OCEANSIDE, Calif. — The 13th Annual Oceanside International Film Festival is preparing for another red-carpet event.
In this Zevely Zone, I previewed the upcoming festivities from the Brooks Theatre. The festival isn't until February, but this Saturday there's a special Stephen King preview event that will have you on the edge of your seat.
In 1996, when this Stephen King thriller 'Thinner' terrified moviegoers, Carly Starr, the assistant prop master on the film, discovered movie making was in her blood to stay. "There's body parts, there's some jump scares," said Carly. "It's been an honor to work with so many different creatives and directors and artists and actors and crew."
Carly is the creative director of the Oceanside International Film Festival. Her husband Lou Niles is the executive director. Lou is a radio personality on 91X. He has contacts in Hollywood and in the music industry that he uses to help the festival grow.
"Oh yeah, absolutely. 91X is historic worldwide," said Lou. "We had a film get nominated for an Oscar."
I reminded Lou that the legendary Top Gun House was just a few blocks from our interview. I asked what it was going to take to get Tom Cruise on their red carpet. "I know, I know we're trying," said Lou.
Held every February, the Oceanside International Film Festival is an opportunity for independent filmmakers to have their work screened along the county's North Coast region.
In the past, the festival screened the film Blue Crush with Kate Bosworth and Michelle Rodriguez.
Another year, they hosted stars from the hit television show Animal Kingdom which caught the attention of many producers.
"We get submissions up in the hundreds, this year was a record-breaking year with more submissions than our team has ever received," said Sterling Anno, the event's co-programmer.
He hopes you will attend this year's film festival from February 20-24. "We have films from over a dozen countries this year spanning five continents. We are an international film festival," said Sterling.
On Saturday, January 20, as a preview event to the festival, movie fans can enjoy a reunion screening of Stephen King's Thinner along with a star-studded guest list. "Tom Holland the director, he's just a horror legend, and Robert John Burke who was the star of the film and Joe Mantegna," said Carly.
Brought to you by Visit Oceanside, join them for the exclusive screening at The Star Theatre in Downtown Oceanside. Monster makeup artist Vincent J. Guastini will also be at the screening to provide a retrospective Q&A discussion with the panel on their careers in filmmaking.
For more information about the special 'Thinner' screening and panel on January 20 at the Star Theatre and the Oceanside International Film Festival from February 20-24, click here.