Local 'Conspirator'

The Robert Redford-directed “The Conspirator” only hit theaters today, but Kurt Graver has already seen it 25 times – at least.

Graver, 25, a 2004 Hatboro-Horsham alum who has since relocated to Santa Monica, Calif., has had the luxury of watching the film grow over the last two-and-a-half years. 

“I got to see it from day one. I saw it when it was a script,” Graver said by cell phone while awaiting a plane home following a New York City premiere of the movie, which features a star-studded cast including, James McAvoy, Evan Rachel Wood and Robin Wright. “All the way through the release.”

Soon after Graver’s employer, The American Film Company, began reviewing screenwriter James Solomon’s story of the conspiracy behind President Abraham Lincoln’s death – which occurred 146 years ago today - Graver started at the now barely 3-year-old American Film Company in December 2008. Two months later, Graver, who started as an intern, was brought on as a full-time employee.

“I’ve always wanted to work in film,” Graver said. “Coming from Hatboro-Horsham, I wasn’t sure how I was going to be able to do it.”

A 2008 Fordham University graduate, Graver interned at New Line Cinema before landing his current gig as manager of development. The position affords Graver the opportunity to review incoming scripts, scout shoot locations, finalize contracts and help with promotion.

It’s also given him the chance to rub elbows with “Mr. Redford” as Graver calls him, as well as the cast of “The Conspirator.”

During the two-and-a-half months of filming in Savanna Ga. – a locale Graver said had the best architecture to represent 1865-era Washington D.C. – Graver got to spend time with actors he described as “an incredible group of people.”

“I was shocked at how down-to-earth and nice everyone was,” Graver said. “They went out to dinner together after a day’s work.”

Solomon, the mastermind behind the story penned some 10 to 15 years ago, is equally laid back and a “cool guy,” according to Graver. If the Hatter needed any further evidence, he got it when Solomon agreed to host a special screening of “The Conspirator" at the Ambler Theatre – a stone’s throw away from his alma mater - on Sunday evening.

Attendees will get to hear the "history behind” Solomon’s film and, if Graver has his way, “see it through his eyes.”

The local showing is one of several “word-of-mouth” screenings that Graver said the independent film company is doing in random spots like Nashville, Tenn., Colorado Springs and Austin, Texas.

Attending some of the screenings (Graver can’t make Sunday’s showing) coupled with reviewing the movie’s final cuts and readying clips for publicity contributed to his estimated 25 to 30 viewings of “The Conspirator.”

“I couldn’t be more happy with it,” Graver said. “I do feel like I got to be a little part of that.”

If you go

A reception, private screening and a Q&A with James Solomon, screenwriter of “The Conspirator,” will be held at the Ambler Theater, 108 E. Butler Ave., beginning at 5 p.m. Sunday. Cost is $35. The evening, which also features raffle gift baskets, butlered hors d'oeuvres and a beer and wine cash bar, is a fundraiser for the Hatboro-Horsham Educational Foundation. For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit www.amblertheater.org, or call 215-793-4970.