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The Long Game

Directed by Jace Anderson

In THE LONG GAME, ambitious ingenue Holly Sloan falls for older con man Richard and agrees to help him scam Mariah McKay, an '80s starlet who has fallen into Norma Desmond-like obscurity.

  • ABOUT
  • BIO
  • SCREENINGS
  • PRESS
  • CREDITS
  • GALLERY

Genre

Synopsis

THE LONG GAME is a "femme fatale origin story" and neo-noir about ambitious ingenue Holly Sloan (Sekai Abeni), who falls for older con man Richard (Jackie Earle Haley). She agrees to help him scam Mariah McKay (Kathleen Turner), an 80s starlet who has faded into a Norma Desmond-like obscurity, but the two women strike up an unlikely friendship. After renting a room in the star’s house, Holly follows Richard’s urging and cases Mariah’s jewelry in order to rob her. Caught between her passion for Richard and her allegiance to Mariah, Holly must decide where her true loyalties lie. Based on a short story by New York Times-bestselling author Janet Fitch.

Bio

Director/screenwriter Jace Anderson most recently directed her first feature film, The Long Game, which premiered at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in February 2024. Based on a short story by New York Times-bestselling author Janet Fitch, the film stars Kathleen Turner, Jackie Earle Haley and newcomer Sekai Abeni. It is a “femme fatale origin story,” a contemporary neo-noir that tells the tale of young actress Holly Sloan and her entanglements with failed con man Richard Metzger and faded superstar Mariah McKay. Together with her husband/co-writer Adam Gierasch, she has written numerous projects in both the studio and indie realms and for companies such as Fox, The Disney Channel, Lakeshore Entertainment and CBS Films. Mentored early in their career by legendary horror director Tobe Hooper, the duo has also worked with Clive Barker and Dario Argento. Sixteen of their scripts have been made into feature films. Recent projects include the Saturn Award-winning “Tales of Halloween,” for which Gierasch directed and Anderson produced a segment. Gierasch has directed many of the duo’s scripts, and recently directed the film “Spaghetti.” Anderson graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University, where her senior thesis, “Re-Writing Race: Subverting Language in Anne Moody’s Coming of Age in Mississippi and Alice Walker’s Meridian” was published in the academic journal a/b: autobiography studies.

Screening History

World Premiere - Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2024

Los Angeles Premiere -- LA Femme International Women Film Festival 2024

Press

"The Long Game is clever and twisty and will keep viewers guessing until the end. The direction keeps the mystery and tension high, while the screenplay doesn’t give too much away yet still hooks in all watching with what it does reveal. But really, the reason to watch the film is the fabulous cast. Turner is still a radiant star, Haley is as charming as ever, and newcomer Abeni holds her own against both of them."
Film Threat
"Based on the story "The Method" by Janet Fitch, this film is wonderful. A delightful throw back to the old film noirs, but with an updated twist or three, THE LONG GAME surprises as it refuses to do anything other than follow its own way. I love that the film takes our expectations and tosses them aside and just goes for it with a tale that grabs us and pulls us in and makes us go along on it's journey."
Unseen Films

Credits

Actor - Kathleen Turner

Actor - Jackie Earle Haley