THE NIGHT OF THE WHITE PANTS

NARRATIVE, US, 2006, 90 minutes

Director/Writer: Amy Talkington
Producer: Anne Harrison
Starring: Selma Blair, Nick Stahl, Francis Fisher
Amy Talkington in attendance

DALLAS, the TV show that put tasteless affluence and big hair on the television map, gets a 21st century make-over from debutant director Amy Talkington. Tom Wilkenson plays Max, the patriarch of a wildly dysfunctional family, who survives a heart-attack, a failing business, and an acrimonious divorce with enough adventurous spirit intact to explore Dallas’s punk underground scene with his ambitious daughter (Selma Blair) and her maverick web designer/rocker boyfriend (Nick Stahl.) The cast, which also includes the beguilingly tough Laura Jordan as a punkette who captures Max’s fancy, and a warm, ironic Francis Fisher as one of his ex-wives, is first-rate. [RIT grad] Jim Denault’s DV–cinematography is appropriately over-saturated. Talkington’s commitment to Dallas’s music scene (she writes rock criticism) pays off in a score that juices the film throughout. Where can we buy the CD? (Amy Taubin)

Amy Talkington is best known for her award-winning shorts, shown at festivals worldwide. Her work has also been featured on MTV, The Sundance Channel, The Independent Film Channel, CNN, E!, MSNBC and the BBC. Her accolades include the New Line Cinema Award for Best Director and Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Indie Faces to Watch.” She is currently developing her sophomore effort, DEEPLY SHALLOW AND REALLY FAKE, also set in her native Dallas.