Press Kits
The Ravine
http://www.randomhouse.ca/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780307356147
Every childhood contains at least one ?ravine??one episode where the normal fabric of everyday life rips and the monsters come roaring out. But only Giller-nominated novelist Paul Quarrington could make that moment both profound and profoundly funny.
Phil McQuigge?s marriage is over, he has lost his job as the producer of a wildly successful TV series, and has also lost the star of that series, who died on the set under mysterious circumstances that seem to be all Phil?s fault.
So Phil, who self-medicates for guilt and despair with liberal quantities of alcohol and what remains of his wit, sets out on a redemptive quest. He has narrowed down the source of his mid-life freefall to the lingering consequences of an ugly incident that happened in a suburban ravine when he was a boy, on an afternoon of adventure with his little brother, Jay, and their hapless tagalong, Norman Kitchen. Phil decides that if he can only find and make amends to Norman Kitchen then just maybe the planets will once again align benevolently with his fate.
Paul Quarrington describes his tenth novel as what would happen if he had written Mystic River. He has a point: in his hands, comedy rides on top of a tragic undertow as the novel follows the surprising echoes of boyhood trauma in the lives of all three men. The extra surprise twist at the end? What Phil ends up having to atone for is not the sin he thinks he has committed.
Porkbelly Futures
http://www.cordovabay.com/artist_main.php?cat=26
Porkbelly Futures takes, writers, rockers, classical musicians and does the only logical thing. It creates a sort of jazzy blues band with a country twang. The band reunite the singer/song-writing team of Paul Quarrington and Martin Worthy, whose 1980 album produced by John Capek and engineered by Daniel Lanois yielded the #1 hit single “Baby and the Blues”. Quarrington is one of Canada’s best-known literary figures, having won awards for his novels, TV scripts, screenplays and songwriting.
Completing the exciting new Porkbelly Futures band are some of Canada’s busiest musicians. Stuart Laughton substituted his classical trumpet for guitar/harmonica, vocalist extraordinaire Rebecca Campbell is prominently featured and ace bassist Chas Elliott continues to do what he does best. The band’s up-coming,self-titled release is particularly special as it stars their late bandmate and one of the great keyboard players of our time, Richard Bell.
Pavane
A Dramatic Short Film Written & Directed by
Paul Quarrington
Credits for the short film based on The Ravine. (PDF)
BRIEF: Connected by debilitating memories, bottomless drinks, and the pretext of being strangers, Phil and Jay play out a darkly comic ritual in an effort to redeem themselves, and each other, of a shameful childhood incident.
DESCRIPTION: Phil and Jay share more than a family bond – failed careers, failed relationships, bottomless drinks, and a debilitating memory of a shocking encounter in a ravine one childhood day. The pretext of being strangers, the darkly comic ritual that the broken, non-functioning brothers perform in an attempt to get at their pain, can?t cover the palpable connection between them, nor their deeply felt desire to find redemption.
Cutting between live action performed by an award-winning cast and ingenuous animation whose simplicity belies the impact of the incident it reveals, Pavane portrays both the loss of innocence and a subtle hint at the boys? fragile potential for a new beginning.
Pavane displays Quarrington?s sophisticated command of each of his many artistic talents. From his deep wide ranging musical knowledge, he has chosen Prokofiev?s knuckle-busting Sonata Op. 6 to drive the increasingly frenetic animated flashbacks. Ravel?s Pavane pour une infante d?funte, from which the film takes its title, musically underscore the tenuous optimism of its denouement. Animator Chris Minos? simple lines of the animated drawings are modeled on Quarrington?s original character sketches. The screenplay, adapted from his novel The Ravine, and the nuanced performances Quarrington has made possible with the stellar cast, allows audiences to empathize with his characters to a degree rarely achieved in the short film format.
ABOUT THE BOOK: Everyone experiences at least one ?ravine? moment in their life ? an episode when the normal everyday takes a steep, life-changing tumble into something quite out of the ordinary. Delivered in his own voice both profound and profoundly funny, Quarrington’s semi-autobiographical novel is one of his most authentic in a long list of award-winning books.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER / AUTHOR: Paul Quarrington?s extensive credentials span his artistic talent as filmmaker, author and musician. A graduate of the Canadian Film Centre in Toronto, he has written several screenplays including Camilla, Giant Steps, Perfectly Normal and Whale Music, adapted from his Governor?s General Award-winning novel. His professional resume for the screen includes a long list of credits in short film, television and feature film, for independent and studio producers in Canada and the United States. He is in continuous demand as an instructor in the art of writing for the screen. He is currently completing the feature film adaptation of The Ravine which will further explore the narrative and characters introduced in Pavane.
