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SYNOPSIS: BELOW THE BELTWAY takes a satiric peek at the machination of those movers and shakers. The story introduces us to two old college friends stuck on D.C.’s career hamster wheel. They stumble on a long since forgotten or never discovered sex scandal and conspire that its uncovering will provide an exit from their workaday drudgery to elite D.C. social status, renown and riches – not to Unencumbered by morality, the two use their accumulated D.C. wiles to shed light, ruin careers and climb to the top of the Washington food chain. In the process, they comically attempt to deceive their respective significant others, maintain their careers and find the young demoiselle at the center of the rumored scandal. After bumbling through initial attempts to scare the intended query of their hunt, the two must dodge their significant others, and a renegade political consultant unleashed by the Senator intent on political destruction of a worse fate. Desperate to reach their self-aggrandizing goals, they decide to go public and expose the alleged scandal, battling opponents’ political smokescreens and the now-curious Washington press corps. The pair has burned bridges, irreparably compromised relationships, imperiled their careers and lifestyle, and know the only way out is to move forward toward their expected reward. The light-hearted, but tension-filled, movie culminates on a Sunday morning political talk show where careers are made and destroyed, unknown heroes emerge and all involved get not what they want, but what they truly deserve.
DATE: THURSDAY JULY 7 DOORS OPEN 6:00PM
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Jim Wareck 
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Claudia Myers 
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After almost two decades in government and politics, Jim Wareck decided to pursue a dream. Not his dream necessarily, but, from what he has been told, the dream of many. Formerly the campaign director and Director of Federal and Congressional Affairs for the District of Columbia under Mayor Anthony Williams, Wareck is the writer (with Brad Weir) and producer of Below the Beltway, the award-winning feature film currently airing on the Showtime Networks and available on DVD from Otter Creek Motion Pictures. The film, described as a DC version of cult-classic Office Space premiered at the Newport Beach Film Festival in 2009 where it won the Audience Award for Best US Feature. Beltway was also named by the prestigious Gotham Awards as one of the top 25 movies of 2009 in its Festival Genius category.
Wareck is a 12 year resident of DC, splitting his time between DC and LA when absolutely unavoidable. He is a full-time screenwriter in addition to developing features for production. |
Claudia Myers is a DC-based writer, director and producer. She produced the indie political comedy “Below the Beltway” starring Tate Donovan, Spencer Garrett, Sarah Clarke and Noah Wyle. The film won the Audience Award at the 2010 Newport Beach Film Festival and is now on Showtime. Claudia’s script “Wild Oats” won 2nd Place at the Slamdance Screenwriting Competition and has recently been optioned. The film will be directed by Scott Marshall and has attracted a strong cast including Shirley MacLaine, Christina Ricci, Maria Bello, John Corbett and Bill Pullman. Previously, Claudia wrote and directed the romantic comedy “Kettle of Fish,” starring Mathew Modine and Gina Gershon. The script won a Nickelodeon Screenwriting Award and the film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival before its theatrical release in 2007. It was then acquired by Showtime. Claudia is currently in development on her next feature, “Fort Bliss,” which was accepted in the 2011 Hamptons Screenwriters Lab. She is a professor in the Film & Media Arts division of American University’s School of Communication. |
