The Last Romantic

Calvin Wizzig, a young man who dreams of becoming a successful poet, moves to New York City in hopes of finding inspiration and getting published. After seeing and writing about a beautiful girl he saw in the subway, Calvin becomes obsessed with finding her again and risk losing himself in a search that quickly becomes an addiction.

I have not yet seen this film. The Film was written, directed, and produced by Aaron and Adam Nee. Adam Nee and Shalom Harlow star opposite one-another .

The Last Romantic is the first feature film of Aaron Nee (who is from the Orlando area and who actually attended the University of Central Florida). The film was funded by way of several maxed out credit cards, and the filmmakers also claim to have literally taken equipment from UCF while disguised as ninjas.

The Film played at the 2006 Starz Denver Film Festival and won the Jury the  Award. The Filmmakers themselves won the Emerging Filmmaker Award. The film is available to view "On Demand" by way of "IFC In Theaters". The Filmmakers have been weary in their distribution and are currently looking for the best deal with a number of companies.

There is a nice review of the film at http://filmthreat.com/index.php?section=reviews&Id=8725 and several user reviews at IMDB. All of the reviews were positive and emphasized the beauty of the powerful visual elements as well as the story. I was unable to find a press release about the film but found an interview at http://thefilmlot.com/interviews/INTneebros.php

In the directors' interview Aaron and Adam Nee, the brothers state that they made as much money with the movies they make now then they made with the movies they shot at age 9 in the back yard. None. However, by all accounts, the film was incredibly well received by its festival audiences.

The official website of The Last Romantic is simple in design but uses an old paperback book as a movie poster. By reading the interview I learned that the book in question was not actually real. The trailer for the film showcases the environment and the unique looking imagery rather than the cheap gags found in Hollywood trailers. Even as I type this I am intrigued enough to try and persuade my room mates to shell out for the on demand pay -per-view.

The brothers said that their goal was to bring in several distributors at once and show them a private screening. Their logic was based on the fear that if one distributor saw the film independently and was not impressed, the others would be able to offer low-ball prices. I agree and feel that a mass screening would create a sense of competition and urgency among the distributors.