Next Stop Los Angeles

On the marquee at The Tiny Theatre.

On Thursday, November 7 at Laemmle Music Hall in Beverly Hills, CA at 6:30 PM Justice Is Mind will have its west coast premiere.  For me, it will be a combination of a reunion and a return to a city I lived in for three years from late 2005 through early 2008.

The word reunion has been in my orbit the last couple of days. While Justice Is Mind was having its Vermont premiere at The Tiny Theatre in Poultney, VT last night, my best friend, and Justice executive producer, Mary Wenninger and I attended our 30^th high school reunion. Organized by Sheila Mandeville, who also played the jury forewoman in Justice, it was surreal visiting with classmates I haven’t seen in thirty years.  We graduated in 1983. Who would have thought that all those years ago, we would be involved in a feature film!

Mary Wenninger and Mark Lund leaving for their 30th HS reunion.

Moving towards the present, on Thursday there will be another reunion of sorts with my entertainment attorney and friend Arnold Peter, Angelina Spicer, who starred in my first film First World, along with a variety of friends I haven’t seen since I left the city. Social media keeps us electronically connected, but there’s nothing like a real life visit to properly catch up.

While the next few days will be filled with confirmations, last minute emails, phone calls and general preparation for what will, no doubt, be a grand evening on Thursday, there is certainly a class reunion atmosphere that has enveloped around Justice.  With most of our screenings, there has been some “class” presence. Last night in VT it was Ken Holmes and Tom Pomfret (the contractors) that played host. At our reunion, Sheila brought a projector and screen that played Justice in the background. Like so many of us, my interest in the industry started in the high school drama club. My dream then to produce a feature film was finally realized.

Starring Vernon Aldershoff as Henri Miller. Co-starring Michele Mortensen as Maria Miller.

Being excited about our screening in Los Angeles would be an understatement. I’m glad Vernon Aldershoff (Henri Miller) and Michele Mortensen (Maria Miller) will be joining in the festivities and sharing the experience.  Sure, there will be many familiar faces in the audience, but it will be good to know there are those that have shared in the journey since the beginning.

Developing, producing and distributing a feature film is a journey in and of itself. Having read another article this week from a “Hollywood star” about the difficulties and challenges of getting a feature film made, with Justice completed I intend to enjoy the ride for as long as possible.

If I researched it right, it was Theodore Roosevelt that said, “Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.”

So while Justice Is Mind is playing Thursday night in a theatre in the entertainment capital of the world, I will reflect on my senior year in high school standing on a stage dreaming that someday, somehow, I was going to make a feature film.

Passion.