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ON THE RED CARPET. “Your Name Here” got the royal treatment when it premiered June 13 at The Palms in Las Vegas, with the stars from the film and other celebrities taking part in the festivities. Pictured here, left to right, are Justin Black, Bill Pullman and Joe Gingerella.

Tacoma club owner stars in ‘Your Name Here’

By Matt Nagle

Music promoter and owner of Tacoma’s Club Vertigo Joe Gingerella has branched out into acting, taking a sizeable speaking role in the soon-to-be-released film “Your Name Here” starring veteran actor Bill Pullman in the lead role.

The film had a red carpet premiere June 13 at The Palms Hotel in Las Vegas, hosted by Dennis Hopper, and received favorable buzz at this month’s CineVegas film festival, where Pullman received a Special Jury Award for his work in the film.

Set in the summer of 1974, Pullman plays frustrated science fiction writer William J. Frick, whose life is turned upside down in numerous ways when he becomes the prisoner of an alternate reality after taking a hit of a curious magic powder. What follows is a weird and crazy rollercoaster ride that leads audiences on a trip through Frick’s meltdown in an onslaught of fast-paced, bizarre scenarios.

Gingerella plays rough-hewn biker “Joe” who invades Frick’s home and world at the beginning of the film. Joe takes over, throwing endless wild parties at the owner’s expense while IRS agents nip at Frick’s heels, his ex-wife (Traci Lords) hounds him for child support, and bikers cook meth in his garage. Frick tries in vain to complete his final masterpiece, an account of his collision with God at an East L.A. taco stand, but he gets sidetracked in a big way and is never the same again.

The film also stars Taryn Manning playing a sexy starlet Frick is infatuated with, and Harold Perrineau who television fans will know from the saga “Lost.”

“When I saw it [the film], it just blew me away,” Gingerella said. “It was so mind-boggling. For anybody who likes Bill Pullman, I’d say this is his best performance ever. He hits every emotion you could imagine.”

Pullman has appeared in dozens of movies during his more than two decades of acting in dramas, comedies and thrillers, including 80s hits like “Ruthless People” with Danny DeVito and Bette Midler; Mel Brooks’ wacky “Spaceballs,” the creepy “Serpent and the Rainbow” and later in such films as “Sleepless in Seattle” and “Scary Movie 4” among many others.

Gingerella said all the cast were exceptionally nice, and he was fascinated by watching Pullman work. “When we’d be outside taking a break, we’d be talking normally, but then as soon as Bill stepped through the door to go into the house [on set] he would still be talking to me but he’d change his voice into his character’s. He would go back into character as soon as he’d come anywhere close to the scene where we’d be performing.”

It took about eight days to film Gingerella’s scenes, which were the last scenes to film, as the movie was made starting with the ending and working backwards.

While Gingerella has had bit parts in various films in the past, this one was his biggest role and he is hungry for more. “For my first movie, it was promising,” he said. He said he had to turn down an invitation to play the undertaker in Stephen King’s 2002 film “Rose Red” as it clashed with a tour he was managing for the band Alien Ant Farm at the time, but with Club Vertigo running smoothly these days he is able to travel more freely now. In the meantime, he will also continue focusing on promoting two up-and-coming bands, Jet Black Stare and Atomic Outlaws.

Gingerella said he is looking forward to “Your Name Here” going to wide release in the next couple of months. He is positive it will be well received. “I’ve seen ‘The Wall’ and all kinds of movies like that, but nothing compares to how crazy this one is.”

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