July 26, 2007
Recently, when Nightline aired the story about our film (for the second time), we received tons of e-mails. In that batch of fan mail was the nicest note from Stacey Zimmerman, who is stationed in Japan with the U.S. Navy. She wrote...
"I saw a small part of your show last night, and I really want to know what I can do to help Darius. I want to help the organization as a whole but in particular I was especially moved by Darius and his passion for life and his courage in the face of his seriouis illness."
Stacey went on to say that she was interested in organizing a walk--a-thon or some other fundraiser on the base, but she mostly wanted to send us some "fun" money to enable Darius to do something special.
For months, Darius had been saying he wished he could go to the "Rock the Bells" concert at Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheatre in early August, so that's what we told Stacey we'd like to do. She loved the idea and sent a donation to cover the costs of tickets for Darius and 9 crew members to attend this rap event. HE IS SO PUMPED!
Stacey also sent Darius a goodie package filled with bubblegum, a stuffed bear, video game magazines, and much more. He is in heaven! Thank you, Stacey, for giving Big D and the crew something awesome to look forward to! We'll take plenty of pictures and post them on this site.
Other news...Logan, Ben and Sam, have spent three nights in Martha's Vineyard, where last night's screening at the Martha's Vineyard International Film Festival's Summer Film Series was a huge success. In their spare time, the guys have been tooling around the island on mopeds, eating some great seafood, and even went surfing! Special thanks to Thomas Bena, festival director, for rolling out the red carpet for DGW!
Tomorrow, Collin, Tbarn, John Harmon, and Barbara (Logan/Ben's mom) fly to Reading, PA, where they will meet up with Logan, Ben, and Sam. The Goggleworks Theater in Reading will be showing DGW for a solid week; the crew will be there for screenings all weekend. Proceeds will benefit Charley's Fund. While in Reading, the crew will be hosted by Maria McDonnell and Tom Sandor, who appear in our film, along with their sons Ethan, Owen, and Aidan (aka "the caboose"). Then, on Monday, we'll take a day trip to Pine Forest Camp in the Pocono Mountains, where counselors will have watched DGW the night before, and we'll mix and mingle and do a Q&A. Barbara Smalley worked at Pine Forest Camp during the summer of her freshman year at UGA and became good friends with the director's son, Mickey Black...who is now the camp's director. Over the years, the two had lost touch, but a few months ago, he sent an e-mail to Logan (not realizing that he was Barbara's son) rsaying he had heard wonderful things about our film and begged to show it. Small world!
Know about it!
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
THANK YOU, ATHENS!
July 25, 2007
DARIUS GOES WEST DAY 2007 WAS AMAZING!!!
As many of you know, all four screenings of our movie sold out well before the big day, and we turned away hundreds of people. We hated that, and next year, we promise to have twice the space! It was truly the hottest ticket in town, with people lining the streets in hopes of getting tickets from no-shows.Many others with tickets who had seen the movie in January gave up their seats to people who hadn't yet seen the film and didn't have tickets. We love Athens!
The audiences were amazing...nothing like a hometown crowd! Most were people who had purchased credits in the movie; bought hot dogs, barbecue and snow cones from us; and filled all the piggy banks we'd placed throughout Athens prior to the trip. Their standing ovations seemed to last forever. We loved every minute of it!
Those who waited up for the 10:00 PM screening got a special treat. Instead of a Q&A after this show, Darius did some freestyle rapping, then challenged the audience to battle him. There were a few takers, and they were quite entertaining, but they were no match for "Big Daddy!"
Here's a link to a Athens Banner-Herald reporter Julie Phillips' blog that has an mp3 of one of D's raps that night:
http://blogs.onlineathens.com/node/597
The best news of the day: we raised almost $3,000 for DMD research! Much of this came from the sale of TWO "I am the 13th crew member" t-shirts, which sell for $1,000. HUGE thanks to Juliet Easton and Kathleen Walker for their generosity and support...and to everyone else who put donations in our Charley's Fund buckets and purchased DGW t-shirts, posters, and wrist bands!
Next year's DGW Day will definitely be bigger and better. We hope to have music (a couple of bands), at least one celebrity, and twice the screenings. So, save the date (Saturday, July 20, 2008) and plan to celebrate with us!
This special day would never have been possible without the many volunteers who helped us or our wonderful sponsors: The Athens Banner-Herald, Athens Cine, ABC Printing, Delta Airlines, Dodge, The Globe, and Shirtworks.
Know about it!
P.S. Check out our new pictures from Victory Junction Camp and from DGW Day 2007!
DARIUS GOES WEST DAY 2007 WAS AMAZING!!!
As many of you know, all four screenings of our movie sold out well before the big day, and we turned away hundreds of people. We hated that, and next year, we promise to have twice the space! It was truly the hottest ticket in town, with people lining the streets in hopes of getting tickets from no-shows.Many others with tickets who had seen the movie in January gave up their seats to people who hadn't yet seen the film and didn't have tickets. We love Athens!
The audiences were amazing...nothing like a hometown crowd! Most were people who had purchased credits in the movie; bought hot dogs, barbecue and snow cones from us; and filled all the piggy banks we'd placed throughout Athens prior to the trip. Their standing ovations seemed to last forever. We loved every minute of it!
Those who waited up for the 10:00 PM screening got a special treat. Instead of a Q&A after this show, Darius did some freestyle rapping, then challenged the audience to battle him. There were a few takers, and they were quite entertaining, but they were no match for "Big Daddy!"
Here's a link to a Athens Banner-Herald reporter Julie Phillips' blog that has an mp3 of one of D's raps that night:
http://blogs.onlineathens.com/node/597
The best news of the day: we raised almost $3,000 for DMD research! Much of this came from the sale of TWO "I am the 13th crew member" t-shirts, which sell for $1,000. HUGE thanks to Juliet Easton and Kathleen Walker for their generosity and support...and to everyone else who put donations in our Charley's Fund buckets and purchased DGW t-shirts, posters, and wrist bands!
Next year's DGW Day will definitely be bigger and better. We hope to have music (a couple of bands), at least one celebrity, and twice the screenings. So, save the date (Saturday, July 20, 2008) and plan to celebrate with us!
This special day would never have been possible without the many volunteers who helped us or our wonderful sponsors: The Athens Banner-Herald, Athens Cine, ABC Printing, Delta Airlines, Dodge, The Globe, and Shirtworks.
Know about it!
P.S. Check out our new pictures from Victory Junction Camp and from DGW Day 2007!
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
COUNTDOWN TO DGW DAY!
July 18, 2007
Just four days until July 22, Darius Goes West Day, and already, we have sold out three screenings of our film, with the fourth screening very close to selling out. Thank you, Athens! We wish we had space to accommodate more people. Next year!
If you have tickets, please be sure to arrive 30 minutes early so we can make sure each show starts on time. Also, join us at The Globe after the 7:00 PM show and at Athens Cine Theatre after the 10:00 PM show to celebrate this special day.
In case you missed it, there's a wonderful two-page spread about DGW Day in the latest issue of The Flagpole. Check out Darius and part of the crew on the cover at www.flagpole.com.
Logan, Ben, Sam, Tbarn, and Darius have been on the road since yesterday, visiting Victory Junction Camp in North Carolina. Last night, camp personnel put D and his entourage up at a hotel and treated everyone to dinner at a Japanese steak house, which Darius loved. Today, Kyle Petty's Celebrity Charity bike ride rolled through camp, where D got to meet Herschel Walker, Richard Petty, and model Niki Taylor, among other celebrities. We will post pictures soon. Thank you, Meredith Shrimanker for this awesome invitation! And thanks, too, to Denise Berecz, our contact at Dodge, for coming down for this event.
From Victory Junction, the guys headed to the Real to Reel Film Festival in Kings Mountain, NC for a Q&A following a screening of DGW. There was a nice crowd there, and everyone loved the film. Plus, we won Best Documentary! That's our 21st award!
Know about it!
Just four days until July 22, Darius Goes West Day, and already, we have sold out three screenings of our film, with the fourth screening very close to selling out. Thank you, Athens! We wish we had space to accommodate more people. Next year!
If you have tickets, please be sure to arrive 30 minutes early so we can make sure each show starts on time. Also, join us at The Globe after the 7:00 PM show and at Athens Cine Theatre after the 10:00 PM show to celebrate this special day.
In case you missed it, there's a wonderful two-page spread about DGW Day in the latest issue of The Flagpole. Check out Darius and part of the crew on the cover at www.flagpole.com.
Logan, Ben, Sam, Tbarn, and Darius have been on the road since yesterday, visiting Victory Junction Camp in North Carolina. Last night, camp personnel put D and his entourage up at a hotel and treated everyone to dinner at a Japanese steak house, which Darius loved. Today, Kyle Petty's Celebrity Charity bike ride rolled through camp, where D got to meet Herschel Walker, Richard Petty, and model Niki Taylor, among other celebrities. We will post pictures soon. Thank you, Meredith Shrimanker for this awesome invitation! And thanks, too, to Denise Berecz, our contact at Dodge, for coming down for this event.
From Victory Junction, the guys headed to the Real to Reel Film Festival in Kings Mountain, NC for a Q&A following a screening of DGW. There was a nice crowd there, and everyone loved the film. Plus, we won Best Documentary! That's our 21st award!
Know about it!
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
ODDS AND ENDS
July 10, 2007
There is lots going on at DGW. Here's an update...
First, check out this website:
http://www.aidanleffler.info/
This is a Aidan Leffler's web page. He is the adorable almost-four-year-old who stole the show in Seattle. At this link, you'll find photos and descriptions of our smashingly successful screenings there, plus a TV interview that Logan and Mindy Leffler (Aidan's mom) did to promote one of these events.
We have new "I am the 13th crew member" t-shirts to award. We are proud to bestow these upon: Justin Bell (Logan's longtime friend and fomer soccer teammate from Atlanta who tirelessly promotes DGW and even accompanied the crew to Minnesota for a film festival last month)...Aaron Eidelhart (a UGA alumnus who hosted half the crew--and fed everyone--in his Santa Barbara, CA home in January for DGW's official world premiere)...Max and Shelly Ruston (who provided awesome housing and warm hospitality for Logan, TBarn and others while D and crew were in Santa Barbara)...Margo Barbakow (another Santa Barbara fan who sent DGW a check for travel funds a couple of months ago when we were flat broke)...Judy and John Schneider (hostess and host with the most, who recently rolled out the red carpet for the crew in Seattle and organized two benefits for Charley's Fund that raised $150,000-plus)....and Mindy and Mitch Leffler (who also organized/hosted the Seattle benefits and who are proud parents of the adorable Aidan we've told you so much about).
We're about to hit the road again, briefly, next week. We'll be taking Darius up to Victory Junction Camp in Randleman, NC, where he will meet Richard, Kyle, and Patti Petty again. This camp run by the Petty family, is for children with special needs, and the day we'll be visiting, Kyle Petty's celebrity motorcycle ride will be rolling through camp. We expect it to be very exciting and very loud! You can read all about it at http://www.kylepettycharityride.com/.
From there, we'll drive to Kings Mountain, NC, where DGW is showing at the Real to Reel Film Festival. After our Q&A, we'll head back to Athens to get ready for July 22, which is
DARIUS GOES WEST DAY!!! We hope to see you there!
Know about it!
There is lots going on at DGW. Here's an update...
First, check out this website:
http://www.aidanleffler.info/
This is a Aidan Leffler's web page. He is the adorable almost-four-year-old who stole the show in Seattle. At this link, you'll find photos and descriptions of our smashingly successful screenings there, plus a TV interview that Logan and Mindy Leffler (Aidan's mom) did to promote one of these events.
We have new "I am the 13th crew member" t-shirts to award. We are proud to bestow these upon: Justin Bell (Logan's longtime friend and fomer soccer teammate from Atlanta who tirelessly promotes DGW and even accompanied the crew to Minnesota for a film festival last month)...Aaron Eidelhart (a UGA alumnus who hosted half the crew--and fed everyone--in his Santa Barbara, CA home in January for DGW's official world premiere)...Max and Shelly Ruston (who provided awesome housing and warm hospitality for Logan, TBarn and others while D and crew were in Santa Barbara)...Margo Barbakow (another Santa Barbara fan who sent DGW a check for travel funds a couple of months ago when we were flat broke)...Judy and John Schneider (hostess and host with the most, who recently rolled out the red carpet for the crew in Seattle and organized two benefits for Charley's Fund that raised $150,000-plus)....and Mindy and Mitch Leffler (who also organized/hosted the Seattle benefits and who are proud parents of the adorable Aidan we've told you so much about).
We're about to hit the road again, briefly, next week. We'll be taking Darius up to Victory Junction Camp in Randleman, NC, where he will meet Richard, Kyle, and Patti Petty again. This camp run by the Petty family, is for children with special needs, and the day we'll be visiting, Kyle Petty's celebrity motorcycle ride will be rolling through camp. We expect it to be very exciting and very loud! You can read all about it at http://www.kylepettycharityride.com/.
From there, we'll drive to Kings Mountain, NC, where DGW is showing at the Real to Reel Film Festival. After our Q&A, we'll head back to Athens to get ready for July 22, which is
DARIUS GOES WEST DAY!!! We hope to see you there!
Know about it!
Sunday, July 8, 2007
DARIUS GOES WEST DAY IS JULY 22
July 8, 2007
PLEASE JOIN US IN CELEBRATING DARIUS GOES WEST DAY ON JULY 22, 2007! This year, we mark the second anniversary of the 3-week, 7,000-mile road trip we took from Athens to Los Angeles and back. Our special passenger was Clarke Central High School student Darius Weems, who has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), the number one genetic killer of children worldwide. As you know, we filmed our trip and created a documentary, designed to, among other things, raise awareness of DMD and solicit funds for helping to find a cure for this disease. Since January of 2007, Darius Goes West: The Roll of His Life, has been screened at 24 film festivals worldwide and has won 20 awards.
To us, Darius Goes West (DGW) Day has always been about "giving back" to the Athens community, who played such a huge role in making this trip and subsequent documentary possible. At last year's first anniversary of DGW Day, we showed a 10-minute preview of the movie. This year, we plan to show the entire movie for FREE four times (twice during the day and twice at night) at Cine Theatre in downtown Athens. (Donations for Charley's Fund, our beneficiary will be accepted after each screening. DGW t-shirts, wristbands, and movie posters will also be available with proceeds of these sales also going to DMD research). We will have giveaways, too, and we're working on raffling off an awesome prize…stay tuned for details on that.
Screenings will be held at 1:00 PM, 4:00 PM, 7:00 PM and 10:00 PM on July 22, 2007. All but the late show will be followed by a Q&A session with Darius and the DGW crew. Cine Theatre is located at 234 W. Hancock Avenue in downtown Athens. For directions, visit www.athenscine.com.
SEATING IS LIMITED, so if you plan to see the movie, we recommend you reserve a seat. You can do so either by sending an e-mail to Barbara Smalley at bssmalley@aol.com (please be sure to use "Darius Goes West" as the subject line) or by calling DGW Headquarters at (706) 613-7237.
After the 7:00 PM screening, we invite you to continue celebrating with us at The Globe (199 N. Lumpkin St.).
We are so grateful to our sponsors of this event:
Athens Cine Theatre
Athens Banner-Herald
ABC Printing
Delta Airlines
Dodge
The Globe
Shirtworks of Athens
Hope to see you on July 22.
KNOW ABOUT IT!
PLEASE JOIN US IN CELEBRATING DARIUS GOES WEST DAY ON JULY 22, 2007! This year, we mark the second anniversary of the 3-week, 7,000-mile road trip we took from Athens to Los Angeles and back. Our special passenger was Clarke Central High School student Darius Weems, who has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), the number one genetic killer of children worldwide. As you know, we filmed our trip and created a documentary, designed to, among other things, raise awareness of DMD and solicit funds for helping to find a cure for this disease. Since January of 2007, Darius Goes West: The Roll of His Life, has been screened at 24 film festivals worldwide and has won 20 awards.
To us, Darius Goes West (DGW) Day has always been about "giving back" to the Athens community, who played such a huge role in making this trip and subsequent documentary possible. At last year's first anniversary of DGW Day, we showed a 10-minute preview of the movie. This year, we plan to show the entire movie for FREE four times (twice during the day and twice at night) at Cine Theatre in downtown Athens. (Donations for Charley's Fund, our beneficiary will be accepted after each screening. DGW t-shirts, wristbands, and movie posters will also be available with proceeds of these sales also going to DMD research). We will have giveaways, too, and we're working on raffling off an awesome prize…stay tuned for details on that.
Screenings will be held at 1:00 PM, 4:00 PM, 7:00 PM and 10:00 PM on July 22, 2007. All but the late show will be followed by a Q&A session with Darius and the DGW crew. Cine Theatre is located at 234 W. Hancock Avenue in downtown Athens. For directions, visit www.athenscine.com.
SEATING IS LIMITED, so if you plan to see the movie, we recommend you reserve a seat. You can do so either by sending an e-mail to Barbara Smalley at bssmalley@aol.com (please be sure to use "Darius Goes West" as the subject line) or by calling DGW Headquarters at (706) 613-7237.
After the 7:00 PM screening, we invite you to continue celebrating with us at The Globe (199 N. Lumpkin St.).
We are so grateful to our sponsors of this event:
Athens Cine Theatre
Athens Banner-Herald
ABC Printing
Delta Airlines
Dodge
The Globe
Shirtworks of Athens
Hope to see you on July 22.
KNOW ABOUT IT!
Saturday, July 7, 2007
13th CREW MEMBER T-SHIRT ALERT
July 7, 2007
We are proud to award three more DGW "I am the 13th crew member" t-shirts.
Theo Gund, who recently provided seed money to help us launch our DGW-in-the-Schools Program, has earned a wardrobe of these limited edition shirts! She is also organizing two private screenings of Darius Goes West in her hometown of Sun Valley Idaho on August 18 and 19 at the Sun Valley Opera House. Even Oprah, who has a home in Sun Valley, has been invited! All proceeds will go to Charley's Fund to help find a cure for DMD. Check out the picture we've added to this site of Theo proudly displaying her new shirt (which we had framed for her).
Bill Guentzler, artistic director of the Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF) has also earned a shirt. Bill was not only responsible for selecting Darius Goes West to screen at this prestigious festival, he also listed it as one of his top three picks at CIFF. As a result, our film drew near sell-out crowds at all three screenings there. Bill also created The Greg Gund Memorial Standing Up Film Competition, a prestigious audience choice award at CIFF, which DGW won this year. In turn, that coveted honor led us to connect with Theo Gund (Greg's mother), and the rest is history!
Debby Samples, marketing and membership director of CIFF, has earned a shirt as well. When DGW played in Cleveland, Debby's role was crucial in attracting crowds to see our film both at the regular festival and at FilmSlam, a special sideline festival designed for Cleveland area high school students. Darius Goes West was a huge hit at FilmSlam this year...one Q&A session with these students lasted nearly three hours! Both Debby and Bill have agreed to serve on the DGW-in-the-Schools Advisory Committee, and we can't wait to tap into their expertise and extensive talents.
We will be awarding more "I am the 13th crew member" t-shirts in the near future. Don't forget that these shirts can be purchased by making a $1,000.00 donation to Charley's Fund OR they can be earned by organizing a fundraiser that raises $1,000.00 for Charley's Fund OR they can be earned by doing something wonderful for DGW.
Know about it!
We are proud to award three more DGW "I am the 13th crew member" t-shirts.
Theo Gund, who recently provided seed money to help us launch our DGW-in-the-Schools Program, has earned a wardrobe of these limited edition shirts! She is also organizing two private screenings of Darius Goes West in her hometown of Sun Valley Idaho on August 18 and 19 at the Sun Valley Opera House. Even Oprah, who has a home in Sun Valley, has been invited! All proceeds will go to Charley's Fund to help find a cure for DMD. Check out the picture we've added to this site of Theo proudly displaying her new shirt (which we had framed for her).
Bill Guentzler, artistic director of the Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF) has also earned a shirt. Bill was not only responsible for selecting Darius Goes West to screen at this prestigious festival, he also listed it as one of his top three picks at CIFF. As a result, our film drew near sell-out crowds at all three screenings there. Bill also created The Greg Gund Memorial Standing Up Film Competition, a prestigious audience choice award at CIFF, which DGW won this year. In turn, that coveted honor led us to connect with Theo Gund (Greg's mother), and the rest is history!
Debby Samples, marketing and membership director of CIFF, has earned a shirt as well. When DGW played in Cleveland, Debby's role was crucial in attracting crowds to see our film both at the regular festival and at FilmSlam, a special sideline festival designed for Cleveland area high school students. Darius Goes West was a huge hit at FilmSlam this year...one Q&A session with these students lasted nearly three hours! Both Debby and Bill have agreed to serve on the DGW-in-the-Schools Advisory Committee, and we can't wait to tap into their expertise and extensive talents.
We will be awarding more "I am the 13th crew member" t-shirts in the near future. Don't forget that these shirts can be purchased by making a $1,000.00 donation to Charley's Fund OR they can be earned by organizing a fundraiser that raises $1,000.00 for Charley's Fund OR they can be earned by doing something wonderful for DGW.
Know about it!
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