October 4, 2005

Williamstown Film Festival Returns to MASS MoCA with Clarkson, Scott, and Sarsgaard Premiere

(North Adams, Mass.)-- A psychological thriller in the Hitchcock tradition, The Dying Gaul opens on November 4, 2005, in New York, Los Angeles, and North Adams. The film, part of the Williamstown Film Festival 2006 line-up, is set inside the rarefied world of the Hollywood elite. In addition to starring performances by Patricia Clarkson, Campbell Scott, and Peter Sarsgaard, the film boasts an austere musical score by frequent MASS MoCA visitor Steve Reich.

Craig Lucas enters the indie scene as a director with an audacious first feature adapted from his successful play. A fledgling screenwriter is offered a million dollars for a script -- the personal story of his lover who died of AIDS. There is only one catch to securing the deal and taking that first step to success: he must change the film's male character into a woman. Campbell Scott plays Jeffrey, the slick and ruthless studio executive; Peter Sarsgaard is the grieving screenwriter, who is seduced both creatively and emotionally into a Faustian decision; and the inimitable Patricia Clarkson portrays Jeffrey's wife, whose natural curiosity leads her to a discovery that will change their lives forever. Lucas has honed a precise, interlocking plot that exploits his scalpel-sharp irony.

Written and directed by Craig Lucas (who garnered both a National Society of Film Critics Award and a New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay for his 2003 The Secret Lives of Dentists as well as overwhelming critical acclaim for his 1990 masterpiece Longtime Companion) the film stars Clarkson (The Untouchables, The Green Mile, Jumanji, but probably best known for her recurring role as Claire on Frasier) as Elaine, Scott (most recently known for starring as Ethan Thomas in The Exorcism of Emily Rose) as Jeffrey, and Sarsgaard (Flightplan, The Skeleton Key) as Robert.

Held in MASS MoCA's Hunter Center, The Dying Gaul is presented in conjunction with the Williamstown Film Festival. Doors open at 7 PM for food and drink from Lickety Split before the screening. There will be a reception following the screening in MASS MoCA's café area.

Tickets for The Dying Gaul are $10 adults/$7 students. MASS MoCA members receive a 10% discount. Tickets are available in advance through the MASS MoCA Box Office located off Marshall Street in North Adams from 11 A.M. until 5 P.M. (closed Tuesdays). Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling 413.662.2111.

MASS MoCA, the largest center for contemporary visual and performing arts in the United States, is located off Marshall Street in North Adams on a 13-acre campus of renovated 19th-century factory buildings.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Katherine Myers
(413) 664-4481 x8113
katherine@massmoca.org