Boulevard! A Hollywood Story

1H 25MIN

Availability ended 11/28/2021 EDT
Live Screening at Kan-Kan—Sunday, November 14, 1PM | Streaming November 20-21
Jeffrey Schwarz (I Am Divine, Tab Hunter Confidential) returns with a glittering, stranger-than-fiction documentary of 1950s Hollywood. Two young songwriters find themselves caught in movie star Gloria Swanson’s web, when she hires them to write a musical version of Sunset Boulevard. What follows is not what you would expect. For Gloria Swanson, the iconic star of Sunset Boulevard, both the movie and the character of Norma Desmond provided a renewed spotlight. Swanson had begun to envision a musical stage adaptation of the film. Enter Dickson Hughes and Richard Stapley, two struggling songwriters (and romantic couple) looking for their big break. Enamored by the idea of helping Swanson step into the next phase of her career, as well as craving the fame and fortune of writing a Broadway hit, Stapley and Hughes eagerly agree to her proposal. As the days wear on, a triangle begins to take hold that goes beyond mere creative partnership as Hughes and Stapley find their intimate relationship intruded upon. In attempting to re-create Swanson’s most famous role, Hughes, Stapley, and the star herself discover that within each of them was a streak of Norma Desmond waiting to catch fire.

Credits

Directed by Jeffrey Schwarz

Produced by Adam Baran
John Boccardo
Elijah Drenner
Alan Eichler
Aimée Flaherty
Gerald Herman
James C. Hormel
Paul Marcarelli
Taki Oldham
Jeffrey Schwarz
Scott Sigman
Larry Spitler
Jeff Wolk

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