Cape to host auditions during 'Belleville' screening

As one of those people who had long felt his life was like a movie, Keith Nussbaum now can say it is one.

Nussbaum is in the cast of a well-received independent film, "Belleville," that will run from Friday to Sept. 11 at 13 Wehrenberg theaters in four states, including Cape West 14 Cine in Cape Girardeau. The film is set and was shot in Belleville, Illinois, about 15 miles southeast of St. Louis.

Nussbaum, a Granite City, Illinois, native whose grandparents live in Cape Girardeau and whose father, Joe, is at Dutchtown, started college at Southeast Missouri State University and is well-versed in the region.

The 90-minute film centers on an odd young man, Neila, played by Belleville native Ted Trent. Neila mysteriously appears in the rural setting and becomes controversial while helping a reclusive farmer cope with the death of his wife.

"Neila" is "alien" spelled backward, and the movie uses the theme, "Sometimes, hope comes from far, far away."

Trent's Los Angeles production company also has wrapped a Christmas movie titled "Expect Delays" that will open in November, and Nussbaum will team with fellow "Belleville" actor Bill Conklin to help cast a sports-related film from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday and from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday in a party room at Cape West Cine 14 at 247 Siemers Drive.

"It was a surreal situation seeing ourselves on the screen at the April opening in Belleville," said Nussbaum, 39, who earned a bachelor's degree in mass communications from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville in 1997.

"I think people will see aspects in these characters that they see in their daily lives. The Chris Talley Trio bluegrass band is in the movie, and they played for the red-carpet premiere in Belleville."

Having played a character named Caleb in the movie, Nussbaum also had a bit part in the film production last year of "Gone Girl." "I'm driving a Hyundai Elantra that creeps up on the crime scene and passes Ben Affleck," he said. "They told me to roll the window up, but hopefully I'm driving slowly enough that you can see me."

Nussbaum is a 1993 graduate of Granite City High School and he works in other independent productions and with SIUE students.

Asked how "Belleville" writer-director Dan Steadman, photography director Brett Frager and sound director Johnny Kubelka, all of Los Angeles, got good production values on a relatively small budget, Nussbaum said: "Technology has improved so much that we all now have the tools to make a quality picture anywhere in the U.S. You just need the knowledge and people who have the talent."

Cooper Shaw of St. Louis was named Best Supporting Actress by the American Movie Awards for her work in the film, which opens in Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois as well as Missouri. Nussbaum said the company hopes for enough business to justify a nationwide release.

The movie also was screened in April at a Wehrenberg theater in St. Louis.

Conklin, an IRS official in St. Louis who has worked with Nussbaum in dinner theater there, plays "Bowler No. 1" in the film.

"It's nice to see a movie go back to the roots and actually deal with people," Conklin said, adding the as-yet-unrated movie will probably be rated PG.

Conklin also made a pitch to those who are considering auditioning for the sports film.

"I encourage everyone to support Midwest moviemaking because we have talent right here. Come out and audition for our new movie. It will have a lot of characters with four story lines that combine into one. Prepare a three-minute presentation that tells a story and just be yourself."

He said the sport in the film has not been determined.