PRESS KIT

Straight Outta Tompkins

A film by Zephyr Benson

WEBSITES

indicanpictures.com

straight-outta-tompkins.com

DISTRIBUTOR

Indican Pictures

1041 North Formosa Ave, Formosa Building Ste 221A, West Hollywood, CA 90046

(323)850-2667 (800)862-6234

ONE SENTENCE SYNOPSIS

A forlorn, gifted teenager abandoned by his family in New York City mistakenly substitutes the attention of a Lower East Side drug dealer for the love of his absentee father.

SYNOPSIS

Zephyr Benson shines a light on addiction and the middle class drug scene with his debut film about a forlorn, gifted teenager abandoned in New York City who mistakenly substitutes the attention of a Lower East Side drug dealer for the love of his absentee father.. As writer, director, producer and protagonist, Benson reveals innocence lost with a gritty & sometimes humorous narrative on the mixology of weed, narcotics and pills, and the absurdity of the junky lifestyle. He is supported by the outstanding dramatic performances of Aaron Costa Ganis as Cruz, Adonis Rodriguez as Ivan, Jon McCormick as Sam, and Michael Steinmetz as Bobby. This universal story follows the sales and distribution of narcotics through teen social circles before coming to an inevitable violent end. Bensons fearlessly honest insiders view destroys the myth of casual drug use as his character, Gene, morphs from troubled child to novice dealer to accidental addict. The ending is a jolt audiences wont soon forget.

FILM INFORMATION

Run time: 92:44 minutes

Shooting Format: HD

Screening Format: HD-DCP

Sound: 5.1

Rating: Not rated at this time

Country: USA

Language: English

Genre: Drama

Trailer: available

FILMMAKERS STATEMENT

Since I was 17 years old, heroin has been an unfortunate part of my life. Ive watched friends of mine battle addiction. Some ended up going down similar paths with similar tragic outcomes. I've lost people I love to this drug. If you haven't experienced it, it's hard to imagine. But its a story I felt compelled to share.

I dropped out of NYU after one semester to write this script. I was 19, and I was angry. I wanted to tell an honest story about something Ive seen personally and expose the truth the comradery, the highs and lows of selling and using these drugs.

InStraight Outta Tompkins,drugs areGenes escape -- from the pain of rejection by his dad, the pain of the loss of his family, and the pain of uncertainty. He is attracted to a drug dealer like Cruz because Cruz is certain. He has all the answers. But its a lie. Cruz represents heroin to me. He lies to Gene the way heroin lies to an addict. He tells Gene everything is ok though clearly it's not.

I think the film is an authentic portrayal of how a person can slip so easily into addiction. Drugs falsely gives your life focus and your other problems recede and become small. Chasing the high becomes your life.I wanted to put drugs in a light I have seen. Not good light or a bad light, just an honest one.Hopefully, people will come out of the film and see life through a new set of eyes.

Zephyr Benson

CAST BIOS

Zephyr Benson / Writer, Producer, Director, Gene

Zephyr Benson was born March 23, 1992 in Santa Monica, California. He spent his formative years in Los Angeles, the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina and New York City. He made his feature film screenwriting and directorial debut at age 20 with Straight Outta Tompkins. His talents were nurtured growing up in a show business family, witnessing the production of countless film, television, and stage productions as the son of actor/writer/director Robby Benson. At 15 he was invited to assist his father in all departments on a feature film starring Armie Hammer. Moving back to NYC he attended an unconventional high school enabling him to schedule time to participate in Robbys sought after senior level filmmaking courses at NYU, and student thesis films. Zephyr entered NYU as a freshman in the class of 2014, but dropped out after a semester to write Straight Outta Tompkins based on his real life experiences on the Lower East Side. His mother is singer, Karla DeVito. Zephyr is a third generation screenwriter and third generation member of the Screen Actors Guild.

Aaron Costa Ganis / Cruz

Aaron Costa Ganis was featured in the 2013 international action filmBlood, Sand, and Gold,directed by Gaelan Connell. He can also be seen inA New York Love Story(Soho International Fest, Dances With Films) with director/writer Apolla Echino, cast by Emmy Award winning Judy Henderson. Other credits include the upcoming comedic web seriesUnderstudies,Double Crossed(SXSW),The Mess We're In(NY Shorts Fest), and numerous theatrical credits in New York City and regionally. He was trained at theMFA NYU Graduate Acting Program.Aaron will be appearing in the 2015 season ofUnforgettable on CBS.

Adonis Rodriguez / Ivan

Adonis Rodriguez is a Brooklyn born and raised actor making his feature film debut in Straight Outta Tompkins.After ditching a pre law political science major, he found his true passion in acting and attended the New York Film Academy and hasnt looked back.

Jon McCormick / Sam

Jon McCormick film credits include Further Lane (2009), Poetry Man (2010), Greenwood.His Off Broadway stage credits include Luke in Phantom Killer, Abingdon Theatre Company. Chi in Tuesday Night Poker, Theatre Row. Garcin in No Exit, 59E59. His Off Off Broadway stage credits include Jake in happYouth, The Gene Frankle Theatre. Grazy in Revolution on the Roof, NY Fringe Festival. Turner in Thunder Rock, ReGroup Theatre Company. His other credits include Laertes/Guildenstern in 3D Hamlet, and A Lost Generation, Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Michael Steinmetz / Bobby

Mike Steinmetz film credits includeNot Fade Away (2012) (Dir. David Chase), the indie feature I Don't Want to Kill Myself(2011) and for television Unforgettable (CBS). He is a proud member of the Pipeline Theatre Company and of the band Miko and the Musket. Graduate of NYU Tisch.

Angelina Fiordellisi / Miss Kintrich

Angelina Fiordellisi has acted on Broadway, Off-Broadway, on national tours and in every venue imaginable across the country in about 50 plays. Her film credits include When a Man Loves A Woman, Where The Heart Is, Big Stone Gap, Out Of Darkness, Delusion and Word of Honor. Her television credits include Law & Order, LA Law, Star Trek: TNG, The Cosby Show, Roseanne, Thunder Alley, The Kennedy Center Honors Program and The New Munsters. Angelina owns and operates the historic Cherry Lane Theatre in Greenwich Village. On Broadway, she won her first Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critic's Circle and Drama League awards for producing the revival of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolff.

Ezra Knight / Killer

Ezra Knight has most recently appeared in The Blacklist, Orange is the New Back (Season 1), and soon to be released To Whom It May Concern and The Confines.

Lisa Pettersson Bearpark / Tandra

Lisa Pettersson Bearpark is an actress and producer working in the US and Sweden. After graduating from Columbia University with a degree in Art History and pre-med, she went on to study acting with the legendary Wynn Handman. You can catch her as the lead in the upcoming feature The Tangent Room.

Christina Saragaglia / Roxy

Christina Saragaglia made her television debut as the lead in an episode of Fatal Encounters, and will soon appear in the new HBO series The Leftovers. She can also be seen on MTV in the upcoming PSA Bias Isnt a Good Look. Other credits include the filmCampus Life (Dir. Catherine Scorsese), the web series Wave Goodbye, and various theater productions in New York City.Christina graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in marketing, andpreviously worked in advertising before making the transition to acting. She is a member of the Anthony Meindl Acting Studio, and was recently selected to jointheir advanced master class.

Patrick Brana / Ace

Patrick Brana can be seen in Isabel Coixets international feature Learning to Drive with Sir Ben Kingsley and Patricia Clarkson. He appears on an episode of NBCs Taxi Brooklyn after making his television debut in 2013 as a guest star on the Ironside pilot directed by Peter Horton. Other credits include All My Children, a lead role in Dead Mans Trigger, as well the independent short The Dark Ages. Patrick appeared in the critically acclaimed independent short film Nevo, based on the NY graffiti scene, as well as the independent web series produced by and starring Kiefer Sutherland, The Confession, directed by Brad Mirman.

Andrew Butler / Matt

Andrew Butler is a Brooklyn-based writer, performer and composer. With musical-sketch comedy group Political Subversities he has performed at Joe's Pub, Ars Nova, UCB and The PIT, and been featured on Funny or Die, College Humor, HuffPo and MSNBC. Andrew has created and performed new theater at Ars Nova, The Bushwick Starr, HERE, CATCH, Dixon Place, The Skirball Center, The Williamstown Theater Festival, and The ICA in London. Web Series: No Place Else To Go,Going Gold,GoodCopGreatCop. Film: An Addiction To Payne, But Not For Me. Andrew holds a BFA from the Experimental Theater Wing at NYU.

Cliff Bemis / Headmaster Toddman

Cliff Bemis originated and performed the role of Ezekiel Foster in Irving Berlins White Christmas on Broadway and in San Francisco, LA and Detroit.He has worked Off-Broadway at the Irish Repertory Theatre and The Mint Theatre in NYC, toured nationally in The Drowsy Chaperone and White Christmas, and appeared in regional theatres. His film work includes Billy: The Earl