When Chris, the only child of a single mother, and an aspiring comic book-creator, learns that his mother is ill, he and his girlfriend Anne have no choice but to pack up their lives and move back home to St. Louis. Uprooted, his life completely disrupted, Chris is forced to face his mother’s mortality and that nagging old childhood question: Who was his father, and why wasn’t he around?
With the help of his childhood buddy Brian, (a pop culture geek), and family friend/mentor Rich, (a bartender with a creative secret), Chris will have to determine what is more important: The hero’s origin, or his ongoing journey?
“Four Color Eulogy” is a dramatic comedy that shows it’s never too late to let go of the past and it’s never a good time to laugh at death…even when it’s funny.
Panel for Q&A after the screening:
Jason Contini: Producer/Writer/Actor (Chris) (will be at the booth all weekend doing comic book sketches & signing autographs)
Jason has performed in over 70 theatrical stage productions and has worked with such prestigious theatres as The Muny, The St. Louis Rep, Stages St. Louis, Avalon Theatre Company, St. Louis Opera Company, Dramatic License, Okoboji Summer Theatre, Westport Playhouse, and The Imaginary Theatre Company.
In 1999 Jason got his first taste of filmmaking while working on the indie anti-drug film APRIL IS MY RELIGION with director Bill Boll. In the years since Jason has been seen in a dozen feature films including the acclaimed indie vampire thriller SHADOWLAND and the rom-com THE ANNIVERSARY and FOUR COLOR EULOGY.
Along with his long time friend Nicholas J. Hearne and brother Nathan Contini he is also the co-founder of Archlight Comics/Studios and the co-creator and artist for their flagship comic book LEGACIES END: CELESTIALS AND PALADINS.
Nicholas J. Hearne: Producer/Writer/Actor (Brian) (will be at the booth all weekend signing autographs)
At the age of 14, Nick discovered a passion for acting by competing on the school speech team and began acting in such plays as YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU, TURMOILS IN TUCSON, AN EVENING OF EDGAR ALLEN POE, and LONG LIVE ROCK N ROLL. Nick moved back to St. Louis in 2000 and began training and studying his craft as a writer primarily focusing on screenplays and comic books.
In 2002 Nick returned to the stage in a production of GODSPELL as well as such films as KILLERS BY NATURE, FALLEN SKYES and FOUR COLOR EULOGY. Currently he is working with his long time friend and collaborator Jason Contini on both a comic book series titled LEGACIES END as well as TUXEDO CITY with longtime collaborator Nathan Ohlendorf.
Jessica Winingham: Actress (Anne)
Jessica holds a BFA in Theatre from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and previously studied Shakespeare in Performance at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. For five years Jessica studied and performed in NY in school and with her short-lived theatre company before returning to her St. Louis to teach.
She is currently the head of the theatre department as teacher and director at local public high school. She was recently seen as Cordelia St. Louis Actor’s Studio’s production of King Lear. FOUR COLOR EULOGY is her first film since college.
John Contini: Co-Writer/Actor (Rich)
An avid collector and film fanatic, John dabbled in comic art himself before pursing a career as an actor and drama teacher. In the course of his exceptionally busy career, John has appeared in over 200 theatrical stage productions and has worked with theatre companies all across the country. He has won several awards for iconic roles he played, including a 2010 Kevin Kline Award for outstanding actor in play. He also picked up two 2013 Broadway World awards, and a 2013 St. Louis Theatre Circle Award nomination.
John has also appeared in a number of feature films including APRIL IS MY RELIGION and the upcoming PAPER TIGER BURNS. He was even featured in the St. Louis cult classic sci-fi film ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK.
John’s early adventures in comic art partially inspired Four Color Eulogy, and Jason had always wanted to work with his father in a film, so in FOUR COLOR EULOGY, the part of “Rich” was written with John in mind.
Wyatt Weed: Co-Writer/Director (will be at the booth all weekend signing autographs)
Some of Wyatt Weed’s earliest memories are of the movies. He vividly remembers seeing 2001: A SPACE ODESSEY at age 4 and shortly thereafter turning the living room floor into a moon base. Although his parents indulged him in drawing, sculpture, and photography classes, it was the release of “Star Wars” that inspired Wyatt to pick up a Super 8 mm film camera. Soon after, an obsession was born.
Moving from his hometown of Springfield, Illinois to St. Louis in 1980, and after a string of short film and video projects, Wyatt landed his first professional film job in 1986 on the St. Louis portion of the Taylor Hackford-directed HAIL, HAIL, ROCK AND ROLL.
Wyatt took the trek west to Los Angeles in 1988 and soon found himself working as a jack of all trades in a variety of television shows and feature films, including FLIGHT OF THE INTRUDER, STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION, PREDATOR 2, STAR TREK: VOYAGER, LORD OF ILLUSIONS, JAY-JAY THE JET PLANE, MUPPETS FROM SPACE, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 2, and RED PLANET. Wyatt soon moved from building miniatures and art department work into second unit directing and visual effect supervision on the features KUNG FU RASCALS, GUYVER: DARK HERO, and DRIVE.
Wyatt met fellow filmmaker Robert Clark while working on long-time friend Ted Smith’s GUARDIAN OF THE REALM, and joined Pirate Pictures after the completion of that feature. In 2006 he returned to St. Louis permanently, writing and directing short films, music videos, and the award-winning 48 Hour Film Projects BAG OF TRICKS and LOVE BYTES, all in preparation for making his directorial debut, SHADOWLAND. It was on SHADOWLAND that Wyatt met Jason Contini.
Gayle Gallagher: Producer (will be at the booth all weekend signing autographs)
At Webster University Gayle studied audio engineering and also developed a love for video production. She went on to receive a degree in Media/Communications. Gayle began her career at radio station KYMC 89.7 FM and would go on to become on-air talent, music director, program director, and station manager. She expanded her career in radio, working as a line producer for the Post Modern Radio Network and as a producer for KUMR, where she produced the show “Brainstorm”, which was distributed on National Public Radio. Gayle began working with Pirate Pictures on the short film TIMELINE and has since produced several award-winning short films as well as the feature, SHADOWLAND.
As part of the Pirate team, Gayle was the producer and sound recordist for STREETSCAPE, a monthly magazine-style TV show that aired on the local ABC affiliate. Gayle has produced feature films and shorts for other filmmakers in the St. Louis area and worked on numerous corporate and commercial videos as Midwest line-producer. Gayle produced and was the sound recordist on FOUR COLOR EULOGY.