Cinematic Scene
Photography: Patrick Cone
Where do aging rock stars go when they retire? New York? Los Angeles? Rural Wyoming?
In Stacy Dymalski’s newest feature film, “Hotel Wyoming,” Keegan Plum —a long-haired, ’80s-style, shock-and-awe musician with a face as weathered as old barn wood—decides to move to an anonymous western town after reading his stage manager’s astrological charts. Keegan is convinced that once there he will not only escape clinging groupies, but find new purpose, recharged creativity and true love. Instead, he stumbles upon the town’s dirty secret, making him an unwelcome guest and a target for murder. “Hotel Wyoming,” which will begin shooting this year in the nearby town of Peoa, Utah, is a classic Dymalski-esque rollercoaster ride of comedy, intrigue and surprise endings.
Well-known for her short films and stand-up comedy routines, Dymalski has now turned her attention to writing and directing feature-length projects. Joining forces with fellow writer Zack Van Eyck, Dymalski won numerous awards in national screenwriting competitions including the Telluride Indiefest, the Winner Take All Competition and the Grand Prize in the Hollywood Final Cut Competition.
Their soon-to-be-released feature film, “Jupiter Landing,” is Dymalski’s first directorial debut. Shot entirely in Salt Lake City with the aid of the Utah Film Commission, “Jupiter Landing” is a quirky, character-driven comedy about relationships, sex, and life after death. Told from the point of view of “Catfish”—an anti-establishment, dumpster-diving Stanford graduate—the story revolves around six outcasts inhabiting an old dilapidated mansion. After receiving eviction notices, the characters are forced to confront their dead-end lives and tangled connections with one another. Tensions escalate when secrets about the mysterious apartment house and its occupants are revealed. The film is a perfect entrée into the ongoing relationships of these misfits, and after its release, Dymalski and Van Eyck hope to turn “Jupiter Landing” into a weekly television series.
Dymalski works with an impressive group of artists, including the producers, cinematographers, actors, and musicians who came together to
produce this film. When asked about the trials of filmmaking, Dymalski says that even though film is a director’s medium, it is one art that is truly a collaborative effort. “It’s amazing anything ever gets accomplished considering the number of people involved, but you must respect the talent and intuition of all the players. Disregarding their gifts would be like walking down a beach littered with diamonds and not stooping down to pick them up,” she says.
Here’s hoping that we get many more glittering gems from Stacy Dymalski in the near future.
Corinne Humphrey is a freelance writer and photographer who specializes in food and travel articles for Cooking Light, Sunset, Women’s Health & Fitness and Utah Outdoors. Her other job as an international flight attendant allows her to wander the globe gathering material for her stories. She is also co-author of the non-fiction book, “Camping,” and has recently completed her first novel.
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