It's been a crazy week for Folsom film exec Scott Reid. He's been in New York overseeing the world premiere of his company's new movie, "Battle in Seattle."

He's met with media, arranged TV talk-show appearances for "Battle" stars Charlize Theron and Ray Liotta, and set up private screenings.

"It's kind of like herding cats. Organized chaos," is how the former insurance exec describes his first experience in film promotion, far different from his previous work on the production and financing side of Redwood Palms Pictures.

Reid's pace is likely to stay hectic. The film – about the sometimes-violent protests at the 1999 World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle – is scheduled for a West Coast premiere in Los Angeles next week. The promotional tour then moves to Sacramento, where a red-carpet gala will be held next Saturday with actress Theron and director Stuart Townsend on hand.

A star-studded screening here is unusual – a coup, really – but Reid says he and his partners insisted on a local event "because of all the support" from Sacramento-area investors.

The Sacramento premiere, which comes after the film opens, will be held at the Regal El Dorado Hills Stadium 14 cinema. For tickets to the 7 or 10 p.m. screenings – both of which will be preceded by Q&As with the stars and Redwood Palm execs – go to www.battleinseattlemovie. com/tickets/, then click the date on the "Fandango" link.

Waste not

Former Sacramento River Cats exec Warren Smith has a new gig: He's been named president of a Davis startup with a promising waste-to-energy technology.

"This is a real opportunity to help make Sacramento a clean energy hub," Smith says of his new firm, Onsite Power Systems Inc.

Onsite uses technology developed at UC Davis by biology prof Ruihong Zhang to convert solid food waste into methane gas, which can be burned to generate electricity or to fuel vehicles.

His competitors have similar goals but consume more energy in the conversion process than they produce, says Smith, who co-founded the River Cats and helped launch Prosper magazine, which folded last year.

Onsite's technology, says Smith, will help businesses save millions normally spent on waste disposal, while generating new sources of electricity or fuel for themselves.

An added bonus: the process – tested successfully at a UCD prototype facility – could dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Joining Onsite as a consultant is Greg Hayes, a former executive with Liberty Reverse Mortgage Inc.

Smith and Hayes are contacting food processing companies and other big waste producers with offers to license Onsite's technology.

Onsite expects to announce its first deals in the next 60 days.

Who's up next at 555?

We're hearing that a new restaurant tenant is close to occupying the space recently vacated by 55 Degrees at 555 Capitol Mall.

But who is it? That's still under wraps.

Grubb & Ellis senior VP Dan Chamberlain, who is marketing the space, says "things are looking very positive" regarding a new tenant. But nothing has been formalized.

Rumors say Paragary's Restaurant Group or the Wolfgang Puck chain are likely tenants.

It's not us, says Paragary boss Randy Paragary. "My hands are full," he says.

Nor us, says a spokeswoman for the Wolfgang Puck restaurant company in L.A. "First I've heard of it," she says.

Reach Bob Shallit at (916) 321-1049. Back columns: www.sacbee.com/shallit.