BRADLEY GOSNELL
DANIEL FLOREN
Based on the original play, Gun and a Hotel Bible is a provocative film about a man on the verge of a violent act, and his encounter with a personified hotel bible.
Spend one hour in one desperate man’s life when Pete comes “face-to-face” with everything he once believed in. Gideon (being, ya know, a bible) is oblivious to the emotional pain of being a person… and Pete is all too familiar. Still, Gideon tries to connect… but Pete’s heard it all before, and he’s more than ready to spar with the “Word of God.” As ideas about isolation, rejection, blame, and God fly, the clock ticks. Gideon and Pete battle and bond as they are forced to deal with their inadequacies. Unfortunately, time is short…
When hope is desperate, can the desperate find hope?
Gun and a Hotel Bible is a story about stories: what stories we believe and how the line between relationships, faith, and memory can feel like a mess.
As friends, the two of us share a deep care for two things: stories done well, and disagreements done well. It’d be hard to guess whether we’ve had more story sessions or late night debates. In this movie, we revel in both.
With lives on the line, Pete and Gid debate religion and ask tough questions that they sometimes don’t have answers to; the very kinds of questions that the two of us have built a friendship disagreeing over.
Through it all, we hope the viewer feels challenged and represented, but never dismissed. Both in the film and in life, our hearts as writers crave the connection of an intense, empathetic discourse. Come in with questions, doubts, hopes, and fears. We certainly did.
– Daniel Floren & Bradley Gosnell
We’ve all felt lonely, betrayed, even hopeless at some moment in our lives – times when disappointment left us in a valley of despair. There have also been times when we’ve felt an urgent need to help someone else when they were at a complete loss – times when we wanted to lift someone up out of their anguish.
In Gun and a Hotel Bible, I found two characters who embodied these emotions.
This is an honest, sometimes heart breaking story. We meet Pete, who “seems like a good guy”, at a time in his life when he’s taken all he can take. At this pivotal point, when lives hang in the balance, Pete meets Gid who “only wants to talk.” I appreciate the even handed story telling of the script and how the outcome is never obvious. I hope audiences will become invested in the characters, relating to each at different moments and seeing the sincerity of both, flaws and all, as they battle and bond with each other.
– Celeste Provart
Bradley and Daniel have been writing and performing together for the better part of a decade. They have always bonded over good stories and good story telling. In the fall of 2017, Bradley (a big Beatles fan) pitched Daniel the idea of writing a play using a Gideon’s Bible as a character – an idea he got when listening to the Beatles’ song “Rocky Raccoon.”
Eight months, several drafts, and dozens of philosophical discussions later, they brought on Alicia Joy LeBlanc to help bring the story to the stage. After an award-winning run at the 2018 Hollywood Fringe Festival, Embrace Entertainment greenlit the feature adaptation of the play: Gun and a Hotel Bible.
Daniel and Bradley bring their differences, doubts, and deep friendship to the fore as they dance with the question: “Why do we believe what we believe – and where do we go from here?”
Words can’t describe how invested I was in Gun and a Motel Bible. As I was walking out of the theatre and to my car, a random stranger sparked a conversation with me asking me what show I had seen. I told him what I saw and his face lit up, indicating that he saw it to. We spent the rest of our walk analyzing the show. Major props to Bradley Gosnell for not only starring in it, but also being one of writers behind it. Fantastic job!! – Jake Mouchawar
“An intriguing concept smartly delivered. Basically a fractured man’s debate with his forsaken faith, as the clock ticks down to a life changing act. The taut writing crackles with emotional intelligence and, given the concept, surprisingly organic comedy. Those with some scriptural familiarity will undoubtedly nod along with the inherent contradictions that are raised and debated, while those less scripturally inclined (like myself) need not worry. The play does all the work for you. It is not interested in delivering winners and losers, or even a faith-based message per se. It simply asks you to take the journey with these two characters who are impossible not to root for. Gosnell and Floren (who are also the playwrights) display razor sharp timing and, given how familiar they must be with the material, remarkably urgent, just-now deliveries. Floren’s cheerfully overeager, Mormon-on-the-doorstep enthusiasm brings levity at first, then a forceful flaws-and-all testament of faith as the ultimate healer, then finally pleaful desperation as the proverbial clock is about to run out. As the man with a dark plan, Gosnell does the emotional heavy lifting with nuance and humanity, wisely resisting the urge to play things too wrought or twitchy. It’s a performance that allows the audience to see the decent guy he must have been, punctuated by sudden outbursts of raw anger, betrayal, and self-reflective emotional reckoning. It all happens so seamlessly, it’s easy to lose sight of the high wire act these actor / playwrights have pulled off. LaBlanc makes the most of a spare, one room set. No movement wasted. Nothing false or forced. Never too little or too much. Tech work is solid. At a brisk 50 minutes, this one act journey is the best hour I can recall spending away from the smart phone in a long time.” -Baily Walker
“I saw this play twice and I hope I get the chance to see it again! First thoughts…. what brilliant writing! The play has such a simple premise, but through that premise the characters take us on a complex journey of understanding what makes and justifies a moral code. At the beginning I was quick to choose my side between the characters, but just about halfway through… I couldn’t pick a side anymore as I found myself rooting for both of them. And what beautiful performances! The chemistry between actors Bradley Gosnell and Daniel Floren really brought the story to life. Their genuine/honest performances were a rollercoaster ride. One moment I was laughing out loud and just a minute later my heart was breaking. The direction was fantastic and the energy throughout the play took the suspense that was set up in the premise even further. Seeing it a second time gave me a chance to appreciate it even more, catching small details I missed the first time around. I hope to have the chance to see Gun and a Motel Bible again, share it with some friends, and I look forward to what the collaborators of this show come up with next.” – Ashton Avila
“What a treat! Witty, intelligent, and refreshingly original, without isolating the audience (a tough feat when one of the characters is a BOOK!) I was laughing out loud while wrestling with my own moral dilemmas as the characters’ confronted theirs. These two talented actors bring you into some powerful and heavy debates that leave you teetering right on the edge of reason and insanity. Congrats to director, writers, and crew… it was my favorite fringe show this year!” -Ana Zimbart
“This short but engrossing play was impressive on so many levels. The quality of the script: profound ideas and thoughts presented with such clear articulation and passion; you never feel as though you’re being preached to, or hit over the head with an opposing belief. The acting: these young men so embodied their characters, I really wanted them to continue their discussion; you could feel the energy and sincerity of their respective positions, as well as their disappointment, confusion and doubt. Don’t miss this one!” – Judy Burris
Alicia Joy LeBlanc – Director
Raja Gosnell – Director & Robert Arnold- DP
Chelsea Gonnering – Producer
Keseh Morgan – Set Design
Ed Smart – Composer
Celeste Provart – Exec. Producer