PREMIERE GAlA CELEBRATION OF PETER RIEGERT'S AND GERALD SHAPIRO'S KING OF THE CORNER
Saturday. March 5 at 7:30 p.m .
Showing at the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center (313 N. 13th Street)
Friday, March 4 – Thursday, March 17
Premiere Gala Celebration of KING OF THE CORNER – Saturday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m.
Peter Riegert and Gerald Shapiro will be present to discuss their film with the audience.
A reception will follow in the UNL Visitors Center’s Great Hall.
Cosponsored by the Jewish Federation of Lincoln, UNL Harris Center for Judaic Studies, University of Nebraska Press, and UNL Department of English.
Actor Peter Riegert's directorial debut feature KING OF THE CORNER is a sly, deadpanned social comedy about the dangers of navigating life without a compass. Facing a midlife crisis, Leo finds himself at a crossroads of Isaac Bashevas Singer and The Godfather. Based on Gerald Shapiro’s award-winning volume of short stories, Bad Jews and Other Stories, this tale starts to spin out of control as this harried man can’t handle the pressures of his life: His father is dying, his daughter is growing up, his protégé is after his job, his wife is running out of patience, and his judgment is becoming blurred. Leo has met the enemy and it is he, but through a twist of fate and the wisdom of his rabbi, he redeems himself and gets a second chance. But at what cost? For his directorial debut, Riegert surrounds himself with the outstanding cast of Eli Wallach, Isabella Rossellini, Rita Moreno and Eric Bogosian as an unlikely rabbi who imparts the wisdom that can set Leo back on track. Peter Riegert’s career as an actor includes over 30 films, including Animal House and Crossing Delancey. His short film, By Courier, was nominated for an Academy Award in 2000.
