291 The Movie

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The Journey


I started 291 over twenty years ago when I sat at the piano, where the light was good and read about an amazing place where modern art was first shown and nurtured in America. As I continued to read, that night in San Francisco, a melody came to me and by the time the last neighbor complained, I finished. A theme for 291 was written and it has lived with me ever since, a constant reminder of what was born in those small rooms in New York and in that flat on Russian Hill so many years ago.


Listen to the 291 Theme.-> []<- Click here to Start/Stop.


In the early 90's I commissioned the first draft of the screenplay and it made it's way to Hollywood. I received some raves, but in the end I found the walls that go up when an unconnected producer tries to get past the gate. It lay dormant till 1995 when after some great advice from a pro, I re-worked the treatment and had another round of interest in the Bay Area. Still the green light was not to be in the cards.


On the eve of my return to Santa Fe I got a call from an old friend that said he had a new friend who he thought might want to play Stieglitz and do the film. Another long shot! I said, "I haven't looked at this in a long while, (a beat) so I will get back to you after I'm settled and had a chance to rework the screenplay." A year later I finally finished the rewrite and it just rings true.


I finally heard back from his friend and he said no go, so I decided to do the film myself. After all, no one knows this dream better then I. Creating a feature film is a difficult challenge, but a theatrical short, for now, is more in the realm of possibilities. "Looking For Mr. Stieglitz" was newly created and is now a part of the feature script of 291, a fictional encounter between Georgia O'Keeffe and Hodge Kirnon.

After extensive readings last year, we narrowed our search to 5 young women here in Santa Fe and our choice was a wonderful actress, Rachel de la Torre. Here is her screen test with our Hodge Kirnon, Tone Forrest.