When I heard that a movie was made about our own Durant’s restaurant and bar, I had to act quickly. The director was thinking of hosting the world premier in Scottsdale.
Not over my dead body. Nothing against Scottsdale, but is Durant’s in Scottsdale? Was this restaurant, which was the scene of many political deals, schemes and even plans to assassinate reporter Don Bolles in 1976 not located in Phoenix?
I immediately got on the phone with Kendall over at Local First Arizona, our Get Your PHX event co-conspirator, we found great partners with the Renaissance Phoenix Downtown Hotel and Edison Midtown (now under construction steps away from the original Durant’s (Official).
We are putting together a star-studded, red carpeted premier event that respects the history and tradition of Phoenix on January 21st , 2016 at the Renaissance. The premiere screening of the film will take place January 21st in the ballroom of the Renaissance Downtown Hotel. The event starts at 6pm with a pre-party mixer and the screening will begin at 7pm.
Tickets will be sold online ONLY until January 17th. Your name will be on a will call list. Tickets must be purchased on computers, mobile devices are experiencing issues.
Watch the trailer for Durant’s Never Closes here: https://www.youtube.com/
Check out some of the press for the film: http://
And here’s a little more history from you, thanks to Kendall over at Local First:
Jack Durant first opened his famous, (or infamous?), steakhouse, Durant’s, in 1950 at Central and Virginia Avenues, and remains frozen in time with red leather booths and server staff donning red vests. Durant’s quickly became a favorite hotspot for movie stars and sports icons; a place where you’d find John Wayne, Joe DiMaggio and Clark Gable enjoying steak and martinis.
Owner Jack Durant was no shy character in Phoenix’s history with rumors surrounding his ties to mobster Bugsy Seigel when he was a teenager to the murder of Arizona reporter, Don Bolles, which Durant was said to have been planned right in his restaurant. “It’s not like anything else in Phoenix because you know it feels like you walked into ‘Goodfellas,’ basically,” said Valley filmmaker Travis Mills of Running Wild Films.
The film, Durant’s Never Closes, centers around the legendary Jack Durant, a restaurateur, ladies’ man, and mysterious gentleman who maintained many connections to the mafia. Based on the play by Terry Earp and the book by Mabel Leo, tells his story during one day at his restaurant. Tom Sizemore stars as Jack Durant along with Peter Bogdanovich and Phoenix’s own, Wayne Rainey.
“Durant’s was the spot for the movers and shakers of Phoenix,” said Mills. “Celebrities, politicians, mobsters, they came and they made business deals here.”
From the backwoods of Tennessee, to the world of Vegas at the time of Bugsy, and finally as the owner of his famous steakhouse, Durant is a legend and dynamic character, at once charming, powerful, and dangerous…
