Mar 30, 2010
Festival
The 53rd San Francisco International Film Festival (April 22-May 6) announced today that its Centerpiece screening will be Josh Radnor’s directorial debut happythankyoumoreplease. The Festival’s Centerpiece is designed to showcase a celebrated young director and his or her latest film. happythankyoumoreplease will screen 6:30 pm, Saturday, May 1 at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas with writer/director/lead actor Josh Radnor expected to attend, followed by the Centerpiece party at 9:00 pm at Manor West.
Josh Radnor’s debut, an audience favorite at Sundance 2010, happythankyoumoreplease shirks the sex, drugs and rock and roll allure of Manhattan’s hipster stomping grounds for an old-fashioned dose of youthful optimism and social responsibility. Radnor wrote, directed and also stars as Sam Wexler, a struggling writer living on the Lower East Side who strikes up a touching friendship with Rasheen, a lost child he meets on the subway. Sam’s social orbit includes a wide-eyed, lovelorn philanthropist suffering from an autoimmune disorder, a couple arguing over a potential move to Los Angeles to benefit his film career and a sexy bartender named Mississippi who harbors dreams of singer/songwriter superstardom. Don’t expect snark and cynicism here. happythankyoumorepleaseoccupies its own winsome, weary-eyed terrain, capturing a generational moment in Manhattan’s booming post-9/11 Bloomberg years when going out, growing up and getting it just right-romantically, professionally and otherwise-superseded the clichéd casual sex and power plays of the high-thread-count-sheet set.
Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Radnor attended Kenyon College, earning the Paul Newman Trophy in Dance and Drama from the Kenyon theater department. After moving to New York City, he received his Master of Fine Arts in acting from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Radnor is perhaps best known for his role as Ted, the central character on CBS’s Emmy-nominated comedy How I Met Your Mother. He made his first film appearance in the teen spoof, Not Another Teen Movie. In addition to film and television, Radnor has also appeared in a number of plays. Most recently he starred in writer Joe Gilford’s play Finks, which was staged at the Powerhouse Theatre at Vassar College. He has also appeared in several off-Broadway plays at the Vineyard Theater, the Manhattan Theater Club and the Blue Light Theater Company. Radnor made his Broadway debut as the title character in The Graduateopposite Kathleen Turner and Alicia Silverstone. His television credits include guest appearances on Judging Amy, Welcome to NY, Miss Match, ER, Six Feet Under and Law & Order. Radnor’s talent extends beyond acting and he has quickly established himself as a gifted writer and director as well. In 2010 his as yet untitled memoir will be published by Simon & Schuster.
Following the screening, the Centerpiece party will be held at 9:00 pm at Manor West located at 750 Harrison Street. Cool cocktails and delectable hors d’oeuvres will add up to one hot scene. Admission for the Centerpiece film and party is $25 for SFFS members/$30 general. Admission for the Centerpiece film only is $15 for SFFS members/$20 general. Must be 21+ to attend the party.
For tickets and information, go to www.sffs.org or call 925-866-9559.
For interivews contact hilary@sffs.org
For photos and press materials visit sffs.org/pressdownloads.