“In My Sleep” has Hollywood premiere!

I’ve gone to plenty of premieres at The ArcLight in Hollywood but there was something really special about Thursday night’s event for the presentation of the psychological thriller In My Sleep.

First, I’ll tell you that I loved the movie which stars a terrific actor named Philip Winchester who if you have not hear of yet, you will. He’s in just about every scene and in many of those scenes, he’s wearing very little. He’s in incredible shape as his character is a swimmer but even if he weren’t such a feast for the eyes, you will be so impressed with his presence and his performance.

In this movie, so well written and directed by Allen Wolf, Philip plays a guy named Marcus. He wakes up in a cemetery barely dressed. We find out that he suffers from parasomnia, a rare form of sleep disorder which causes him to do things in his sleep, which he cannot remember the next day.

One morning, Marcus wakes up covered in blood with a knife at his side. Then, the wife of his best friend is found dead, stabbed to death.

Marcus begins investigating his own nocturnal activities, following clues and trying to figure out what happens after he goes to sleep at night. There is plenty of suspense and you become so engrossed in trying to figure out who did what. I had it wrong a couple of times before the killer is revealed. Winchester carries the movie and makes everything his character is going through seem plausible. It’s an outstanding performance and I especially enjoyed a lighter birthday party scene where his friend throws for him and invites every woman in the sex addict’s black book.

He is well supported in the movie by Tim Draxl as the best friend, Kelly Overton as the murder victim, Abigail Spencer as a woman Marcus meets at a meeting for sex addicts, and the wonderful Lacey Chabert who is a breath of fresh air as Marcus’s neighbor who comes to his aid.

The movie also features the always amazing Beth Grant as Marcus’s mother who holds the key to the troubled past that haunts him in his dreams.

There are also plenty of other solid actors in the movie who you will recognize from television roles: Amy Aquino as a quirky police detective, Kevin Kilner as Marcus’s father, Michael Badalucco as a sex addict sponsor, and Tony Hale as a co-worker of Marcus’s. There’s also a blink-or-you’ll-miss-it cameo from former Baywatch star Alexandra Paul.

Much of the cast was at the premiere as were producers and investors. I talked to several investors in line (I don’t even want to get into the nightmare the ticket line was – the only glitch in an otherwise wonderful night) who seemed like everyday folk including a woman and her sister who had flown in from Chicago just for the occasion. In His Sleep has been well-received at several film festivals and which you will want to see when it opens at Sunset 5 in West Hollywood on April 23 and in New York City a week later.

Philip Winchester with co-star Lacey Chabert and writer-director Allen Wolf. I chatted all three up on the red carpet.

“Philip is awesome,” said Lacey who jokingly added: “He’s a little hard to look at.”

The former Party of Five star and Mean Girls cast member also said of her leading man: “This role needed somebody who was incredibly talented because he really does carry the film and he is incredibly talented.”

Lacey’s next film is Slightly Single in L.A. and she also had a role in last year’s Ghosts of Girlfriends Past.  among many other film and TV roles.

Still, I wondered if it was tough for her to transition from child star to adult actress: “It’s always a challenge when you grow up in people’s living rooms to be thought of as an adult. But I feel like I’ve been blessed and I’ve gotten a lot of roles that I’ve been proud of. It’s always an ongoing struggle and opportunity.” Philip Winchester (pictured below) and I did a sit-down interview which will be posted next week.

We chatted Thursday morning and he admitted to being very excited about the premiere that night. He was joined by his wife Megan and his parents.

“My mom and dad drove down from Montana,” Philip said. “It’s been such a long time in the coming and this [premiere] is just a big shout to Allen and his dedication. I’m really excited about tonight and I’m really excited for Allen because this is his baby and he’s bled and slept and eaten this movie for probably 10 years – from conceiving it to bringing it to this point.”

Philip’s first film role came way back in 1998 when he was just a teenager and was cast in The Patriot. He has a distinguished stage career, had the lead in the short-lived NBC series Crusoe and also had roles in the TV miniseries Alice and the feature films Flyboys and Thunderbirds.

I felt like a groupie when I saw Beth Grant because I’m a huge fan of this amazing character actress with 140 on-screen credits – so far!

Beth has had memorable roles in so many movies including Little Miss Sunshine, Crazy Heart, Donnie Darko and my very, very favorite: Sordid Lives. She reprised her role of Sissy Hickey in last year’s Sordid Lives: The Series.

“I am tryin’ to quit smokin!” Beth said, doing one of Sissy’s most famous lines for me.

She’s worked with just about every star in Hollywood in movies large and small and in countless TV shows and says: “I do love indie movies and I love first-time directors because they are so enthusiastic and they’ve usually spent their whole life working for this moment. It’s great fun.”

She plays Philip Winchester’s mother in this movie and said of her hunky onscreen son: “I just love him! And he ain’t bad to look at! Oh my God and he’s in his underwear this whole movie which is pretty fun.”

Allen Wolf basked in the spotlight Thursday doing interviews including with ABC 7′s On the Red Carpet host Chris Balish.

The movie was shot in 2006 and Allen spent the following years steadily completing the finished product: “Being a filmmaker is so much about never giving up,” he told me during our red carpet chat. “We had all kinds of hurdles in completing the film. When you’re an independent filmmaker you just have to be resourceful and come up with solutions. It’s so wonderful to have a great community of support.”

Here are some stills from the movie and the trailer: