Film festival signs off with ‘Letters’

The blockbuster-bound “Letters to Juliet” will shut down the Newport Beach Film Festival tonight, followed by a closing night gala in the Via Lido Courtyard.

Shot on location in Northern Italy, the romantic comedy features heavy-caliber stars like Amanda Seyfried, Vanessa Redgrave, Christopher Egan and Gael Garcia Bernal.

“It’s most certainly going to be a huge crowd-pleaser,” said Erik Forssell, director of programming for the Newport Beach Film Festival. “It’s pretty hard to have Italy as your setting and a movie not work out well — it’s a total package.”

Seyfried plays Sophie, a fact checker for the New Yorker who travels to Verona, the Tuscan city immortalized in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.” Hidden inside a crumbling brick wall, Sophie discovers a letter written by a star-crossed lover in search of answers more than 50 years ago.

Sophie manages to track down the letter’s author, Claire (Redgrave), who wrote the letter after leaving her Italian fiance Lorenzo in Tuscany decades earlier. Sparks fly between Sophie and Claire’s grandson (Egan) when she arrives in Tuscany in search of her Lorenzo.

“It’s a very funny and very moving film, probably the best kind of romantic comedy,” said producer Mark Canton. “It seems to touch a chord in everybody.”

The film debuted at New York’s Tribeca Film Festival earlier this week and is slated to hit theaters nationwide May 14.

Attendance has been pretty much on target for this year’s festival, said Gregg Schwenk, chief executive of the Newport Beach Film Festival.

Schwenk is still waiting on the final tally, but expects that about 51,000 moviegoers will have attended festival events over the past week, which is on par with last year’s attendance.

Several films at the festival played to sold-out crowds this year, including the Orange County-centered documentaries “We Were Feared” and “Living it Forever.”

“With more than 360 films from over 47 different countries, we really try to blend the classic and with the new,” Schwenk said. “’Letters to Juliet’ is a wonderful way to round out what has been a compelling week of great movies.”

If You Go

What: “Letters to Juliet” screening and after party

When: 7:30 tonight

Where: Lido Regency Theatre, followed by a party at the Via Lido Courtyard.

Additional information: The party will include a hosted bar, hors d’oeuvres from local restaurants and live entertainment. Admission to the screening and party is $75. Admission to the party is $50.

Pilot Picks

“Modjeska Woman Triumphant”

This hourlong documentary takes a look at the life of legendary Polish stage actress Helena Modjeska. Legendary for her portrayals of Shakespearean characters, Modjeska spent her last days in Newport Beach at a small cottage on Bay Island.

Cast: Jane Hilary, Sareen Tchekmedyian, Svetlana Efremova, and featuring the voice of Danuta Stenka.

6 tonight at Regency South Coast Village Theater, 1561 W. Sunflower Ave., Santa Ana.

“Jeffie Was Here”

Alan and Amanda’s road trip goes awry when they invite an oddball stranger named Jeffie to come along. Director Todd Edwards does double duty in this light-hearted comedy, also playing the annoying, irrepressible Jeffie.

Cast: Alexis Raben, Cristine Rose, Ken Marino, Peter Bedgood, Steve Little, Todd Edwards and Vanessa Ragland.

6:30 tonight at Edwards Island 6, 999 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach.

“Crying with Laughter”

Scottish comic Joey Fisk seeks stardom in the United States. Struggling to overcome his addiction to cocaine, he’s got one shot at making the big time when an American talent scout comes to Edinburgh to check out his act.

Cast: Andrew Neil, Jo Hartley, Laura Keenan, Malcolm Shields, Micaiah Dring, Niall Greig Fulton, Stephen McCole and Tom Jude.

7:30 tonight at Edwards Island 7.