Film follows O.C. band on the verge

Rocky Costanzo expected to see vampires and all sorts of dark things when his friend dragged him into a gothic nightclub one night back in 1999. Instead, he stumbled upon the inspiration for his first documentary film.

That film, “Almost Beautiful,” premiered Tuesday night in the Huntington Beach Central Library Theater to a sold-out crowd. It follows the band called The Last Dance — the one Costanzo saw in that nightclub all those years ago — recording and touring for their latest album “Once Beautiful.”

“We’d known Rocky for a while, so when he came to us originally we didn’t think it would actually happen,” band frontman Jeff Diehm said.

“We never dreamed it would be a full-length film,” said Costanzo, a Huntington Beach local.

Originally, Costanzo didn’t like the title, inspired partly by the name of the band’s new album and partly by the film “Almost Famous,” written by Cameron Crowe. “Almost Famous” follows a teen writer who travels with an up-and-coming rock band in the mid 1970s.

“I saw this as a great opportunity to show what it’s like for a band that has not quite made it yet,” Costanzo said.

Diehm, 37, of Costa Mesa, felt the same. The idea would work as long as people knew up front that this was not a big-budget movie about a big-name band, he said.

“It’s small-budget movie about a small-budget band, doing everything themselves,” Diehm said. “We didn’t want a movie that showed huge crowds all the time.

“Sometimes you do a show and 20 people show up — sometimes 2,000.”

Diehm and guitarist Rick Joyce formed the band 16 years ago after meeting at Los Amigos High School in Fountain Valley. Now with bassist Peter Gorritz and drummer Tom Coyne the black pleather-clad band recorded their latest album in a West Covina church.

Diehm trusted Costanzo, knowing that although a friend, he would portray the band truthfully.

“It’s his movie, we’re just sort of along for the ride,” Diehm said.

Life Line Entertainment, which produced the film, gave those who attended the premiere the real Hollywood treatment — right down to the red carpet. Band members and filmmakers exited limousines onto the carpet to be interviewed by Eric Blair, a Web broadcaster also in the film. Costanzo and Life Line producers were thrilled with the turnout, having attempted to snag the venue for quite some time.

You just don’t get that Hollywood premiere feel in front of the Bella Terra, Costanzo said, although he was thankful that the theaters hosted his last premiere last year.

Life Line’s first documentary might also be their last, Costanzo said.

“This was the most difficult thing to make,” he said. “Making a narrative, you already have the story, the script is your blueprint. In a documentary, you don’t know the story until you begin editing.”

Costanzo devoted six weeks alone to traveling with the band on their tour, filming every minute he could. During the tour, Costanzo followed the band in a rental car carrying his film equipment, and even played roadie on occasion, he said.

“At that point, it was just Rocky and a camera and the band,” producer Roy Thomasson said.

The guys finished editing the two-year project sometime in December, although even after Tuesday’s premiere Costanzo might trim and tweak a few more scenes. He has also submitted the film to several festivals, including the upcoming one in Newport Beach, for consideration.