeen and the void.

The highlight of Beat Angel, of course, was Balestri's interpretation of Jack. The genius of this film is the producers allowed the talent that has been delighting audiences all over North America for twenty years free reign to express - and express he did! Vince's message from Kerouac is "speak from your heart". "Speak your truth," Jack tells us. "Live your truth!"

And Vincent speaks Jack's truth in scene after scene, intermixing his own formidable talents with the messages so many of us love about Kerouac. In one ten minute scene at the Poetry Slam the spirit of Jack in the bum's body delights the onscreen audience by telling about how it all began with the sound of Charlie Parker and then the rap of Neal Cassady. I was sitting next to Neal's son, John, at the time and he was enthralled while watching Vincent's interpretation of his father, "That's Neal! He's got Neal down perfect!" And then I saw something I have rarely ever seen at a movie screening - the entire audience erupted in applause during the MIDDLE of the performance! It was a magical moment that those of us who know a lot about these people and these times understood to be a true appreciation of brilliant talents expressing in a magnificent way.