Star, Writer Based 'Best Man' On His Own Life

ROCHESTER - He stars in the movie. He wrote the movie. He directed and produced it.

The fact the movie is also based on an experience John Newcombe had several years ago probably helped him make "The Best Man In Grass Creek."

"Best Man" will premiere in Rochester Thursday at the Times Theatre. Premieres for the film also will be held separately in Plymouth, Marion, Wabash and Attica.

Newcombe spent the past week in the area promoting the film and the premiere. Thursday, at the Times Theatre, he discussed the inspiration for the film, the making of the film and what he hopes people will take from it.

The film was based on a real incident, he said. According to Newcombe, he was asked to be the best man for an acquaintance in Chicago he barely knew. He flew back to Chicago from Los Angeles to be the best man.

"It was just a nightmare," Newcombe said. The groom didn't want to get married after all, but the bride told Newcombe to convince the groom to marry her. The couple fought all night and were even fighting on the way to their honeymoon. "It was," Newcombe said, "quite a funny experience."

Later, he went to a friend's house and told them the wedding story. They suggested he make the story into a film. John Hine, a friend of Newcombe's and an actor in the movie, told his own wedding story about a minister who cried during a wedding. The crying minister was put into "Best Man."

So how does the real-life incident compare to the film?

The film's synopsis: Adam Lewis (Newcombe) is stood up at his own wedding and his world is shattered. He can't even attend a wedding without becoming ill, to the dismay of his new girlfriend Holly (Grace Phillips).

Later, at a business lunch meeting, he is asked to be the best man for Jimmy (John Hines), a guy he doesn't really know, but agrees to be the best man to save his job.

When Adam and Holly arrive in the small farm town of Grass Creek, Ind., they discover Jimmy has told a few lies about who Adam is and Adam's wedding phobia begins to rub off on Jimmy. Chaos ensues.

It was John Hines' father who convinced Newcombe to do the film in Indiana.

"Dr. Hines introduced us to a farm couple. ... Somehow, when we met them, I just knew we were going to come back and do this movie here," Newcombe said.

Some Los Angeles people were cast but many speaking roles were left for Grass Creek area residents. More than 500 extras, from local communities, were cast in the film.

"It's appropriate the film has the town's name in it," Newcombe said.

After production, the film was submitted to film festivals including the Heartland Film Festival, Indianapolis and the Montreal Film Festival. While it was showing in Montreal, Newcombe said, a group of Muslims liked it and helped get it shown at the Cairo Film Festival. It was then shown at film festivals in India, South Africa and Quebec.

"The film has a broad appeal," said Newcombe. "Teen-agers relate to it, old people relate to it."

Porch Light Entertainment is distributing the film overseas, even taking it to the Cannes Film Festival, Newcombe said. Most domestic offers they got for the film, he said, were to show the film on television and then go straight to video.

However, Heartland Film Festival made a "very good" offer to distribute the film.

Rated PG, Newcombe said, it's a clean film, a comedy, but wouldn't call it necessarily a family film.

After the film premieres, it will stay in theaters as long as it gets ticket sales. It will then go on to South Bend and Indianapolis and possibly Fort Wayne, Newcombe said. From there, the possibilities, he said, are endless.

"I think it's great," Newcombe said of the distribution. "It gives us a shot."

Along with the premiere, in the five towns during the first run, a drawing will be held. The winner will get a vacation to Hollywood with all expenses paid.

Whether someone catches the movie at the premiere, a regular showing or later on television or video, Newcombe said he believes he accomplished what he set out to do with the film.

He said, "It's a comedy. I want people to laugh and feel good. I think I succeeded. What people are telling me is, people feel great when they leave. That's my goal."

Before making his directoral debut with "Best Man," Newcombe was the vice president of development for Morgan Freeman's production company in Santa Monica, Calif.

While in film school, he wrote, directed and starred in the short film "Lovestruck" which won an Academy Award for student films.

A native of Chicago, Newcombe attended the Goodman School of Drama prior to earning a bachelor's degree in theater from DePaul University.

Upon relocating to Los Angeles, he began dividing his time between writing and acting. He wrote the Archie Comics for several years while working on various screenplays, also appearing in a number of plays in Hollywood.