What was it like to be 13 when the Beatles came to Anchorage? A new screenplay explores just that. – Alaska Dispatch News
In her screenplay “Revolver,” Kate Trefry captures an extraordinary day in the life of Anchorage.
“It’s based on my mom and her friends’ experience when the Beatles landed in Anchorage in 1966,” said Trefry, 30, who is from Anchorage. “My mom was 13, so my grandma locked her in the house like a lot of moms did. But a few of her friends escaped and went to the hotel where the Beatles were staying and actually got to the floor where their room was, but didn’t see them.”
The script is getting some industry buzz, and later this month, stars including Olivia Wilde and “Saturday Night Live” standout Beck Bennett will participate in a live table reading of “Revolver” at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
“We’re inviting financiers and producers and a lot of people that we hope want to invest or be involved in some way,” said Trefry, who lives in Los Angeles.
“Revolver” also earned a spot on the 2016 Black List, a compilation of industry executives’ favorite unproduced screenplays of the year. Trefry’s husband, also an Alaska-born screenwriter, has a script on the list as well.
Trefry’s career is getting better all the time.
Right now, she is working on the second season of “Stranger Things,” an eerie Netflix hit set in the 1980s and starring Winona Ryder. Trefry was on the show’s set when she spoke to Alaska Dispatch News.
As for “Revolver,” the Fab Four’s unannounced Anchorage visit provided Trefry with plenty of material both real and imagined.
The reason the band landed in Anchorage on June 27, 1966, varies depending on whom you ask. According to some, the jet, which was heading to Japan, stopped in Alaska to dodge a typhoon. Others say it was a planned refueling stop extended because of mechanical problems.
The Beatles were wrapping up their last tour ever and were reportedly irritable and bored during their brief stay at the former Anchorage Westward Hotel, now the Hilton.
When news of their presence spread, fans swarmed the hotel. For a community still reeling from the Great Earthquake of 1964 two years prior, the surprise visit was a welcome and wondrous distraction.
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