CRAZY, an Award-Winning Film Inspired by the Life of Guitar Legend Hank Garland, is an Official Selection at the River’s Edge Int’l Film Festival in Paducah, KY, Screening August 15, 16 & 17

   WAYLON PAYNE (WALK THE LINE) AND ALI LARTER (HEROES) STAR, AND FILM IS

DRAWING FESTIVAL AWARDS INCLUDING FIVE FOR BEST FEATURE AND OTHERS FOR BEST

                    SCREENPLAY, ACTOR AND CINEMATOGRAPHY



    LOS ANGELES, Aug. 15 /EMWNews/ -- CRAZY, an independent feature film

inspired by the tragic life and groundbreaking music of legendary 1950s-era

guitarist Hank Garland, is an official selection at the 5TH Annual River's

Edge International Film Festival in Paducah, Kentucky, part of the growing

cultural and performing arts scene in this historic American river town.

CRAZY will be screened three times: Friday, August 15, 2:30PM at Maiden

Alley Cinema (112 Maiden Alley); Saturday, August 16, 6:30PM at Market

House Theater (141 Kentucky Ave.); and Sunday, August 17, 6:30PM at Yeiser

Art Center (200 Broadway).



    Waylon Payne, acclaimed for his debut film role as Jerry Lee Lewis in

the Oscar-winning film Walk The Line, stars as Hank Garland. LA.com

recently wrote, "The brash and brilliant musician is well played by

charismatic actor Waylon Payne." In addition to acting, Payne is a country

artist with deep musical roots. He was named for his godfather, Waylon

Jennings, and is the son of GRAMMY-winning country singer Sammi Smith and

Jody Payne, longtime guitarist for Willie Nelson.



    CRAZY has won major awards at 2008 festivals, including Best Feature

honors at Colorado's Breckenridge Festival of Film -- where Payne also won

for Best Actor -- the Long Island International Film Festival, Big Island

Film Festival and the Hoboken Film Festival, as well as the Jury Award for

Best Feature at the Charleston International Film Festival. For

Charleston's Post and Courier, Bill Thompson wrote, "CRAZY has a bedrock

feel of authenticity...a lively, emotionally resonant movie that is an

uncommonly seamless meld of character study and period recreation."



    Other awards include the Daily News Award for Best Screenplay -- for a

script co-written by CRAZY's director Rick Bieber, Jason Ehlers and Brent

Boyd -- at the L.A. area's Method Fest in Calabasas, CA, Best

Cinematography at the Boston Int'l Film Festival, Best of Show at NC's Real

To Reel Int'l Film Festival and Best Soundtrack at the Rhode Island Int'l

Film Festival. On an especially meaningful note, CRAZY won the top Vanguard

Award at Florida's Jacksonville Int'l Film Festival -- Hank Garland lived

the last four decades of his life near Jacksonville with his brother (and

manager) Billy Garland and Billy's wife Amy, who attended the screening.



    Director Rick Bieber was introduced to the project -- and to the late

Hank Garland -- by Ray Scherr, who served as Executive Producer for CRAZY

along with guitar hero Steve Vai (who performs a cameo as Hank Williams)

under the Favored Nations Films mantle. Scherr had known the Garland family

for over a decade, and believed Hank's true story had potential for a

compelling drama. Hank consulted on the screenplay and was involved with

the project until he passed away in December '04, shortly before principal

photography began. CRAZY's music was produced by multiple-GRAMMY(R)-winning

producer Larry Klein, who was most recently honored for the 2007 Album of

the Year, Herbie Hancock's River -- The Joni Letters.



    Waylon Payne headlines CRAZY opposite Ali Larter (Heroes, Legally

Blonde, etc), who plays Hank's beautiful but deeply troubled wife Evelyn

Garland. Cast members also include: Lane Garrison as Billy Garland; Scott

Michael Campbell as fellow guitar ace Billy Byrd; singer Stacy Earl, as

country crooner Goldie Hill; Evans Forde as Nashville legend Chet Atkins;

and Ryan Cross, as jazz bassist Joe Benjamin. Shawn Colvin and Katharine

McPhee also perform cameos.



    CRAZY chronicles Hank Garland's rise to fame in Nashville, from playing

on hits for icons including Elvis Presley, Patsy Cline, the Everly Brothers

and Roy Orbison through his brief but influential solo career as a

visionary jazz artist. It also explores his tempestuous marriage as well as

his repeated clashes with the "Nashville Mob" -- who then controlled the

country music establishment -- over artist's rights, civil rights and other

issues. The car crash and electroshock treatments that eventually ended

Garland's performing career and derailed his life are starkly portrayed,

and the enormity of what was lost is deeply felt.



    CRAZY is also an official selection at: SoCal Independent Film Festival

(Huntington Beach, 9/9-14), Illinois Int'l Film Festival (St. Charles,

9/12-14), Raindance Film Festival (UK, 10/1-12), Scottsdale Int'l Film

Festival (10/3-7) and Rehoboth Film Festival (DE, 11/5-9).



    For more information, log on to http://www.crazy-themovie.com