Local resident’s mockumentary about marriage proposal by Paul McCartney to screen as part of film festival
Before Ruth Sowby Rands was an English and film studies professor at Glendale Community College, Paul McCartney asked her to marry him.
It was 1965 and the Beatles had just completed their second U.S. tour, which included the record-breaking show at New York’s Shea Stadium. At the height of “Beatlemania,” Sowby Rands was asked to interview each band member at Capitol Records for KABC-TV in Los Angeles.
Sowby Rands, following speculation at the time that McCartney would marry actress Jane Asher, asked him if he has any “definite plans” for marriage.
“No, unless you’ll marry me now,” McCartney replied.
Decades later, with the playful proposal from the legendary rocker still in the back of her mind, Sowby Rands wondered what her life would be like had she said “yes.”
Sowby Rands tells her journey to reconnect with McCartney in a 2008 mockumentary film titled “Desperately Seeking Paul McCartney,” which will recirculate as part of the Glendale International Film Festival at 6 p.m. on Tuesday with a free screening at the Glendale Central Library, 222 E. Harvard St.
Sowby Rands said, half-jokingly, that she hopes the showing will generate enough renewed interest to continue her pursuit of the elusive Beatle.
Although Sowby Rands had often considered writing a film about the proposal, it wasn’t until writer and director Marc Cushman heard her pitch at an Alameda writers group meeting and soon took on the project.
The film is done in a similar vein as “This is Spinal Tap,” where truth and comical fiction collide. Cushman plays an antagonist director to Sowby Rands, leading her pursuit of McCartney at all costs to numerous L.A. homes and awards ceremonies.
The documentary was shot in a month, and Sowby Rands said she was able to resume her duties as a professor.
Sowby Rands said she hopes festival attendees will enjoy her search for closure.
“Does he say this to all the girls?” she said.
For more information about all of the film festival’s events, which will wrap up on Oct. 22, visit glendaleinternationalfilmfestival.com.
Twitter: @JeffLanda
