By Amanda Moses
There are some nostalgic memories that are often brought to the forefront of our minds with a simple smell, like the scent of French fries, hot dogs, and burgers on a hot summer day with the sound of a crowd cheering in a baseball field. For Red Sox fans, it’s the mere mention of the name Bucky Dent that earns a few groans and grimace with the words: “Bucky F*cking Dent.”
For decades David Duchovny has tinkered away at the retelling of the epic Red Sox loss in 1978, when the Yankees’ Bucky Dent hit a homerun that shattered the Red Sox’s opportunity to win the World Series. This incident further perpetuated the curse of the bambino superstition, which was when Babe Ruth was sold to the Yankees for $100,000, he cursed the Red Sox to never win a World Series (until 2004).
Duchovny first started this retelling through a screenplay and then in 2016 released a novel that focused on the historical loss through a dysfunctional father and son relationship. The narrative focuses its lens on Ted (played by Logan Marshall-Green), a brilliant writer who just hadn’t caught his big break yet and spends his time slinging peanuts at Yankee Stadium. While his life is in shambles, Ted learns that his estranged father has terminal cancer (played by Duchovny). It is through their love of baseball and the Red Sox that the two men find common ground, and in their own oddball way find solace in one another.
On June 10th, the Tribeca Festival premiered Bucky F*cking Dent, which also happens to be Duchovny’s first time back in the director’s chair since 2004. Several cast members and celebrity guests attended the premiere at the OKX Theater at BMCC TPAC, including Duchovny, Logan Marshall-Green, Stephanie Beatriz and others. Even Red Sox legend Pedro Martinez made an appearance to show his support of Duchovny and the Old Towne Team.
“That was a gift, thank you all,” Duchovny began sharing his appreciation to be able to experience watching his film with the audience at the Tribeca Festival. “Especially having done so much TV and in this day and age we have been driven away from theaters for the last few years. It’s such a different experience to sit in the dark with a bunch of people you don’t know. You really are guided through the emotion and the humor of the film by the audience. It’s an educating thing. I wish I could go and direct it again right now.”
“Finding those moments of truth and lifesaving fiction or loving the fictional stories or lies we tell one another that’s the balance of life. I think that there is no one side or the other. It’s somewhat of what the movie is about,” Duchovny added.
Photos by Amanda Moses
