Paste Co-Sponsors Mark Ruffalo's Sympathy for Delicious LA Premiere

Photos by Timmi Goldstein

We’ve been telling you about Sympathy since Sundance 2010, and now we’re proud to be a part of introducing it to the public. Paste recently co-sponsored the Los Angeles premiere of Mark Ruffalo’s directorial debut, Sympathy for Delicious, as well as the Distillery 209 Sympathy for Delicious Afterparty at Mondrian Skybar in West Hollywood. In attendance were Ruffalo, writer/star Christopher Thornton, co-star Orlando Bloom, Ileana Douglas, Carrie Preston, Katie Aselton, Scott Teems, Natalia Livingston, multiple representatives from distributor Maya Entertainment, and many other notables. Other sponsors of note included Gasoline Films and Rutz Cellars.

“Well, first of all, a wise director once told me that it’s really really hard to make even a bad movie,” Ruffalo quipped at the screening, in a Q&A session led by Paste film editor Michael Dunaway. He talked about his 15-year friendship with Thornton and the decade-long journey of making the film. He also told about overcoming early negative blogger reaction to the film, which later won the Special Jury Prize at Sundance.

Thornton doesn’t see as much similarity between himself and the main character as everyone else seems to. “I’d like to think that if I acquired the gift to heal, I’d be a lot more generous with it than Dean was,” he said. Everyone associated with the film expressed a deep passion for Thornton’s script.

Orlando Bloom grinned through a seemingly endless tenure on the red carpet as he was peppered with questions about roles past and future, as well as about his wife and new baby. “This film was a real healing for me,” he said. “I haven’t done this kind of film in a long time.”

The afterparty raged into the wee hours of the morning and, in some corners, past sunrise. Distillery 209, makers of some of our favorite artisanal gin, was the title sponsor for the afterparty and provided a menu of 209 gin drinks to choose from. Rutz Cellars provided wine, and the Mondrian Hotel provided Skybar as the venue. VIP giftbags included items from Revitalash, Bootights, Crocs, Lilly Lee Lettering, inAisce, Smart Water, Zico, Café Bustello, EO, and Kind bars.