‘Proper Binge’ to get the Hollywood treatment

WASILLA — Writer/director duo, Michael Burns and Dean Q. Mitchell are going to reunite with their star actor, Bradford James Jackson in Hollywood, Calif. on April 3 — one day before the annual Beverly Hills Film Festival begins. After a successful premier locally, their film, ‘Proper Binge’ has already made good impression with outside eyes like this festival’s president, stirring a lot of encouragement in the ranks and affirming that this decade-long project was worth the effort.

“We’re going to see how far we can take this,” Burns said.

The Beverly Hills Film Festival runs from April 4-8 and ‘Proper Binge’ will screen on the first night at 6:15 p.m. — a time slot that was a pleasant surprise to the crew. This festival apparently only selects a handful of features, and deals more with short films. Burns said that getting their feature length film in the festival was a “pretty big deal” and he’s humbled. Jackson agreed.

“It’s a really special time,” Jackson said.

Jackson left Alaska to pursue his acting career. His parents still live in Eagle River. When Proper Binge premiered at the Alaskan Film Festival last year, he flew up north to attend with his friends/crew and his parents. Now, his friends/crew are heading down and so are his parents. This is fulfilling a lifelong dream for him.

“Now I get to walk down the red carpet with my mom,” Jackson said.

Jackson said that he’s kept himself pretty busy on the Hollywood hustle — auditioning, writing, networking and experimenting and exploring this vast medium. He said that he has some pretty big auditions lined up and he wrote his own screenplay. He plans to start directing his own movie in August.

“I love the grind!” Jackson said.

Burns said that he, Mitchell and Jackson are planning to spend a lot of time promoting this movie, in California and beyond. Burns said that he’s submitted it to 35 festivals so far. Burns and Mitchell are bringing 25 posters to California while they attempt to rub elbows with those in the business. Burns felt validated that this movie will be met well across the globe.

“It’s a crowd pleasing kind of film; people get that dark situational humor that others may shy away from,” Burns said.

Created with their film company, 1964 Pictures, ‘Proper Binge’ is a dark comedy/ drama following the story of an unemployed alcoholic looking back and looking forward as he starts to come to grips with the damage caused by his addiction.

“We ran a fine line between drama and comedy,” Burns said.

Most of the film was shot in Wasilla and other parts of the Valley. The Silver Fox bar allowed the crew to film on-site, even shutting down at times for them. Other film locations included Mat-Su College, Krazy Moose Subs, and various storage units. Burns and Mitchell live in Wasilla and grew up in Alaska.

Like much of the state, the Valley is home to many alcoholics — diagnosed and otherwise — so the story of addiction hit home for nearly everyone involved with the film. Some elements in the film were comprised from the cast and crew’s experiences, be they personal or through association.

“It shines a light on such a prevalent problem,” Mitchell said.

‘Proper Binge’ follows the trials and tribulations of a homeless alcoholic named Buzz. After nearly getting his friend killed in a drunken mishap, he attempts to get sober. He attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and is instructed to make amends to the people he hurt. Buzz’s attempts are met with much strife and some humorous interactions: getting thrown off porches, getting kicked in the nether regions, and so on.

Jackson said that the Beverly Hills Film Festival President personally reached out to tell him how much he liked the movie, saying it had a “punk rock” feel. The crew liked that analogy and is running with it.

“Some people don’t know how to take it and other people will pick up on that and laugh. To see outside crowd’s reactions will be interesting,” Burns said.

‘Proper Binge’ will appear alongside other films within the TCL Chinese Theatre, which Burns said was a “pretty amazing place to play anything.” When Burns and Mitchell return, they plan to work with the Silver Fox bar — one of the most prominently used locations in the film — to screen their movie at the Valley Cinema.