'The Last Lullaby' to get Dallas world premiere; Director wants your email

Jeffrey Goodman has made another big step in taking "The Last Lullaby" to market. The locally made movie will premiere at the AFI Dallas International Film Festival and compete in the narrative feature category. Getting into an AFI backed festival is a big, big deal.

I just had lunch with him, and he's a pretty happy camper. You can read my Times article here, or you can read below for the outtakes.

"It's an excellent first step but we still have a long way to go," Goodman said. Dallas is likely the first of many festivals, but this one should help him draw some solid press attention to the project.

Goodman didn't know if I should print the following, but it's a blog so what the hell. Getting into a festival with some clout is extremely important for any film, much less a small independent feature.

"Your world premiere is kind of like your virginity," Goodman said while staring wide-eyed at my notepad, probably in disbelief of his apt simile. "You have to be very careful in using it."

Hey-oh! That's why you read blogs. Moving on.

I also spoke to the folks at AFI Dallas and they glowed about the pic. The senior programmer James Faust compared "The Last Lullaby" to "Chinatown" and used the word "bravura."

"The Last Lullaby" is essentially one of the 10 best features of the 1800 films that were considered for the festival. Again, huge. Faust added that when he first screened it, "I was riveted in a way that I was late to work." He thought, "I’m going to be late and I’m going to be glad I’m going to be late for work."

Festival spokesman John Wildman glowed equally. "The Last Lullaby" is about a hit man who comes out of retirement to do one last job.

Said Wildman, "I personally I think you could have a subset genre of hit man movies. What I think is really great about this film is that it (subverts) several of the conventions of the genre."

Goodman is currently in The Shreve doing everything he needs to do to market "The Last Lullaby." One of his cooler ideas is that he's sending personal emails out to every person/investor about the status of his efforts. It's not spam, I assure you. He's rather giving followers an insiders' look at what it takes to push a finished movie to a larger audience. If you want to keep up with Jeffrey, send him an email at register@thelastlullaby.com with "Register Me" in the subject line.