THINGS ARE HOPPING

August 19, 2007

There are so many exciting things going on with DGW, it's hard to know where to begin, but here goes...

First, at the urging of several Academy Award voters, we have decided to "four-wall" our movie, which means make it eligible for an Oscar nomination!! Among other requirements, this entails having the movie shown for seven consecutive days, twice a day, at a commercial theater in Los Angeles or New York before August 31, then having it shown in theaters at 14 other cities for three consecutive days, twice a day by mid November. There are firms that handle all these screenings for small indie films like ours, but it costs thousands of dollars for their services. Fortunately, an executive at Worldwide Pants (David Letterman's production company) watched the movie with six teenagers and loved it so much that Worldwide Pants put up the money for us to do this! Producer Tom Shadyac also donated to the cause!

As a result, Darius Goes West will play at the Laemmle Music Hall Theater in Beverly Hills, Califonia, the week of August 24-30, and we have a team of professionals helping us to create a buzz. We realize that getting an Oscar nomination is a huge long shot, but we figure that if we can at least make it on a "short list," our chances of finding a distributor for the movie will soar. So, wish us luck, and if you know anyone in the Los Angeles area, tell them to go see the movie!

Unfortunately, playing the film in Beverly Hills and other theaters across the country has required trasnferring the movie to a new format, which has sent "Team Darius" into "movie hell." There have been numerous technical difficulties associated with this process, but DGW coeditor Allison Firor and assistant editor Jarrard Cole have spent the last week virtually working round the clock to make it happen. We cannot even begin to thank them for their dedication to this project...they are truly 13th crew members!

Other great stuff happening: Logan, Daniel, Sam, and Jason are in Sun Valley, Idaho, where Theo Gund (the wonderful woman who gave us the grant to launch our DGW "Learn About It" program) has organized two private screenings/Charley's Fund benefits at the Sun Valley Opera House. Last night's gala was a smashing success with one of the most enthusiastic crowds we've ever witnessed. The Q&A lasted well over an hour! Theo has been the most incredible host. She rented a two-bedroom condo for us, gave us a car to use for the long weekend, hosted two dinners in our honor, gave us each spending money, and so much more. We don't want to come home!

Breaking news: We have just learned that Darius has won the prestigious Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes! UGA faculty member Jenny Manders nominated him for this award last spring, and Martin Bashir (ABC Nightline) wrote a letter of recommendation. You can check this award out at www.barronprize.org. PLEASE KEEP THIS QUIET FOR NOW, THOUGH. Recipients (there are 10 nationwide) have not been officially announced yet, but we couldn't wait for you to...

KNOW ABOUT IT!