Bottle Shock / Randall Miller Interview

An interview with RANDALL MILLER the director of BOTTLE SHOCK - the story of the early days of California wine making featuring the now infamous, blind Paris wine tasting of 1976 that has come to be known as "Judgment of Paris". Shot on location in the Northern California wine country, Bottle Shock focuses on the contentious relationship between headstrong perfectionist Jim Barrett (Bill Pullman), a former attorney, and his free-spirited son Bo (Chris Pine). For all their differences, the two share a dream of producing a great Chardonnay at the Chateau Montelena vineyard Jim founded in Calistoga in the early 1970s. Miller began his career at the American Film Institute with the short film Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School. The film won numerous awards and began Miller's professional career as a director. Off the heat of the short, Randall directed numerous episodic series such as "thirtysomething," "Northern Exposure," "Popular" and "Jack & Jill." His feature career took off with the films Houseguest and The Sixth Man. Looking to get back to his roots in independent filmmaking, Miller and his wife, Jody Savin, set out to start anew. Ironically, their new start took them back to the short with which it all began. Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School is now realized as a full-length feature. The team subsequently completed another labor of love, Nobel Son (2007), starring Alan Rickman as a Nobel Prize winner you hate to love.