Newport Festival Will Open With Lemmon’s Film

The world premiere of Jack Lemmon’s new movie will kick off the first Newport Beach International Film Festival on March 21, promoter Jeff Conner announced Monday.

The 10-day festival will bring 85 films from 20 countries to Orange County, said Conner, who hopes it will become an annual event.

With 2.6 million people, Orange County is the largest film market in the United States that has not had its own film festival, said Conner, a Balboa real estate developer and film buff.

This year’s festival will include feature films, short films, student films, documentaries and animation. Most will be foreign or independent productions, and though most will not feature recognizable directors or actors, some familiar titles such as “This Is Spinal Tap” and “Harold and Maude” will be shown.

Screenings will be at the Edwards Big Newport Theatre and Edwards Island Cinemas in Newport Beach, the Edwards South Coast Plaza Village Theatre in Santa Ana, Captain Blood’s Village Theatre in Orange, UC Irvine and Chapman University in Orange.

The Lemmon movie, “A Weekend in the Country,” also will star Dudley Moore, Christine Lahti and Rita Rudner, who co-wrote the screenplay with her husband, the film’s director, Martin Bergman.

“We wanted an upbeat comedy from a major studio to open the festival, and that’s exactly what this is,” Conner said. Lemmon, he added, is expected to attend the screening at the Big Newport.

Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Iran, France, Mexico, Vietnam, Argentina, the Netherlands and South Africa are among the countries to be represented at the festival. Conner said the films were chosen from 400 submitted.

“I’m trying to encourage as many people as possible to see films they wouldn’t typically get a chance to see,” Conner said.

Synopses of the movies will be in a 32-page program that will be available starting Friday at all Edwards theaters in the county, Conner said.

“Choose something that looks interesting to you. It may be from a country you have an interest in; it may be animation or a documentary. We created this so there would be something for everyone.”

Most of the films have not been rated by the Motion Picture Assn. of America, but Conner said they are equivalent to PG-13 and R. The program book should help parents determine suitability, he added.

Tickets to the “Weekend in the Country” premiere will be $40; admission will include a reception catered by seven Fashion Island restaurants. Proceeds will benefit the newly created Newport Beach Film Society, a for-profit organization run by Conner.

Tickets will be available Wednesday through the ETM Entertainment Network ([800] 946-3860) or at individual theaters on screening days. Most tickets will cost $6.