Based on author Steve Erickson’s 2007 novel, director James Franco (The Disaster Artist, The Sound and the Fury) stars as Ike Jerome, a.k.a. “Vikar,.” Vikar is a lost soul journeying through Hollywood in 1969, a land of myths, beauty and monsters. The studio system is in decay, and a new generation of brash filmmakers are on the rise. With his shaved head marked by a tattoo from his favorite film, 1951’s A Place in the Sun, Vikar is a bizarre presence even amid the dreamers and players.

He finds work first building sets, then as an apprentice editor obsessed with wielding the power of moving images. As his involvement in the creative process deepens, so does his fascination with a tragic screen goddess named Soledad. Together they discover just how hard it is to live in the blurred boundary between reality and illusion.

“The image encapsulates all of his obsessions,” Franco says. “It’s his love of film, represented by the actors from one of the best films ever made.” He finds work first building sets, then as an apprentice editor obsessed with wielding the power of moving images. As his involvement in the creative process deepens, so does his fascination with a tragic screen goddess named Soledad. Soledad Paladin is an enigmatic actress and doting mother played by Megan Fox (Jennifer’s Body, Transformers), a screen queen whose sexuality has been exploited and commercialized while her soulfulness has been too often left on the cutting room floor.

“I think she wants very much to be a ‘serious’ actress and believes that eventually she will make it if only she gets enough of the right kind of opportunities,” Fox says. She transfixes Vikar, who finds himself guided along by two other colorful movie industry stalwarts — the nurturing veteran film editor Dotty Langer (played by Jacki Weaver, a two-time Oscar nominee for Animal Kingdom and Silver Linings Playbook) and the cigar-chomping, gunslinging screenwriter known as Viking Man (brought to ferocious life by Seth Rogen). With their help, he hopes to create something timeless for Soledad. Together, Vikar and Soledad discover just how hard it is to live in the blurred boundary between reality and illusion.

Opens September 20th at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto – 259 Richmond St W, Toronto

Directed by James Franco

Starring James Franco, Megan Fox, Seth Rogen, Joey King, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson and Jacki Weaver

 

About the Author

Bryen Dunn is a freelance journalist with a focus on travel, lifestyle, entertainment and hospitality. He has an extensive portfolio of celebrity interviews with musicians, actors and other public personalities. He enjoys discovering delicious eats, tasting spirited treats, and being mesmerized by musical beats.