Thank You! Mahalo! Arigatou! Gracias!

A huge thank you to everyone who attended the sold-out premiere screening of Hold My Beer last week!

Big thanks also go out to our sponsors, Sensory Tool House, LLC, Employers Overload, and Stephen's Place for helping make the evening possible, The Kiggins Theatre for being such gracious hosts, and Chris Martin Studios and Spry Social for documenting the proceedings.

There are a ton of cool photos and videos from the event that I don't have room to post here, but if you want to see them, you can follow Hold My Beer - Pilot Episode on Facebook and/or subscribe to the Hold My Beer YouTube channel (if you haven't done so already).

If you weren't able to attend the premiere, you can still watch the film when it is uploaded to YouTube on February 27!

P.S. Yes, the marquee says "Brian Tasmina." I later discovered that "Tasmina" is an Arabic name meaning "One Who Fulfills," which I actually like better than "Tashima," which is Japanese for "Rice Paddy Island." I'll take it!

Tonight!

The premiere screening of Hold My Beer is tonight!

And guess what - it is officially SOLD OUT.

But if you haven't reserved your tickets and you still want to attend, there's a chance there may be some no-shows (because, life), so come on down and the theatre will try to accommodate you if possible.

See you all there! It's going to be a lot of fun!

TV Interview For Hold My Beer

Look Ma, we're (going to be) on TV!

That's right - tomorrow morning, I and two of our young adult actors from Hold My Beer, Andrew York and Lydia Pearl Pentz, will be guests on the Everyday Northwest show on Portland's CW Channel 32!

If you're in the Vancouver/Portland area (or you're not but for some reason you have access to the Portland, OR market's TV broadcasts), tune in from 9am to 10am when we'll be appearing to talk about the film.

And if you still haven't reserved your FREE tickets to the screening next Thursday, you're running out of time! Get them here now while they last!

Meet The Cast Of Hold My Beer: Anne McEnerny-Ogle

This week, I'd like you to meet the final major cast member of Hold My Beer: Anne McEnerny-Ogle!

Anne is playing Amber, the vice president of a (fictional) Vancouver, WA-based investment firm called "Columbian Capital" (it was originally called "Columbia Capital," but then I discovered there's a real company with that name). Any more details would be a spoiler, so you'll just have to watch the film.

Fun fact: for those of you who don't know, Anne is the real-life mayor of Vancouver! When I was looking for someone to play Amber, I discovered that Mayor Anne had some prior acting experience, and I thought, "wouldn't it be cool if we could get her in the film, kind of like how Portlandia featured former Portland mayor Sam Adams?" So the stars aligned, and voila.

Here's her bio:

Anne became the first woman to serve as mayor of Vancouver, Washington in 2018, where she has since helped to lead efforts in economic development, regional community relations, and transportation. Her role in Hold My Beer is her second on-screen acting experience; she previously had a cameo in The Matahari Agency, another Vancouver, Washington-based short film.

Thanks for being part of our cast, Mayor Anne!

Much more to come...

Happy New Year! (Plus More Hold My Beer Hype)

Happy 2025, everyone!

Also, if you haven't done so already, check out this recent top story about Hold My Beer in the Vancouver Business Journal. Big thanks to James Presley for a great writeup!

And for another "if you haven't done so already," don't forget to reserve your free tickets for the premiere screening at Kiggins Theatre on January 23. They're going fast!

Meet The Cast Of Hold My Beer: Eric Holmes

This week, I'd like you to meet another cast member of Hold My Beer: Eric Holmes!

Eric is playing Roger, the owner of a local homebrewing supply store and the organizer of a homebrewing contest where Val, the lead character, learns his fate.*

Fun fact: as you'll see in his bio below, Eric was the City Manager of Vancouver, Washington before recently retiring in October. When I asked him if he retired in order to pursue a career in acting, he was noncommittal (he did such a good job on the film, I think that would be a great idea).

Here's his bio:

Eric recently retired after 30 years of public service, capping his career as the City Manager for the City of Vancouver, Washington. He's passionate about community development and was thrilled to be a part of the Hold My Beer team because the project exemplifies how communities can come together to create interesting, inclusive projects that showcase the best of us. This is his first on-camera role.

Thanks for being part of our cast, Eric!

Much more to come...

* overly dramatic description of events. Hey, I'm still a sci-fi writer at heart

Meet The Cast Of Hold My Beer: Karen Krejcha

This week, I'd like you to meet another cast member of Hold My Beer: Karen Krejcha!

Karen is playing Ellen, mother of the lead character, Val. At the beginning of the story, she reluctantly goes along with her husband's decision to give Val a tough-love ultimatum, and later, makes a suggestion that sets her son on a life-changing course.

Fun facts: Karen is the co-founder and Executive Director of Autism Empowerment, a Vancouver, WA-based nonprofit organization devoted to enriching and empowering the lives of youth, adults, and families within autistic and neurodivergent communities. I serve on the Board of Directors for the organization, which was also a coproducer of Hold My Beer. But if you've been reading this blog, then you already knew all of that.

Here's the rest of Karen's bio:

Karen has a rich background in musical community theater and high school productions, having taken on leading and supporting roles in Annie, Annie Get Your Gun, Grease, The Sound of Music, Fiddler on the Roof, The Mouse that Roared, The Night of January 16th, and You Can't Take It With You. Though these roles were in her earlier years, her love for acting remains strong, fueling her current work in films like Hold My Beer.

Thanks for being part of our cast, Karen!

Much more to come...