Oscar winner boosts festival expectations

Coming off the success of “Crash,” last year’s premiere film, the Newport Beach Film Festival is opening Thursday with expectations higher than ever.

The seventh annual film festival brings 350 films to Orange County this year, with many filmmakers choosing to make their North American ? and sometimes world ? debut at the 10-day festival.

The event is enjoying a spike in attention this year after “Crash” went on to take the best picture award at this year’s Academy Awards. “It definitely increased our notoriety,” organizer Todd Quartarao said. “Compared among the other film festivals, this really allowed us to stand out and take in some publicity.”

This year’s opening-night film is “Neverwas,” starring Aaron Eckhart, Ian McKellen, William Hurt, Jessica Lange and Brittany Murphy.

It tells the story of a psychiatrist, played by Eckhart, who returns home to work at a mental institution where his father, a children’s writer played by Nick Nolte, has been a patient for many years. Closing out the festival is Neil Burger’s “The Illusionist,” starring Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti and Jessica Biel in the story of a magician in turn-of-the-century Vienna who falls in love with a woman far above his social station. Quartarao said the caliber of the actors in both films is a coup for the festival, which has some of the highest attendance of U.S. film festivals.

“Our backdrop is Newport Beach. It’s such a great resort destination and a great opportunity to see films and get a vacation at the same time,” Quartarao said.

Televisions shows such as the “The OC” and MTV’s “Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County” have given the region an air of acceptability among the Hollywood crowd, he said.

“Plus, it’s a lot easier to get distributors when it’s just a 50-minute drive down the freeway,” Quartarao added.

Outside of Los Angeles, Orange County is one of the largest consumers of cinema in the country.

“It’s a good venue to showcase because viewers are a lot less jaded than their counterparts in Los Angeles and approach films with a different perspective,” he said. “It’s a place to screen a movie and get a good read on how it will play in the rest of the country.”

This year’s festival will include a free Saturday symposium series hosted by the Newport Beach Public Library to connect the public with film industry professionals. There will also be a youth film series hosted by Will Ferrell and a new action sports series for movies put out by Volcom and Oakley.

Each major screening will end with a gala celebration. Following “Neverwas” will be a black tie party at the Fashion Island Courtyard hosted by Level Vodka and over a dozen Newport Beach restaurants. Other events include parties at the Orange County Museum of Art and the Via Lido Plaza.

“We couldn’t make any of this happen without the volunteers,” said planner Sara Green, who is coordinating dozens of participants to put the event together. “It’s been a great group of people working together. It makes the whole festival more exciting and makes us proud of what we do.”dpt.19-filmfestpreview-BPhotoInfoGI1Q3B6S20060419ixy09encIF YOU GO