On the IMDB Message Board, there is only one comment associated with the billiards movie Running Out. “IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND!!!” wrote thejollillama. Similar messages have popped up on the AZBilliards Forum, such as Cuebacca’s post, “What’s the deal with that pool movie, Running Out? I keep checking the internet periodically, but it never seems to become available.”
Fancying myself somewhat of a Sherlock Holmes of billiards-themed cinema, I typically love these laments, as I’ve been able to track down quite a few hard-to-find films and television episodes (e.g., Genuine Article – “Puzzles and Pool Cues”; the Swedish short film Nine Ball; A Paradise Without Billiards). However, after much research and numerous dead-end explorations, all detailed below, Running Out, like the near-mythical treasure chest of Forest Fenn or the golden owl La Chouette d’Or, remains out of reach, a billiards Bigfoot. So I beseech my readers: If you have any information about this movie or the whereabouts of the people involved in its creation, please contact me directly.
Let’s start with what we know. In October 2001, the billiards movie Running Out released at the Riverside Film Festival, followed shortly after at the Inland Empire Film Festival, and then at the High Desert Film Festival. Directed by Byron Cepek for an estimated budget of $50,000, the film focuses on three pool hustlers: Cindy (an upcoming Hollywood starlet), Tanya (a strung-out addict who makes money as a dominatrix), and Rex (a sex addict). The players interact and compete, living with the consequences of their actions, and the playing culminates with an ending that online reviewers described as “incredible,” “intense” and “hard to watch.”
As expected, the film is not available to buy or rent through any standard retail channels or file-sharing sites. Sometimes festival organizers have access to old releases, but not in this case. The High Desert Film Festival no longer exists, nor does the original Inland Empire Film Festival. And the Riverside Film Festival, which recognized Running Out with its Best of Show award, only had files dating back to 2003, according to the event’s Film Programmer Nancy Douglas.
Having exhausted the festivals, I pivoted to the director. Unfortunately, Mr. Cepek only made this one film. No other info is available on Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. While I found a Yahoo email for him in a response he made to a Google Group posting, the email bounced back immediately.
Eric James Niemi wrote the film and played the lead (Rex), though curiously, he has been removed from the IMDB Cast & Crew listing. Apparently, Mr. Niemi studied film at California State University, Fullerton, with Professor Diane Ambruso. According to an article in The Daily Titan, Mr. Niemi had sold a script he had written in Professor Ambruso’s class to an Australian producer.[1] When that deal fell through, Mr. Niemi revealed that he “started drinking and returned to playing pool for a living…and quickly fell into debt [from gambling].”[2] This confession seems to coincide with when he wrote and starred in Running Out. Mr. Niemi’s story then takes an odd twist, in which he started selling bootleg copies of Adobe software to make money and protect his family from the loan sharks. He was indicted in November, 2001.[3] No more information is available.
The other two film leads, Suzy and Tanya, were played by acting unknowns Sarah Davis and Vanessa Davis, respectively. Sarah Davis never made another movie. Vanessa Davis, on the other hand, stopped starring in films, and instead, turned to doing makeup and hair for movies. Nominated for a Primetime Emmy in 2005 for her hairstyling work on Warm Springs, Vanessa may be able to shed light on the film’s mysterious history. Unfortunately, she has been unresponsive to my attempts to reach her at the Atlanta phone number she lists at the top of her online resume.
Most of the remaining actors in Running Out were unknowns who never appeared in another film or who had very limited film careers. There is some speculation that the Tony Watson who played Fat Tony may have been the North Carolina billiards player “Little” Tony Watson, though I’ve been unable to get confirmation.
As for the production companies associated with Running Out, both Reaction Machine LLC and Knight Pictures are no longer in business. Mr. Niemi, who used the alias Eric Knight, was the likely owner of Knight Pictures. Reaction Machine lists Erin Niemi, presumably a relative of Mr. Niemi’s, as the Managing Partner. But, those companies’ dissolution coincides well with Mr. Niemi’s U-turn from screenwriting to software pirating.
I also hit an impasse when I started to sift through the technical and production team. There is no available information after 2003 on the producer Katherine Shattuck, the composer Cody Tyler, or the film editor Jason Blackwell. At the other end of the spectrum, David Eichhorn, the film’s dialogue editor, who has a filmography with 150 credits including three primetime Emmys and numerous Emmy nominations, told me via email that he couldn’t even remember working on Running Out.
The second unit director, Diego Martien, now goes by Diego Porqueras and is the President and CTO of Deezmaker, a California-based manufacturer of 3D printer kits. Mr. Porequeras promptly responded to my inquiry, but only to share that he “lost touch with the person that did [Running Out] and never really saw a cut on it. (It got a bit messy with production).” However, he did share with me a music video he made at that time to test certain concepts from the film.
Having run out of people associated with the film to contact, I considered tracking down the three user reviewers who graciously shared their thoughts on IMDB. But, whiningfilmcritic has not posted since 2002, and hollyhills and rocker247 were one-and-done film critics.
Running Out may lack the recognition of The Player, a better-known “missing” billiards movie that has confounded billiards enthusiasts for more than 40 years. But, if the recent discoveries of the Franklin Expedition Ship or the remains of the U-26 are proof that mysteries can take at least a century to solve, then there is a smidgeon of hope that time has not “run out” for finding this missing movie.
[2] http://misc.writing.screenplays.narkive.com/0ojQQtRC/eric-james-niemi-on-his-felony-conviction-please-read-this[Note: this link is no longer active]
[3] https://www.justice.gov/archive/criminal/cybercrime/press-releases/2001/niemi_indict.htm
