Randolf L. Turrow Movies

A young man learns something about making his fantasies into reality from an older man who has already been there in this coming-of-age drama. Cameron (Michael Angarano) is a teenage film buff living in Los Angeles who dreams of making movies himself someday, an ambition that doesn't impress his parents very much. Cameron doesn't have many friends beyond fellow outcast Murphy (Joshua Boyd), and wealthy and popular classmate Brett (Taber Schroeder) takes great pleasure in making Cameron's life miserable. A major film school in L.A. has announced a competition for young filmmakers, but while Cameron has talent and ideas, Brett has the money to buy film stock and rent equipment, and Cameron wonders if he stands any chance at all. One evening, while attending a screening of Orson Welles's Touch of Evil at a revival theater, Cameron sees an elderly man who shouts at the screen about his old pal Orson. Cameron is thus introduced to Flash Madden (Christopher Plummer), who worked as a lighting man during the Golden Age of Hollywood and really did work with some of the most respected names in the business, including Welles. While cranky Flash doesn't much care for Cameron at first, in time he sees a kindred spirit in the movie-mad teenager, and offers his technical know-how and sources of equipment to the would-be director. Flash also introduces Cameron to Mickey Hopkins (M. Emmet Walsh), a former screenwriter who helped script a number of silver screen classics but is now living in a shabby Old Folks home, and in Hopkins Cameron finds the inspiration for just the sort of movie he wants to make. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A young fighter and an elderly trainer try to trade their shaky futures in for a championship belt in this independent drama. Tommy Riley (J.P. Davis) is a boxer whose young career is already in decline; while he has talent, he also has personal demons to contend with, a sloppy style in the ring, and is still trying to get over a bad breakup with his girlfriend Stephanie (Christina Chambers). As Tommy tries to find a way back into the spotlight, he meets Marty Goldberg (Eddie Jones), an aging former fighter who struggles to make ends meet. Marty thinks he knows how to channel Tommy's gifts and make him the successful fighter he could be, though he soon discovers getting past Tommy's emotional defenses is no small task. In time, Marty grooms Tommy into a comeback kid, and they develop a powerful emotional bond, but when a secret from Marty's past unexpectedly rises to the surface, it threatens to undo all the two friends have accomplished together. Fighting Tommy Riley was written by co-star J.P. Davis, who stipulated that he be cast in the title role before he would allow his script to be used. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Writer/director Adam Rifkin's The Dark Backward is set in a dark, grimy, garbage-strewn urban netherworld, where a company named "Blump's" apparently owns everything. Marty Malt (Judd Nelson of The Breakfast Club) is an unhappy garbageman who moonlights as an atrociously unfunny standup comic. His best friend and fellow trash collector, Gus (Bill Paxton), is the only one who laughs at his jokes, and his sincerity is questionable. The obnoxiously exuberant Gus plays an accordion, which he always carries with him. Marty is seeing Rosarita (Lara Flynn Boyle), a waitress, but she doesn't seem too interested in him, either. One day, Gus convinces a talent agent, Jackie Chrome (Las Vegas circuit staple Wayne Newton), to check out Marty's act. Jackie isn't impressed. Marty's luck seems to take a turn for the worse when a large lump starts growing on his back. He goes to a quack doctor (James Caan), who calls him a wimp and puts a Band-Aid on the lump. The lump continues to grow, eventually becoming a full-sized arm. While Gus uses Marty's newfound freakishness to impress his obese girlfriends, a horrified Rosarita breaks up with Marty, and he gets fired from the club where he does his act. Marty is despondent until Gus brings him to see Jackie, who, it turns out, has always dreamed of finding a real three-armed comic. Re-christened "Desi the Three-Armed Wonder Comic," and with Gus now providing musical accompaniment, Marty gets a fresh start on his career. The Dark Backward received devastating reviews upon its initial release, but has since developed a minor cult following. The film also stars Rob Lowe and King Moody, who was the original Ronald McDonald. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide