Focus Features Giveaway: Being Flynn

Thanks to the folks at Focus Features, I have a giveaway today that is perfect for my blog. Nick Flynn’s 2004 memoir Another Bullsh*t Night in Suck City has been made into a film starring Robert DeNiro – and it opens in theaters today.

Being Flynn is the new dramatic feature from Academy Award-nominated writer/director Paul Weitz (About a Boy). Adapted from Nick Flynn’s 2004 memoir Another Bulls—t Night in Suck City, the movie explores bonds both unbreakable and fragile between parent and child.

Nick Flynn (portrayed in the film by Paul Dano of Little Miss Sunshine and There Will Be Blood) is a young writer seeking to define himself. He misses his late mother, Jody (four-time Academy Award nominee Julianne Moore), and her loving nature. But his father, Jonathan, is not even a memory, as Nick has not seen the man in 18 years.

Jonathan Flynn (two-time Academy Award winner Robert De Niro) has long defined himself as a great writer, “a master storyteller.” After abandoning his wife and child, Jonathan scrapes through life on his own terms, and ends up serving time in prison for cashing forged checks. After prison, he drives a cab for a number of years, but with his drinking and eccentricities now accelerating, he loses his job. Despite the occasional grandiose letter to his son, he has remained absent from Nick’s life.

Suddenly facing eviction from his apartment, Jonathan impulsively reaches out to Nick and the two come face-to-face. The older man is eloquent and formidable; overwhelmed, Nick nonetheless prepares to integrate his father into his own life. But, as quickly as he materialized, Jonathan flits away again.

Moving on, Nick takes a job at a homeless shelter, where he learns from Captain (Wes Studi) and Joy (Lili Taylor) how to relate to the guests who arrive night after night. Seeing the homeless – some permanently, some temporarily so – and hearing their stories, Nick finds purpose in his own life and work. He also sustains a romance with a co-worker, Denise (Olivia Thirlby). Then one night, Jonathan arrives, seeking a bed, and Nick’s senses of self and compassion falter. To give the two of them a shot at a real future, Nick will have to decide whom to seek redemption for first.

Evocatively told, ruefully funny, and moving in its depiction of the ties that bind, Being Flynn tells a story that reveals universal truths.

I haven’t had a chance to read the book yet, and if you haven’t, either, here’s your chance to win a copy of the movie tie-in edition. And not only will you win a copy of the book, but you will win $25 in Fandango bucks so that you can go see the film while it is in theaters. Here’s the trailer:

Giveaway details:

~ One winner (US only) will win a copy of Being Flynn and $25 in Fandango bucks.

~ One entry per person, please.

~ To enter, please leave a comment on this post. To make it more interesting, tell me your favorite Robert DeNiro film.

~ All entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. PST, Friday, March 23, 2012. On Saturday, March 24th, I will use Random.org to choose one winner and then contact the winner for their mailing info, which will be forwarded to the rep at Big Honcho Media.

Good luck!