“Authors Anonymous” celebrates 10 years

September 22, 2024

By CCN Staff

The 10th anniversary of the feature film rom-com/mockumentary “Authors Anonymous” will be celebrated with a special screening at the Bay Theater in Morro Bay on Sept. 30. Local KVEC radio host and writer Dave Congalton, who wrote the original screenplay, will introduce the movie and participate afterwards for question and answers from the audience.

The event is co-sponsored by theater owner Cameron Wilson and the Central Coast Writers’ Conference, scheduled for Oct. 5 at Cuesta College.

“Authors Anonymous” was directed by Ellie Kanner and produced by Kanner and Hal Schwartz. The film stars Kaley Cuoco, Chris Klein, Jonathan Banks, Teri Polo, Dylan Walsh, Tricia Helfer, Jonathan Bennett, and the late Dennis Farina in one of his final roles.

Shot on location throughout the San Fernando Valley and West Hollywood in Aug. 2012, “Authors Anonymous” focuses on a small critique group of unpublished writers who meet weekly to share their work and support one another in their dreams of publication.

That collegial, all-for-one atmosphere is soon tested when Cuoco’s character quickly scores an agent, a book deal, and a movie deal, leaving the others to stew in jealousy and envy.

Congalton, who served as director of the Cuesta conference from 1993 to 2005, used that experience to shape his screenplay, originally entitled “Scribble.”

“The message of the movie is pretty straight forward,” Congalton says. “There are no shortcuts to publication. You have to do the work. Desire is not enough. Believe me, I’ve encountered all the characters in this script at one time or another at the writers’ conference.”

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 30 at the Bay Theater at 464 Morro Bay boulevard in Morro Bay. Tickets are $10 and are available at the door.

The Central Coast Writers Conference, currently directed by Brian Schwatz, is celebrating its 40th anniversary in October.