A Three-Decade Midwestern Gap

In 1975, when Gregory James Green made nine-minute short The Payoff while a student at the University of Iowa, actress Margot Kidder was in her prime. Her recent credits included the Brian De Palma thriller Sisters, and she was of course just a few years off from her most famous role, Lois Lane.

Thirty-five years later, with Green having very belatedly refashioned The Payoff into feature-length psychological thriller Three of a Kind, Kidder, now 62, is just happy to be working. She appears only briefly in the new movie, as the disabled sister of the main character, abusive Chicago casino owner Victor (Tom Adams), but it is one of several recent film roles.

Kidder as Claire

Green is planning to begin his film festival run with Three of a Kind this fall. In May, he held a couple of test screenings in Boise and Salt Lake City. Reaction from audiences was solid. Also worth noting is the fact that the movie, filmed last fall almost entirely in Boise (doubling as the Windy City), is one of only two feature films made in the state of Idaho last year.

Some of the notes on the 175 reaction cards gathered in Boise are downright raves. “A great thriller. Hold on to your seat,” wrote one attendee. “Different than anything I've ever seen,” complimented another.

This $1.8 million privately funded production is certainly one to watch for. Green has had a varied career. In addition to owning his own media company, Cinema Partners, he has worked as crew on the Michael Mann drama Thief and as a DOP on the 1990s Wilford Brimley flick Chapter Perfect.

[Three of a Kind]

Update - 03/14/12: Three of a Kind will premiere on April 14th at Houston's WorldFest.