February 28, 2007
We got some amazing news today. Darius Goes West: The Roll of His Life has been selected to screen at The Tribeca Film Festival in New York City in late April/early May! This super-prestigious festival, co-founded six years ago by Robert DeNiro, attracts upwards of 300,000 people! We plan to take Darius to the Big Apple (how can we not?) straight from the Independent Film Festival of Boston. Darius Goes North!
Logan, Ben, Daniel, and Sam are on their way to Nebraska for the Omaha Film Festival, where our film will be shown twice. If you know anyone who lives out there, please send them to one of our screenings. We want to pack the house and continue our tradition of being the film audiences love most.
We'll try to remember to take pictures in Omaha and post them on this site.
Finally, check out the latest issue of Athens Magazine, where you'll find a whole- page, full-color picture spread from our Athens premiere at the Morton.
DGW...Know about it!
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Thursday, February 22, 2007
ATHENS TO ATHENS?
February 22, 2007
Thank you everyone for sending e-mails to ABC's Nightline. They got a ton of them and are considering doing a follow-up story, perhaps on Charley's Fund. We'd be happy with any topic that furthers our cause: finding treatment/a cure for DMD.
Lots of exciting news to report in the film festival area. We got invited to screen at the Independent Film Festival of Boston in April. The subject line of the invitation read: "Darius Goes North...to Boston." Our plan IS to take Darius to Boston, since he hasn't traveled north yet. It should be a great trip, and we're really looking forward to it.
We also got accepted at the Screen Republic Declaration of Independence Film Festival in London, England in April! They are going to help us do some fundraising in the UK for Charley's Fund, and we're hoping to talk Martin Bashir into being our personal tour guide.
In May, we'll be screening at the Berkshire International Film Festival in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Charley's parents, Tracy and Benjy Seckler live in this area, so there will be a huge Charley's Fund benefit there.
Finally, we were invited to show the film at Emotion Picture, an International Disability Film Festival in Athens, Greece in June!
We're pumped to begin spreading the word about Darius Goes West and Charley's Fund from Athens, GA to Athens, Greece--and beyond.
DGW...Know about it!
Thank you everyone for sending e-mails to ABC's Nightline. They got a ton of them and are considering doing a follow-up story, perhaps on Charley's Fund. We'd be happy with any topic that furthers our cause: finding treatment/a cure for DMD.
Lots of exciting news to report in the film festival area. We got invited to screen at the Independent Film Festival of Boston in April. The subject line of the invitation read: "Darius Goes North...to Boston." Our plan IS to take Darius to Boston, since he hasn't traveled north yet. It should be a great trip, and we're really looking forward to it.
We also got accepted at the Screen Republic Declaration of Independence Film Festival in London, England in April! They are going to help us do some fundraising in the UK for Charley's Fund, and we're hoping to talk Martin Bashir into being our personal tour guide.
In May, we'll be screening at the Berkshire International Film Festival in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Charley's parents, Tracy and Benjy Seckler live in this area, so there will be a huge Charley's Fund benefit there.
Finally, we were invited to show the film at Emotion Picture, an International Disability Film Festival in Athens, Greece in June!
We're pumped to begin spreading the word about Darius Goes West and Charley's Fund from Athens, GA to Athens, Greece--and beyond.
DGW...Know about it!
Saturday, February 17, 2007
NIGHTLINE...KNOW ABOUT IT!
February 17, 2007
In case you haven't heard, Darius made his debut on national television last night. Anchor Martin Bashir did an oustanding job telling our story on Nightline. If you haven't done so already, we hope you will log on to www.abc.com and thank Nightline and ABC for running this incredible piece. Having lost a brother to DMD 16 years ago, Bashir had a special connection with Darius and our cause, making the story even better.
We had a Nightline viewing party with most of the crew, Darius, and D's mum, Jamie (as well as big-time supporters Laura Benson, Rebecca Corey, Sophie Kohn and others) at the Athens home of Tiffany and Chris Hines. Check out the pictures we've posted. Martin Bashir called Darius just before the broadcast and right after it. Check out D's beaming smile while he talks on the phone. Fame becomes him, don't you think? Bashir also talked to Jamie, and plans to keep in touch with her and Darius.
If you missed the broadcast, you can see the video online at http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline. Click on "2" and click on "video."
Logan and Ben have made it home safely from Calgary. Next stop: the Omaha Film Festival in 10 days.
Darius LOVES all the messages you've been sending him, but please understand that while he'd love to reply to you, it's extremely difficult for him to type.
DGW...Know about it!
In case you haven't heard, Darius made his debut on national television last night. Anchor Martin Bashir did an oustanding job telling our story on Nightline. If you haven't done so already, we hope you will log on to www.abc.com and thank Nightline and ABC for running this incredible piece. Having lost a brother to DMD 16 years ago, Bashir had a special connection with Darius and our cause, making the story even better.
We had a Nightline viewing party with most of the crew, Darius, and D's mum, Jamie (as well as big-time supporters Laura Benson, Rebecca Corey, Sophie Kohn and others) at the Athens home of Tiffany and Chris Hines. Check out the pictures we've posted. Martin Bashir called Darius just before the broadcast and right after it. Check out D's beaming smile while he talks on the phone. Fame becomes him, don't you think? Bashir also talked to Jamie, and plans to keep in touch with her and Darius.
If you missed the broadcast, you can see the video online at http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline. Click on "2" and click on "video."
Logan and Ben have made it home safely from Calgary. Next stop: the Omaha Film Festival in 10 days.
Darius LOVES all the messages you've been sending him, but please understand that while he'd love to reply to you, it's extremely difficult for him to type.
DGW...Know about it!
Thursday, February 15, 2007
HOW DO YOU SIGN "GOSLABI?"
February 15, 2007
The weather has warmed a bit in Calgary, or at least it's no longer below zero. Still, we seriously underpacked!
Last night was our screening at the Picture This Film Festival. It was well attended, and the crowd was very receptive. DGW was first on the agenda and was followed by 3 other movies, all great ones. Everyone asked good questions in the Q&A, but it felt lonely just being the two of us giving the answers.
The most interesting part about last night's performance was that there was an interpreter present. Since we've now seen the movie about 150 times, it was quite amusing to watch the interpreter attempt to sign phrases like, "Compooter, hooter, dooter" and "Gaslabi."
Today, our personal "tour guide" Patricia Okahashi (her official title, she claims is "red tape person" for the Picture This Film Festival) is driving us about an hour and a half away to do some skiing. She's been awesome, and we're pumped to hit the slopes.
We've recently learned that we've been accepted to the AFI/Dallas Film Festival in March/April. This is run by the American Film Institute and sponsored by Target. Anything run by AFI promises great exposure and the potential for sales, so we're excited about that.
Tomorrow, we head back to Athens. It will be nice to get home, but it's been really cool to be part of a festival where disability advocacy is front and center.
DGW...Know about it!
The weather has warmed a bit in Calgary, or at least it's no longer below zero. Still, we seriously underpacked!
Last night was our screening at the Picture This Film Festival. It was well attended, and the crowd was very receptive. DGW was first on the agenda and was followed by 3 other movies, all great ones. Everyone asked good questions in the Q&A, but it felt lonely just being the two of us giving the answers.
The most interesting part about last night's performance was that there was an interpreter present. Since we've now seen the movie about 150 times, it was quite amusing to watch the interpreter attempt to sign phrases like, "Compooter, hooter, dooter" and "Gaslabi."
Today, our personal "tour guide" Patricia Okahashi (her official title, she claims is "red tape person" for the Picture This Film Festival) is driving us about an hour and a half away to do some skiing. She's been awesome, and we're pumped to hit the slopes.
We've recently learned that we've been accepted to the AFI/Dallas Film Festival in March/April. This is run by the American Film Institute and sponsored by Target. Anything run by AFI promises great exposure and the potential for sales, so we're excited about that.
Tomorrow, we head back to Athens. It will be nice to get home, but it's been really cool to be part of a festival where disability advocacy is front and center.
DGW...Know about it!
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
CHILLED IN CALGARY
February 13, 2007
Daniel, Sam, and Darius finally made it back to Athens last night. They got caught in some nasty Atlanta traffic and spent a total of almost 12 hours on the road yesterday. They were beat!
Ben and I made it to Calgary (thanks, Delta). It is so cold here that it hurts. We think it's something like 15 below. Everyone keeps talking about these strange winds called shinooks-- warm winds that enable canooks to wear shorts in the middle of winter. I think they are full of it! And we were complaining about Oxford being cold! The snow is beautiful though.
Last night was the Picture This Film Festival awards ceremony, which we almost didn't make it to. We took a cab and left in plenty of time, but we got stuck in some terrible traffic. Once there, the crowd was warm and receptive when we proudly accepted our Honorable Mention Award for "Best Documentary Over 30 Minutes." After that, we saw an excellent film, which won "Best of the Fest," called The Cost of Living.
Picture This is Canada's first and largest international disability festival, and our award was decided by a jury. Their comments on Darius Goes West:
"Great concept, set up and opening...engaging storyline...positive and interesting...great flow and very interesting...funny...great rap music...inspirational, educational and delightful...neat to see a film about youth and how they get through a life with disabilities...natural humour...really enjoyed it!"
Our film makes its Canadian premiere on Wednesday evening, so we took advantage of having a day off and slept in this morning. Our room at the Marriott is really awesome. Huge thanks to Kathleen Laughlin and her husband Alan Kraft (who taught us both social studies at Clarke Middle School) for donating timeshare points that meant our stay here was complimentary. This afternoon we plan to bundle up and explore the city before going to watch some more films.
I got a great e-mail from Molly at the Oxford Film Festival that says she's receiving tons of e-mails from DGW fans asking how they can help the cause. We apologize for misspelling her name in yesterday's blog and for leaving out Mica and Kevin, equally awesome Oxford Film Festival organizers.
We hope to go skiing before heading home Friday to catch NIGHTLINE!
DGW…Know about it!
Daniel, Sam, and Darius finally made it back to Athens last night. They got caught in some nasty Atlanta traffic and spent a total of almost 12 hours on the road yesterday. They were beat!
Ben and I made it to Calgary (thanks, Delta). It is so cold here that it hurts. We think it's something like 15 below. Everyone keeps talking about these strange winds called shinooks-- warm winds that enable canooks to wear shorts in the middle of winter. I think they are full of it! And we were complaining about Oxford being cold! The snow is beautiful though.
Last night was the Picture This Film Festival awards ceremony, which we almost didn't make it to. We took a cab and left in plenty of time, but we got stuck in some terrible traffic. Once there, the crowd was warm and receptive when we proudly accepted our Honorable Mention Award for "Best Documentary Over 30 Minutes." After that, we saw an excellent film, which won "Best of the Fest," called The Cost of Living.
Picture This is Canada's first and largest international disability festival, and our award was decided by a jury. Their comments on Darius Goes West:
"Great concept, set up and opening...engaging storyline...positive and interesting...great flow and very interesting...funny...great rap music...inspirational, educational and delightful...neat to see a film about youth and how they get through a life with disabilities...natural humour...really enjoyed it!"
Our film makes its Canadian premiere on Wednesday evening, so we took advantage of having a day off and slept in this morning. Our room at the Marriott is really awesome. Huge thanks to Kathleen Laughlin and her husband Alan Kraft (who taught us both social studies at Clarke Middle School) for donating timeshare points that meant our stay here was complimentary. This afternoon we plan to bundle up and explore the city before going to watch some more films.
I got a great e-mail from Molly at the Oxford Film Festival that says she's receiving tons of e-mails from DGW fans asking how they can help the cause. We apologize for misspelling her name in yesterday's blog and for leaving out Mica and Kevin, equally awesome Oxford Film Festival organizers.
We hope to go skiing before heading home Friday to catch NIGHTLINE!
DGW…Know about it!
Monday, February 12, 2007
ENCORE IN OXFORD
February 12, 2007
We had another great crowd on Sunday in Oxford, when all the award-winning films were shown again. Afterwards, one man in the audience stood up and talked about how much the film meant to him and then said, "I love you guys." Without hesitation, Sam shouted back, "I love you too, man."
A picture of Darius and Logan at the Oxford awards ceremony made the front page of The Oxford Eagle today. Check it out at www.oxfordeagle.com (February 12 edition).
Logan and Ben left Mississippi late Sunday night. Thank you, Dr. Derene Akins (Daniel's aunt), who drove to Oxford from Memphis to see the film, then drove Logan and Ben back to Memphis, put them up for the night, and took them to the airport to catch a plane to Calgary very, very early this morning.
Daniel, Sam, and Darius are still on the road back to Athens from Oxford (caught in Atlanta traffic). All three are exhausted. Maybe they should crack open the can of wasabi peas the festival organizers gave them as a parting gift!
We had an awesome time in Oxford. It was a great festival with wonderful crowds. Thank you, Michelle, Mollie, and all the other festival organizers for making us feel so welcome.
DGW...Know about it!
We had another great crowd on Sunday in Oxford, when all the award-winning films were shown again. Afterwards, one man in the audience stood up and talked about how much the film meant to him and then said, "I love you guys." Without hesitation, Sam shouted back, "I love you too, man."
A picture of Darius and Logan at the Oxford awards ceremony made the front page of The Oxford Eagle today. Check it out at www.oxfordeagle.com (February 12 edition).
Logan and Ben left Mississippi late Sunday night. Thank you, Dr. Derene Akins (Daniel's aunt), who drove to Oxford from Memphis to see the film, then drove Logan and Ben back to Memphis, put them up for the night, and took them to the airport to catch a plane to Calgary very, very early this morning.
Daniel, Sam, and Darius are still on the road back to Athens from Oxford (caught in Atlanta traffic). All three are exhausted. Maybe they should crack open the can of wasabi peas the festival organizers gave them as a parting gift!
We had an awesome time in Oxford. It was a great festival with wonderful crowds. Thank you, Michelle, Mollie, and all the other festival organizers for making us feel so welcome.
DGW...Know about it!
Saturday, February 10, 2007
ON FIRE ON OXFORD
February 10, 2007
Just when you think things can't get any better...
The Oxford Film Festival has been amazing. Really, really cool people running the show here. Lots of great parties.
Logan, Ben, Sam, Daniel and Darius made it to this festival in Oxford, MS. We rented a wheelchair-accessible van in Atlanta (thanks, Buddy and Lucy Allen for contributing to this enormous expense). We arrived on Thursday night and chilled at the hotel after a long, exhausting ride.
Unfortunately, we had problems with Darius's pimped wheelchair and had to find a place to repair it. Luckily, we'd brought the manual as a backup. "The wheels on my electric wheelchair DON'T go round and round..."
Friday evening was our first showing. The theater was almost packed, and the audience was very enthusiastic. In the crowd were many of the crew's friends from Athens who attend Ole Miss: Russ Green, Alex Kidd, Jeremy Bright, and Samuel Thomason. Katherine Duncan also drove up from Athens to see the film (outside of the crew, we're pretty sure she holds the record for seeing it the most). Almost everyone stayed afterwards for the Q&A, during which he Oxford Film Festival committee presented Darius with a tube of wasabi! Everyone thought that was hilarious. Later, we put some on popcorn and tricked him into eating it.
Today's show at 1:00 PM was equally crowded and the audience equally enthusiastic. Good friend and huge DGW supporter Allie Henson drove over from Memphis (she goes to Rhodes College) to see the film for the third time. Afterwards, we picked up Darius's wheelchair, which is running better but still isn't turning like it should be. We may have to leave it in Atlanta on the way home for some more serious repair work.
Tonight was the highlight of the weekend. At the awards ceremony, we won BIG!!! In fact, we won two awards: Best Documentary (a juried award) AND the Audience Choice Award! We were blown away. What a huge, huge honor!
All of the winning films are shown again tomorrow in an encore performance, so we're looking forward to another great audience.
Sam, Daniel, and Darius head back to Athens on Monday. Logan and Ben fly out to Calgary, Canada to accept an honourable mention award at Picture This, a disability festival.
As for now, we've got some celebrating to do!!!
DGW...Know about it!
Just when you think things can't get any better...
The Oxford Film Festival has been amazing. Really, really cool people running the show here. Lots of great parties.
Logan, Ben, Sam, Daniel and Darius made it to this festival in Oxford, MS. We rented a wheelchair-accessible van in Atlanta (thanks, Buddy and Lucy Allen for contributing to this enormous expense). We arrived on Thursday night and chilled at the hotel after a long, exhausting ride.
Unfortunately, we had problems with Darius's pimped wheelchair and had to find a place to repair it. Luckily, we'd brought the manual as a backup. "The wheels on my electric wheelchair DON'T go round and round..."
Friday evening was our first showing. The theater was almost packed, and the audience was very enthusiastic. In the crowd were many of the crew's friends from Athens who attend Ole Miss: Russ Green, Alex Kidd, Jeremy Bright, and Samuel Thomason. Katherine Duncan also drove up from Athens to see the film (outside of the crew, we're pretty sure she holds the record for seeing it the most). Almost everyone stayed afterwards for the Q&A, during which he Oxford Film Festival committee presented Darius with a tube of wasabi! Everyone thought that was hilarious. Later, we put some on popcorn and tricked him into eating it.
Today's show at 1:00 PM was equally crowded and the audience equally enthusiastic. Good friend and huge DGW supporter Allie Henson drove over from Memphis (she goes to Rhodes College) to see the film for the third time. Afterwards, we picked up Darius's wheelchair, which is running better but still isn't turning like it should be. We may have to leave it in Atlanta on the way home for some more serious repair work.
Tonight was the highlight of the weekend. At the awards ceremony, we won BIG!!! In fact, we won two awards: Best Documentary (a juried award) AND the Audience Choice Award! We were blown away. What a huge, huge honor!
All of the winning films are shown again tomorrow in an encore performance, so we're looking forward to another great audience.
Sam, Daniel, and Darius head back to Athens on Monday. Logan and Ben fly out to Calgary, Canada to accept an honourable mention award at Picture This, a disability festival.
As for now, we've got some celebrating to do!!!
DGW...Know about it!
Monday, February 5, 2007
AWARD WINNING NIGHT
February 5, 2007
Delta Airlines...Nightline...Max and Shelly...Aaron and Caroline...whale watching...three showings and three standing ovations. We never dreamed it could get any better than that. Then, last night at the awards ceremony, DGW won the AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY!!! We are feeling so humble--and SO grateful to all of our supporters. You all know who you are, and you share this award with us.
More pictures coming tonight--we promise!
DGW...Know about it.
Delta Airlines...Nightline...Max and Shelly...Aaron and Caroline...whale watching...three showings and three standing ovations. We never dreamed it could get any better than that. Then, last night at the awards ceremony, DGW won the AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY!!! We are feeling so humble--and SO grateful to all of our supporters. You all know who you are, and you share this award with us.
More pictures coming tonight--we promise!
DGW...Know about it.
Sunday, February 4, 2007
FUN IN THE SUN
February 4, 2007
Yesterday, we had a day off from the film festival (no DGW showings) and took full advantage of our free time. Thanks to the enormous generosity of our host with the most, Aaron Edelheit and his personal assistant, Caroline Farrell, all of us (including Tracy and Benjy) went whale watching!
It was awesome! The boat had hardly left the dock when we saw several pods of dolphins--there must have been 700 or more dolphins swimming together! Later, we saw porpoises, a sea lion, a sea otter and at least 10 whales--some were huge! We were very lucky, and of course, Darius loved every minute of it.
After whale watching, we headed to Aaron's house for a cookout. TBarn (John Hadden) was our grill master. Everything was delicious, and we all ended up chilling over there well after dark. Thank you, Aaron and Caroline for being such incredible hosts!
This morning, all of us but Logan and TBarn had to hit the road early to catch our flights home. We had to miss our last showing at 10:30 AM, but Logan got in touch with us after the show and said that the theater was almost full! The audience gave our film yet another standing ovation as--that's three for three! After that, Logan and TBarn met our other incredible Santa Barbara hosts, Max and Shelly Ruston, for lunch. Tonight, Logan and John will attend the closing award ceremonies before heading home tomorrow.
If you live in Athens, we hope to see you Tuesday night at the Tate Center for our final Athens show (at least for a while). If you live elsewhere, check our website (www.dariusgoeswest.com) for a list of other festivals many of us will be attending (thanks to Delta Airlines!).
As things happen, we'll post new blogs. And there will be plenty of pictures coming soon from Santa Barbara!
Don't forget to watch Nightline on Friday, February 16.
DGW...Know about it!
Yesterday, we had a day off from the film festival (no DGW showings) and took full advantage of our free time. Thanks to the enormous generosity of our host with the most, Aaron Edelheit and his personal assistant, Caroline Farrell, all of us (including Tracy and Benjy) went whale watching!
It was awesome! The boat had hardly left the dock when we saw several pods of dolphins--there must have been 700 or more dolphins swimming together! Later, we saw porpoises, a sea lion, a sea otter and at least 10 whales--some were huge! We were very lucky, and of course, Darius loved every minute of it.
After whale watching, we headed to Aaron's house for a cookout. TBarn (John Hadden) was our grill master. Everything was delicious, and we all ended up chilling over there well after dark. Thank you, Aaron and Caroline for being such incredible hosts!
This morning, all of us but Logan and TBarn had to hit the road early to catch our flights home. We had to miss our last showing at 10:30 AM, but Logan got in touch with us after the show and said that the theater was almost full! The audience gave our film yet another standing ovation as--that's three for three! After that, Logan and TBarn met our other incredible Santa Barbara hosts, Max and Shelly Ruston, for lunch. Tonight, Logan and John will attend the closing award ceremonies before heading home tomorrow.
If you live in Athens, we hope to see you Tuesday night at the Tate Center for our final Athens show (at least for a while). If you live elsewhere, check our website (www.dariusgoeswest.com) for a list of other festivals many of us will be attending (thanks to Delta Airlines!).
As things happen, we'll post new blogs. And there will be plenty of pictures coming soon from Santa Barbara!
Don't forget to watch Nightline on Friday, February 16.
DGW...Know about it!
Saturday, February 3, 2007
ANOTHER MAGICAL NIGHT IN SANTA BARBARA
February 3, 2007
Our second showing was as huge a hit as our first one. Although the crowd could have been larger (we had to compete with Al Gore and his film, An Inconvenient Truth), our audience was incredibly enthusiastic, and we got another standing ovation!!! During the show, D's wheelchair started beeping, and we had to roll him out and charge it up.
After the show, all of us went on stage for the Q& A, and people asked great questions. Aside from the questions, again, many folks just talked about how much they loved our film. One man said, "You have restored my faith in America's youth. This movie blew me away..it's phenomenal."
Tak, one of the Santa Barbara Film Festival organizers, blewus away when he announced that only one other star/movie at the festival had received a standing ovation--and that was Helen Mirren (The Queen)!
Earlier in the day, Darius had a chance to do a little shopping. He bought some shoes and a present for his mom. Good thing, since his mom later called and wondered why she hadn't heard from him!
Before our showing, Tracy and Benjy (Charley's Fund) treated us all to dinner at a great restaurant called Rocks. Three couples, all parents of children who have DMD, drove up from Los Angeles to eat with us and see the movie. Also joining us was Grace Voorhis, who had taken us to the San Francisco Zoo during our trip. She was able to see the wasabi footage for the first time and loved it.
After the showing, some of us partied and others of us crashed (we won't name names). But all of us (except Logan, who had a press conference to attend) managed to get up this morning on time to go whale watching at 9:30 AM. This outing comes compliments of one of our Santa Barbara hosts, Aaron, and his personal assistant, Caroline. We're on our way to the boat now and will give you more details on this adventure later.
SET YOUR VCRs and TIVOs: The Nightline segment is scheduled to air on Friday, February 16. Ironically, this was Mario's (D's late older brother) birthday. If this changes, we'll let you know as soon as we know. Check out the pictures we've posted.
More to come later.
DGW...Know about it!
Our second showing was as huge a hit as our first one. Although the crowd could have been larger (we had to compete with Al Gore and his film, An Inconvenient Truth), our audience was incredibly enthusiastic, and we got another standing ovation!!! During the show, D's wheelchair started beeping, and we had to roll him out and charge it up.
After the show, all of us went on stage for the Q& A, and people asked great questions. Aside from the questions, again, many folks just talked about how much they loved our film. One man said, "You have restored my faith in America's youth. This movie blew me away..it's phenomenal."
Tak, one of the Santa Barbara Film Festival organizers, blewus away when he announced that only one other star/movie at the festival had received a standing ovation--and that was Helen Mirren (The Queen)!
Earlier in the day, Darius had a chance to do a little shopping. He bought some shoes and a present for his mom. Good thing, since his mom later called and wondered why she hadn't heard from him!
Before our showing, Tracy and Benjy (Charley's Fund) treated us all to dinner at a great restaurant called Rocks. Three couples, all parents of children who have DMD, drove up from Los Angeles to eat with us and see the movie. Also joining us was Grace Voorhis, who had taken us to the San Francisco Zoo during our trip. She was able to see the wasabi footage for the first time and loved it.
After the showing, some of us partied and others of us crashed (we won't name names). But all of us (except Logan, who had a press conference to attend) managed to get up this morning on time to go whale watching at 9:30 AM. This outing comes compliments of one of our Santa Barbara hosts, Aaron, and his personal assistant, Caroline. We're on our way to the boat now and will give you more details on this adventure later.
SET YOUR VCRs and TIVOs: The Nightline segment is scheduled to air on Friday, February 16. Ironically, this was Mario's (D's late older brother) birthday. If this changes, we'll let you know as soon as we know. Check out the pictures we've posted.
More to come later.
DGW...Know about it!
Friday, February 2, 2007
OUR WORLD PREMIERE
February 2, 2007
Yesterday was our first full day in Santa Barbara, and we had a great day. Most of us slept late in an attempt to adjust to the time difference and recover from the party the night before. Logan and Darius were interviewed by Martin Bashir of Nightline, and according to Logan, Darius "nailed" the interview. Later, Nightline filmed the rest of us arriving at our 7:45 PM world premiere. We were all decked out in our new "DGW...Know about it" polo shirts (thanks, Shirtworks!), dark blazers, blue jeans and shades (hey, this is Hollywood!).
The premiere was a huge success. We had a good sized crowd, with many folks just walking into the theater off the street not having a clue what they were about to see. Everyone in the audience laughed at the right places, which was a huge relief, and afterwards, we got a standing ovation!! At the Q&A, not many people asked questions. Instead, most folks stood up to thank us for what we were doing to say how much they enjoyed the film. A few highlights...
One man in the audience said he had recently lost a son to DMD. His son was an artist and had spent six months drawing one of his favorite Santa Barbara landmarks. When the film was over, the man gave Darius a giant hug AND presented him with his son's drawing. We were all blown away by this gesture.
Martin Bashir got up and talked about how he has interviewed Princess Di and Michael Jackson, then said he was more nervous interviewing Darius than any celebrity he's encountered. Turns out, Bashir lost a brother to DMD. He then offered praise for Darius, the film and Darius's valiant efforts to help find treatment/a cure for this disease. There are rumors that the Nightline segment may take up as much as one-half of the show. We'll let you know the air date (mid-February, we think) as soon as we know it.
Tracy and Benjy Seckler (Charley's parents; (www.charleysfund.org) were in the audience, seeing the film for the first time on the big screen and with an audience. After Benjy spoke about how much the documentary meant to them, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. It was surreal. After the premiere, we all piled into a pizza parlor for a late supper. Then, half of us went to a film festival party while the other half decided to call it a night. Today it's back to the streets to drum up business for our second showing tonight at 9:00 PM. Hopefully, people who saw it last night will tell others, and we'll pack the theater tonight.
Belated thanks to Randy Reiff, Kathe and Reid Chase, Robert Tucker, and Susan Levine for donating frequent flyer miles to get many of us here. Also to Tom Wicka, who convinced Delta to donate first-class tickets for Darius and Jason.
We promise to post pictures soon. If you can't wait, you can see a few that Kevin and Jarrard took (before the camera battery died) by checking out this link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/47667889@N00/sets/72157594514205610/
More news tomorrow!
DGW...Know about it!
Yesterday was our first full day in Santa Barbara, and we had a great day. Most of us slept late in an attempt to adjust to the time difference and recover from the party the night before. Logan and Darius were interviewed by Martin Bashir of Nightline, and according to Logan, Darius "nailed" the interview. Later, Nightline filmed the rest of us arriving at our 7:45 PM world premiere. We were all decked out in our new "DGW...Know about it" polo shirts (thanks, Shirtworks!), dark blazers, blue jeans and shades (hey, this is Hollywood!).
The premiere was a huge success. We had a good sized crowd, with many folks just walking into the theater off the street not having a clue what they were about to see. Everyone in the audience laughed at the right places, which was a huge relief, and afterwards, we got a standing ovation!! At the Q&A, not many people asked questions. Instead, most folks stood up to thank us for what we were doing to say how much they enjoyed the film. A few highlights...
One man in the audience said he had recently lost a son to DMD. His son was an artist and had spent six months drawing one of his favorite Santa Barbara landmarks. When the film was over, the man gave Darius a giant hug AND presented him with his son's drawing. We were all blown away by this gesture.
Martin Bashir got up and talked about how he has interviewed Princess Di and Michael Jackson, then said he was more nervous interviewing Darius than any celebrity he's encountered. Turns out, Bashir lost a brother to DMD. He then offered praise for Darius, the film and Darius's valiant efforts to help find treatment/a cure for this disease. There are rumors that the Nightline segment may take up as much as one-half of the show. We'll let you know the air date (mid-February, we think) as soon as we know it.
Tracy and Benjy Seckler (Charley's parents; (www.charleysfund.org) were in the audience, seeing the film for the first time on the big screen and with an audience. After Benjy spoke about how much the documentary meant to them, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. It was surreal. After the premiere, we all piled into a pizza parlor for a late supper. Then, half of us went to a film festival party while the other half decided to call it a night. Today it's back to the streets to drum up business for our second showing tonight at 9:00 PM. Hopefully, people who saw it last night will tell others, and we'll pack the theater tonight.
Belated thanks to Randy Reiff, Kathe and Reid Chase, Robert Tucker, and Susan Levine for donating frequent flyer miles to get many of us here. Also to Tom Wicka, who convinced Delta to donate first-class tickets for Darius and Jason.
We promise to post pictures soon. If you can't wait, you can see a few that Kevin and Jarrard took (before the camera battery died) by checking out this link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/47667889@N00/sets/72157594514205610/
More news tomorrow!
DGW...Know about it!
Thursday, February 1, 2007
DARIUS AND DELTA
February 1, 2007
Are you ready for DARIUS GOES WEST—the sequel?. That's what yesterday felt like as Darius flew (first-class, no less) for the first time. Our destination: Los Angeles, then on to the Santa Barbara International Film Festival for the official world premiere of DARIUS GOES WEST: THE ROLL OF HIS LIFE. Darius LOVES flying, and thanks to Delta Airlines—and particularly David Martin (Senior Specialist, Disabilities) and his staff, it was an unbelievably smooth experience—plus Darius was treated like royalty.
Accompanied by five DGW crew members (Kevin, Sam, Ben, Jason, and John Harmon), Delta met Darius at the terminal door and whisked all of us to the Crown Room for check-in and chilling. When it was time to proceed to the gate, Delta had a huge surprise waiting for Darius. There was a big banner at the gate that said, "Darius Goes West, on Delta. The Flight of His Life," and the entire flight crew was lined up to greet him. The pilots and flight crew presented Darius with a (signed by all) framed "First Flight Certificate," then—best of all—the Captain of Delta Flight 1079 presented Darius with a set of Captain's Wings (a tribute normally reserved for dignitaries)! Naturally, all this pomp and circumstance created quite a stir, and we were all handing out DGW business cards like crazy.
After getting us all situated on board, Delta took Darius's pimped wheelchair below the plane and placed it in a special compartment for safekeeping. During takeoff, Darius's face lit up with anticipation and excitement, according to Jason, who was riding first-class with him. When the Captain used the P.A. system to welcome everyone on board and thank them for flying Delta, he gave a special shout-out to Darius and the rest of us. And while in flight, Delta Corporate Communications specialist Susan West conducted interviews with Darius and the crew for an upcoming article in their corporate newsletter.
When we arrived in Los Angeles, Daniel and Collin (who had flown out three hours ahead of the rest of us) met us outside the terminal in a wheelchair accessible van they had rented from Mobility Works (thanks for the discount, Kim). Having rented this vehicle sight unseen, everyone was worried that D and his chair might not be able to squeeze inside. When it turned out to be a perfect fit, there were high-fives all around.
After fighting traffic in L.A., we finally made it to Santa Barbara. We expected to grab a shower and a meal, but Logan (who's been in Santa Barbara since the beginning of the festival with John Hadden) had other plans for us: a red carpet party hosted by the Food Network. It was a late night (especially for those of us still on Georgia time), but we had a blast.
We have three wonderful places to stay while in Santa Barbara. (parents of Athenian Max and Shelly Ruston (parents of Athenian Hillary Ruston) have an awesome guesthouse that's within walking distance of the theaters. They've been wining, dining and entertaining Logan and John Hadden since they arrived! UGA alumnus Aaron Edelheit (has given us the spare bedroom in his oceanfront home and stocked the fridge for us (he's got a really cool dog). Aaron and his assistant, Caroline Farrell, have organized a whale watching trip for all of us on Saturday, followed by a cookout. We can't wait! Finally, Darius, along with a couple of crew members, is staying at the Fess Parker Doubletree Resort in a wheelchair accessible room.
This morning, we woke up to t-shirt weather. It's beautiful out here, and we'll try to send some pictures your way soon. Meanwhile, we need to hit the streets of Santa Barbara and drum up some business for our world premiere tonight at 7:45. Our goal is to pack the house! Oh yeah, there's also that Nightline interview!!!
More good news we've just learned about: Delta has agreed to become the official airline of DARIUS GOES WEST! They were so impressed with what we're doing that they will make sure we get to all the film festivals we've been accepted to so that we can raise awareness of DMD and stump for Charley's Fund. If you're familiar with our budget situation, you know how HUGE this is for us!
Delta and Darius…has a really nice ring to it, doesn't it?
DGW…Know about it!
Are you ready for DARIUS GOES WEST—the sequel?. That's what yesterday felt like as Darius flew (first-class, no less) for the first time. Our destination: Los Angeles, then on to the Santa Barbara International Film Festival for the official world premiere of DARIUS GOES WEST: THE ROLL OF HIS LIFE. Darius LOVES flying, and thanks to Delta Airlines—and particularly David Martin (Senior Specialist, Disabilities) and his staff, it was an unbelievably smooth experience—plus Darius was treated like royalty.
Accompanied by five DGW crew members (Kevin, Sam, Ben, Jason, and John Harmon), Delta met Darius at the terminal door and whisked all of us to the Crown Room for check-in and chilling. When it was time to proceed to the gate, Delta had a huge surprise waiting for Darius. There was a big banner at the gate that said, "Darius Goes West, on Delta. The Flight of His Life," and the entire flight crew was lined up to greet him. The pilots and flight crew presented Darius with a (signed by all) framed "First Flight Certificate," then—best of all—the Captain of Delta Flight 1079 presented Darius with a set of Captain's Wings (a tribute normally reserved for dignitaries)! Naturally, all this pomp and circumstance created quite a stir, and we were all handing out DGW business cards like crazy.
After getting us all situated on board, Delta took Darius's pimped wheelchair below the plane and placed it in a special compartment for safekeeping. During takeoff, Darius's face lit up with anticipation and excitement, according to Jason, who was riding first-class with him. When the Captain used the P.A. system to welcome everyone on board and thank them for flying Delta, he gave a special shout-out to Darius and the rest of us. And while in flight, Delta Corporate Communications specialist Susan West conducted interviews with Darius and the crew for an upcoming article in their corporate newsletter.
When we arrived in Los Angeles, Daniel and Collin (who had flown out three hours ahead of the rest of us) met us outside the terminal in a wheelchair accessible van they had rented from Mobility Works (thanks for the discount, Kim). Having rented this vehicle sight unseen, everyone was worried that D and his chair might not be able to squeeze inside. When it turned out to be a perfect fit, there were high-fives all around.
After fighting traffic in L.A., we finally made it to Santa Barbara. We expected to grab a shower and a meal, but Logan (who's been in Santa Barbara since the beginning of the festival with John Hadden) had other plans for us: a red carpet party hosted by the Food Network. It was a late night (especially for those of us still on Georgia time), but we had a blast.
We have three wonderful places to stay while in Santa Barbara. (parents of Athenian Max and Shelly Ruston (parents of Athenian Hillary Ruston) have an awesome guesthouse that's within walking distance of the theaters. They've been wining, dining and entertaining Logan and John Hadden since they arrived! UGA alumnus Aaron Edelheit (has given us the spare bedroom in his oceanfront home and stocked the fridge for us (he's got a really cool dog). Aaron and his assistant, Caroline Farrell, have organized a whale watching trip for all of us on Saturday, followed by a cookout. We can't wait! Finally, Darius, along with a couple of crew members, is staying at the Fess Parker Doubletree Resort in a wheelchair accessible room.
This morning, we woke up to t-shirt weather. It's beautiful out here, and we'll try to send some pictures your way soon. Meanwhile, we need to hit the streets of Santa Barbara and drum up some business for our world premiere tonight at 7:45. Our goal is to pack the house! Oh yeah, there's also that Nightline interview!!!
More good news we've just learned about: Delta has agreed to become the official airline of DARIUS GOES WEST! They were so impressed with what we're doing that they will make sure we get to all the film festivals we've been accepted to so that we can raise awareness of DMD and stump for Charley's Fund. If you're familiar with our budget situation, you know how HUGE this is for us!
Delta and Darius…has a really nice ring to it, doesn't it?
DGW…Know about it!
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