Film with Fresno ties brings red-carpet event and Alzheimer’s awareness to Maya Cinemas

“Last Curtain Call” premiered at a theater in Beverly Hills last month at a red-carpet event that doubled as fundraiser for the Los Angeles Walk to End Alzheimer’s.

It was a nice bit of cross marketing, seeing as the film is about an aspiring rock singer diagnosed with dementia.

“We didn’t want to do a typical rock and roll drug movie,” says Jennifer Tadlock, the Fresno filmmaker who produced and directed the movie, which is showing in a special engagement at Maya Cinemas.

The film does have its rock and roll moments.

Actor Christopher Maleki and his band, aptly named Maleki Theory, are in the film (and will perform a concert in the plaza at Campus Pointe following Saturday night’s screening of the film). As is former Guns and Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke.

Several scenes were filmed in Fresno at the Fulton 55 nightclub

But it’s also a family drama and an introduction to Alzheimer’s and specifically early onset dementia, something that many people don’t know or think about, Tadlock says.

Alzheimer’s is deeply personal for the cast. The disease runs in Tadlock’s family. Her grandmother and aunt died of the disease. She worries about her mother’s health.

And her own health.

The film’s star, Maleki, lost his father to Alzheimer’s just last year.

The film is dedicated to his memory, and proceeds from the Fresno screenings will also benefit the Walk to End Alzheimer’s. Tadlock and members of the crew took part in the Fresno walk last weekend.

The whole thing is a test run with Maya Cinemas, Tadlock says. If it’s a success, there’s a possibility that the theater company could screen the film in conjunction with Alzheimer walks across California.

That would go a long way in increasing awareness about Alzheimer’s and related dementia, says Stella De La Pena, the Regional director for the Alzheimer’s Association.

While the number of people affected by it is staggering — the disease impacts more than 50 million people worldwide and is the third leading cause of death in California, equal to stroke — there’s still a stigma associated with Alzheimer’s, especially with younger onset, De Le Pena says.

While the disease is more prevalent in the aged, it’s increasingly being seen in people under 65. “We’re helping families in their late 30s,” she says.

The Alzheimer’s Association be at the red-carpet event Saturday (a meet-and-greet with the cast, including David Proval, who starred in the films “Mean Streets” and “The Shawshank Redemption” and later in “The Sopranos”).

It will also have information available at the theater throughout the week for those who may be dealing with the disease in silence: “There is help available,” De La Pena says.

The Alzheimer’s. Association is available online and has a 24-hour helpline at 800-272-3900.

“Last Curtain Call”

Premiere screening, 7:15 Tuesday; red-carpet meet and greet plus concert, 6 p.m. Saturday; nightly screenings 7 p.m. Wednesday-Tuesday, Oct. 2. Maya Cinema at Campus Pointe. $10.50. mayacinemas.com

This story was originally published September 25, 2018 at 10:52 AM.