North Bay movie-lovers, long-time fans of the great Frank Langella (above) and everyone following the career of the actress who played Claire Fisher in Six Feet Under (the marvelous Lauren Ambrose), will get a chance to see what happens when two great actors share screen time in an intelligent art-house drama about love, loss and literature. Writer-director Andrew Wagner will be in Wine Country—downtown Healdsburg, to be exact—on Wednesday, Dec. 12, for a very special Hollywood-style cocktail party, movie screening and after-show dinner, served up by the same folks who bring us the annual Sonoma Valley Film Festival. The film, Starting Out in the Evening, has been praised by Rolling Stone as sure-fire Oscar bait for Langella and Ambrose. The story follows a fading novelist whose grief after the death of his wife is complicated, and somewhat assuaged, by the appearance of a luminous young grad student, eager for an interview with a literary giant. Hey, it could happen. The pre-screening reception (starting at 5pm) and the after-show dinner will both be held at the beautiful Hotel Healdsburg, with the screening of the movie scheduled to begin at 6:30pm at the Raven Film Center. The dinner begins at 9pm. Cost for the reception and screening is $25, with the dinner (featuring gourmet food and great wines) is priced at $150, which includes the reception and movie. For details, call 707.933.2601.

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