DARIUS GOES WEST BLOG

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LYLE AND HELLO, EATON ACADEMY

2008-08-25T19:25:00.000-07:00

We've had a busy but fun couple of days. On Saturday night, we made a visit to Lyle Higginbotham's 15th birthday party celebration. A few weeks ago, Lyle decided to invite all of his friends and family to an outdoor screening of "Darius Goes West," and he asked everyone to buy a DVD (or t-shirt) instead of giving him a present. The weather didn't exactly cooperate, so the movie showed in the garage, but everyone still had a lot of fun. Darius and most of the crew showed up late-night for an informal Q&A, after which we threw Lyle into the swimming pool (Harmon and Sam quickly followed). The night was a huge success, with over $500 raised. Happy birthday, Lyle, and thanks for your continuing dedication to DGW.

This morning, we got up bright and early and headed to Eaton Academy in Roswell, Georgia. This was a surprise visit to a group of middle and high schoolers all of whom watched DGW last week. They were so excited to see us, and even though we got hopelessly lost (Mapquest led us astray) and were quite late, we had an awesome time. Most of these students had written Darius letters, and some of them read them aloud. They asked great questions, and they made us feel so at home. Before we hit the road to head home, they fed us a huge lunch (lasagne and garlic bread), which was delicious. Special thanks to Fran for organizing our visit and shout outs to Jennifer, Brian, Matt, and all the other amazing teachers we met today.

DGW LOVES CLARKE MIDDLE SCHOOL, TOO!!!

2008-08-24T13:07:00.000-07:00

Following our trip last week to Coile Middle School, Darius and crew visited an assembly at Clarke Middle School yesterday. It was awesome!

The assembly was organized by Social Studies teacher Mr. Kraft and the newly formed "Know About It" club. (That's right--a "Know About It" club! These guys are really excited to get involved in the cause!) Student-made banners and posters welcomed the crew, and there was even a spot for Darius Goes West on Clarke Middle School's "Wall of Fame"!

After a question-and-answer session mc'd by students, crew members pledged their support to the "Know About It" club. Then, Darius rapped for the crowd. As the assembly ended, students swarmed Darius to get a word in with him or shake his hand.

Thanks so much to Dory MacMillan and the "Know About It" club for organizing, to Mr. Kraft for including Darius Goes West in his curriculum and inviting us to the assembly, and to the Clarke Middle School eighth grade for your energy and enthusiasm!

Seeing the dedication of students at Clarke and Coile Middle Schools this past week has been truly inspiring and uplifting. If our visits to these local schools are any indication, the future of Athens is in great hands!

DGW LOVES COILE MIDDLE SCHOOL!!!

2008-08-19T13:33:00.000-07:00

Last week, Coile Middle School's eighth graders watched Darius Goes West in class. As a surprise for the students, Ms. MacNeill invited the crew to an assembly in the auditorium. We went last Friday afternoon. It was a blast!

None of the students knew about the visit beforehand. With everyone sitting in the auditorium, the curtains to the stage parted, revealing Darius and crew lined up. The crowd went wild!

After a quick intro, the crew answered questions from the students. We fielded great questions, and the students got to find out a lot about Darius, the crew, the trip, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and disability rights. It was great!

Then, with two Coile students beat-boxing, Darius gave an impromptu rap. When he finished, the auditorium shook with applause! The crew stayed after, answering individual questions and signing autographs from adoring fans. Seeing the enthusiasm on the faces of those students was truly moving, and we all really had a blast.

Thank you so much, Coile and Ms. MacNeill!

DARIUS GOES WEST DAY 2008

2008-08-11T11:01:00.001-07:00

Two days...four packed screenings...a couple of standing ovations...a wild and crazy after party...and a megawatt grin on Darius's face from start to finish. DGW Day 2008--actually a two-day celebration--was AWESOME The first release of DGW "extras" was a huge hit. For those of you who missed them, one "extra"---of D's graduation---is on youtube now at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwe1vw8rebQ Watch for others coming soon.

The after-party at Farm 255 was a blast! The Nappy Roots put on a great show, and Darius wowed the crowd with his own rapping skills. Best of all, we raised over $7,000 for DMD research by the end of the weekend!

DGW Day 2008 marked the official launch of our "One Million DVDs...One Year" campaign. Please help us spread the word by sending this link of "The Vehicle" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2yoOlicmww to everyone you know and encouraging them to buy one or more DVDs of DARIUS GOES WEST. Remember, for every $20 DVD purchased, $17 goes to Duchenne muscular dystrophy research, and $3 goes to making more DVDs. If we reach our goal of selling one million DVDs, we will raise a whopping $17 million for research!!! DVDs can be ordered by visiting our website at www.dariusgoeswest.org or by calling 1-888-8-DARIUS.

Thanks to all of our sponsors and supporters for a memorable and magical weekend. Each year, our celebration gets bigger and better, and if we sell one million DVDs, DGW Day 2009 promises to be a blowout!

KNOW ABOUT IT!

A SURPRISE VISIT TO DUBLIN - AND MORE!

2008-06-28T11:12:00.000-07:00

This week, we drove 2.5 hours to Dublin, Georgia, where the movie was shown to a group of Wilkinson County high school students attending a "Manufacturing Dreams" summer camp at the Heart of Georgia Technical College. The campers didn't know we were coming, so we hung out in the parking lot for a while, eating subway sandwiches and waiting for the credits to roll. When Darius and the rest of the crew burst into the room, the campers almost fell out of their chairs! It was awesome!

At first, most of our audience was shy, but once we all got treated to huge ice cream sundaes, everyone started asking questions. Since the group was small, we were able to have a great discussion, and we were so glad we went. Thanks, Alissa Sypsa, for inviting us!

We also have some good news to share. Darius has "new" wheels! Our one-year loan from Dodge on the DGW Sprinter van recently expired, and they offered to sell it to us at a deep, deep discount. Since this is the only way Darius can get around, we begged a few of our donors for help, and now the van is ours!

More good news: many on the DGW crew have signed a one-year lease on an awesome house on Oak Grove Rd. This 5 bedroom/3 bath house is surrounded by 15 acres and will be the perfect setting for us to work together on our "One million DVDs in one year" initiative.

We're busy gearing up for DGW Day (July 19) and will be sending out detailed information on this special event soon. Hope to see you there!

KNOW ABOUT IT!

CONGRATS TO LOGAN!

2008-06-14T17:40:00.001-07:00

Last Thursday, Logan received his Master's degree (Ed.M) from Harvard University's "Technology, Innotivation, & Education" program. J.K. Rowling was the keynote speaker at the commencement ceremonies! If you're a big Harry Potter fan, here's a link to her speech:

http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2008/06.05/99-rowlingspeech.html

Logan and two of his fellow grads, Chris Spence (designer of the new DGW website) and Marisa Segel are now in the process of launching their own educational media company. It's called--are you ready for this--Goslabi Productions! DGW will be one of its first clients as it makes plans to fulfill its ambitious new "Sell one million DVDs in one year" campaign.

We have lots of other great news to share with you...

* We've secured Nappy Roots, an awesome hip-hop band out of Atlanta, to play at the DARIUS GOES WEST Day after-party on Saturday, July 19, at Farm 255. Exact details/times for all events will be announced soon, but mark your calendar now and plan to party with us!

* DGW will soon be close captioned, thanks to the generosity of the Disability Resource Center at UGA! We've had several requests for this edition of our movie, but we didn't have the funds to make it happen. Needless to say, we are thrilled! Kudos to Leigh Jagor, for instigating this endeavor!

* DGW is now a course at UGA! Jerry Hale, Ph.D., will be teaching a course in the fall called "Darius Goes West: A Case Study in Internpersonal Communication." Jerry is a huge supporter of ours and head of UGA's Department of Speech Communication.

* Darius opened his first bank account this week using several checks he had received from friends, family and DGW supporters for graduation. Thanks, Athens First, for rolling out the red carpet for him during this transaction and giving him a crash course on how to handle a checking account.

* Traveling journalist Cindy Freeman was recently in Athens as part of her journey to discover interesting and inspiring Americans. She interviewed Darius and his mom while in town. Check out her blog about Big Daddy at www.seegirlgo.com. Her segment on DGW should be up and running soon.

Happy summer everyone!

Know about it!

WYOMING...WOW!

2008-06-01T21:23:00.000-07:00

Eight of us have just returned from an amazing five days/four nights in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where Logan had been invited to be the keynote speaker at the Jackson Hole Community School graduation. Our hostess and HUGE DGW supporter, Sophie Craighead, rolled out the red carpet for us BIG time...

We arrived in Jackson Hole on Tuesday, where Sophie met us at the tiny but picturesque airport. Unfortunately, Darius was not able to make this trip because the planes that fly into Jackson Hole are too small to be accessible. Besides, he was perfectly happy staying home and recuperating from his own graduation. Sophie had rented two cars for us, and we followed her into town, where she had rented us six hotel rooms at the Trapper Inn. This was an awesome place to stay, because it was only a block from Jackson Square, which has that "Old West" feel and is chock full of restaurants, shops, and bars. Our hotel was also surrounded by magnificent mountains.

After having lunch with Sophie, most of us took naps, then we had a long meeting to discuss our new goal of selling one million DVDs in one year. In fact, we had strategy meetings almost every day while in Jackson Hole, so expect some announcements soon. That night, we walked into town and had an incredible dinner at The Blue Lion. They had the best rack of lamb any of us had ever tasted!

On Wednesday, Sophie arranged for all of us to go whitewater rafting. It was a blast! The weather was still chilly out in Wyoming, and the water was even colder, so we had to wear wet suits. That didn't stop any of us from jumping in at the end of the trip. Exhilirating! That evening, we drove out to Kelly, WY to the Craighead's incredibly beautiful home for dinner, hosted by Sophie and husband Derek, who is a world-renown naturalist. After appetizers on the patio, framed by the Tetons, we were treated to an awesome smorgasbord: buffalo burgers, black angus hot dogs, elk steaks, potato salad, beans, tossed salad, etc. Dessert was an incredibly yummy banana cream pie. We were sooooo full. We hung out at the Craighead's playing foosball and Guitar Hero with Sophie and Derek's awesome kids, Scotty and Sage. The Craigheads had invited a few friends to join us for dinner. Two of the youngest guests, Riley and Chase George, presented Logan with envelopes containing personal donations (from their allowances) to Charley's Fund. They were so adorable, and we were so touched and impressed by their generosity!

Our screening was at the beautiful Community Arts Center theater on Thursday evening, where the house was packed with Jackson Hole Community School students and their families and friends. We got a standing ovation! Before the Q&A started, we brought Sophie to the stage and presented her with a framed photo of us whitewater rafting as a (very small) token of our (huge) appreciation for her hospitality. Logan also showed "The Vehicle" and told the audience about our new goal: to sell 1 million DVDs in one year.

The screening was immediately followed by a "Celebrate Your Life" diinner party that was so much fun. We sold LOTS of DVDs, and everyone there was so warm and friendly. After that, we walked to a nearby brew pub before heading to bed.

Friday evening was graduation, where Logan did a great job giving the keynote speech. There were only nine graduating seniors at this small but innovative school, so the ceremony felt very personal. We cheered especially loud when Scotty Craighead received his diploma. The class of 2008 presented us with donations they had collected among themselves for Charley's Fund...a grand sum of $69.69. LOL. The graduation ceremony was followed by a really nice reception. From there, we headed into Teton Village, where new DGW supporter Julie Choi and her husband treated us to an amazing, multi-course dinner at the Japanese restaurant they own. Yes, we had lots of sushi...and, of course, goslabi!

Friday morning, we flew home. It was so difficult to say goodbye to everyone in Jackson Hole and to leave this beautiful town. But we have incredible memories that will definitely last a lifetime.

KNOW ABOUT IT!

THE GRADUATE!

2008-05-24T18:14:00.000-07:00

It's official! Darius O'Brien Weems graduated from Clarke Central High School last night, and it was nothing short of magical! We wish all of you could have been there.

D's mom, Jamie, and a few friends and family arrived at the University of Georgia Colisem in a stretch limo (paid for by 13th crew member, Anita Hill). Lucky them, since parking was a HUGE hassle! As the soon-to-be graduates marched in to take their seats, Jamie was already crying. By the time they handed out diplomas and got to the W's, she was bawling like a baby. Actually we all had tears in our eyes, and here's why: When Darius rolled across the stage to receive his diploma, all of us in his cheering section stood up to hoot and holler. THEN, within seconds, the ENTIRE graduating class (of 250) AND almost every single person in the coliseum (thousands) gave him a standing ovation!!!

We had cameras rolling, so we'll share this footage on our website soon. Meanwhile, check out the front page article in today's Athens Banner-Herald, and be sure to watch their video coverage of last night. As always, our favorite reporters, Julie Phillips and Melissa Hanna, did an awesome job. If you agree, please rate the story and/or leave a comment...

http://onlineathens.com/stories/052408/news_20080524053.shtml

Today, the crew hosted a picnic for Darius and his family and friends to celebrate this wonderful occastion. Daniel's dad, Lee Epting, who's a famous caterer in the Southeast, donated the BBQ, and it was awesome. We had the party at a local park, and since there were lots of kids, we played basketball, baseball, and had an awesome water balloon fight.

Thanks to everyone who has sent Big Daddy notes of congrats, either by e-mail or snail mail. He appreciates your good wishes more than you could ever realize.

KNOW ABOUT IT!

BACK TO THE BIG APPLE - AND MORE

2008-05-21T16:09:00.000-07:00

May 19,2008

We've just returned from a quick trip to New York City, where we were honored at Matt's Promise. This is an event held annually in memory of Matthew Wiederkehr, one of Benjy Seckler's (Charley's dad) best friends, who lost his battle with colon cancer a few years ago. When he died, Matt's Promise was founded. This foundation is dedicated to making a difference in the lives of young people affected by terminal illnesses. Charley's Fund was the primary beneficiary of the night's proceeds.

The gala was held at the very upscale Cipriani Wall Street. Almost everyone there was decked out in black tie attire, but we (Darius, Sam, Logan, Daniel, Jason, Collin, Andrew. TBarn, and Dylan) wore our "uniform" (DGW shirts and khakis) so we could stand out. LOL. Even before the amazing dinner was served, we had an awesome surprise. L.L. Cool J dropped by and strolled straight to ouir table to introduce himself to Darius! Cameras were everywhere while they a brief chat. We're trying to talk him into playing at our "Run DMD" concert in NYC in the fall (along with Run DMC), so fingers crossed!

After an unbelievable dinner, Darius and the crew took the stage to be recognized/honored. Logan gave a short speech about promises (like the one he made to D's big brother, Mario, to look after Darius). Next, Logan unveiled our new promotional trailer, "The Vehicle," and announced DGW's new campaign to sell one million DVDs for DMD research over the next year. You can see the new trailer at our new website at www.dariusgoeswest.org (please pass it on to everyone you know!). "The Vehicle" got a standing ovation!

THEN, at the auction, which followed, auctioneer (and huge DGW supporter) Randy Reiff asked, "Who in the audience wants to buy DVDs for all 600 here tonight?" Three people donated $12,000 to make this happen. That's 1,800 DVDs sold!!! Other auction hits: Two couples paid $11,000 each for dinner for four at a fancy NY restaurant where it's impossible to get reservations....and someone else paid $13,000 for a Golden Retriever puppy that Andrew escorted on to the stage! For a minute there, we thought everyone was bidding on a date with Carson!

After the auction, Squeeze (known for their hit, "Tempted by the Fruit of Another") played, and we were all dancing, including Darius (with some cute high school girls who were there). We all had a blast, and we're pretty sure this event raised at least $500,000 for DMD research!

We saw several familiar faces at Matt's Promise--like Lex Sidon, Pearl August, Aaron Charlop-Powers, and Amy Coenen. We also made many new friends--like Jen Portnoy (she's the one behind the "Run DMD" event), Mark Spiegel, and Spencer Spinnell, to name just a few. Many, many thanks to Randy Reiff, Candace Jarkow, Keinan Lee-Zampi, Jen Wiederkehr, and everyone else involved in making this night so memorable for all of us.

While in the Big Apple, we were also treated to lunch at Google headquarters, where gourmet chefs spoiled us. Thanks, Spencer Spinnell and everyone else at Google for hosting us!

Sam and TBarn flew straight from New York City to Denver, CO, then drove to Aspen to host a Q&A at a screening hosted by Kate Bishop at the Wheeler Opera House. Despite being totally sleep deprived, the guys managed to have their "game on," and the crowd loved them and the movie.

Don't forget D's graduation from Clarke Central High School is this Friday night at 8:30 PM. If you're in town, please join us to hoot and holler as Big Daddy receives his diploma. Thanks to the generosity of DGW supporter Anita Will, Jamie and her family will travel to the UGA coliseum in A Touch of Elegance stretch limo!

One more thing: we just got word that we have won yet another film festival award. This latest one. a "Best Documentary" award, comes from Viewfinders International Film Festival for Youth in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and was selected by a jury of young people. That makes 28!!!

KNOW ABOUT IT!

MAY DAYS

2008-05-11T16:52:00.002-07:00

May 10, 2008

Our week began and ended on a high note...

On Monday afternoon, we went to the Oconee County 4-H Club's Fun-A-Thon, a yearly event they hold to raise money for favorite causes. This year, they decided to make Charley's Fund their cause, and they invited us to join the fun. We had a blast! Darius, Sam, Collin, Kevin, and John Harmon were greeted by a giant colorful sign that read, "Welcome Darius and the crew" (see the pictures we just posted). After meeting many of the 4-Hers and helping to blow up balloons, we headed outside for a series of crazy relay races. Everyone was divided into four teams, and each team was captained by a DGW crew member. Darius was named the official judge and whistle blower. Races involved jumping rope, sitting on water balloons, throwing rotten eggs into buckets, and eating lots of whipped cream. It was an awesome afternoon, and we thank Joey Bristol and the Oconee County 4-H club for having us...AND for raising money for DMD research!

On Friday, Sam, Ben, John Harmon, and Collin drove Darius three hours south to visit Jenkins County High School in Millen, GA. The students were watching the movie in their classrooms as we arrived, then all 400 of them packed the gym for a Q&A. They didn't know we would be there, so it was a big surprise. This was one of the liveliest audiences we've ever had, especially when we started throwing t-shirts into the crowd! Darius was having so much fun that he agreed to do some freestyle rapping for the crowd, and when he did, he brought down the house!

Thanks to Becky, Mandy, and Robin (of Jenkins County Family Connection) for inviting us to Millen, and extra special thanks to Mandy for convincing Cindy's Cafe to stay open past 3:00 so we could get a great meal before heading back to Athens...AND for picking up the tab!

This week, Darius and most of the crew head to NYC for Matt's Promise, an annual fundraiser that benefits Charley's Fund. At this year's event, Darius and the crew are the honorees. A live band will play, dinner should be awesome, and Logan will unveil a brand new Darius Goes West trailer.

KNOW ABOUT IT!

DARIUS GOES WEST...AS IN KANYE WEST!

2008-05-05T16:52:00.000-07:00

May 5, 2008

It's been a busy but exciting week for DGW. Friday, we had a late-night screening at Athens Cine as part of the Battle Against Poverty Festival. We were so honored that they selected our movie as one of two to screen that night. The place was almost packed, and we had a great Q&A.

In the audience was D's friend, Terese, from Atlanta. He and Terese have been talking on the phone for almost a year, but they had never met in person. On Friday afternoon, 13th crew member, Richard Hamel, drove to Atlanta to pick Terese up and bring her to Athens for a weekend visit. We were a little worried that Darius might go shy on us at the Q&A Friday night, but having Terese in the audience made him more talkative than ever! When a history professor in the crowd asked what kind of relationship DGW had with MDA, Ben started to answer the question. Then, Darius piped in, insisting, "I'll take that one," and gave an elaborate answer. We were so proud! After the screening, Darius gave Terese a tour of downtown Athens.

On Sunday evening, Sam and 13th crew members Martin Suiza and Chris Williams took Darius to the Arena at Gwinnett Place for the Kanye West Glow in the Dark Tour. This concert not only featured Kanye, but Rihanna, N.E.R.D., and Lupe Fiasco. It started at 7:30 PM and went on until midnight, and it was amazing! During one of the intermissions, Darius needed to go to the restroom and was directed to the facilities backstage. While there, a woman working backstage recognized him, then let Big Daddy get his picture taken with Kanye West!!! West's people will e-mail it to us, and we'll post it when we get it. Meanwhile, we've posted pictures from the weekend, including one of Terese!

We have an equally busy week ahead of us. Tomorrow, we visit the Oconee County 4-H Club. After watching the movie, these kids decided to have a "Fun-A-Thon" and donate all proceeds to Charley's Fund! Then, on Friday, we head to Jenkins County High School in Millen, GA for a Q&A.

KNOW ABOUT IT!

SAVE THE DATES!

2008-05-01T16:51:00.000-07:00

May 1, 2008

It's May! Can you believe it? Wasn't it just Christmas?

May is a special month for DGW because DARIUS WILL GRADUATE from Clarke Central High School ON FRIDAY, MAY 23! If you live in or near Athens, please consider coming to the UGA Colliseum and being a part of his cheering section! And if you come, wear a DGW t-shirt for sure! We're almost positive that this year's graduation is at 8:00 PM...we'll confirm this in a later blog.

If you can't make it, please consider sending Darius a congratulatory card. This is a particularly special event for Big Daddy and his family, since D's older brother, Mario, passed away (six years ago) just two months shy of his high school graduation. You can mail cards to:

Darius Goes West/135 Pine Tops Court/Athens, GA 30606

Another important date to save is the weekend of July 18-20. This will be DARIUS GOES WEST DAY (actually, DGW weekend). Saturday, July 19, will be the day we plan to celebrate the most, but we'll have activities planned from Friday through Sunday. As always, we plan to show the movie (for free) at Athens Cine. Logan also hopes to release some trip footage that didn't make it into the movie. In addition to Athens Cine, Farm 255 has signed on as our venue sponsor, and that's where we'll be celebrating on Saturday night with, hopefully, one or more bands playing. So, plan to be there.

We are looking for corporate sponsors for DGW Day. If you know anyone who might be interested, please contact us right away. Their name/logo will appear in all publicity materials (newspaper ads, flyers, event banner, etc.).

We continue to stay busy. On Monday night, we had an awesome screening at Lakeside High School in Atlanta, where we raised $400 for DMD research. Thanks, Kelly Douglas and daughters Ashley and Madison, for organizing this event. Tomorrow (Friday) night, we have a screening at 10:00 PM at Athens Cine, as part of the Battle Against Poverty Festival.

KNOW ABOUT IT!

OH, CANADA!

2008-04-20T16:50:00.000-07:00

April 20, 2008

We have just returned from an amazing trip to Toronto, Canada and Buffalo, New York. It was exhausting, and we had some car trouble along the way, but we had a blast...

On Tuesday at 10:30 PM, Sam, Darius, Barbara, and DGW "13th crew member" Chris Williams hit the road for Nashville to pick up Jason. From there, it was supposed to be a 12-hour drive to Toronto, but it turned into about 16 hours for us. In Louisville, KY, a truck in front of us "lost" some of its scrap metal load, which cracked our windshield (the crack is about the size of a baseball). We had to stop and call the company to complain. They said they would cover the costs of a new windshield, but it would come out of that driver's "last paycheck." Apparently, it is company policy that drivers cover their loads with a tarp, and this dude had not done that. Soon after that, the van started losing power periodically, and the "check engine" light came on. In Cincinnati, we wasted over an hour trying to find a Dodge dealership that could work on a Sprinter van. We finally found one, and the mechanic there said he thought the check engine light referred to routine maintenance needing to be scheduled. The dealership was packed, so we decided not to wait, and the van seemed fine by then, so we drove on to Toronto.

By 6:30 PM, we had crossed the border and stopped to look at Niagara Falls (Canadian side). It was magnificent (check out our pictures). Darius called it "the Grand Canyon with water!"

We finally pulled into Toronto around 8:00 PM, found our hotel, grabbed showers, and headed out to find a place to eat dinner. We were starving! The film festival put us up at a great hotel right in downtown Toronto (a city that is a lot like New York City, but soooo clean and soooo cool!). We got lost looking for the restaurant we wanted to go to, though, and Darius's chair was running out of juice. Finally, we found it and stuffed our faces. We were joined at dinner by Cathy McKee, director of the Calgary Reel Fun Film Festival and a great friend of DGW's, as well as a film distributor/DGW fan we'd met last year in Cleveland, Ryan Bruce Levey. It was awesome to see both of them again and to catch up. After dinner, we all crashed.

Thursday morning, we were due at the Toronto Arts Centre for two back-to-back screenings and Q&As at the Sprockets International Youth Film Festival. We started out in plenty of time (honest!), but, unfortunately, someone had left a light on in the van, and the battery was dead. We had to pay a cab driver $15 to give us a jump, but the cables we had sucked, so it didn't work fast enough for him. Luckily, a really nice guy was leaving the parking lot (he normally drives a tow truck), and he offered to help. He had some powerful jumper cables, so the job was done in a flash.

By then, we were running late, and even though we only had to travel 7 miles to the venue, the traffic was horrible. By the time we got there, many of the kids who had come to see the movie had left. One class (from Earl Haig High School) stayed behind to greet us, though, so we had an impromptu Q&A in the lobby. After that, students wanted to buy DVDs and t-shirts, but because the Arts Centre wouldn't allow us to sell DGW merchandise inside (without taking a cut), we had to go across the street and sell stuff out of suitcases (check out the picture). It was hilarious!

While the second screening was going on, we grabbed some lunch and ate it outside the Arts Centre. It was such a beautiful day, which Canadians told us was very rare for this time of year. Our second screening was packed, and the Q&A went really, really well. Milton, Ontario DGW fans Priscilla and Tanveer (who had showm DGW at their school a month or so ago) came with their principal to meet Darius, and we gained tons of new supporters.

After the second screening, we decided to walk over to Earl Haig Secondary School for a visit to Lydia Hughes' and Patty Koutrabis' class. They had been at our first screening and invited us to pop in. We were so glad we did! The class we visited had two students who do salsa dancing, but they were too shy to perform in front of us. So, Darius said, "If you'll salsa dance, I'll rap for ya'll!" They did, and he did! It was so much fun! The kids in this class are now talking about sharing the movie with their entire school (1,200 students) and raising money for Charley's Fund. Know about it!

Thursday afternoon, we took D shoe shopping (what else???) in Toronto. Thursday night, we were treated to dinner by al the festival folks at Sprockets. It was great hanging out with Allen, Elizabeth, Tony, and Ryan, and dinner was delicious. After dinner, we met up again with Cathy McKee and her actor friend, Julian, and hit the streets of Toronto. It was a late night, and we had an awesome time.

Friday morning, we packed our bags and headed to Monarch Park school in Toronto, where DGW fan and occupational therapist Mona Sidler-Hosios had invited us to visit one of her classes. The kids were all waiting outside for us to arrive! While there, we answered questions about the movie (they had seen it the week before), found the music room, where Jason (on drums) jammed with one of the students, Liz (on guitar), then were treated to pizza and cookies for lunch. The class also gave us all glass coffee mugs with their school logo on them. We were so touched! Before leaving, the kids challenged the crew to participate in a wheelchair hockey game in the gym. It was hilarious (check the pictures) watching Sam, Jason, and Chris roll around on office chairs!

Around 1:00 PM, we left Toronto and shuffled off to Buffalo. Once there, the guys all took a nap while Barbara got an oil change in the van. We had a community screening scheduled for 7:00 PM, organized by DGW fan Chris Muller. She has a 23-year-old son, Ben, who has DMD, and she and her husband, Rick, founded and runs what is called The Independence Foundation. Through this inredible organization (check it out at www.theindependencefoundation.org), Ben is a homeowner and lives independently with two roommates! We were invited to have dinner at Ben's house before the screening, and we were blown away by how awesome and roomy it was. Also, Chris and her daughter had prepared a homecooked meal for us: barbecue chicken, potatoes, pasta salad, and tossed salad. It was so delicious!

The screening in Buffalo was fantastic. About 200 people showed up (despite that it was spring break), and Darius and the crew got a long standing ovation at the end. The Q&A was fun, and afterwards, lots of folks bought DVDs and t-shirts. Best of all, ticket sales generated $1,000 for Charley's Fund!

We decided to hit the road for home right after the screening. It was a loooonnng drive, especially since we kept losing power in the van and had to stop often to let it rest for a few minutes. We limped into Nashville by noon and got back to Athens by 6:00 PM.

This week, we have a screening at Georgia College in Milledgeville and another one at UGA (for Jerry Hale's classes). In between, we must find time to get the van serviced, the windshield replaced, and get D's chair fixed. Never a dull moment!

KNOW ABOUT IT!

"SHE'S GOT BRAIDS!"

2008-04-07T16:49:00.000-07:00

April 7, 2008

We had a really busy weekend. The crew split up, one group heading north, the other heading south. Darius, Collin, Jason, and 13th crew member Martin Suiza flew to New Brunswick, New Jersey. Logan, Ben, Sam, Harmon, and Andrew drove to Savannah. All of us had a blast...

In New Jersey, Darius and the crew were keynote speakers at a Neighbors, Inc. conference. Unfortunately, their plane was delayed for several hours on Friday, and they didn’t get to their hotel rooms until well after midnight. Nevetheless, they stayed awake watching TV and eating pizza until 5:00 AM...and STILL made it to breakfast at 8:30 the next morning.

The folks at Neighbours, Inc. really rolled out the red carpet for DGW! Aside from flying everyone there (including D’s mom, Jamie), they provided first-class lodging, great meals, and one of the best audiences ever for a screening of DARIUS GOES WEST. After the Q&A, Darius got a standing ovation, and we sold out of the 35 DVDs we’d brought with us in 20 minutes (then kicked ourselves for not packing more)! Everyone at the conference was super-friendly and so accommodating. Special thanks to Verna, Patti, and Anne for inviting us there and making us feel so welcome.

On Saturday night, we went out to dinner for sushi (no wasabi for Big Daddy)! Earlier that day, some women Jamie had met took her out to get her hair done, and guess what? SHE HAS BRAIDS! Check out the pictures of her new "do" in our gallery. More New Jersey pictures will be added later.

Savannah was equally amazing. At the last minute, we convinced Andrew to come with us. Thirteenth crew members Lynn Massey joined the fun, as did Annie Timmins.We also invited three of Eve Carson’s closest friends: Anna and Tim from UNC-Chapel Hill, and Amble (who is Sam’s older brother) from Athens. We rented a cottage at Tybee Island and decided to treat it as a "heal and chill" weekend.

Right as we pulled into Savannah, we stopped at a McDonald’s for lunch, then discovered we had a flat tire. The spare was also flat! Fortunately, there was a tire store two doors down, so we were back on the road in no time.

On Saturday night, we drove downtown to do a Q&A at the Hyatt, which was part of the Southern States Communication Association Conference, spearheaded by Athens’ own, Jerry Hale. The crowd was small, but they were so enthusiastic...plus they bought a ton of DVDs! Right after the Q&A, we went across the street to watch the Final Four basketball game. We were all bummed when UNC lost. The rest of the night was a lot of fun, though, especially our extremely competitive game of "Trivial Pursuit." The weather was great on Sunday, so we hung around and worked on our tans (see beach pictures and more in our gallery). Special thanks to Marty Johnston, who paid for Logan’s airline ticket to Savannah and treated us all to lunch on Sunday!

All in all, it was an amazing weekend for DGW, and we raised almost $1,000 for Charley’s Fund.

KNOW ABOUT IT!

ANOTHER AWARD, ETC.

2008-04-02T16:48:00.000-07:00

April 2, 2008

Major kudos to Julie Phillips, our favorite reporter at the Athens Banner-Herald. She just won a third place Associated Press award for one of the many stories she wrote last year about DARIUS GOES WEST. The headline was "Western Union," and if you go to www.onlineathens.com, you can find it in the archives.

We’re busier than ever. On Tuesday, Jason and Sam went to Big Rapids, Michigan for a screening at Ferris University. They anticipated a crowd of about 100 students; instead, the place was packed with over 300 students. Woo-hoo! They were an incredibly enthusiastic crowd. Thanks, Matt Eickhoff, for organizing this event, for a great dinner, and for doing an awesome job pulling in a great crowd. Thanks, too, for the generous donation to Charley’s Fund.

This weekend, the crew is splitting up. Jason, Collin, Darius, his mom Jamie, and 13th crew member Martin Suiza fly to New Brunswick, NJ for a screening at the Neighbours, Inc. state conference. They’re expecting a huge crowd...up to 600! Meanwhile, Logan, Sam, Ben, Harmon, and Barbara are driving to Savannah to do a Q&A at the state conference of Speech Education Professionals. We have rented a cottage on Tybee Island and plan to do some major chilling!

KNOW ABOUT IT!

WE LOVE OUR FANS!

2008-03-26T16:46:00.000-07:00

March 26, 2008

Darius gets tons of fan e-mails, and we all love that. He can’t always respond, but he reads them all...sometimes over and over again, so thanks to everyone who’s been writing to him. And please keep ’em coming!

Just today, he got this special note from a student who saw DGW at Fayerweather Street School while we were in Boston last week...

Hey, darius!
i just saw your video at the showing of it at Fayerweather street school, and i have to say i am pretty darn speechless. you seem to have a great love for life, and i want you to know i respect you completely for that. I also have been doing a lot of research of DMD, and ive learned a lot about it, and i want to help get funding to find a cure. It is because of you that i have found a passion for learning about the disease.

thank you so much for sharing your amazing journey,
michaela

Fan mail like this is especially meaningful to us--not only because someone took the time to write it, but because it tells us we are doing our job: raising awareness of DMD and inspiring students to help us raise funds for a cure.

Speaking of Fayerweather Street School, while there, a young fan presented Darius with a hand-written card she had made him. On the outside, it said, "Open to see a happy letter;" on the inside, it said...

Dear Darius,
You are brave and cool! You are independent and everyone loves you about that. You are a person I’d never forget. You are cool and brave.

Love your biggest fan,
Cheyenne

Darius was so touched by this card that he thanked Cheyenne personally during the Q&A and said he planned to hold on to this letter forever. Ahhhhh. (We’ve just posted a picture of Cheyenne and other photos from this screening, so check them out!)

We’ll close this blog with some awesome news we got today. We won the Audience Choice Award at the East Lansing Film Festival (that’s where Sam and Collin went a couple of weeks ago). Since we haven’t been to a film festival in a while, we almost forgot how great winning feels.

KNOW ABOUT IT!

WINTHROP UNIVERSITY - WOW!

2008-03-25T16:46:00.000-07:00

March 25, 2008

Yesterday afternoon, we drove 3.5 hours to Rock Hill, SC to do a screening at Winthrop University. Megan Cox and the Council for Exceptional Children had invited us, and she thought maybe 20-30 people would be there. We were pleasantly surprised to arrive and find a crowd of about 80, and what an enthusiastic crowd they were!

Aside from giving us a standing ovation, this audience may have broken the record for the most questions asked. Many were ones we’d never heard before, and we always love that. Darius had his game on and was cracking jokes (as were Sam, Collin, and Harmon), and the audience was loving it.

Afterwards, in the lobby, folks bought $485 worth of DVDs and DGW merchandise and gave $40 in outright donations to Charley’s Fund! Darius loved hanging with his new fans, especially the female ones (check out the pictures). We also enjoyed seeing Leslie Trier’s family there....her mom Patsy, her aunt Susan, and her sister, Betsy. (Leslie is the director of Project START, formerly known as Project REACH, where Logan first met Darius).

Once we’d packed everything up, Betsy took us to the White Horse restaurant for an awesome dinner (Leslie had promised to pick up the tab). This was an unexpected but awesome surprise!

It was a long drive home, and we didn’t tuck Big Daddy in until after 2:00 AM, but Winthrop was definitely worth the trip. In fact, as we were leaving, there was talk of inviting us back next fall.

KNOW ABOUT IT!

BACK FROM BOSTON

2008-03-22T16:44:00.000-07:00

March 22, 2008

We returned from Boston late last night. It took us 21 hours to get home, which was way better than the 23 hours it took us to get there. It will take us a couple of days to catch up on sleep, something we didn’t get too much of while in Bean Town. But we had a blast...

Jason Hees, Alison Firor (Logan’s co-editor), Barbara (Logan and Ben’s mom), and 13th crew member Justin Bell made the looonnng drive to Cambridge, MA, where we were greeted by cold weather and a few snow showers! We arrived at our hotel at 2:00 AM on Tuesday and couldn’t wait to fall into the comfy beds at the Hyatt Regency. Thank you, Shawn Tuttle, at Harvard for providing us with awesome accommodations!

Our screening at Harvard was early Tuesday evening. Before that, we cruised the campus, strolled through Harvard yard, and had lunch with some of Logan’s friends, including Chris Spence, who is the genius behind our new (coming soon) DGW website. The screening was at 5:30, and there was a great crowd (about 165 people or so). One of Logan’s favorite professors (David Dockterman) introduced the film. Afterwards, we got a standing ovation and had a great Q&A. As expected, we were asked many scientific questions, so we were grateful to have Charley’s Fund director of research and strategic planning, George Vella, Ph.D., participate in the Q&A. The best news: we sold over $1,100 worth of DVDs and DGW merchandise after the screening! From there, Shawn treated us all to an awesome dinner at Legal Seafood, where we had the best clam chowder! She also gave us all gift bags, so Darius is now sporting a Harvard cap!

Did we mention that when the film was introduced there was talk of looking into giving Darius an honorary degree to Harvard? How cool would that be?

On Wednesday, we had a free day, but the weather was rainy and cold, so we slept in. In the afternoon, we took Darius into Boston and had a late lunch at an Irish pub, then explored the aquarium. Wednesday night, we ate at this cool restaurant called Fire and Ice in Cambridge, where you pile your choice of raw meats and vegetables into a big bowl, then have it cooked before your eyes on some hot grills. It was all-you-can-eat, and it was delicious. After that, Logan had to leave us to write a paper, but the rest of us hung out with some of his friends and had a great time.

Thursday we had a screening at Fayerweather Street School. From the second we walked into this place, we knew it was going to be a great audience. The classrooms were very open, and almost every inch of wall space was filled with wonderful artwork and cool projects the students were working on. Jason even managed to ’break into" the music room and show off his drumming skills after the screening. Scot Oxholm (math and film studies teacher) was our host with the most, and he managed to attract an audience of about 75 (a combination of students and parents). They gave us a really long standing ovation afterwards and asked tons of great questions. They also bought lots of DVDs and DGW merchandise. That, combined with the $5 donation each person made to see the film, brought the night’s total to around $1,200!

We decided to leave for home after that screening so we would have the weekend to recuperate and enjoy Easter.

A few hours before leaving for Boston, we had a great Q&A at Athens First United Methodist Church with their youth group. There was a huge crowd! They had watched the first half of the movie beforehand and finished it before Darius and some of the guys arrived. They fed us pizza, asked great questions, and lifted everyone’s spirits with a friendship circle and a prayer for Darius. Afterwards, we collected $32 in donations for Charley’s Fund and sold $380 worth of DGW merchandise. Thank you, Amy Valdez Barker, for this wonderful invitation. We always love a hometown crowd!

Overall, in terms of fundraising, it’s been a great week!

On Monday, many of us head up to Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC for a screening hosted by the Council for Exceptional Children. Check out all the new pictures we’ve posted from our latest events.

Know about it!

"BACK IN THE SADDLE"

2008-03-14T16:43:00.000-07:00

March 14, 2008

We are still raw with grief from the loss of Eve Carson and continue to honor her memory in many ways...

* There is a memorial service at UNC-Chapel Hill next Tuesday, and many from Athens (and the DGW crew) will attend. Shirtworks (provider of all DGW shirts) have created and donated 50 special shirts for Athenians to wear to this service, and we are so grateful for their (never-ending) kindness. These red shirts have a picture of Eve on the front; on the back is one of her favorite quotes (as listed on her Facebook page):

"Not for 5 minutes... will I be kept from the wonder..."
-- Binx Bollings

* Logan has volunteered to create a website about Eve, and he’s getting help from DGW "13th crew member" and fellow Harvard student, Chris Spence. Many of Eve’s friends are sending Logan material for this loving tribute.

* Another huge DGW supporter, Geri Bidwell, who lives in Santa Barbara, CA, ordered 50 DVDs of our film and plans to send them out to 50 college student body presidents along with a note about Eve and how supportive she was of DGW. Geri will encourage these college leaders to host screenings on their campus like Eve did at UNC-Chapel Hill.

The crew honors Eve by continuing our efforts to find a cure for DMD, and we’ve been busy...

* Last Sunday morning, eight of us traveled to Atlanta for an early morning Q&A at the Bregman Conference. The audience was filled with young adults who had special needs and who "strive to thrive" (the theme of this year’s conference). We couldn’t have asked for a more enthusiastic audience. Normally at a Q&A, when we ask if anyone has questions, it takes a while for people to raise their hands. At this event, every hand in the room flew up! The microphone was passed around, and Darius was asked the cutest questions: "Do you work out?" "Do you have a girlfirend?" "What’s your favorite food?" With every response from Darius or the crew, there was applause, and when we said goodbye, we got a thunderous standing ovation!

* On Tuesday/Wednesday, Jason and Daniel flew to Pittsburgh for a Q&A at the Parent Education and Advocacy Leadership (PEAL) Center state conference. This was another amazing crowd who asked great questions and gave Daniel and Jason an incredibly warm welcome. Afterwards, there was a party with karaoke, and Daniel and Jason did a duet of "Whoop, There It Is." Too bad we don’t have a videotape of that. It would get a ton of hits on youtube.com

* On Friday morning, Collin and Sam flew to East Lansing, Michigan for the East Lansing Film Festival. DGW screens there tomorrow afternoon. They’re having a blast in this college town, where tomorrow is a huge St. Patrick’s Day celebration. Hmmm....hope the guys make it to the screening! Funny story about this festival: Last year, we applied to it and got rejected. This year, they wrote and invited us to submit our film. When we told them we’d been rejected last year, they said they had a new selection committee this year and had heard a lot of good things about DGW. Not only were we accepted, but they agreed to host two crew members. Sweet!

* On Sunday evening, we’ve been invited to have dinner and host a Q&A with the youth group at First United Methodist Church. We’re looking forward to that and hope we get a good turn out.

* Fiinally, late Sunday night (actually about 2:00 AM Monday), Jason, Allison, Barbara,, and 13th crew member Justin Bell will load Darius in the van and head to Boston. We have a Harvard-wide screening on Tuesday, then a high school screening on Thursday at Fayerweather St. School. If you have friends or family in the Boston area, please send them our way!

This week marked the anniversary of the loss of Mario Robinson, Darius’s beloved older brother. On Thursday, Sam and Daniel took Darius, his mom, and other family members to visit Mario’s grave. This was the first time Darius had been there since Mario’s funderal, and it meant a lot for him to be able to pay tribute to him.

Know about it!

IN MEMORY OF EVE CARSON

2008-03-07T16:42:00.000-08:00

March 7, 2008

We are mourning the loss of Eve Carson, 22, beloved big sister of DGW crew member, Andrew Carson. Eve was killed in Chapel Hill, NC on March 5, 2008. She was valedictorian of Clarke Central High School and student body president at UNC-Chapel Hill, where she was expected to graduate in May. Eve was the epitome of everything good in this world and a HUGE Darius Goes West supporter.

You've likely seen stories about Eve on CNN and other national televison shows, as her senseless murder has captured national media attention. Here is a link to a news story and another link to a heartfelt message written by the Vice Chancellor at UNC-Chapel Hill...

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/stories/2008/03/06/unc_0307.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab

http://media.www.dailytarheel.com/media/storage/paper885/news/2008/03/07/University/There.Is.Only.One.Eve.Carson-3258563.shtml

If you live in or near Athens, we're having a candlelight vigil to honor Eve's memory in front of Clarke Central High School tonight (March 7) at 10:00 PM.

The world has lost an incredible human being. Eve Carson will be sorely missed.

Know about it.

BACK-TO-BACK SCREENINGS

2008-03-02T16:40:00.000-08:00

March 2, 2008

We've had a busy but awesome week. On Thursday, we drove up to Young Harris College in the North Georgia mountains. It was supposed to be a two-hour drive, but three quarters of the way there, the highway was closed (a truck had turned over), and we had to take a detour on the Richard Russell scenic highway. It was very curvy, and with Darius in the back of the van, we had to take it slow. We barely made it in time.

It was well worth the trip, though! When we arrived at Young Harris, the screening room that was supposed to be limited to 100 students was packed with about 150 students (don't tell the fire department!). There were folks in the aisles and all over the floor! They were laughing so loud while the movie played. Afterward, they gave Darius and the crew a long standing ovation, then asked some great questions. They also bought DVDs and t-shirts and donated $205 to Charley's Fund. Woo-hoo! Thank you,Thomas Kloepfer for arranging this screening, for attracting such an awesome crowd, and for being such a perfect host!

We didn't get home from Young Harris until well after midnight, but that didn't stop us from showing up at the Classic Center in Athens on Friday for a DGW screening at the Council for Exceptional Children state conference. This screening was also packed, mostly with special ed teachers (or students studying to be SPED teachers), and wow, what a receptive audience. Halfway through the movie, one of the attendees had to leave the room to get rolls of toilet paper for all the folks who were laughing and crying so hard! They, too, gave Darius and the crew a standing ovation and bought lots of "Know About It" DVDs, DGW t-shirts and wrist bands after the show. Thank you DGW crew member John Harmon, (who's a special ed major at Georgia College), for organizing this screening!

WE NOW HAVE DGW BUMPER STICKERS for sale at our online DGW store (to access it, go to www.dariusgoeswest.com and click on "Get a DVD and some DGW stuff") or call 1-888-8DARIUS. These sell for $5 plus shipping, and there are two kinds. One has white writing on a black background and says "Goslabi...Know About It." The other has black writing on a white background and says "DGW...Know About It." Both have our website listed below the sayings. As usual, all proceeds go to Charley's Fund for DMD research.

KNOW ABOUT IT!

CATCHING OUR BREATH...AND CATCHING YOU UP

2008-02-28T16:38:00.000-08:00

February 22, 2008

We've been busy! Sam, Jason, Barbara and Logan have just returned from San Francisco (see pictures we've just posted). We had a free day there to do some sightseeing (we rode the cable cars down to Fisherman's Wharf and had some great seafood) and meet up with DGW co-editor Allison Firor. She introduced us to her new boyfriend, and you'll never guess what his name is: Darius! What are the odds of that?! Day 2 of our trip, we drove through Napa Valley up to Pacific Union College, where some 200 college students watched the movie. PUC really rolled out the red carpet for us...treating us to dinner, filling our rental car with gas, giving us t-shirts, and then providing one of the best audiences ever. They laughed soooo loud! After the Q&A, we sold DVDs and took up donations for Charley's Fund, raising over $500! Special thanks to Stephen Eyer and Juli Miller for arranging this screening.

Day 3 in San Francisco started with a visit to San Francisco Children's Hospital, where teenage patients had been watching the movie all week. There, we met (among others) Ben, who had just gotten his first wheelchair (so he especially loved the movie), and Darien, who asked lots of questions about Darius and how he was doing. We gave all the kids temporary DGW tattoos and DGW wristbands. Later that night, we had a screening at the Bridge Theater, organized by Keith Zwolfer of the San Francisco Film Society. Despite the rain, we had a huge crowd. Many, many teachers showed up to enjoy the movie AND the awesome wine and cheese spread, provided compliments of Theo Gund. Tracy Seckler was also in town to help with the Q&A. The audience was incredibly enthusiastic and afterwards, we sold a whopping $2,000 worth of DVDs, t-shirts, and other DGW/Charley's Fund merchandise.

While we were gone, Collin, Ben, and Darius had an awesome lunch at the Moose Lodge, where DGW was presented with a check for $1,200 for DMD research. This check represented the proceeds of a raffle they had a month or so ago. Thank you, Moose Lodge for your kindness and generosity!

On Wednesday morning, Collin, Ben, and Darius hit the road again, bright and early, so that Darius and Collin could appear on Good Day Atlanta to publicize his appearance at Disability Day. If you missed it, here's a link:

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/myfox/pages/ContentDetail?c..5668943

Finally, Thursday morning, Sam, Kevin, Darius, and Barbara went back to Atlanta for Disability Day. When we left Athens, it wasn't raining a bit; when we got to Atlanta, it was raining a lot....and we didn't take any rain gear! By the time we found a parking space and got to the Capitol steps, the crowd had thinned out (mostly because it was so rainy and cold), but Darius wowed them with his short speech. He also led the "My vote is for real" chant, got to meet some of our legistlators, and met the ambassador from Ecuador. From the steps of the Capitol, we went to the Freight Depot for lunch. There were about 2,000 people there, including Mark Johnson (who's in the movie). Darius went up on stage and spoke briefly again. He was awesome, and we were so proud. We've posted pictures, so check them out.

Other news...

* Martin Bashir was recently asked to moderate a debate at Columbia University, for which he was offered a $500 honorarium. He decided to donate the money to Charley's Fund!

* We did not advance in the Volvo For Life Contest. We felt a little bit at a disadvantage here because the judges were not sent copies of our movie. But we're not losers here. After all, we already won $25,000 for Charley's Fund.

KNOW ABOUT IT!

JULIA ROBERTS KNOWS ABOUT IT!

2008-02-25T16:39:00.000-08:00

February 25, 2008

Today was a great day for DGW! Months ago, our agent sent "Darius Goes West" to Julia Roberts. She loved the film and asked how she could help. In fact, she offered to "present" the movie, and today, Logan met the "Pretty Woman" in Los Angeles to make that happen! (Picture expected tomorrow).

Basically, "presenting" a movie is like endorsing it. We're hoping a new DVD of DGW will be released in a couple of months that will possibly have Julia Roberts' picture on the cover, and will say something like: "Julia Roberts presents...Darius Goes West: The Roll of His LIfe." She will also give an introduction at the start of the movie...that's what Logan was doing today: directing the filming of that intro. Having Julia Roberts present should open lots of doors for us, so woo-hoo!

Thanks to our agent, Jon Levin at CAA, and to our executive producer, Julia Eisenmann for making this happen! And HUGE thanks to Julia Roberts for being so warm, gracious, and willing to help (that's a Georgia girl for you!).

Other cool news: Sam and Jason spent the weekend in Calgary, Canada at the ReelFun Film Festival, where DGW was the opening film. Cathy McKee, festival director, really rolled out the red carpet for them. Just before the movie showed, Sam and Jason were made honorary Calgarians via a white hat ceremony which is a very big deal (reserved mostly for heads of state, movie stars, Olympic athletes, etc.). On Sunday night, Cathy's son took Sam and Jason up to Banff to a pricey buffet that consisted of cook-your-own alligator, kangaroo, rattlesnake, buffalo, shark, ostrich, frog legs, and wild boar, ....with chocolate fondue for dessert. HA! The audience for the film was awesome, and Sam and Jason both said they wished they could have stayed a couple of weeks. We'll post pictures as soon as we get 'em.

On Thursday night, we head to Young Harris College for a screening, then have another one on Friday at the Council For Exceptional Children (CEC) State Conference at the Classic Center in Athens.

Know about it!

DGW IN THE NEWS + BIG NEWS!

2008-02-23T16:31:00.000-08:00

January 23, 2008

Lots of recent articles have come out about Darius Goes West, and we thought we'd share them with you...

A profile on our director, Logan Smalley, appears in this month's issue of Harvard Ed (College of Education) magazine. Here's the link...

http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news_events/ed/2008/winter/appian/student.html

An article on DGW,written by Logan's mom and "Know About It" program director, Barbara Smalley, appears in the January/February issue of Athens Parent magazine. Check it out...

http://www.athensparent.com/articles/featuregen/dariusgoeswest.html

Then, there's a triple play of articles penned by Penne Elk of Swampland.com. She recently saw DGW for the first time and decided to write (a) a review of the movie, (b) an interview with Logan, and (c) a feature story about DGW. How cool is that? Here are those links...

http://www.swampland.com/articles/view/rivervue/493

http://www.swampland.com/articles/view/rivervue/492

http://www.swampland.com/reviews/view/rivervue/363

ON THE ROAD AGAIN...

Many of the crew traveled to Gatlinburg, TN for a long (MLK) holiday weekend of fun. When we found out the house we rented was accessible, we decided to take Darius with us. We all had a blast. Check out the pictures!

SHOUT OUTS:...

* Congrats to DMD moms in New Hampshire, Lori Safford and Linda Currier, who each organized screenings of Darius Goes West in their hometowns. With the help of their generous communities, together Linda and Lori raised $3,500 for Charley's Fund! The Safford and Currier families managed to talk a local theater into donating venue space at no charge and convinced printers to provide flyers and tickets free of charge. We hope others will follow their lead by orgniazing a screening where they live. You can screen the film in a theater for 200+ people, or show it in your house for 20 friends...either way helps make a diffeence!

* Kudos to Andover Phillips Academy (just outside of Boston), who hosted Logan at a screening and Q&A this past Sunday. DGW 13th crew member Geri Bidwell (an alum of the school where daughter Lucy, who helped organize this special evening, now attends) supplied tons of sushi for this event, then pledged $1,000 to Charley's Fund for any student or teacher in attendance who would take the "Goslabi Dare." This challenge entailed eating a teaspoon of wasabi...just like Big D did on the trip. Three brave souls stepped up, so Geri made a donation of $3,000! And when a fourth volunteer stepped up, another alum, Brot Bishop, threw an extra $1,000 into the pot. (Check out the pictures!). Woo-hoo!

BIG NEWS...

We just found out that Run DMC, a world-famous rap group, has agreed to do a benefit concert for Charley's Fund. October 2 is the date; NYC is the place. We hope you'll consider joining us for "Run DMD," an evening with Run DMC and Big D! Darius will even take the stage and do a little rapping himself! Thanks to DGW 13th crew member, Jen Portnoy for making this happen! We are pumped about this one!

KNOW ABOUT IT!

A VALENTINE FOR DARIUS

2008-02-14T16:37:00.000-08:00

February 14, 2008

Last, night, we had a special screening of DGW at the Georgia Museum of Art. We billed it "A Valentine for Darius." Despite the frigid temperatures outside--and competition from the Dave Brubeck quartet nextdoor at Hodgson Hall, some 70 people showed up. And what an enthusiastic and receptive crowd they were! Afterwards, D's mom, Jamie, joined Darius and a few other crew members (including DGW cameraman Dylan Wilson, who was in town) on stage for a great Q&A. This was the first event where we had DVDs for sale. This, combined with ticket and DGW t-shirt sales, enabled us to raise $1,300! Thanks to all the staff at GMOA for letting us use your beautiful facilitiy, and a special shout out to Jenny Collard Williams for being the perfect hostess, as well as to Martin Suiza, Amy Gellins, and Dory MacMillan for helping to sell tickets and DGW merchandise.

Unfortunately, Darius had to go to this event in his manual chair. Once again, both of his wheelchairs are acting up, and today, we took them back to the shop for repairs. The good news: his doctor has written him a prescription for a new chair, so in a month or so, he should have some more reliable wheels. Woo-hoo!

A handful of us (Sam, Logan, Jason, and Barbara) are off to San Francisco on Saturday. We have a screening at Pacific Union College in Napa Valley, a hospital visit (where we will deliver DGW DVDs to bedridden children), and a screening for teachers (and other invitees) at the Bridge Theater hosted by the wonderful folks at the San Francisco Film Festival. We return on Wednesday, then take Darius on Thursday to Atlanta to speak on the Capitol steps for Disability Day. Busy, busy, busy!

KNOW ABOUT IT!

DARIUS IS A UGA IDOL

2008-02-08T16:35:00.000-08:00

February 8, 2008

Last night, Darius was named the first ever honorary UGA Idol at a competition that presented 16 awesome (college student) singers competing against one another for the real title of UGA Idol. The event, a takeoff on American Idol, took place at Hodgson Hall on the University of Georgia's campus and drew a packed house of about 500 people. Af the end of the competition, while the judges were deliberating, the two-minute DGW trailer was shown, then Darius rolled out (to a standing ovation) and did some crowd-pleasing, freestyle rapping. He was in the zone! (Check out the pictures we've posted). After his performance, the president of Hillel (sponsors of the event) presented Darius with his honorary UGA Idol certificate.

This isn't the only honor thrown Darius' way this week. He's also been invited to speak on the steps of the Capitol on February 21 as part of the 10th Annual Disability Day. The theme this year is not only multicultural advocacy but also the importance of the disability community's participation in the voting process. Having just turned voting age himself, Darius will lead the crowd in the "My Vote Is For Real" chant at the end of the rally. The Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities has sponsored Disability Day for the past nine years, and last year this event boasted attendance of more than 1,800 people! While at the Capitol, we plan to hand-deliver copies of our film to many of our elected officials.

There's a nice review of DGW at Moving Pictures magazine. You can check it out by following this link:

http://www.movingpicturesmagazine.com/reviews/movies/dariusgoeswest

KNOW ABOUT IT!

LAST CHANCE TO VOTE FOR TRACY

2008-02-05T16:34:00.000-08:00

February 5, 2008

This Friday, February 8 is the last day to help Tracy Kramer Seckler (Charley's mom) win the Smart Cookie Award and $35,000 for Charley's Fund. Charley's Fund is the beneficiary of all proceeds from Darius Goes West. All money they raise goes directly to DMD research.

If you haven't voted, please go here to vote:

www.cookiemag.com/go/smartcookie

If you have already voted, please forward this e-mail to everyone you know. We won the Volvo for Life vote for Darius. Together we can help Charley's Fund win $35,000!

Know about it!

SUPER INTERVIEW FOLLOWING THE SUPER BOWL

2008-02-04T16:33:00.000-08:00

February 4, 2008

As reported yesterday, Fox Five News (Atlanta) reporter Julia Harding (with cameraman Jason) came to Athens yesterday to film Darius and the crew for a segment that aired last night AFTER THE SUPER BOWL AND ON THE SAME CHANNEL! It must have been watched by many, many people, because almost immediately, fan e-mails were pouring in. Woo-hoo!

Ben, Sam, Daniel, Collin, and Kevin met at Darius's house, where the segment was filmed in Darius and Jamie's new living room (see pictures we just posted! Only Ben, Sam, Daniel, and Darius were interviewed (due to time constraints), and only Daniel, Darius, and Ben (mistakenly identified as Sam...HA!) appeared on the segment.

Thank you, Julia, for giving Dodge a plug, for showing the Delta, Shirtworks, and ABC Printing logos by filming the DGW van, and for telling everyone that DVDs are for sale at our website.

Let's hope we see a spike in sales!

If you missed the segment or live outside of Atlanta, here's a link:

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/myfox/pages/ContentDetail?c..5668943

If you like what you see, please send an e-mail to the reporter at this e-mail address: julia.harding@foxtv.com

Know about it!

DGW ON FOX FIVE NEWS

2008-02-02T16:32:00.000-08:00

February 2, 2008

We got a call from reporter at Fox 5 News in Atlanta today. She heard about our movie and is coming to interview us tomorrow in Athens at D's house. The segment is scheduled to air tomorrow (Sunday) right after the Super Bowl!

Sorry for the late notice, but we hope if you live in Atlanta or Athens you'll watch...and we'd love it if you'd send the station an e-mail afterwards and tell them thanks for the coverage.

DGW is playing (pay per view) on Delta Airlines this month (and last month). We just got an e-mail from a new fan who watched it on a flight a couple of days ago. She said that she was crying so hard by the end of the movie that the flight attendants asked if there was anything they could do for her!

This week, Collin and Sam traveled to Cincinnati Country Day School for "Diversity Day." The entire Upper School there (about 200 students) watched DGW, then gave Sam and Collin a standing ovation. Sam and Collin hung out for the rest of the day, mingling with the students, before heading back to Athens. Both said this was one of their favorite screenings ever! Meanwhile, Darius, Daniel, Ben, and Barbara led a discussion of the film with students taking one of Jenny Manders' classes at UGA's Institute for Human Development and Disability. This group had watched the movie earlier in the week and asked great questions. They were a diverse group...all different majors.

Don't forget our special screening of DGW at the Georgia Museum of Art on February 13. "A Valentine for Darius" will start at 7:00 PM. Tickets (available at the door) are $15, and all proceeds go to Charley's Fund. Darius and the crew will be there for a Q&A.

Know about it!

"V" IS FOR VICTORY...AND FOR VOLVO!

2008-01-15T16:30:00.000-08:00

January 15, 2008

We LOVE our fans!

Thanks to all of you, ABC's Nightline coverage of DGW aired twice. Thanks to all of you, The Today Show featuring Darius and Logan had record ratings. Thanks to all of you, our segment on the Ellen DeGeneres Show was repeated. And now, thanks to all of you...drum roll, please...Darius has been named a finalist in the Volvo for Life contest! YOU voted for him--time and time again--and it paid off...not just for Darius, but for Charley's Fund, which is guaranteed $25,000 (for DMD research). Now, as finalists, we have a shot at $100,000!

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Our fans rock!

Special thanks to Julie Phillips at the Athens Banner-Herald for nominating Darius for this awesome honor.

Everything is in the judges' hands now, so all we can do is keep our fingers (and toes) crossed. Whatever the outcome, we are already winners, thanks to all of you!

KNOW ABOUT IT!!!

YOU VOTED FOR DARIUS...NOW VOTE FOR TRACY!

2008-01-13T16:24:00.000-08:00

January 13, 2007

Thanks to everyone who voted for Darius in the Volvo For Life contest. We hope we advance to the next round and should hear something within the next week or so (fingers crossed). Now we're asking you to cast one more vote--this time for Tracy Seckler, Charley's mom. She is a national finalist for an award given by Cookie Magazine.

The Smart Cookie Award recognizes, celebrates, and supports mothers who are making a significant difference in the world. In addition to some high-profile honorees (last year, Sharon Stone and Cynthia Nixon were chosen), the award also recognizes an "everyday extraordinary mom," who is elected by the visitors of Cookie's website, as the people's choice. Please visit this link and vote for Tracy Seckler now. You can only vote once. If Tracy wins the online vote, $35,000 goes to Charley's Fund for DMD research! So, VOTE, and please tell everyone you know to do the same. Here's where to go:

www.cookiemag.com/go/smartcookie

To learn more about Tracy and Charley's Fund, you can also visit www.charleysfund.org

Other news: We had an awesome housewarming party for Jamie and her family last Thursday night. It was a great turnout, and everyone brought food to stock the Weems' fridge and pantry (we'll post pictures soon). Kudos to Jenny Manders for organizing this wonderful evening of food, fun, and fellowship. And big thanks to Buffalo's for donating 100 wings. Yum! Jamie got some great gifts, and she and Darius want to thank everyone who attended the party and who helped build their house. They LOVE their new digs.

Know about it!

DGW ON MTV!

2008-01-09T16:23:00.000-08:00

January 9, 2008

The headline is for real! Only we're talking about MTV/Canada.

Tonight at 6:30 PM, Darius and Logan appeared on MTV Live, a show produced by MTV/Canada and based in Toronto. The three-minute segment was taped via webcam at Athens Academy (thanks, Jarrard!), and within seconds of airing, we were getting fan mail. Woo-hoo!

We were quite surprised when we got the call a few days ago. They said they had read about our film and seen Darius and Logan on The Today Show. They asked for a copy of the movie so they could show clips from it, and we thought for sure when they saw it, they would back out. But they didn't!

Canada loves DGW. In fact, another huge TV show out of Toronto, called "The Hour" (think "60 Minutes, only edgier) wants to interview Darius for their show. Since the movie is playing at the Sprockets International Children's Film Festival on April 17 in Toronto, we decided to take Darius to Canada, and he will be interviewed for "The Hour" while there. Darius Goes (Extreme) North! Thanks to new DGW fan Mona Sidler-Hosios for making this happen!

We're making news all over the place...

* Check out the awesome review on DVDTalk by film critic David Walker. He saw our film in Portland, OR at the Longbaugh Film Festival and has been a huge DGW fan ever since. To access it, go to www.dvdtalk.com and put "Darius Goes West" in the search box. Please leave a comment!

* We also love what Canadian blogger Dave Hingsburger had to say about DGW:

DGW
Last year when Lynne Seagle came to do a presentation here in the Toronto area, we had dinner together at a Irish Pub style restaurant. Lynne was full of stories about the most recent staff retreat that had been held for her organization called Hope House which serves people with intellectual disabilities in Virginia. She went on and on about a film that she had seen and told the story of how she came to get rights to show the film at the staff retreat. That was the first time I had heard of Darius Goes West. Lynne spoke of her staff watching the film and alternately laughing, crying and cheering.

When Lynne wrote me a few days ago asking for my home address because she had something she wanted to send me, I thought that she was probably going to send me the new sexuality policy that we'd worked on together or a draft of our plans to do a workshop day together. Both things I wanted, so when the package arrived, I tossed it aside for a few minutes because I was talking to my boss on the phone.

As soon as I was done, I ripped open the package to find a note from Lynne and a DVD copy of Darius Goes West. All I remembered about what Lynne had said about the movie was that it was about a group of young men who take another young man with Muscular Dystrophy on a road trip to California to see if they can get his wheelchair 'pimped' on the MTV programme Pimp My Ride. A wonderful concept. We had company staying with us and everyone gathered around the television.

We popped it in and pushed play. Within seconds my eyes began to fill and I had to look away. I wished I was seeing this on my own. Why didn't Lynne warn me about ... oh yeah ... she did. But no shame here, everyone was reacting the same way. The movie is full of laughs, real laughs ... but it's also full of moments of real, true, tenderness. It encourages the viewer to reevaluate what community means, what caring means ... they were documenting two road trips - the one made by the 15 year old man with Duchene's Muscular Dystrophy to California, but they were also documenting the journey that each was making in relation to the other. At first the young men travelling with Darius learned little lessons about the big issue of assessibility - but they began to learn big lessons about the little issue in life.

All the money from the sale of the DVD is going to raise money for research into MD, that's cool, but even if it wasn't - this isn't a DVD you buy to support a charity, this is a DVD you buy because for the time watching it, you are with Darius as he goes west. And for 90 minutes, there's no better place to be.

Note to Readers: I don't know how to buy this film, I looked it up on the web, but I'm not all that good at these kind of searches. It's not on Amazon ... so if you know or if you are a computer whizz that can find these ... could you post in the comments section about purchase information. This is a must see, must experience, movie.

Note to Lynne - Thanks.

KNOW ABOUT IT!

OUR "KNOW ABOUT IT" PROGRAM HAS LAUNCHED!

2008-01-08T16:22:00.000-08:00

January 8, 2008

At long last, the Darius Goes West "Know About It" program has launched. Huge thanks to Chris Spence, Harvard technical genius, who took the website to the finish line!

The "Know About It" program targets middle and high schools nationwide, so if you know any teachers or students who fit this critria, please send them to the website to sign up: www.dgwknowaboutit.com

For a $25 fee (to cover our costs), schools get a copy of "Darius Goes West," plus access to the "Know About It" website, which is filled with lesson plans (based on the movie) for teachers and lots of cool stuff for students. We want students who watch the film to roll up their sleeves and organize fundraiswers to help find/fund a cure for DMD.

Other news...

* We're having a "Stock the Pantry" housewarming party for Jamie on Thursday night at the Weems' new home. If you'd like to come, call Barbara at DGW Headquarters at (706) 613-7237.

* Save the date! Don't miss "A Valentine for Darius," a special screening of Darius Goes West on February 13 at 7:00 PM at the Georgia Museum of Art. This is a rare opportunity to see DGW on the big screen and help Charley's Fund at the same time. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at the door. Darius and many crew members will be at the screening for a Q&A.

We are long overdue in sending a big shout out to Dan Aguar at DIGIMA 24, a local film lab, for helping us get our DVD (and extras) finished in time for a pre-holiday release. Dan allowed us to practically move in to his lab so we could meet our deadline. Thanks so much, Dan!

Know about it!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2007-12-29T16:21:00.000-08:00

December 29, 2007

We wish all of our friends and supporters a happy and healthy new year, and we hope that 2008 brings us closer to a cure for Duchenne musular dystrophy!

This week, Darius and Logan were named "Newsmakers of the Year" (Arts category) in the Athens Banner-Herald. Check out this link to read the front-page story about them, and be sure to watch the video...it's hilarious!
http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/122707/news_20071227031.shtml

Darius and his mom are now happily settled in their awesome new home, and Darius has taken several showers! Thanks to the generosity of Richard Whiteman and Kevin Howe, Big Daddy also has a new monitor and computer!

BIG NEWS: The Ellen DeGeneres Show featuring DGW will air again on Wednesday, January 2! If you missed it the first time, be sure to catch it this time. If you watched it before, please consider watching it again. It is because of YOU that it's running again. Sources at the show tell us that ratings were sky-high, and that while viewership normally slips for the last segment of a show, in our case, it soared!

QUICK FAVOR: Please continue to vote for Darius on the Volvo for Life Contest. Voting ends on January 7, so we're in the homestretch. If Darius makes it to the next level, $25,000 goes to DMD research. You can vote as often as once a minute, you don't have to register, and there are no pop-up windows. Here's the link:

http://www.volvoforlifeawards.com/cgi-bin/iowa/english/vote/quality/index.html

Please vote often and tell everyone you know to do the same. With your help, we can win this!!!

KNOW ABOUT IT!

A NEW HOUSE FOR THE HOLIDAYS

2007-12-23T16:20:00.000-08:00

December 23, 2007

This will be quick because we're all still recuperating from the big move this weekend. On Friday and Saturday, we moved Big Daddy and his mom, Jamie, into their "new" house...just in time for the holidays! It was a long two days, but everything went smoothly, and the house is SO awesome. Check out the new pictures we've posted! Seeing Darius roll from room to room and seeing Jamie's face after her new living room furniture arrived and got all set up...that's what the holidays are all about!

Darius was a big hit at the Georgia Theater on Friday night at Madfest (see our pictures), although most of us didn't get to bed until 4:00 AM...and that was after moving furniture all day...in the rain!

Thanks to everyone who helped make this holiday so special for Darius and his family. This was truly a community effort!

Don't forget to keep voting for Darius in the Volvo for Life Contest. Voting ends January 7, and we really want to win that $25,000 for Charley's Fund! Here's the link:

http://www.volvoforlifeawards.com/cgi-bin/iowa/english/vote/quality/index.html

Finally, some quick news: our DGW store is fully opearational now. You can order DVDs, t-shirts, and Lamborghini orange wrist bands online at http://www.dariusgoesweststore.com or by calling toll-free 1-888-8DARIUS. Soon we'll have movie posters and other goodies. Remember, all proceeds from everything we sell go to DMD research, so spread the word!

Warmest wishes to all our supporters for a happy and healthy new year!

KNOW ABOUT IT!

IT'S A (W)RAP!

2007-12-20T16:18:00.000-08:00

December 20, 2007

Tis the season to be....busy, busy, busy! Just in time for Christmas, we have (almost) wrapped up the renovations for Darius and Jamie's "new home," and we will be moving them in tomorrow!!! (We've also posted a few new pictures...check out the awesome wheelchair-accessible bathroom!). Thanks to EVERYONE who has worked on the house, fed everyone who worked on the house, and donated funiture or gift cards for Jamie to help put the finishing touches on/in her new abode. She is so excited, and so are we!

A special shoutout goes to electrician extraordinaire John Hardy (and his wife, Rose) of Drive-Tech for all of their assistance. We couldn't have crossed the finish line without their hard work! Also to Wesley's Drywall. Wesley and wife, Bonnie, recruited family members to help them so that we wouldn't be charged for labor. And last but not least, a HUGE thanks to Aaron Edelheit and Caroline Farrell, long-time DGW supporters from Santa Barbara, who sent Jamie a sweet Wal-Mart gift card for Christmas...and to Faith & Ernest Hardaway and family for sending an extremely generous donation for D's house that helped us say, "It's a wrap!"

Other news...

* Tomorrow (Friday, December 21) night, Big D will rap at MadFest, an allstar concert being held at the Georgia Theater that features big names like Love Tractor and Randall Bramblett. Darius will perform at about midnight, but please come earlier. Tickets are $10; call the Georgia Theater for more information. Cameras will be rolling; don't miss it!

* DGW crew member John Harmon was recently in the news in Milledgeville, GA. Check out the article at this link:

http://info.gcsu.edu/tip/archives/2007/GCSUstudentgetsatasteofHo.html

* Congrats to Athenian Jessica Perno, who recently ran a 10K race in Washington, D.C. (where she now lives) where proceeds went to DMD research. Her team helped raise $100,000!!! She was inspired to enter this race after seeing our film. We've posted a picture she sent us that was taken just after the race. Go, Jessica!

* Darius and Logan have been named "Newsmakers of the Year" by the Athens Banner-Herald. Watch for a big story on December 27.

We hope you have an amazing holiday!

Know about it!

WE'VE BEEN ELFED!

2007-12-11T16:17:00.000-08:00

December 11, 2007

Looking for some holiday humor? Check out this link:

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9532294833

Our good friends, the McDonnell-Sandor family from Fleetwood, PA (Aidan appears in our film) sent us this link, starring Darius (looking mighty thin) and DGW crew members Sam Johnson, Ben Smalley, and Logan Smalley. Hilarious!

We've been busy doing last-minute renovations to Darius and his mom's "new" house and hope to move them in the weekend before Christmas. We've posted a few new pictures that show the awesome work being done by Dream House for Medically Fragile Children. They are widening doors and making the bathroom wheelchair accessible so that Darius can take a shower! Dixie Painting will come in behind them and finish painting the exterior of the addition, as well as the entire interior. Things are looking good!

DVD sales are brisk! If you haven't already ordered yours, go to our website (www.dariusgoeswest.com) and click on the "Order a DVD" button OR call toll-free: 1-888-8DARIUS. DVDs will begin shipping on Saturday, December 14 and will arrive in time for holiday giving if you order NOW. This is the ONLY place you can purchase DVDs for now; we have none in stock in Athens.

In fact, the only way we could get the DVD ready in time for the holidays was to get help from a fulfillment house like Co-Operations in Portland, Oregon. This company is taking care of all the packaging and shipping. It is owned by Fred and Pat Granum, who are related to Athenians Tom and Doris Granum. When DGW screened at the Longbaugh Film Festival in Portland last spring, Fred and Pat saw and loved the movie and took the crew out for an awesome dinner. They offered their company's services then and there, and now we've taken them up on their extremely generous offer.

If you missed Darius as Grand Marshal of the 2007 Athens Holiday Parade of Lights, check out this link:

http://athensclarkecounty.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=185

Finally, today we visited the Athens Volvo dealership to introduce ourselves and Darius to the managers there (see the picture we've posted). Please continue to vote for Darius in the Volvo For Life contest, which ends January 7. Here's the link:

http://www.volvoforlifeawards.com/cgi-bin/iowa/english/vote/quality/index.html

Vote often (up to once a minute) and tell your friends and family to do the same. If he makes it to the next round, Charley's Fund gets $25,000!

KNOW ABOUT IT!

FA-LA-LA-LA-LA!

2007-12-05T16:16:00.000-08:00

December 5, 2007

The Athens Christmas Parade was magical! (We've posted some pictures...check them out). Darius was the Grand Marshall and rode in the back of Todd Emily's shiny red pickup truck with a few DGW crew members. Daniel and other crew members followed behind in the DGW Dodge Sprinter van, which we had decorated with garlands and bows. We threw tons of candy (and ran out less than halfway through), along with about 20 DGW t-shirts, which the crowd loved.

Speaking of crowds, we never imagined it to be so HUGE. There must have been 10,000 people lining the streets of the Classic City. Everyone was yelling to Darius, "Way to go, man!" and "Hey, saw you on Ellen DeGeneres!" Darius wore a Santa hat and a blinking necklace. He was all smiles from start to finish. Thanks, Athens, for this wonderful opportunity (and to Project START camp director, Leslie Trier for suggesting Darius as Grand Marshall).

The night was memorable and magical for D's mom, Jamie, as well. Thanks to the efforts of our dear friends at Shirtworks (Kathy and Jackie), she and her family got to ride to the parade in style. Did someone say STRETCH LIMO? Yep! Big-time DGW supporter Anita Will, along with Calvin Smith, owner of A Touch of Elegance Limousine Service made all that happen...and champagne was flowing!!! David Hayward escorted all these lovely ladies.

In other news, many crew members spent the weekend in Los Angeles, where we had a private screening/Charley's Fund benefit at CAA on Friday night, followed by a kick-off DGW "Know About It" school screening on Saturday at the New Beverly Cinema for Jordan High School students. Both events rocked, and we raised quite a bit of money Friday night (no final tallies yet). Logan flew on the red eye Saturday night to make it to Lenox, Massachusetts for another school screening, where 500 students turned out. Woo-hoo!

D's house is progressing nicely, thanks to an amazing gift from Dream House for Medically Fragile Children (dreamhouseforkids.org). They have agreed to take care of making the house accessible, which includes widening all doorways and renovating the bathroom (to include a roll-in shower). We are so grateful for this incredibly generous gift! Tim Johnson made this awesome connection for us. If you have a second, please send an e-mail to Linnea Roe at Dream House to say thanks on our behalf. Here's her e-mail: Linnea.Roe@dreamhouseforkids.org

Don't forget that DVDs of Darius Goes West are on sale now at our website (www.dariusgoeswest.com). With $16 of every DVD purchase going directly to DMD research, this is a gift you can feel good about giving.

Also, don't forget to keep voting for Darius in the "Volvo for Life" contest. You can vote once a minute, and it's so easy. Just go to this link:

http://www.volvoforlifeawards.com/cgi-bin/iowa/english/vote/quality/index.html

Tell your friends and family to do the same. If he makes it to the next level (voting closes January 7), Charley's Fund gets $25,000!!!

Know about it!

TIME TO PRE-ORDER DGW DVDS!

2007-11-25T16:15:00.000-08:00

November 25, 2007

JUST IN TIME FOR THE HOLIDAYS...DVDs of Darius Goes West: The Roll of His Life can be pre-ordered NOW. Just go to our website (www.dariusgoeswest.com) and click on the DVD order button. DVDs are selling for $19.99, and every penny of profit goes to DMD research. Please consider purchasing several for friends and family this holiday season, and thank you for your support! DVDs will be shipping in early- to mid-December.

We have a busy week ahead...

* Don't forget to watch ELLEN DEGENERES on Monday (November 26). Darius and Logan will be on the show (it was taped a couple of weeks ago; we've posted a few pictures), and Ben, Jason, and John Harmon will be in the audience. We're pretty sure DGW is the last segment. Watch for a wonderful surprise at the end. (Check local listings for when ELLEN airs in your area).

* If you live in or near Athens, don't miss the Christmas Parade downtown on Thursday, November 29, at 7:00 PM. Darius will be the Grand Marshall (a huge honor we are so thrilled about) and will ride in the back of a convertible! DGW crew members will follow behind in the DGW van (loaned to us by Dodge).

* On Friday, many of us leave for Los Angeles. That night, we have a private screening/Charley's Fund benefit at Creative Artists Agency in Beverly Hills. Saturday morning, we kick off the Darius Goes West "Know About It" program (that's our educational program) with a screening for 300--plus high school students from the Watts District. Late Saturday, Logan will take the red eye back east for a second "Know About It" kickoff in Lenox, Massachusetts. If you know any middle or high school students or teachers interested in participating in the "Know About It" program, please tell them to e-mail us at knowaboutit@gmail.com.

* Darius's new house is coming along great. Habitat for Humanity built an awesome ramp for it, Dixie Painting will be coming in to finish painting the exterior and paint the entire interior. A foundation called Dream House for Medically Fragile Children will be widening doors and making the bathroom accessible, and thanks to your donations, Jamie (D's mom) will be going furniture shopping! We plan to move Darius and his family in by Christmas and have a housewarming party soon afer that. If you'd like to come to the party, please send an e-mail to dariusgoeswest@gmail.com.

Warmest wishes from our "family" to yours for a happy, healthy, and peaceful holiday season.

Know about it!

NO OSCAR FOR DGW ):

2007-11-20T16:13:00.000-08:00

November 20, 2007

Well, the Oscar short list came out, and DGW wasn't on it. Bummer! Here's the list:

"Autism: The Musical"
"Body of War"
"For the Bible Tells Me So"
"Lake of Fire"
"Nanking"
"No End in Sight"
"Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience"
"Please Vote for Me"
"The Price of Sugar"
"A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman"
"The Rape of Europa"
"Sicko"
"Taxi to the Dark Side"
"War/Dance"
"White Light/Black Rain"

We're not too upset about this, but we are proud to have won (many) more film festival awards than all of these films combined! We figure we are the "People's Choice!"

Here's some good news: The Athens Moose Lodge is raffling off a Collegiate scooter (the mini motorcycles UGA athletes, etc. tool around in on campus) and have decided to donate the proceeds to DGW! You can buy a ticket ($5 each) from any Moose Lodge member OR by calling the Lodge at (706) 310-0190 or Charles Vaughn at (706) 208-0033. Hurry, though, as the winner will be drawn in early December. Thank you for thinking of us!

DON'T FORGET TO WATCH ELLEN DEGENERES on Monday, November 26. Logan and Darius will be on, and you'll also see Ben, Jason, and John Harmon in the audience. Wait till you see the surprise at the end! We've posted a few pictures from the ELLEN show taping. Enjoy!

Have a wonderful turkey day. We at DGW are so thankful for all you've done for us!

Know about it!

25th AWARD AND SO MUCH MORE!

2007-11-12T16:12:00.000-08:00

November 12, 2007

Collin and Daniel called from the Lone Star Film Festival in Fort Worth, Texas yesterday afternoon with some very good news: we won Best Documentary! That brings our film festival award tally to an amazing 25!!! The guys said the crowd was awesome there, and we've received several e-mails from new DGW fans in Texas.

At the St. Louis International Film Festival, the crowd was equally awesome and HUGE: over 200 people! Sam and Jason represented DGW there and were a bit nervous about hosting a Q&A, especially when the (mostly) hometown crowd saw the scene where Darius and the crew visited the Arch, which turned out to be inaccessible. Turns out, the audience pretty much apologized to the DGW crew, and we've received many e-mails from people saying they intend to start a letter-writing campaign to urge the Arch to make some renovations. How cool is that?

If you followed our trip online, you'll know that when Darius and the crew stopped in St. Louis, they were treated royally, thanks to big time DGW supporter Dave Andersen. Big D stayed in the Presidential Suite at the Drury Plaza Hotel, the local MDA organization arranged for all to meet some local firemen...and D was made honorary fire chief for the day. There were also great meals, and many warm, wonderful and welcoming folks. Unfortunately, a lot of that day's events wound up on the cutting room floor (not by choice), but they will eventually be seen in Part One of DVD extras (hopefully to be released this summer).

MORE GOOD NEWS...

Darius and Logan are in Los Angeles today to tape the Ellen DeGeneres Show! The segment won't air until November 26, so that gives you plenty of time to get ready for it. The producers at Ellen saw D and Logan on The Today Show and called right away. Ben, John Harmon, and Jason Hees also made the trip, and they will be in the studio audience. Sweet!

Darius has been tapped to be the Grand Marshall of Athens holiday parade! He is thrilled with this huge honor and is looking forward to sitting in the back of a convertible on November 29. The crew plans to follow behind in the DGW van so graciously loaned to us by Dodge.

Darius Goes West was shown in Upstate New York earlier this week at a private screening/benefit hosted by the Portnoy family, who have an adorable son/nephew/grandson named Javier who was recently diagnosed with DMD. The event, entitled Hope for Javier, raised an astonishing $158,000, with checks still rolling in. When we hear news like this--of the power our film has in raising money for DMD research--we are thrilled beyond belief.

We've said it many times before, and we'll say it again and again. Making this film has never been about winning awards (although we love them), becoming celebrities (no thanks), or about advancing anyone's careers. It's about helping to find--and fund--a cure for this horrible disease. And we're so proud to report that, to date, DGW has raised a little over $600,000 for Charley's Fund and DMD research.

KNOW ABOUT IT!

VOTE FOR DARIUS!

2007-11-11T16:09:00.000-08:00

November 11, 2007

We have some awesome news! Julie Phillips, a reporter with the Athens Banner-Herald, recently nominated Darius for a "Volvo For Life" Award, and we just got word that he is a semi-finalist! Darius and the crew are elated, and as always, we're depending on the ferocious support of our Darius Goes West fans to take us to the next level. This stage of the contest is decided by an ONLINE VOTE, and if Darius gets there, $25,000 will be donated to our film's beneficiary, Charleys Fund (www.charleysfund.org) for DMD research!

Please help us by casting your votes for Darius. It's so easy to do...no registration required, no ads to watch, and almost no limits on voting. Here's what to do:

1.Click on the following link
http://www.volvoforlifeawards.com/cgi-bin/iowa/english/vote/quality/index.html

2. Check the box next to Darius Weems (Though in good company, he's the good looking one in the bottom right:))

3. Click Vote!

That's it; you're done!

Rule on Votes: You can vote as many times as you want as long as youdon't so more than once a minute. The vote closes on January 7th.

Tips:
- Consider making the link your homepage as a daily reminder.
- At work or home, you can open the page in a new browser window. Position it so you can see it, and cast votes at your convenience.
- Bookmark it so you don't have to remember the link (It can also be accessed through our website DariusGoesWest.com.

SPREAD THE WORD! To increase our chances of winning, please consider forwarding this email around to friends, family, and co-workers. If they're not familiar with Darius or our project, you may want to include this link to our Youtube trailer:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=DFt3_s1WnS4 and/or this link from our recent appearance on The Today Show:
http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-US&brand=msnbc&vid=6f37463a-65ae-4274-b866-0e41532565b8

You all know that it is Darius who makes our story great, but what you may not realize is that because you are spread out across cities, states, and the world, your solidarity and relentless support is what makes our story a success. We really appreciate your continued support.

Know about it!

IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME

2007-11-10T16:08:00.000-08:00

November 10, 2007

Our supporters and fans are AMAZING! Last weekend was homecoming at the University of Georgia, but the DGW crew organized a homecoming of a different sort...a homecoming for Darius and his mom, Jamie. We invited the community to come out and help up spruce up the Weems' new digs plus add a new bedroom for Jamie.

Volunteers turned out in droves! They brought food and drinks...they carried bricks...they hammered and sawed...they sent donations and gift cards. Thanks to their efforts, we made incredible progress. Check the photos we've just posted, and we guarantee you'll be impressed! Needless to say, Jamie and Darius are ecstatic about their new home.

This list is by no means complete, but special thanks to these people and organizations for their support: Shirtworks, Habitat for Humanity, Maverick Materials, Athens-Clarke County firemen, Dawn Fowler, Debbie Bell, Tricia Massey, Jim Hamilton, Pat McMackin, the Higginbothams (Lyle and parents), Tim Blackwell, Jeremy Fields, Justin Bell, Melanie Graham, Erin and her mom, Ellen, Kathy Smith, Sherrie Weber, Madeline Van Dyck, Leslie and Dan Trier, Erika Douglas and family, and many, many others (our list is at the Weems' house as this is written; we promise to add more names later).

Thanks to Daniel's tireless efforts, the addition is close to being completed, and it looks awesome. There is still work to be done, so if you can help (anytime), give Daniel a call at (706) 540-6577 and leave a message if necessary.

DGW is on the road again this weekend. Collin and Daniel are in Fort Worth, Texas for the Lone Star Film Festival, and Sam and Jason are representing DGW at the St. Louis International Film Festival. Our fingers (and toes) are crossed that one of them brings home our 25th film festival award!

Know about it!

TODAY ON TODAY!

2007-11-01T16:07:00.000-07:00

November 1, 2007

Hope you watched The Today Show this morning. Darius was awesome (as was Logan) and made Athens, Georgia proud! Even Sam and Collin got to get in the picture as the show signed off. Woo-hoo! Great job, producer Mary Elizabeth Laurence!

Special thanks to Chris Spence and John White, Logan's friends from the Harvard TIE program who made the trip from Boston to support DGW on Today and who waved their sign "Harvard Loves Darius Goes West" outside the studio and made it on camera!! The night before, these guys hung out with the DGW crew and had a blast. Now Harvard definitely "knows about it!"

If you watched the show, PLEASE send an e-mail to say how much you liked it. This could lead to more national media appearances! Write to: today@nbc.com

And if you missed it, here's where to go to watch the segment:
http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-US&brand=msnbc&vid=6f37463a-65ae-4274-b866-0e41532565b8

Hope you caught Logan's big announcement on national telvision today: DVDs of Darius Goes West will be available in early December. To get on our list so we can notify you when and how to preorder them, send an e-mail to knowaboutit@gmail.com We expect DVDs to ship by December 1st (just in time for the holidays!) and to sell for about $19.95. Remember, ALL proceeds go to Charley's Fund (www.charleysfund.org) for DMD research.

Logan has returned to Boston, but Sam, Collin, and Darius are still in New York until tomorrow and having a blast. Since their Today Show appearance, they have been recognized on the streets of the Big Apple everywhere they go! One fan who's seen the movie several times even treated the guys to a super-nice dinner tonight. Thanks, Suzanne!

Darius has been rapping again in Times Square. In fact, when he showed up there Wednesday night, many of the same rappers he met in the spring during the Tribeca Film Festival recognized him, and he was getting high fives and "Whazzups?" all over the place.

Today was a red letter day for another reason: Darius's mom, Jamie, closed on the Weems' new home!!! This weekend, we'll be building the addition to the house. If you're in Athens, come by and help us, feed us, or drop off a donation or gift card. Daniel Epting has worked tirelessly to make this happen, and we can't thank him enough! Many, many others have pitched in, and we will acknowledge them in a future blog.

Know about it!

DARIUS GETS A HOME

2007-10-21T16:05:00.000-07:00

October 21, 2007

First, an update on Darius's mom: Jamie is on the mend and should be heading home from the hospital tomorrow. She is trying to get some help in taking care of Darius for a couple of weeks so she won't have to strain herself too much. The crew will be there as much as possible, but since most of them are in college, it's difficult.

Saturday night, several of us took Darius to Atlanta (in his manual wheelchair) to Dave & Buster's (a giant arcade). He won a huge teddy bear for his mom. Tomorrow he gets his electric wheelchair back. Woo-hoo.

NOW...WE HAVE SOME VERY EXCITING NEWS TO REPORT! Thanks to an incredibly generous donation from an incredibly enthusiastic Darius Goes West fan, the Weems family is moving into a home of their own!

This amazing turn of events began with an offer to make the bathroom/shower in Darius's home wheelchair accessible. Since the Weems rent their house, however, we felt that this didn't make sense financially. Then, while working with the Athens Land Trust on a separate project, Daniel Epting (the driver in our film) found an entire house that would cost just a little more than bathroom renovations! So, Jamie is about to make the leap from paying astronomical rent to paying an affordable mortgage!

For years, Darius has only been able to access two rooms in his house: the living room and his bedroom. No more! D's new digs will have doors wide enough to wheel everywhere—including the kitchen—and will boast an accessible shower as well! This house is also perfectly located—just a short wheelchair ride from restaurants, parks, and Darius's high school, so he can now go to sporting events on his own.
But the house is also small, and although the rooms are large, it has just one bedroom. Not to worry! Thanks to another incredibly generous donation from long-time DGW supporters Margo and Jeff Barbakow, we will be adding a second bedroom…and WE COULD USE YOUR HELP!

Already, Athens architect Jennifer Bloomer has generously donated consultation and design services for this addition. And Bogart-based Maverick Materials, a subsidiary of GMS, has agreed to donate a huge chunk of the building materials and supplies we'll need to get the job done. Our goal is to have the Weems family in their new home by Thanksgiving, so we've scheduled an old-fashioned "addition raising" for the weekend of November 2 - 4.

How can YOU help with "Darius Goes Home?" Here's a wish list of what we could use…

MANPOWER
If you live in or near Athens (or feel like visiting for the weekend), we need:
• Carpenters and carpenter helpers
• Masons
• Exterior painters
• Roofers
• Electricians
• Plumbers
• Sheetrock hangers
• Window installers
• Interior painters
• Siding installers
• Carpet installers
• Door hangers
• Interior Decorator (just one to coordinate fixing up the inside)
• Errand runners

SUPPLIES/MATERIALS WE COULD USE
Let us know if you or someone you know could donate any of the following:
• Interior/exterior paint
• Portable dumpster (while construction is going on)
• Recessed lighting
• Carpet (just for additional room)
• Windows
• Doors (six pre-hung, 36" or wider)
• Exterior siding (for addition)
• Dishwasher
• Blinds, curtains

FOOD
Our volunteer workers will need to be fed all weekend. If you'd like to drop off food and beverages the weekend of November 2-4, we'd be forever grateful!

FURNITURE
In their tight existing quarters, Darius's oversized wheelchair often bangs into the Weems family's furniture and has left most of it severely damaged. They would definitely appreciate these items—either new or gently used:
• Waterproof wheelchair for D's new shower
• Sofa and love seat
• Dresser (for Darius)
• Lawn furniture
• Oversized recliner
• Entertainment center
• King size bed
• Area rugs

GIFT CARDS
If you live out of town, out of state—or even if you live nearby but have prior commitments for the weekend of November 2-4--there's still a way to help with this project. Gift cards to Wal-Mart or Target would make perfect housewarming gifts and would help us add the finishing touches to the Weems' new home. If interested, you can mail these to: Darius Goes West/135 Pine Tops Court/Athens, GA 30606.

QUESTIONS? HERE'S WHO TO CONTACT
If you can help with the addition, please contact Daniel Epting at (706) 540-6577 and LEAVE A MESSAGE. Since he's often busy doing construction or catering, he sometimes can't answer his phone, but he WILL get back to you. If you can help with food or have non-construction-related questions, contact Barbara Smalley at DGW headquarters by calling (706) 613-7237 or sending an e-mail to: knowaboutit@gmail.com

Thank you SO much for your continuing support of a project we're all so passionate about. And thanks for anything you can do to help with "Darius Goes Home." We LOVE our fans!

KNOW ABOUT IT!

GET WELL SOON!

2007-10-17T16:04:00.000-07:00

October 17, 2007

Yesterday, we had quite a scare...actually, two scares! Late in the afternoon, we got a call from Darius's older sister, Maroneesha, saying that D's mom, Jamie, was at the emergency room with suspected pneumonia. After running several tests, they discovered that she had congestive heart failure, and she was admitted! Maroneesha says she had to drag Jamie to the hospital in the first place because she was worried about who would take care of Darius. Good thing she listened to her daughter! Doctors say had she waited much longer, she probably would have had a major heart attack and be facing triple bypass surgery! For now, she is resting comfortably, getting the medication she needs intravenously, and is expected to be home (hopefully) by Sunday. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. And if you'd like to send her a get well card, mail it to: Jamie Robinson/235 Peach Street/Athens, GA 30606.

While Jamie was in the E.R., Darius was on his way home from school when the bus took a sharp turn. Darius fell out of his chair and ended up in the emergency room as well...in a room right across from his mom! Fortunately, he only suffered a twisted ankle and was released within a couple of hours. Today, he returned to school.

And if you can believe this: Maroneesha is scheduled to have foot surgery on Friday and will be on crutches for at least 8 weeks!

Jamie needn't worry about someone taking care of Darius. Since many DGW crew members live in Athens, they didn't hesitate to step up. Sam picked Darius up from the E.R., took him home to grab some clothes, and (temporarily) moved him into the rental house he shares with his brother, Amble, and DGW 13th crew member, Chris Williams. And this morning, Ben and Collin set their alarms early to get to Sam's and make sure Darius was bathed, fed, and taken to school before heading to their own classes at UGA.

To complicate matters, D's electric wheelchair broke this afternoon (it prefers going in circles), and it was just repaired a week or so ago in Atlanta. What's more, his pimped chair has been in the shop for weeks, but we haven't been able to get it out because the bill is $2,600, it's not covered by Medicaid, and DGW is pretty much broke.

Tim Johnson recently sent out a plea for donations to help us get through our final three film festivals and to cover unexpected expenses, and so many of our fans have generously responded. THANK YOU so much! Hopefully, we will raise enough to get his "spare" chair out of the shop soon! Meanwhile, Daniel spent over an hour tonight checking out the chair D is using now. He was hoping he could tweak it and make it go "straight." No such luck.

Speaking of film festivals, Sam, Collin, Jason, TBarn, and Darius had planned to drive to Indianapolis this weekend for the Heartland Truly Moving Pictures Film Festival. However, given that Jamie is in the hospital and Darius's wheels are not "spinning" at the moment, they have decided to cancel this trip.

We all feel certain that next week will be better!

Know about it!

WOO-HOO IN OJAI!

2007-10-07T16:03:00.000-07:00

October 7 2007

Darius Goes West screened at the Ojai Film Festival in Ojai, California this weekend. We were a last minute addition to the schedule when we were INVITED to submit. We love invitations like that!

Needless to say, Ojai was too far for any of the crew to travel for a weekend, but DGW Producer Greg Schenz and DGW Executive Producer Jeff Schefel made the drive from Los Angeles to represent and to handle the Q&A. They said the audience, while smaller than we like, was incredibly supportive and enthusiastic. And they must have loved the movie, because guess what? We just got word that we won the Audience Choice Award!

That makes 24 awards at 29 festivals!

Know about it!

P.S. We've posted new pictures from the Sidewalk Festival in Birmingham that the festival folks took and sent to us. Check out Darius getting smooched by all the women!

WE HAD A BLAST IN 'BAMA!

2007-10-01T15:58:00.000-07:00

October 1, 2007

We have just returned from Birmingham, Alabama, where we had an amazing weekend (we've already posted some pictures) at the Sidewalk Film Festival. The weather was picture-perfect, and the festival provided us with two rooms at an awesome historic hotel downtown called the Redmont, where the people were so friendly, and the staff loved Darius. From the Redmont, Darius could roll (and we could walk) to every venue. We saw lots of films, went to some great parties, and ate some great food.

Daniel Epting's mom, Bobbie, provided "overflow" lodging at her home in Birmingham, and we thank her so much for the hospitality!

Fifteen of us made up D's entourage. DGW crew members included: Ben, John Harmon, TBarn, Kevin, Jason, Daniel, Collin, and Kevin. Barbara Smalley and co-editor Allison Firor also joined the fun as did longtime friends and supporters Matt Phillips, Martin Suiza, Chris Williams, Ashley Epting, and Melanie Graham.

Our screening was Saturday at the Civil Rights Institute theater (how appropriate is that for a venue for our film?). The crowd was standing room only (they had to turn people away!) and so enthusiastic. They laughed at EVERYTHING--even Daniel's line about the "man purse" and Collin talking about his "skin condition". When Darius and the crew came into the theatre for a Q&A, they got a thunderous standing ovation. Darius nailed every question he was asked and cracked a lot of jokes. And when Daniel let it slip that D had turned 18 on Thursday, the entire audience sang happy birthday to him!

While in Birmingham, we met so many other great film folks and want to give a special shout out to our new friends associated with the short, "Heartburn", and the feature film, "Blood Car."

This morning, we found out that DGW was one of four movies chosen for an encore performance! Unfortunately, most of us had to get back to Athens for school or work on Monday, but Daniel volunteered to stay behind and represent us at our second showing and attend the awards ceremony.

He just called and said that the 6:30 encore performance was very well attended, and that the audience was awesome. Not only that, but we won TWO awards: Best Documentary (juried) and Audience Choice Award! We were pleasantly surprised at this news, since the competition there was quite stiff, including two docs that Kim Voyner recently mentioned as likely Oscar contenders in her "What's Up With Docs?" article in Cinematical.

That makes 23 laurel leaves!

Know about it!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DARIUS!

2007-09-27T15:57:00.000-07:00

September 27, 2007

Darius is 18 today! The crew is taking him (and his family) to dinner tonight to celebrate--at Outback Steakhouse (his choice). Today, at Clarke Central High School, he was summoned to the teacher's lounge, where he was surprised with cake and ice cream. Sweet! Someone took pictures, so when we get them, we'll post them.

Other birthdays celebrated this week: DGW assistant editor, Jarrard Cole (on Wednesday) and Shirtworks twin sisters Kathy and Jackie (on Friday). All three are DGW 13th crew members, and we wouldn't be where we are today without their dedication and support.

Tomorrow, 12 of us (7 crew members, Darius, and five friends) head to Birmingham, Alabama for the Sidewalk Film Festival. Cross your fingers for us...we'd love a 21st laurel leave!

D's mom, Jamie, signed papers for her new house this week. We'll be in touch with everyone soon regarding putting on an addition.

Our "run for the Oscars" continues, and in that regard, check THIS awesome article out, written by Kim Voyner at Cinematical.com.

http://www.cinematical.com/2007/09/26/film-clips-whats-up-docs/

KNOW ABOUT IT!

A TRIPLE PLAY OF AWESOME NEWS

2007-09-16T15:56:00.000-07:00

September 16, 2007

When it rains, it pours! We have three announcements to make, and all are equally exciting...

* DELTA SPOTLIGHTS DARIUS! Delta Airlines has created a giant poster, entitled "Your Words, Our Image," that will go in every Delta employee break room. Its powerful message reads: "You are in a unique position to shape the public image of people with disabilities. Your words can create a sensitive, negative image or a straightforward, positive view of people with disabilities." The poster then lists 21 "Do say" and "Don't say" tips. And guess who's picture is on the poster? Sitting front and center, and surrounded by a handful of Delta employees, including our favorite, David Martin, is DARIUS WEEMS...in his pimped out chair! We are so proud to be a part of this. Thanks, Delta!

* DARIUS IS A HERO! Darius has just been named a recipient of the prestigious Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes! Each year, the Barron Prize honors ten outstanding young people nationwide. The winners, ages 8 to 18, are selected for "demonstrating leadership, courage and unselfishness to make the world a better place." You can check out the Barron Prize at www.barronprize.org. Thank you so much to Jenny Manders, who nominated D for this prize last spring, and to Mark Johnson and Martin Bashir, who sent letters of recommendation.

* DARIS GOES HOME! Hope you're sitting down for this one, cause it's BIG! An anonymous donor has given the Darius Goes West project a donation of $30,000 so that we could purchase Darius's family a house! Originally, this donor wanted to pay to have an accessible shower put in for Darius, but we told her that since his mom was renting, this wasn't economically feasible. Meanwhile, Daniel Epting stumbled upon a great house for Jamie, Darius, and Maraneesha (D's sister) while doing some work with the Athens Land Trust, so the donor gave us a sizable downpayment that has enabled the Weems family to be homeowners! Before moving in, Daniel and other local professionals will spend a weekend widening doors and making the bathroom totally wheelchair accessible.

This house is small (just one bedroom), so we have plans to add a second bedroom ASAP. Long-time DGW supporter Margo Barbakow (Santa Barbara) has sent a nice donation to help cover this, and another anonymous donor has provided most of the rest of what we should need to reach this goal. Of course, to keep these expenses to a minimum, we will need some of our "fans" to roll up their sleeves and help us get this addition built. If you have skills you think we can use, if you know someone in the building supply business willing to donate supplies we need, or you want to send a donation to this cause, please send an e-mail to knowaboutit@gmail.com.

Here's to good news, something we never get tired of ...and are ALWAYS grateful for!

Know about it!

DGW AT A THEATER NEAR YOU?

2007-09-10T15:53:00.000-07:00

September 10, 2007

As part of the Oscar nomination qualification process (we know it's a huge long shot, but we're going for it anyway), Darius Goes West must show in 14 cities for three consecutive days, twice a day, before November 15. We have hired a firm to handle this for us (so we were not able to choose the cities), and here's the schedule:

NORTH HAMPTON, MASSACHUSETTS
September 28 – 30
Pleasant Street Theatre
Check local newspaper listings to verify dates and get show times.

WATERVILLE, MAINE
October 2 – 4
Railroad Square Cinema
Visit www.railroadsquarecinema.com to verify dates, get show times, and for more information.

ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA
October 8 – 10
Fine Arts Theatre
Visit www.fineartstheatre.com/ to verify dates, get show times, and for more information.
.
LEWISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA
October 9 – 11
Campus Lewisburg
Visit www.campustheatre.org/ to verify dates, get show times, and for more information.

LITCHFIELD, CONNECTICUT
October 10 – 12
Bantam Cinema
Visit www.bantamcinema.com/ to verify dates, get show times, and for more information.

SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI
October 23 – 25
Moxie Cinema
3:00 PM and 5:00 PM
Visit www.moxiecinema.com to verify dates, show times, and for more information.

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA
October 23 – 25
Riverview Theater
Visit www.riverviewtheater.com to verify dates, get show times, and for more information.

SOUTH BURLINGTON, VERMONT
October 29 – 31
Palace Burlington
Check local newspaper listings to verify dates and get show times.

GETTYSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA
October 30 – November 1
Majestic Gettysburg
Visit www.gettysburgmajestic.org/home/index.dot to verify dates, get show times, and for more information.
.
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA
October 30 – November 1
Carolina Durham
1:00 PM and 3:30 PM
Visit http://www.carolinatheatre.org/ to verify dates, show times, and for more information.
.
FORT COLLINS, COLORADO
October 31 – November 2
Lyric Cinema
3:00 PM and 5:00 PM
Visit www.lyriccinemacafe.com to verify dates, show times, and for more information.

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
November 2 – 4
Key Cinemas Indianapolis
Visit http://www.keycinemas.com/ to verify dates, get show times, and for more information.

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA
November 5 – 7
Nickelodeon Theatre
Noon and 1:30 PM
Visit http://www.nickelodeon.org/ to verify dates, show times, and for more information.

COLUMBIA, MISSOURI
November 6 – 8
Rag Tag Cinema
2:00 PM and 3:30 PM
Visit http://www.ragtagfilm.com/ to verify dates, show times, and for more information

If you live in or near these cities, please go see the movie, and take lots of friends and family with you! If you have relatives and friends who live in these cities, tell them to go see the movie. PLEASE HELP US SPREAD THE WORD!

Other news…

Logan left for Harvard last Friday and is very happy there. Orientation is today; classes start a week from today. Darius and the crew wish him well!

It has come to our attention that when you google "Darius Goes West," there's a nasty and vulgar description of our site that pops up first on the list…AND that links to our legitimate website. We are in the process of trying to contact Google to see what can be done to remove this. Needless to say, we are very upset about this and hope to track down the hacker who did it.

Know about it!

A GRAND FINALE IN HOLLYWOOD

2007-08-31T15:52:00.000-07:00

August 31, 2007

Well, we're leaving Hollywood with a big bang! Last night, for our final screening in Beverly Hills, the house was packed! Tom Shadyac, who in addition to directing and producing, teaches film classes, and he brought all of his students (about 30). Cathy and Scott Jones (adorable Cooper's parents) were also in the house. This crowd was SO enthusiastic...laughed really loud, cried just as loud. PLUS we got a standing ovation that lasted almost five minutes!!! Sweet!

After the film showed, Shadyac decided to purchase 15 MORE DGW "I am the 13th crew member" t-shirts. We can't thank him enough for all of his support.

On Wednesday night, the theater was filled with students from South Central High School in Los Angeles. They also loved the movie and were pumped to hear about our new DGW "Learn About It" program (to launch in late September/early October).

This amazing showing last night, coupled with the incredible L.A. Times article that appeared on Wednesday, are giving us the feeling that things are about to pop. As Julia Eisenman (DGW producer and our agent's liaison) says, "Things are cooking...with grease."

KNOW ABOUT IT!!!

DGW IN THE L.A. TIMES

2007-08-29T15:49:00.000-07:00

August 29, 2007

We have arrived! Check out this amazing Los Angeles Times article about Darius Goes West. You can't BUY publicity like this! Woo-hoo! Thank you, Karen Day, for an incredible job!

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-darius29aug29,1,714178.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

Filmmakers of "Darius Goes West" set a goal of pimping his wheelchair, but
accomplish so much more.

By Karen Day, Special to The Times

August 29, 2007

TOWARD the end of "Darius Goes West," the young man who is the subject of
the documentary states matter-of-factly, "People want to be me." Unless you
are Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt or blind drunk, few of us could make this
claim, but Darius is proved right by the cheering crowds waving at the
wheelchair-bound teenager in this unexpected documentary.

Equal parts "Animal House," and "Stand by Me," this buddy flick tells the
story of 12 college-age students who contrive with great expectations and
minuscule budget to take their friend from Georgia to Los Angeles to get
his wheelchair customized on MTV's "Pimp My Ride." It's a comical and
poignant tale.

In the movie, playing at Laemmle Music Hall Theatre in Beverly Hills at 8
and 10 p.m. through Thursday as part of an Oscar bid, Darius rolls across
the screen like a sonic boom with a smile, shattering the stereotype of
disabled kids and embodying a genuine American idol with Duchenne muscular
dystrophy, a disease with a 100% mortality rate. To date the movie has won
20 "audience choice" awards at 25 film festivals.

The film is a classic hero's tale stuffed into an RV with a dozen guys and
their dirty socks. Granted, the Golden Fleece in this movie has been
updated and equipped with "spinners" on the wheels and PlayStation 2, but
Ulysses and Luke Skywalker have nothing on 15-year-old Darius Weems. Along
with his older brother, Mario, Darius was born with the most common and
severe form of muscular dystrophy. Duchenne is the No. 1 genetic killer of
children, with all eventually losing control of their muscles and most
dying in their late teens and early 20s. Indeed, Mario, who died at 19, is
eulogized best by the indomitable spirit of his younger brother in this
film.

"The strong one died," Darius recalls about Mario. "So I had to be the
strong one." Approximately 1 in 3,500 boys is born with the disease, with
two-thirds of the occurrences attributed to genetics, as was the Weems
brothers' affliction. One-third of the time, however, the disease strikes
randomly.

This is a film about the transforming power of teamwork and the inherent
joys and madness of reaching any seemingly impossible goal. Traversing
7,000 miles of highway from Athens, Ga., with a disturbing lack of handicap
access proves a large enough challenge to Darius and his crew. A cameo on
"Pimp My Ride," however, is completely do-able and way cool, according to
fans of MTV's mechanical-makeover hit. The show targets an audience between
the ages of 12 and 25, and "Darius Goes West" aims to entertain and inform
that same age range, according to Logan Smalley, 25, the film's director.
His reasons for cultivating these viewers, however, echo far beyond his
age.

It is a movie of pain, both physical and emotional, with a message of hope
and deep affection for the raw and sweet parts of human nature.
Documentaries have a bad habit of working too hard at jerking tears and
preaching for change. More often that not, this broad "nonfiction" genre
teeters on the edge of tedious.

Thanks to Smalley's editing and Darius' star quality, the documentary and
its back story through development and disease make "Darius Goes West" play
more like a hip indie film. Smalley, who also composed and plays the piano
soundtrack, and his gang bankrolled the $70,000 film by selling on-screen
credits for $10 each and having a hometown barbecue fundraiser.

The on-screen goal was to reach Los Angeles and convince "Pimp My Ride"
that Darius' wheelchair should be tricked out just like the cars on their
favorite show. The tension? The show won't consider entrants unless they
are from California. Hence, the road trip is conspired and completed with a
rented, wheelchair-accessible RV, with MTV cast in the role of the villain.

But the ultimate purpose for everyone involved in the project is to further
awareness and fund research to find a cure for DMD (Duchenne muscular
dystrophy). Even the audience contributes, because 100% of box-office
profit goes directly to the cause.

"We refer to this as the orphan's disease because it's less known than
cancer, ALS and leukemia," Smalley says. "But the cure is right round the
corner. It's close."

In the film, hard facts and predictable mortality statistics are woven in
by Dr. Benjamin Seckler, who specializes in treating children with
Duchenne, between Darius' adventures and scenes of Seckler's 5-year-old
son, Charley, as he sleds through the snow with early signs of the
debilitating disease hovering closer every day.

"The gene culprit of this disease has been discovered," says Seckler, with
steady resolve. Facing heartbreak on a daily basis, however, has softened
his dark gaze. "Human clinical trials are going on now to produce
dystrophin (the protein that connects muscle tissue), but what we need is
more funding. More research."

All donations and box-office profit after promotional costs from "Darius
Goes West" go to Charley's Fund (www.charleysfund.org), a nonprofit founded
by Seckler and his wife, Tracy, who also makes a heart-tugging appearance
in the film. Film clips of their young boy playing normally, but facing the
same short future as Darius, makes the Secklers' sense of urgency palpable.

As the doctor said in a recent interview, "We could be a day away from
finding a cure, but every day that passes is another day gone for our son."

Despite the certainty of bad news, "Darius Goes West" avoids falling into
"the pit of despair." The Secklers' dedication combined with the crew's
addiction to cheap jokes and Darius' gangsta-with-a-golden-heart-rapping on
the soundtrack prevent the movie from being the bearer of only bad news.

The idea for "Darius Goes West" originated with Smalley, who served as a
counselor at Project Reach, a public camp for disabled kids in his
hometown. He first met Darius' brother, Mario, at the camp.

"Before he died," Smalley explains in the film, "Mario asked me to take
care of Darius. I was too young [16] to know what I was committing to. But
Mario knew Darius [9] was old enough to understand.

"I was there the day Darius got his wheelchair," he remembers. "I could see
he felt nervous, so I said something about putting chains on the wheels
like they were rims. . . of course, he accepted the wheelchair long before
I got around to thinking about taking him to 'Pimp My Ride.' "

The film's quiet success, meanwhile, has made Darius a star in his hometown
and at film festivals. Delta Airlines has been providing the entire crew
free passage, including a trip to a festival in London. Last Friday,
opening night on the corner of Wilshire and Doheny, Felicity Huffman and
William H. Macy, who clown with Darius and crew in the movie, came to the
premiere and the full house erupted in applause when their scenes appeared.
The right people are beginning to talk. The buzz has begun.

Meanwhile, Smalley heads to Harvard in September to begin graduate studies
in, not filmmaking, but special education. Back home in Athens, Darius has
started his senior year of high school. He and his legally blind mother,
Jamie, live on welfare in the first projects built in the United States --
the same projects where he and Mario were raised. Before the making of
"Darius Goes West," the young rapper had never left Athens.

"It's the trip of lifetime," Darius says, looking out over the Grand Canyon
with tears in his eyes.

And how does the young hero of DMD feel about the possibility of going to
the Oscars? Smalley says, "Darius wants to be a rap star more than a movie
star. But if the film gets nominated, he'd really like to take his mom as
his date."

"Darius Goes West," 8 and 10 p.m. today and Thursday, Laemmle Music Hall
Theatre, 9036 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills. More info:
http://www.dariusgoeswest.com

TEARING IT UP IN TINSELTOWN!

2007-08-28T15:46:00.000-07:00

August 28, 2007

Darius Goes West opened at the Laemmle Music Hall Theater in Beverly Hills on Friday, and there were nearly 200 tickets sold. William H. Macy and Felicity Huffman were in the house for the 8:00 show. In fact, the crowd cheered duirng Bill and Felicity's section of the film, which made us really proud! They LOVED the movie, and after the screening, Bill waited almost 20 minutes to congratulate Logan.

It was an awesome crowd all around, and another good-sized crowd showed up for the 10:00 PM show. The movie will play there through Thursday, and small (and incredibly enthusiastic) audiences continue to show up every night. Logan will be there for Q&As the entire run. Send your friends and family!

At the last minute, Barbara (Logan's mom) decided to make the trip to L.A. While there, DGW supporter and 13th crew member Margo Barbakow and her husband, Jeff (from Santa Barbara) put her up in their luxurious condo in West Hollywood. From the balcony, you could see the L.A. skyline and the house where "Entourage" is filmed! The Barbakows also treated everyone to dinner on Friday night before the premiere.

While in Los Angeles, Logan and Barbara had the chance to meet with "Team Darius/Hollywood": Julia Eisenman (our agent's assistant), Greg Schenz (our attorney), and Andy Behrman (our publicist). They are all amazing and are doing an awesome job representing DGW. Logan has been staying with Julia and Andy (who are also husband and wife) and their two beautiful daughters, Emma and Kate.

No Los Angeles Times article yet, but the piece is finished. We're just not sure when it will run, but we'll let you know as soon as we know something. On Friday night, the local ABC news channel in L.A. did show up and interview Logan outside the theater.

While in L.A., we also met long-time DGW supporter (and 13th crew member) Jeff Scheftel; DMDFund.org president Kyle Kyllan and his wife, Andy; and Lex Sidon, who has some amazing ideas for our new "Learn About It" program AND Darius's rap career. Details to come later.

We've posted some pictures from Hollywood. Be sure to check them out.

Also, the fundraising total in Sun Valley has now surpassed $40,000.

Know about it!

HOLLYWOOD BOUND!

2007-08-24T15:45:00.000-07:00

August 24, 2007

Tonight is the big night! Darius Goes West makes its theatrical premiere at the Music Hall Theater in Beverly Hills. And the race for a coveted Oscar nomination begins!

Logan has left Sun Valley and arrived in Los Angeles today for this week of screenings. His mom, Barbara, will also be there to cheer him on--and to make sure someone takes pictures! This weekend will be like a reunion, with many longtime DGW supporters expected to be there--like Loreen Arbus, Jayme Brown, Jeff Schefftel, Margo and Jeff Barbakow, to name a few. Even William H. Macy and Felicity Huffman are expected to attend a screening!

We have finally escaped from "movie hell." A perfect High Definition tape of DGW is "in the can" and was overnighted to L.A. just in the nick of time. Thank you, Nathan Lewis and the incredibly talented and knowledgeable staff at VTA.com for pulling off a miracle!

Sun Valley was amazing (we've posted new pictures). The fundraising count to date is $23,000 and climbing. A record FOUR DGW "I am the thirteenth crew member" t-shirts were sold! Also, Charley Seckler learned how to ice skate! Woo-hoo! Thanks again to Theo and Carmen for rolling out the red carpet BIG TIME for Logan, Sam, Jason, and Daniel.

Other news: Two weekends ago, three of our friends from the Cleveland International Film Festival (Bill Guentzler, Debby Samples, and Sean Torkish) came to Athens to hang with the crew (they have been such huge supporters of DGW that they are truly part of the crew!). We had a blast with them and hope they'll come back soon.

Stacey Zimmerman (U.S. Navy, stationed in Japan) sent Darius two more packages. One was a big, beautiful collage of his trip west; the other was stuffed with CDs, magazines, and bubblegum. Stacey is quickly becoming one of our biggest fans, and she hasn't even seen the movie yet!

Also, we've received news that when Athenian Emma Clarke recently celebrated her ninth birthday, she asked for donations instead of presents and sent everything she collected to Charley's Fund! Now there's a 13th crew member in the making!

Finally, while in Sun Valley, a reporter from the prestigious Los Angeles Times saw our movie and fell in love with it. She subsequently spent three hours interviewing Logan for a piece that is scheduled to appear in this Sunday's "Entertainment" section.

Hollywood, here we come!

KNOW ABOUT IT!!!

THINGS ARE HOPPING

2007-08-19T15:43:00.000-07:00

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!

DGW AT ROCK THE BELLS

2007-08-04T15:42:00.000-07:00

August 4, 2007

n Thursday, August 2, several DGW crew members--plus others--took Darius to Atlanta's Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheatre for the "Rock the Bells" concert. Everyone had a blast!!! (Check out our pictures).

Gates opened at 2:30, and the show went on until 10:30. Several of D's favorite rap artists performed, including Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, and a surprise appearance by Ludacris (his mom appears briefly in our film). We had planned to sit on the lawn, but the crowd was small enough that we all got real seats. Every act was awesome.

It was late when we finally got back to Athens, so most of us spent the night at the Smalley's house...including Darius, who slept in his chair (fortunately, it tilts).

THANK YOU SO MUCH LTJG STACEY E. ZIMMERMAN for making all of this possible! When Stacey, who is in the U.S. Navy and stationed in Japan, watched the Nightline segment featuring Darius Goes West, she was so moved by Darius and our story, that she e-mailed Logan offering to send "fun" money for Darius and the crew to do something special. Attending "Rock the Bells" was tops on D's wish list, and Stacey's generous donation allowed for nine of us to take him to Atlanta. (Check out the pictures!)

While at the concert, we had at least a half a dozen "fans" come up to us and say they had either seen or heard about our movie...including a policeman.

Know about it!

FUN, FUN, FUN IN FLEETWOOD!

2007-08-02T15:41:00.000-07:00

August 2, 2007

We have just returned from four glorious days in Fleetwood/Reading, Pennsylvania, where Maria McDonell, her husband Tom Sandor, and their three boys, Ethan, Owen, and Aidan were the most awesome hosts ever! Not only did they find places for seven of us to sleep, but they fed us and kept us entertained. We had a blast (see our pictures for proof). Their extended families were also amazing, bringing food by every time we turned around, hanging out with us, and attending our screenings in nearby Reading.

The McDonnell/Sandor family is featured in our film, and all were on hand to answer questions at our Q&As at the Goggleworks in Reading, where the movie was booked to play for a week. Aidan did a great job of introducing the crew, and Ethan even tried to pass himself off as Andrew Carson! We had some wonderful audiences--especially our last night there when a film discussion group attended--and some amazing Q&As. Special thanks to Dennis for doing such a great job running the show(s)!

In between screenings (there were two each day over the weekend), we played a lot of sports...soccer, whiffleball, basketball. Thanks to the McDonnell/Sandor's neighbors for letting us cool off in their pool after working up a sweat! Fleetwood is Mennonite country, and while playing soccer, we saw several horse and buggies go by. At night, we enjoyed a full moon while sitting on the porch. One night, Tbarn entertained us by performing some of his original songs with Collin accompanying him on the guitar. Another night, we went to dinner at The Works, a restaurant with a huge arcade.

On Monday, we took a day trip to Greeley, PA, to visit Pine Forest Camp. This was a walk down memory lane for Barbara, who had worked at PFC while a freshman at UGA. When we arrived at camp, there were "Welcome Darius Goes West" signs everywhere. After a Q&A with counselors, who had seen DGW the night before, we spent the day climbing a rock wall, touring the grounds in a golf cart, playing pool basketball, relaxing in a cabin designated specifically for DGW, and eating some great food. Thank you, Mickey Black, camp director, and his wife Barbara Black for making us feel so at home. And an even bigger thanks for making a $1,000 donation to Charley's Fund in honor of our visit!

Speaking of generous donations, Tom Shadyac (director of Evan Almighty and many other cool films) has purchased 15 (yes, 15) DGW "I am the 13th crew member" t-shirts for himself and his staff. If you recall, Tom saw the film in Telluride and stood up during the Q&A to say how much he liked it and wanted to help. His $15,000 donation to Charley's Fund will help a LOT!

Know about it!

ROCKIN AND ROLLIN WITH DGW

2007-07-26T15:40:00.000-07:00

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!

THANK YOU, ATHENS!

2007-07-25T15:38:00.000-07:00

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!

COUNTDOWN TO DGW DAY!

2007-07-18T15:37:00.000-07:00

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!

ODDS AND ENDS

2007-07-10T15:36:00.000-07:00

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!

DARIUS GOES WEST DAY IS JULY 22

2007-07-08T15:20:00.000-07:00

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!

13th CREW MEMBER T-SHIRT ALERT

2007-07-07T15:18:00.000-07:00

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!

SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE

2007-06-29T15:17:00.000-07:00

June 29, 2007

We have just returned from a three-day visit to Seattle, where we didn't get a lot of sleep but had the BEST time, thanks to our amazing hosts Judy and John Schneider and Mindy and Mitch Leflfer. Mindy and Mitch are parents(and Judy and John are grandparents) to Aidan Leffler, the smartest and most adorable almost-four-year old we know. You'll hear more about him later.

On Monday, we arrived in Seattle from Minneapolis/St. Paul. Our flight was way too early in the morning, and we got there feeling exhausted and famished. Mindy met us at the airport and whisked us off to her parents' house where there was a huge spread of cold cuts waiting for us (free lunch!). After getting settled in--the Schneiders also gave all six of us a place to sleep (although, again, we didn't do too much of that)--and really made us feel at home. Before we knew it, it was dinner time, and Judy and John were cooking clams and shrimp kabobs on the girll. Not only that, we also had Copper River Salmon, which is a HUGE deal in the Pacific Northwest..."like fine wine," everybody said. We agree!!!

Tuesday morning, we woke up to a full breakfast and--get this--a $50 bill at each of our plates to go spend at Seattle's famous Pike Place Market! Mindy handed us the keys to her and Mitch's van, and we spent the day having a blast exploring the city. Tuesday evening, we had our first DGW private screening/Charley's Fund benefit. This event took place at the Sammmamish High School Performing Arts Theater in Bellevue Washington. What a lively crowd and a great Q&A!

After a night of celebrating the success of our first screening, we had more fun in store for us on Wednesday. The Schneiders took us out on their boat for a private cruise of Puget Sound. The weather was perfect, and it was awesome!

Throughout our stay, we had been hanging out--and bonding big time--with Aidan, who has DMD. He was such a trip...one night, he begged Jason to sleep in his room with him. Anyway, Wednesday night was the big private screening/Charley's Fund benefit at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue, Washington. Tickets were $75 per person, and it began with a reception that featured incredible hors d'oeuvres, drinks, and desserts, followed by the movie, followed by a Q&A. We were hoping to raise a lot of money at this event, and the good news was, an anonymous donor had agreed to match any donations we received up to $100,000!

The crowd was huge (almost 200 people), and they were laughing so loud during the movie (we love it when that happens). But the Q&A afterwards may have been our most memorable one to date, and that's because Aidan stole the show!

After the film ended, Mindy began to talk about donations to Charley's Fund before introducing the guys. While she was talking, the audience members began to chuckle. She was puzzled as she wasn't being particularly funny at that time. When she looked behind her, she noticed that Aidan was on the stage, had just pulled the mic off the stand and was putting it into his shirt pocket. (Sam had suggested to Aidan's Uncle David that Aidan should be the one to introduce the guys.)

She asked him what he was doing and he replied, "I want to talk in the mic." Aidan then stood beside Mindy and as each DGW crew member came up, he said their name loudly into the mic. It took some coaxing to get him off the stage so the guys could talk. Playing with legos in the foyer finally did the trick.

From the comments of people as they left the theater, this spontaneous moment made a wonderful finale to the celebratory evening.

Final tallies are not in yet, but we're almost positive that we raised at least $150,000 for Charley's Fund and DMD research!!!

And we think Aidan deserves all the credit!

Know about it!

P.S. We have posted new pictures from Minnesota and hope to have shots from Seattle up soon.

OUR 20TH LAUREL LEAF!

2007-06-25T15:16:00.000-07:00

June 25, 2007

On the road again...that's where we are. At least six of us are: Logan, Ben, Daniel, Sam, Tbarn, and Jason.

We've just spent an amazing weekend in Minneapolis/St. Paul at the Solstice Film Festival. DGW was the closing film (a huge honor) and didn't screen until Sunday, so we spent most of Saturday exploring the city. HUGE DGW fan Justin Bell (a former soccer teammate of Logan's from Atlanta), who has been talking about joining us at a festival since our screening in Atlanta, flew up to be our "13th crew member!" An architect, he was a great tour guide as we explored buildings and museums in the area. We also took a boat ride and had the best ice cream ever at The Grand Ole Creamery (owned by Tbarn's friend, Heather Hoffman). If you're ever in Minneapolis/St. Paul, you gotta go..and be sure to get the Cinnamon Toast ice cream. We did...twice! Yum!

On Friday night, filmmaker Ali Selim and his family hosted an awesome cookout in our honor. He invited a lot of local filmmakers, and we had the best time. Logan even played the piano! Check out Ali's incredible movie, Sweet Land, which many of us saw (and loved!) in London. It will be available on DVD and on NetFlix in early July.

While in Minneapolis/St. Paul, we were treated to top-of-the-line lodging, compliments of Jane Minton of IFP and the Radisson. For the first time ever, we each had our own bed!!!

Our screening last night went extremely well. We had a great audience, and it was one of our best Q&As ever. Also, we won the Best Documentary award---that makes 20 laurel leaves!!!

Other news: our webmaster, Kelly Rodgers married Pat Douglas last weekend. We send her and her awesome daughters (Ashley and Madison) huge congrats!

Finally, SAVE THE DATE! July 22, is our second annual Darius Goes West Day in Athens, and we are making lots of plans. For starters, we will be showing the movie at least twice at Athens' Cine Theatre (downtown Athens) for free (we'll be accepting donations for Charley's Fund, of course). There are other surprises in store as well, so keep checking back.

We are in Seattle now, where there are two private screenings/Charley's Fund benefits on Tuesday and Wednesday night. If you have friends or family in this area, please send them our way!

Know about it!

WE HAVE THE MOST AWESOME NEWS!

2007-06-15T15:15:00.000-07:00

June 15, 2007

KIDS LOVE DARIUS GOES WEST! That fact first became obvious to us during our world premiere at the Santa Barbara Inernational Film Festival. There, we were interviewed by a middle school journalism class. These students not only gave our movie glowing reviews, they also sent us e-mails, and begged for DGW t-shirts. Even after we left Santa Barbara, DGW fever continued. Earlier this month, students at Santa Barbara Middle School took a week and a half bike ride using DGW as their theme. You can read all about it at:

http://web.mac.com/sbmsjourneys/iWeb/SBMS%20Journeys/HOME%20Movie.html

A couple of months after Santa Barbara, DGW screened at FilmSlam, a special program of the Cleveland Inernational Film Festival that is geared to high school students. Again, DGW was a huge hit, with one Q&A session lasting nearly three hours! Fan e-mails poured in from our young Cleveland supporters. DGW was also a hit with general audiences attending the regular festival in Cleveland. In fact, we won two Audience Choice Awards there, including The Greg Gund Memorial Standing Up Film Competition.

Recognizing that students tend to be our most enthusiastic audiences, the DGW crew (five of whom are majoring in education...then there's Logan, who recently graduated with a degree in special education) began brainstorming ways to target this audience and motivate them to help us raise money to fight DMD. That's when we came up with the idea to create a DGW-in-the-Schools program. Our dream: to have as many middle and high school students as possible, nationwide, see our film, then encourage these students to organize fundraisers for Charley's Fund.

The problem was, we had no money to fund this program, which would require someone to direct it and someone to develop lots of materials to send to schools. NOW WE DO!!!!

After winning the Greg Gund Memorial Standing Up Film Competition, we sent a copy of Darius Goes West to Greg's mom, Theo Gund. She fell in love with the film (she's now seen it 10 times!), and when she heard that we were trying to get it seen at schools nationwide, she proposed a meeting between "Team Darius," herself, and the multitalented staff of the Cleveland International Film Festival (Marcie Goodman, Patrick Shepherd, Bill Guentzler, Debby Samples, and Beth Radisek). Since the crew was scattered all over the globe (London, Michigan, Wyoming, Los Angeles), Logan's mom, Barbara Smalley, flew to Cleveland for this meeting last week and walked away with seed money from Theo Gund to fund this program! (We have posted pictures of our meeting on this site...check them out).

The program, which Logan has tapped Barbara to run, will officially launch in September of 2007. We already have 57 schools across the country begging to show DGW--and these are totally unsolicited requests (imagine what will happen once the word gets out!). Our intent is to package the DVD with lesson plans (in a variety of subjects) for teachers, as well as provide fundraising ideas for students .

We are incredibly grateful to Theo Gund for her generous gift, which will help us get the word out about DMD to an audience that we know will work as hard as we have at raising awareness of--and finding a cure for--DMD.

Keep in mind, though, that this is just seed money. We need additional donations to keep this program going strong. If you can make a donation, please send it to Charley's Fund (www.charleysfund.org) and ask them to earmark it for the DGW-in-the-Schools program. If you know of grants we could apply for, please contact Barbara at bssmalley@aol.com. And if you know of schools who may want to show our movie, please have them get in touch. We need you to help us spread the word!

We are so pumped about this program and hope you will be, too!

Know about it!

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PINCH US, PLEASE!

2007-06-08T15:12:00.000-07:00

June 8, 2007

There is so much great stuff going on with DGW this weekend! Here's the scoop...

Jason and Kevin are in Sagautuck, Michigan, at the Waterfront Film Festival, where DGW has two screenings (one on Saturday and one on Sunday). Collin and John Harmon are at the Jackson Hole Film Festival where DGW will also screen twice this weekend in the Tetons!

But the biggest news of all is that Darius and his mom, Jamie, along with Daniel, Andrew, Tbarn, and DGW friend Richard Hamel are in Hollywood to attend the world premiere of Evan Almighty (a sequel to Bruce Almighty)!!! There, they are expected to receive red carpet treatment before returning to Athens on Monday.

This all came about a couple of weeks ago when DGW screened to a packed house at the Mountainfilm Telluride film festival in, Colorado. In the house was Tom Shadyac, producer of Liar Liar, Ace Ventura, Patch Adams, Nutty Professor II, Bruce Almighty, and more. He liked our movie so much that he stood up at the Q&A and invited Darius, etc. to come to Hollywood on June 10 for the premiere of Evan Almighty. At first, the crew wasn't sure if he was serious about this invitation, plus they had planned to remain in Europe after their London premiere. But when the invite turned out to be for real, almost everyone decided to return home to take advantage of this amazing opportunity.

FYI: Shadyac not only paid for everyone's airline tickets, he is also putting Darius and his entourage up at the Hilton ("That place was so laid out…I mean, Paris Hilton's parents own it." Remember that line from the movie?). Sweet!

Another contact made in Telluride was director Charlie Ebersol, whose movie, Ihuteng (a film about despair in South Africa and a school that offers hope) was "discovered" last year by Tom Shadyac at the same festival. Thanks to Tom's efforts, Ihuteng was featured on Oprah and purchased by HBO. So, we're feeling very good about this connection

We promise to take pictures and post them when we get home.

Know about it!

WE'VE BEEN BUSY!

2007-06-05T15:11:00.000-07:00

June 5, 2007

Before we fill you in on what we've been up to, we need to let you know that "I am the 13th crew member" DGW t-shirts have been awarded to Allison Firor (Logan's co-editor) and Jarrard Cole (Logan's assistant editor). These two amazingly talented folks should have been at the top of our list and were "overlooked" only because they truly already ARE 13th crew members!!! Our film could never have been made without their tireless efforts.

Last weekend, several of us (Daniel, Tbarn, John Harmon, Sam, Ben, Collin, and Kevin) went to Colorado for the Mountainfilm Telluride Film Festival. We flew into Grand Junction late in the evening and had a 2.5 hour drive to Telluride. We weren't sure if we would make it in time for the Q&A of our one and only screening at this festival, but we walked into the theatre just as the closing credits were rolling. The place was packed, and the crowd was amazing! In the house was Tom Shadyac (Bruce Almighty, Patch Adams, Liar Liar, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, etc.) and Charlie Ebersol (Ithuteng), who both stood up and said how much they loved the film. In fact, Tom even announced that he wanted to fly Darius, his mom, and the entire crew out to Los Angeles in mid-June for the premiere of his new movie, Evan Almighty (with Steve Carrell) We are working on making that happen and will let you know if it does.

While in Telluride, we participated in the festival's "Next Step" program, which involved manning a booth and handing out Charley's Fund literature. The crowds were very receptive to our cause. Also, Tbarn and Daniel went extreme mountain biking, and Tbarn wiped out and almost went off the mountain!

This past weekend, Collin, Kevin, and John Harmon (all special education majors) went to Berkeley, California for the SuperFest International Disability Festival, where DGW won a Merit Award. The audiences there were amazing. DGW also screened at the Hoboken International Film Festival last weekend in New Jersey. Unfortunately, we got our acceptance to this festival too late to send any crew members. But we have received fan mail from audiences there who saw the film.

Right now, many of us are at the Declaration of Independence Film Festival in LONDON! Logan, Ben, Sam, Tbarn, Daniel and Andrew flew to the United Kingdom to represent DGW. Thank you Delta Airlines for the flights, and thank you Picadilly Backpackers (the coolest hostel ever) for providing us with free lodging.

The first thing we did when we arrived in London was go out for fish and chips (although Sam ordered barbecue chicken). Our first screening was a fundraising gala with proceeds split bteween Britain's Muscular Dystrophy Campaign (MDC) and Charley's Fund. This event attracted an awesome and enthusiastic crowd. The morning of the gala, we had a live radio interview on BBC Radio with the Breakfast With Joanne Show, which is huge over here. It went really well. After the gala, the MDC arranged to move us to free rooms at the Hilton for the remainder of our stay. Sweet! Today was our festival screening, which also went well.London loves DGW!

Before and in between our screenings, we've been doing a lot of sightseeing--and gotten hopelessly lost. One morning, we set out for Trafalgar Square and ended up at Buckingham Palace. We've also checked out the National Gallery, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey--plus on Sunday morning, we went to mass at St. Paul's Cathedral.

Logan brought his musical saw with him and has been playing it in Trafalgar Square. One morning, we climbed to the roof of our hostel and watched the sunrise. Later that night, we got to know some cool Swedish girls at a bagel shop, and we've been hanging out with them ever since (know about it!).

Oddly enough, while in London, we've seen some familiar faces. Ali Selim from Minnesota (who we met at the Cleveland International Film Festival) was there. His incredible film, Sweet Land, opened the Declaration of Independence Film Festival, and we'll be seeing him later this month at the Solstice Film Festival in Minneapolis. Also there was Max Ruston, who hosted us at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. And one day on the streets of London, we randomly ran into Lindsey Crouch from Oconee County! Go figure!

We're having a blast and promise to post pictures soon. Cheerio for now!

Know about it!

HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD!

2007-06-03T15:13:00.000-07:00

June 13, 2007

We had a blast in Hollywood. We flew out on Delta last Friday with Darius and his mom, Jamie (it was her first flight ever). When we arrived in Los Angeles, we took a shuttle to the Hilton. The tab for our flights, hotel, and food were picked up by Tom Shadyac, producer of Evan Almighty. Once we arrived at the Hilton and started to unpack, however, we realized we didn't have Darius' suitcase. In fact, we had grabbed the wrong bag and ended up with a suitcase belonging to Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Roy Halladay (not exactly D's size!).Tbarn took a shuttle back to the airport, only to find that D's luggage was in San Diego. It took us a couple of days to straighten things out and get D's real clothes, but that didn't stop us from having fun.

Our first night there we mostly chilled and tried to catch up on our sleep, since most of us were jetlagged from getting home from London the day before. After a good night's rest, we took Darius to City Walk and hung out at the hotel. We also pigged out at a Bubba Gump's Seafood restaurant (see pictures)

Sunday was the big premiere. We walked the green (not red) carpet and flash bulbs were going off everywhere...we felt like real celebrities! Adam Sandler sat four rows in front of us. We LOVED the movie and highly recommend it. At the after-party, which was so cool, we saw Kevin Nealan and Steve Carrell. Tom Shadyac posed for pictures with us, and Darius gave him a signed copy of our press kit. Tom also introduced us to his agent and also to the producer of Surf's Up. Tom's assistant, Jordan, was awesome during this whole trip and really took care of us.

On Monday, we headed for the Los Angeles airport to return to Athens when the coolest thing happened. Some dude spotted Jamie and the rest of us wearing our DGW t-shirts and started talking to us. He was all excited because he was coming back from the Jackson Hole Film Fesitval where he had seen our movie (the audience there was amazing) and loved it. He also told us that we had just won two awards there: Audience Choice and Best Documentary! We finally pulled into Darius's drvieway at 3:00 AM on Tuesday. What an incredible adventure. Thank you, Tom, for an unforgettable weekend!

Audiences at the Waterfront Film Festival in Sagautuck, Michigan were also amazing. This was a non-competitive film festival, so no awards were given out, but this place was beautiful, and we made some great contacts, like festival cofounder, Rebecca Green of TicTock Studios.. Since arriving home, we have been getting fan e-mail and t-shirt orders from both Wyoming and Michigan.

Check out the pictures of our Hollywood experience and....

Know about it!

ANOTHER LAUREL LEAF!

2007-05-26T15:10:00.000-07:00

May 26, 2007

We won the Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary at last weekend's Berkshire International Film Festival! We are particularly proud of this award because it was won in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, which is Tracy and Benjy Seckler's (Charley's parents) home turf. In addition to the regular screening at the film festival, Charley's Fund also hosted a private screening/benefit which raised a lot of money for the cause.

After a few days of rest, seven of us (Ben, Daniel, Collin, Sam, Kevin, Tbarn, and John) left yesterday for the Mountainfilm Telluride Film Festival in Telluride, Colorado. We flew into Grand Junction, CO, arriving early in the evening, then had to drive 2.5 hours to reach Telluride. Our one and only screening started at 7:20 PM, and we were worried about making it on time for the Q&A. We literally walked into the Nugget Theatre in downtown Telluride just as the closing credits began. And we walked into a PACKED HOUSE!!! The crowd was so enthusiastic. In the audience was producer/director Tom Shadyac (Bruce Almighty, Liar, Liar, Patch Adams, Nutty Professor II, Platonically Incorrect, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and more). He got up and announced that he has a new film premiering in mid-June and wants to fly Darius, his mom, and the entire DGW crew out to L.A. for the event!!! (Too bad most of us will be in London!). Another guy in the audience said he knew Oprah personally and promised to make a call to her on our behalf. So, it was a great night!

Mountainfilm Telluride has a unique program called "Next Step," in which they allow movies associated with causes to set up and man a booth during the festival so that word on their causes can be spread. They accepted a very limited number of applications for participation in this program, and ours was one of them. So, today, we all took turns handing out literature and talking to people about Charley's Fund.

We have more DGW "I am the thirteenth crew member" shirts we will be giving out to people who have earned them (this list is not complete, and we will be announcing more soon). Anyway, (in no certain order) here's who will be getting one of these coveted t-shirts: David Walker (Williamette Weekly), Margo Barbakow, Lyle Higginbotham, Marc Pickard (11 Alive News), Kelly Rodgers (our awesome webmaster), Madeline Van Dyck, David Hirsch (Google), Steve Bermen (Interscope Records), Clif Downie (Full EFX Auto Technique), Will White (former;y with UCP), Loreen Arbus (UCP), Kristen Andersen (formerly with Children's Wish Foundation), Marty Johnston, Mark Johnson (Shepherd Center), Grace Voorhis, Kason Rackley, Chris Williams, and Lynn Massey.

We have tiny quantities of these shirts and must reorder before handing any out, So, if you're on our list, sit tight.

Don't forget that these shirts can also be purchased by making a $1,000 donation to Charley's Fund. Folks who recently bought these limited edition shirts include: Stacy Nelkin & Marco Greenberg, Helice Picheny, and Frederic & Renee Keator.

Know about it!

DARIUS GOES NORTH...AND SOUTH

2007-05-20T15:09:00.000-07:00

May 20, 2007

t was another double-feature weekend for Darius Goes West. On Thursday, Sam, Tbarn, and John Harmon drove Darius to the Jacksonville Film Festival. For this trip, Darius decided to bring a friend with him, Jermie English. It's been a busy weekend...

On Friday, the crew took D to The Landing, site of the infamous Georgia-Florida pregame football parties. On Saturday, DGW screened to a great crowd. In the house were Sam's relatives (he seems to have them everywhere we go lately, doesn't he?) Debbie Ciaburri, her son, Daniel, and his girlfriend, Annie, all of whom joined the crew for lunch after the screening. On Saturday night, everyone went to a festival party that had a lot of bands. There, Darius and the crew got interviewed by Amadeus, a popular local radio personality who was touched by our film.

Today, the crew headed to Neptune Beach and got Darius back in the ocean. Only this time, the waves were huge and strong. With just three crew members to get him in and out of the water, it was exhausting, but Darius had a blast.

Meanwhile, Logan, Ben, Daniel, and Collin left Friday for Great Barrington, Massachusetts and the Berkshire International Film Festival. This is where Tracy and Benjy Seckler live, so it was a nice reunion. On Saturday, DGW screened to an enthusiastic crowd. Scot Oxholm, who had seen the film in Boston, made the trip to see it again! We love fans like him!

This afternoon, the crew went hiking with the Seckler family. This evening, there was a private screening/Charley's Fund benefit followed by a dinner.

WE HAVE A BRAND NEW T-SHIRT design. It's white and says, "I'm the thirteenth crew member" on it with "Know about it" in parentheses below that. The back of the shirt is the same as our other shirts (check them out at www.dariusgoeswest.com).

Wha'ts special about this shirt is that:

(a) You can buy it, but to do so, you have to make a $1,000 donation to Charley's Fund; OR...

(b) You can get one for free by organizing a fundraiser that brings in at least $1,000 for Charley's Fund; OR...

(c) You can earn it by doing something really awesome for Darius Goes West/Charley's Fund.

Martin Bashir (ABC Nightline), David Martin (Delta Airlines), Tim Johnson (Athens Family Connection), Jackie and Kathy Moran (Shirtworks). Mark Benson (ABC Printing), Jennifer Wade (Victory Junction Camp), Denise Berecz (Dodge), and Suzanne Bennett (Emmanuel Episcopal Church) have earned the first nine of these shirts, and two were purchased this weekend in the Berkshires. We will soon be adding photos and short write-ups of 13th crew members to our website.

Know about it!

STAR STRUCK IN NYC

2007-05-07T15:08:00.000-07:00

May 7, 2007

He showed up! Robert DeNiro came to our hotel room yesterday (Sunday), along with his three children and spent about 15 minutes with us. He shook everyone's hand, asked us questions about the film and what D had been doing/enjoying in NYC, then posed for a picture with Darius and the crew. It was awesome.

After that, we headed over to Tribeca for our final screening, which was sold out. It was a great crowd, and we got a standing ovation. Special guests included Logan's relatives, Pat and Stu Chandler and Dan and Amy Eldredge, as well as Sam's mom, Laurie Fowler and two friends. Also in the house: Maria and Tom Sandor (who appear in the movie with their son, Aidan), who brought an entourage that included their three sons, Ethan, Owen, and Aidan plus Tom's parents, brother, sister-in-law, and their children. At the Q&A, Aidan was introduced to the crowd, and everyone clapped for him, including Aidan himself!

After the screening, Will White and his niece hosted a picnic for everyone at Central Park. The Sandor boys challenged the DGW crew to a lively soccer game. Everyone had a blast.

We'll post pictures of all of our fun times in NYC very soon...we promise!

Today was a long day. We had to be at the airport bright and early for our flight home. Unfortunately, Darius' electric wheelchair went on the blink, and we didn't have a manual chair with us, so we had to push him to the plane. The flight went smoothly, and fortunately--thanks, Delta! Richard Hamel came to pick us up at the airport with a manual chair in tow. It was a long and exhausting ride home (we got stuck in some terrible traffic), but now we're home safe and happy to be here.

We did NOT win an Audience Choice award at Tribeca (bummer). Unfortunately, Sunday's audience--our biggest of the festival--wasn't allowed to vote because awards were announced Saturday night (go figure), but we feel honored to have been chosen to screen at this extremely prestigious festival.

DGW...Know about it!

WE LOVE NEW YORK!

2007-05-05T15:05:00.000-07:00

May 5, 2007

We've been having a blast in the Big Apple, especially Darius. And we've been going nonstop. So much going on; here's a quick summary of what we've been up to...

Yesterday, Robert DeNiro (he's a cofounder of the Tribeca Film Festival) sent a wheelchair accessible van and a car to pick us all up and take us out to Brooklyn to his kids' school, Brooklyn Friends. Every year, DeNiro and his ex-wife and model Toukie Smith pick one film to show at Tribeca at their children's school, and DGW was chosen this year! The screening occurred the night before (just prior to the Carnegie Hall screening), and many of the kids at Brooklyn Friends wanted to meet Darius and crew. So, we went to Brooklyn, had lunch at the school, and got to hang with Toukie and meet many of the kids. We had a great time, and Toukie has promised to help us launch our DGW-in-the-schools program next fall.

While in New York, we were interviewed for a local NBC news show, and the reporter liked our story and cause so much that she arranged for us all to go on the Circle Line boat tour. Last night, we took a sunset cruise, where we were able to see the Statue of Liberty up close from the water just as it got dark. We had a blast and learned so much about the history of Manhattan. Thank you, Perri Peltz of NBC News, for treating us to this special tour!

After the boat tour, we had a reunion dinner with Will White(formerly with United Cerebral Palsy). Many who were at our send-off in July of 2005 will remember Will when he spoike on the courthouse steps. He was our knight in shining armor, delivering a sizable grant from UCP (in exchange for handing out "Who Will Care" bracelets on our trip) when we were short on budget just days before departure. Will is also hosting Daniel and Tbarn while they are in NYC, and it was great to see him again. Tracy and Benjy Seckler also joined us for dinner.

After dinner, we all walked around Times Square (D's favorite place), where Darius got into another rap "battle" with a local. He can really get into the zone when he's freestyling, and the two of them attracted quite a crowd (including a couple of cops who made them move down to a side street because they were blocking traffic).

At the Carnegie Hall screening, some friends of Tracy and Benjy Seckler were so impressed with Darius and the rest of us that they handed us their business cards and told us to plan something fun to do in the city...on them. Darius said he wanted to go to a Yankees game, so that's what we did today...in style! Early this afternoon, two cars arrived to pick us all up, and we were given 12 VIP box seats right behind home plate. It was an incredible game--almost a no-hitter. The Yankees won 7-1, and the stadium and crowd were amazing. A huge thanks to Candace Jarkow (Empire Entertainment) and Randy Reiff for this incredible treat!!!

From Yankee Stadium, we were taken to the Apple Store in Soho, where there was a Tribeca-sponsored screening of DGW to a group of high school students who are studying filmmaking. They loved the movie and asked great questions.

Tomorrow is our final screening at Tribeca, and we hear that it may be sold out! Maria Sandor and her family are expectied to attend, so it will be nice to see her and son Owen again (they appear in the film, and Maria and Owen attended our Athens showing at the Morton Theatre). It will also be great to meet the rest of Maria's family: Tom, Ethan, and Aidan.

Before all that, however, there is a possibility (fingers crossed) that ROBERT DENIRO will stop by our hotel to say hello and to meet Darius!

Know about it!

DGW AT CARNEGIE HALL!

2007-05-03T15:04:00.000-07:00

May 3, 2007

Tonight was amazing! We sold out CARNEGIE HALL, where the acoustics were awesome. Nightline anchor Martin Bashir served as emcee for this special screening, organized by Tracy Seckler and her family (mostly sisters Betsy, Lucy, and Kathy). In addition to introducing the film with a poignant speech that had everyone talking, Bashir moderated the Q&A afterwards with wit and warmth. The special connection he and Darius share was obvious to everyone.

Tonight's screening was preceded by cocktails and great pick-up food. The crew mixed and mingled while a silent auction went on. The screening itself was followed by a standing ovation and a live auction. Up for bid were items like a trip around the world that brought in $15,000!.

From Carnegie Hall, the crew and assorted visitors headed to the Hudson Hotel, where we all had a late night dinner. Lee Epting picked up the tab for everyone!

This was a magical night we will never forget. And did we mention that WE RAISED NEARLY A QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS FOR CHARLEY'S FUND???!!!

KNOW ABOUT IT!

BIG D IN THE BIG A

2007-05-02T15:03:00.000-07:00

May 2, 2007

We started the day with some great news: DGW won the Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary at the Independent Film Festival of Boston. That's 16 awards to date!!!

Darius is having the BEST time in the Big Apple! This morning, we went to The Gap, where the staff served us breakfast, then outfitted us all in khakis and jeans! We love SWAG! Next, we took D to the Empire State Building. A woman at our hotel (Devon) works part-time at the Tribeca Film Festival and hooked us all up with free tickets. On the way back to the hotel, we ran into a street rapper, and Darius challenged him to a rap battle. It was hilarious! Fortunately, Tbarn had the video camera and taped the entire sequence.

This afternoon, Martin Bashir (Nightline) called to talk to Darius. Tomorrow night, he will be emceeing the DGW private screening/Charley's Fund benefit at Carnegie Hall. Don't forget to check out the rap Darius did over Martin's song at http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=3109158 AND PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT. The more comments we leave, the more likely ABC Nightline is to revisit our story.

This evening, we hung out at Times Square, where Darius almost ran into a taxi. He's been honking his horn at everyone--just like a New Yorker! Three fans came up to us and said they saw our movie.

Tomorrow we all have lunch with former model Tookie Smith. She is the mother of Tribeca Film Festival founder Robert DeNiro's twins. DGW was the one and only movie chosen to screen at their children's school (Pace University) tomorrow afternoon. How cool is that?

DGW...Know about it!

FROM BEANTOWN TO THE BIG APPLE

2007-05-01T15:02:00.000-07:00

May 1, 2007

We left Boston this morning bright and early (see new pictures). Most of us flew from there to New York City, but Darius was driven in our Dodge Sprinter. The first thing D did when we got to the city was go shoe shopping. After checking into our hotel, we all headed over to Toys R Us to play video games.

Darius, Sam, and Ben are staying at the Sheraton, compliments of Tracy and Benjy Seckler. The rest of us are crashing with long-time DGW supporter, Will White (formerly with UCP), who spoke on the Athens Courthouse steps when our trip west began. Late this afternoon, we all met up with Logan. It's nice to have everyone together again.

We have a busy schedule this week, and we'll try to keep you posted on everything (maybe a wrap-up at the end of the week). Meanwhile, check out the latest news from ABC.com. If you click on this link, you can read all about the rap Darius did to a song Martin Bashir performed AND you can even hear the song:

http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=3109158

DGW...Know about it!

DOUBLE DUTY AGAIN

2007-04-30T15:01:00.000-07:00

April 30, 2007

Today, for the second day in a row, DGW showed simultaneously in Boston and New York--AND we got standing ovations in both places!!

In Boston, we had one of our best-ever Q&A sessions. In the house were DGW assistant editor Jarrard Cole's cousins, and Portland hostess Mary Liedel's daughter (niece of Margie Spalding from Athens). While in Boston, we've also had a reunion with filmmakers Karen and Tim Morse (Secret Courage: The Walter Suskind Story), big-time DGW supporters we first met at the Cleveland International Film Festival in March.

IFF/Boston film festival directors Adam Roffman and Jason Redmond have been awesome hosts. This morning, they arranged for us to have a private tour of Fenway Park, where Darius got to roll out to home base! We'll post pictures later.

At our Tribeca screening, audiences were as enthusiastic as the ones in Boston. Irene Daria-Wiener , long-time friend of the Smalley's, was in the audience along with her husband, Carey, and sons Jaimie and Eric.

Tomorrow, those of us in Boston will travel to New York City and spend the rest of the week at Tribeca. We can't wait for Darius to see the Big Apple!

DGW...Know about it!

DOUBLE WINS, DOUBLE SCREENINGS

2007-04-29T15:00:00.000-07:00

April 29, 2007

Lots of exciting news to report...

DGW has won Audience Choice Awards at the Palm Beach International Film Festival AND the Atlanta Film Festival. Whoo-hoo! We're always thrilled to win awards because that means bigger audiences as we continue to travel to other festivals, and bigger audiences mean greater support for our cause.

Check out the great story Marc Pickard at 11Alive News in Atlanta did on DGW. It ran on April 20, just prior to our first screening in Altanta. You can read about it or watch it at:

http://www.11alive.com/life/article_life.aspx?storyid=95737

We also owe a huge thanks to Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Bob Longino for promoting our film so heavily in Atlanta. He predicted we'd win in Atlanta, and we're so happy he was right!

Darius had a blast at the Clarke Central High School junior-senior prom on Friday night, and we have pictures!

Logan is promoting DGW nonstop at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City, where he is staying at the Park Avenue apartment of the most gracious hosts ever, Earl and Janet Kramer (Tracy Seckler's parents). Meanwhile, Sam, Ben, Daniel, Tbarn and Darius are at the Independent Film Festival of Boston. DGW supporters and long-time friends of the crew Kason Rackley and Chris Williams drove the DGW van to Boston on Thursday so Big D would be able to get around Beantown in the comfort he's grown accustomed to, thanks to Dodge. Unfortunately, his pimped chair was acting up before he left to fly to Boston, so he's in his back-up electric chair. Thank you, Delta Airlines, for working so hard to make Darius' flight go so smoothly.

Today, at 2:30 PM, DGW was being shown simultaneously in Boston AND New York City.

Know about it!

WOWING THE CROWDS IN WEST PALM BEACH

2007-04-25T14:59:00.000-07:00

April 25, 2007

Tonight, we had our one and only screening at the West Palm Beach Film Festival. The crowd was huge and incredibly warm and receptive to our film and asked great questions at the Q&A. Special friends in the audience included Benjy Seckler's brother, Jon Seckler and his wife Allison, as well as Allison's parents, Bernie and Shellie. Tracy Seckler flew in for the screening and hosted a coffee and dessert fundraiser following the film. She also put us up at a really nice hotel on the beach, where we've been having a blast. Some of us even went in the ocean.

We head home tomorrow for one day of rest before heading to the Independent Film Festival of Boston, followed by the Tribeca Film Festival in NYC. Darius will be joining us on both legs of this trip and can't wait to fly again. Delta Airlines will be testing a new piece of equipment for this flight that is designed to make it easier to get Darius from his wheelchair to his airline seat. .

Logan left for Tribeca today and will host several screenings of DGW before the crew arrives in NYC on May 1.

We've heard rumors that the Atlanta Film Festival will be adding a third showing of DGW on Saturday night. There are no details at their website, but if we find out this is true, we will pass the information on to you.

DGW...Know about it!

DARIUS IN THE STUDIO

2007-04-23T14:58:00.000-07:00

April 23, 2007

Yesterday, Darius spent the afternoon at Tree Sound Studios in Atlanta. Athenian and DGW supporter Ben H. Allen arranged for the donated studio time, and our cameras were rolling to record this special day (future DVD extras???). From start to finish, Darius was in the zone. After knocking out a rap about his trip out west to some music composed and recorded by Nightline anchor and friend, Martin Bashir., we let Big D loose to record some of his own raps (he's been practicing for months). Ben Allen also surprised Darius with a song he'd written, which Darius will work on for a future recording session. HUGE thanks to Taryn Kaufman and Mack Woodward at Tree Sound Studios for making this awesome experience possible.

Today's screening at the Atlanta Film Festival was well attended (especially for a Monday afternoon), and the audience was extremely receptive and enthusiastic. Check out the great article in today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

http://www.accessatlanta.com/movies/content/movies/stories/2007/04/22/0423filmfest.html

Tomorrow, Daniel, Ben, Sam, and Tbarn head south to the Palm Beach International Film Festival. If you know anyone in that part of Florida, send them to Wednesday night's screening. We missed the opening night party at this festival (due to our Atlanta screening), which was held at Mar-A-Lago (Trump's estate), but we sent Tracy Seckler's parents, Earl and Janet Kramer, in our place, and they had a blast!

DGW...Know about it!

DGW IN HOTLANTA!

2007-04-21T14:56:00.000-07:00

April 21, 2007

Last night, we packed the Landmark Theatre in Midtown for the Atlanta premiere of Darius Goes West. There were lots of familiar faces in the crowd: crew members' relatives and friends and long-time Athens supporters (many seeing the film for the third, fourth and fifth times). Also in the house: David Martin (Delta) and his wife,Bonnie, Mark Johnson (Shepherd Center) and his wife Susan, Kristen Andersen (formerly with Children's Wish Foundation) and her entire family, including dad, Dave Andersen, who rolled out the red carpet for Darius and the crew in St. Louis when they went west. We'd also like to give a special shout out to Logan's childhood friend and former Concorde soccer teammate Justin Bell for going all out to publicize our screening at the Atlanta Film Festival and for bringing other former Concorde teammates (Justin Towns, Paul Schwak, and Chad Provow) to join the fun.

The movie started late (due to projection problems), the picture quality was disappointing, and our Q&A was cut short, but the crowd was awesome and gave us a long standing ovation.

After the screening, Lynn Massey (who has worked tirelessly for DGW and is the creative genius behind the subtitle of our film--The Roll of HIs Life) and her roommate Shannon Huff hosted an awesome party at their house in Virginia Highlands that lasted well into the wee hours.

Don't forget we have a second showing in Atlanta on Monday at 2:30 PM. Tell everyone you know!

Other news this week...

On Thursday, Eve Carson (newly elected student body president at UNC-Chapel Hill and older sister of crew member Andrew Carson) organized a screening of DGW at UNC-Chapel Hill. This showing attracted an enthusiastic crowd of about 80 college students. Eve plans to show the doc again next fall.

Tomorrow is a big day for the Big D. Thanks to Ben Allen (grammy award winning producer), Darius has snagged some studio time in Atlanta, where he will record a rap over some music Martin Bashir composed just for him. Darius also plans to record a few raps of his own, and we hope to be selling CDs of his work in the not-too-distant future (with profits going to Darius himself). Stay tuned!

DGW...Know about it!

BACK TO THE BIG EASY

2007-04-15T14:48:00.000-07:00

April 15, 2007

This weekend, many of us on the crew, plus guest and friend, Kason Rackley, took Darius back to New Orleans. We stayed at the same hotel (Creole Gardens) that we'd stayed at on the trip and ate at many of the same places (except Brennan's, which we couldn't afford). On Saturday night, Darius rolled down Bourbon Street once again. He liked it much better this time around (last time he was pretty nervous). With no cameras rolling, he didn't attract as much attention as he did on our trip. Unfortunately, right before we left Athens, D's pimped chair shorted out (it's working again now), so we had to take him in his other electric chair.

On Saturday, we had a screening at Tulane University at a small film festival hosted by the Law School. The audience was small but enthusiastic, and the film was shown twice. We had invited all the people in New Orleans who had been so good to us during our trip to come to this screening, but nobody showed up. That was a disappointment, because we wanted to say thank-you.

Other news: we've added new screenings. DGW has been accepted to MountainFilm Telluride in Colorado (May 25 - 28) and will be the featured Saturday night film at the St. Paul Solstice Film Festival in Minneapolis (June 21 - 24). From there, we'll be headed to Seattle for a private screening/Charley's Fund benefit being organized by Mindy Lefler and her mom, Janet Schneider, the same folks who helped organize the Portland benefit. If you have friends or family in any of these areas, tell them to come see the film and direct them to our website (www.dariusgoeswest.com) for more details.

REALLY BIG NEWS: DGW will play at Carnegie Hall in New York City on Thursday, May 4 (during the Tribeca Film Festival). This private screening, hosted by Charley's Fund, will be emceed by Nightline anchor Martin Bashir. We're very excited about playing at Carnegie Hall and hope this event raises tons of money for DMD research. Tickets start at $100; If you know anyone who wants to be invited to this special, special event, please e-mail Tracy Seckler (tkseckler@yahoo.com) and put "DGW at Carnegie Hall" in the subject line.

Finally, we'll be at the Atlanta Film Festival on Friday, April 20 and Monday, April 23, so come...and bring everyone you know.

For a great new article featuring Darius, check out this link: www.pridemobility.com.

DGW...know about it!

FUN IN THE SUN

2007-04-08T14:46:00.000-07:00

April 8, 2007

We've had a blast at the Sunscreen Film Festival in St. Pete, Florida, where DGW was both the opening and closing film (a first for us).

Logan, Daniel, Sam, Ben, and Andrew, as well as Darius's mom, sister, stepbrother, Sam's dad, and Logan's parents made the trip. For Darius and the crew, it was a maiden voyage in the new DGW Dodge Sprinter. Joining us in St. Pete were David Martin (Delta), his wife Bonnie and his daughter Meredith. Also there were Benjy and Tracy Seckler with their three children, Sammy, Charley, and Masie. This was the first time any of us on the crew besides Logan and TBarn have had a chance to meet Charley.

We've been staying at the Renaissance Vinoy, where Athens DGW supporter Kathleen Laughlin convinced Janette Rivera at the Vinoy to donate an accessible room for Darius and give the rest of us an awesome rate. The best thing about staying here (besides the fact that it's really, really nice) is that the film festival is right here.

There was a huge and enthusiastic crowd for Friday night's show, where we got a standing ovation. A really nice filmmaker's reception followed the screening.

On Saturday, we didn't need as much sunscreen as we'd hoped, as it was windy and a bit chilly, but still sunny. When we heard what the temperatures were in Athens, we weren't complaining. Fortunately, the pool was heated, so the crew went swimming with Charley and his siblings.

Saturday evening, we were treated to an awesome dinner, compliments of Chick-Fil-A, which Bonnie Martin and David Neely (with the help of David's son, Drayton Neely) arranged for us. Then it was off to the Devil Rays' home opener baseball game, with complimentary tickets provided to Darius and the crew by film festival organizers Tony Armer and Derek Miner. The Devil Rays lost, but it was an exciting game--PLUS, there was a message welcoming Darius and his crew on the jumbotron!

After the game, we headed straight to a festival party, where Darius wowed the crowd (and the crew) when he took the microphone and did some amazing free rapping. A crowd of about 150 people cheered him on and gave him thunderous applause when he was finished. We've got to get him in the studio soon!

Saturday night's party lasted well into Sunday, so most of us slept in today, then headed to the pool because the weather was perfect. Tonight, we closed the film festival with a second screening of DGW and had a lot of special folks in the audience: Logan and Ben's grandparents (Ralph and Dot Smalley) and cousin (Mindy Schlesinger and and her husband, Neil), Jarrard Cole's grandparents (Martha and Phil Cole), and Sam's cousin, Hailey (and her boyfriend, Luke).

The festival's award ceremony followed a great Q&A session (lots of questions about MTV tonight). We are proud to report that DGW was honored with TWO awards: Audience Choice and Best Feature (juried).

DGW...Know about it!

HOME SWEET HOME

2007-04-03T14:44:00.000-07:00

April 3, 2008

All of us who have been traveling since March 23 arrived home from Portland, Oregon last night. It was a pleasant surprise when Collin picked us up in the new DGW Dodge Sprinter. This was the first time many of us had seen it, and it is so awesome! Yesterday, it got even more "pimped" out when ABC Printing added the phrases, "DGW...Know about it," "Delta knows about it," and "ABC Printing and Shirtworks know about it," along with our website address. We are so grateful for this donation! Kat and Jackie at Shirtworks took pictures of this handiwork as it was being completed (we'll post them soon). We are certain to attract lots of attention as we travel in and around Athens AND hit the road for film festivals nationwide.

In our last blog, we mentioned that Fred and Pat Granum were going to take us all out to dinner in Portland on our last night there. We now must add a P.S. that they took us out for an amazing dinner! Not only was the food great, but the Granums were so generous and so much fun. Our waitress had seen the movie and recognized all of us, so we also got great service.

If you're planning to see DGW at the Atlanta Film Festival, you need to go online (www.atlantafilmfestival.com) and purchase your tickets soon. If you're not planning to go, please tell your friends and relatives in Atlanta to attend. We want to pack the house, since showing in Atlanta is almost like "bringing it home." We are sure that Clif Downie (Full EFX Auto Techniques) and his wife, Lori, will be there, as will Kristen Andersen (our heroine from Children's Wish Foundation), her dad Dave Andersen (who rolled out the red carpet for us in St. Louis), plus several folks from Mobility Design. We think they all deserve a standing ovation for their kindness and generosity to DGW. Work with us to make that happen!

DGW...Know about it!

TWO MORE AWARDS!

2007-04-01T14:43:00.000-07:00

April 1, 2007

This is getting to be addicting! Last night, we learned that we had won "Best Documentary" (a juried award) at the Longbaugh Film Festival in Portland. Today, we learned that we had won the "Audience Choice Award" at AFI/Dallas. All of this is wonderful news because every award furthers our cause!

Portland has been awesome, with two encore performances of DGW added and great audiences. Kathleen (sorry we're so bad with last names) and her friends from MDA have come to every single showing and have been great supporters. Since they're close to our age, they've also been fun to hang out with. Scott (featured in David Walker's great cover story in the Willamette Week) has also attended two showings. Scott is particularly inspirational, as he runs a program that awards college scholarships to people with disabilities. He is 27, has DMD, and is still going strong.

Other Portland people who have been very good to us include Mary and John Liedel, who took us all out for pizza last night. On our way to the restaurant, we actually crashed a house party when someone on their front porch recognized us from the film and invited us in! After dinner, we headed to the Crystal Ballroom for a Longbaugh-sponsored after-party. Tonight, Fred and Pat Granum are treating us all to dinner (a good thing, since most of us are out of money).

Tomorrow we head back to Athens, where Collin will pick us all up at the airport in the new DGW Dodge Sprinter. Most of us haven't seen it yet, so we're excited about that. We're also looking forward to sleeping in our own beds...at least for a few nights. Friday morning, we head to the Sunscreen Film Festival in St. Petersburg, Florida.

DGW...Know about it!

PORTLAND IS SURREAL

2007-03-30T14:42:00.000-07:00

March 30, 2007

Everywhere we go in Portland, we see Darius. That's because his picture covers almost the entire front page of The Willamette Week, and this newspaper has boxes everywhere! Yesterday, when Allison was riding the Portland MAX (local transit system), thee people sitting across from her were reading the article ("I had three Dariuses staring back at me. Where was my camera when I needed it?")

We're staying at a five-star hotel here, compliments of the Longbaugh Film Festival, where each room comes with its own iPod. Logan downloaded some of Darius's raps from his iTunes account for all of us to enjoy while here.

Last night, DGW opened the Longbaugh Film Festival, which was a huge honor. We packed the house--or houses. This venue actually had six nicely sized screening rooms, and our documentary showed simultaneously on all of them. Beforehand, food and cocktails were served as part of a Charley's Fund benefit organized by festival director David Walker and Charley's Fund supporter Mindy Leffler from Seattle. It was great to have a chance to mix and mingle with our audience before the show.

Portland audiences made us feel right at home. Maybe that was due to the huge Athens presence in last night's crowd. Diego Kirsch was in town and came to see DGW for the second time. He also helped us sell t-shirts after the show. Clyde, Logan's former co-worker from The Globe, was there. Mary Liedel (her sister, Margie Spalding is from Athens and a big-time DGW supporter) came and even brought groceries to our hotel! Fred Granum was there, too. His brother and sister-in-law, Tom and Doris Granum live in Athens and have been DGW supporters forever.

Allison's twin brother and his wife, Chris and Laurie Firor, flew in from New Mexico to see the film. Also in attendance was Dr. Benji Seckler (Charley's dad), who did an amazing job during the Q&A. DGW's new agent extraordinaire Norm Aladjem and his partner, Andrew Ruf from Paradigm L.A. were there as well--and had a chance to see how well audiences react to our film.

The Q&A was videotaped in one theater so that it could be beamed live to the other five (that was cool). Afterwards, we sold a lot of DGW t-shirts, thanks to David Walker's mom, Bonnie, who wouldn't take no for an answer from anyone!

We have a few new pictures posted, so check them out. Also, here's a link to an interview Kim Voyner did with Logan at AFI/Dallas:

http://www.cinematical.com/2007/03/29/afi-dallas-interview-darius-goes-west-director-logan-smalley/

DGW...Know about it!

A DAY OF TRAVELING, CHILLING, AND MEETING THE PRESS

2007-03-28T14:41:00.000-07:00

March 28, 2007

Logan made it to Portland, where David Walker, Longbaugh Film Festival director picked him up at the airport and whisked him off to do a radio interview. When we have the link to that, we'll send it on to you.

The crew in San Francisco spent the day chilling. They have an early morning flight to Portland.

Tomorrow night, DGW is the opening film at Longbaugh. We hope there's a huge turnout, since this is a benefit for Charley's Fund. Charley's dad, Dr. Benjamin Seckler, will be there, as will DGW's new agent, Norm Aladjem from Paradigm L.A.

Here's a link to an amazing article David Walker wrote in the Willamette Weekly (it's like The Flagpole in Athens). If you have a minute, please leave him a comment.
http://www.wweek.com/editorial/3320/8749/

DGW also got another great shout-out from AFI/Dallas, with more to come:

http://www.cinematical.com/2007/03/28/afi-dallas-dispatch-2-more-docs-edward-furlong-and-awesome-an/

DGW...Know about it!

ODDS AND ENDS

2007-03-27T14:40:00.000-07:00

March 27, 2007

Lots going on. Here's an update.

The official names for the two awards we won at the Cleveland International Film Festival are:

The Plain Dealer Roxanne T. Mueller Audience Choice Award for Best Film

AND

The Greg Gund Memorial Standing Up Film Competition

We're still flying high over these two huge honors and have the fondest memories of the incredible audiences and amazing staff at this awesome festival.

Check out the coverage we got in The Plain Dealer:

http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/1174984994116020.xml&coll=2

Logan and Allison have (temporarily) gone "Hollywood" at the AFI/Dallas Film Festival, walking the red carpet and even picking up bags of SWAG! Today, Logan did an interview with a reporter from MovieFone who saw our film and loved it. We'll let you know when that's available. Meanwhile, here's a link to another review from AFI/Dallas:

http://www.cinematical.com/2007/03/27/afi-dallas-review-darius-goes-west/

Ben, Sam, Daniel, Jason, and TBarn are having a blast in San Francisco. Yesterday, the Tiburon Film Festival offered them limo-driven tours to Pixar Studios. Last night, Grace and Steve Voorhis invited them back for dinner. Guess what was on the menu? Sushi and, of course, wasabi! Their kids are hilarious--and baby genuises! Today, they walked around Fisherman's Wharf and saw many seals. Tonight, they're watching films at Tiburon, and tomorrow they're taking a tour of Alcatraz.

Tomorrow, Logan and Allison head to Portland to do media for the Longbaugh Film Festival. Here's one review that's already appeared at KATU.com:

http://www.katu.com/news/entertainment/6731946.html

On Thursday, we'll all be together in Portland, where DGW will open the festival (a huge honor) with a big benefit for Charley's Fund. Benjy Seckler (Charley's dad) will join the fun.

DGW...Know about it!

WE ROCK CLEVELAND!

2007-03-25T14:39:00.000-07:00

March 25, 2007

DGW had a triple play today with screenings in Cleveland, Tiburon (California), and Dallas. How cool is that?

Logan was at the Cleveland International Film Festival, where he hosted an encore performance of our film. It was a near-capacity crowd, AND the best news: DGW picked up two more awards: Audience Choice and Best Documentary!!! This is an amazing feat, as CIFF is a 31-year-old festival that attracts huge and sophisticated crowds who are passionate about films. Logan was a bit disappointed however, that he was still doing his Q&A when the awards were announced, so he didn't have a chance to thank all the wonderful people in Cleveland (particularly the festival personnel) in his acceptance speech.

Ben, Daniel, Sam, TBarn, and Jason hosted today's screening at the Tiburon Film Festival. THe crowd was smaller than we'd anticipated but very enthusiastic. One person in the audience was a grandmother of some kids who saw the film in Santa Barbara, so word is spreading. Also, UGA alum Susan Clarkson brought several of her friends from San Francisco, and they all treated the crew to lunch after the screening. They've also offered to be our tour guides in San Francisco for the rest of our stay.

Last night, those of us in California had a great meal at the home of Grace and Steve Voorhis. They are executive producers of our film, and Grace appears briefly in it (she's the one who took us to the San Francisco Zoo). Grace is also an awesome cook. We stuffed our faces with Korean barbecue and all the fixings. We also got to wash some clothes at her house (thank goodness).

This weekend was a busy one for Darius as well. Now that he has new "wheels," he was able to go to a party on Saturday night (Kevin and John Harmon dropped him off, then picked him up). He is so proud of the new van!

Logan leaves for AFI/Dallas tomorrow, where DGW has a second screening tomorrow evening. On Thursday, the crew will reunite in Portland, where DGW is the opening film at the Longbaugh Film Festival.

DGW...Know about it!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DANIEL

2007-03-23T14:33:00.000-07:00

March 23, 2007

Most of us (Sam, Ben, Jason, Daniel, and TBarn) are in California for the Tiburon Film Festival. Last night, we attended a festival party and started recruiting people to fill the theater at our one and only screening at the festival on Sunday. Today, we took a little field trip to Muir woods to see the giant redwoods. Tonight, we went to a "Meet the Filmmakers" party and are now headed out to dinner and who knows what else to celebrate Daniel's birthday. Thanks to Lee Epting, Daniel's dad for letting us use his credit card to pay for dinner!

We took some cool pictures in California today and promise to post them soon.

Logan and Allison are chilling in Cleveland--answering e-mails, watching films, and waiting for an encore performance of DGW on Sunday night. If you know anyone in Cleveland, please send them our way...we want to pack the house. Last night, Logan and Allison hung out with many of the great folks who run the festival, including Marcie Goodman (executive director) and Bill Guentzler (artistic director).

In Athens, we had a screening at Barrow Elementary School last night. Collin and Darius did a great job handling the Q&A. We had a good crowd, and our new t'shirts were a huge hit. Check 'em out at our website (www.dariusgoeswest.com).

DGW...know about it!

CLEVELAND ROCKS AND ROLLS

2007-03-21T14:32:00.000-07:00

March 21, 2007

Not much to report today. Most of us slept in this morning, then chilled most of the day at the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame. We were disappointed that R.E.M.'s exhibit wasn't up yet, but still, the museum was really cool. When we got back to the hotel, most of us went for a swim.

In the morning, Jason, Daniel, Tbarn, Ben, and Sam fly to San Francisco for the Tiburon Film Festival. Logan and Allison (aka "the girl") will stay behind in Cleveland for a few days before heading to AFI/Dallas.

Tonight, we plan to hang out with Becky and Lisa, two journalists from a local newspaper called the Cleveland Scene. They wrote an article on their blog about DGW (you can read it at http://www.clevescene.com/blogs/?p=831.

This afternoon, Emily Ingalls, hospitality coordinator for the Cleveland International Film Festival, called and said the festival was picking up the tab on all three of our hotel rooms. Cleveland definitely rocks!

We've been getting tons of e-mail from our Cleveland fans. Keep writing to us, and please also post your comments at our brand new forum at www.dariusgoeswest.com. You'll have to register to post, but it only takes a second.

We'll keep you posted if anything new or exciting happens.

DGW...know about it!

A "SLAM" DUNK IN CLEVELAND

2007-03-20T14:30:00.000-07:00

March 20, 2007

We've had another awesome day in Cleveland. This morning, the FilmSlam theater was once again packed with high school students from all over the state. They were a great audience and asked a bunch of really thoughtful questions afterwards. One group, the Drama II class from LaBrae High School in Leavittsburg, OH, traveled for over an hour to see DGW and stuck around for a 45-minute Q & A. They were bright, emotional, and articulate, and we promised to give them a shout out. We also took a picture with them, so watch for it soon.

Later this afternoon, we had our second screening at the regular film festival. The theater wasn't quite as packed as last night's showing, but the audience was equally responsive. Many in the audience were nurses and, based on their comments after the movie, all had a "Darius" in their lives.

One festival volunteer who attended this screening liked the movie so much that she dashed out of the theater while the credits were rolling to buy us all a card. She wrote a really nice message inside and presented the card to the crew after our Q&A. It really meant a lot to us.

The best news of the day: the Cleveland Film Festival has decided to add an encore performance of DGW on Sunday at 7:15 PM, just before closing ceremonies. This is a huge honor, and we hope to pack the house for our grand finale here.

Tomorrow we plan to visit the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame and can't wait to see their new R.E.M. exhibit! We'll also be chilling and watching a lot of great movies here.

Be sure to visit the new forum on our website (www.dariusgoeswest.com), where you can chat about all things DGW-related. Thanks to our webmaster, Kelly Rodgers, for getting that up so quickly.

DGW...Know about it!

CLEVELAND ROCKS!

2007-03-19T14:29:00.000-07:00

March 19, 2007

Yesterday, while Darius, Collin, Jason, and Daniel were having a blast at the Altanta Motor Speedway (see our new pictures), five of us (Logan, Ben, Sam, John Hadden and Allison Firor) were traveling to Ohio for the Cleveland International Film Festival. We had been hearing so many good things about how well run this festival is and how hospitable the people are here, and we are finding that to be absolutely true.

Last night, for example, Hyla Winston, who is a friend of a cousin of Tracy Seckler (Charley's mom) invited all of us over for a homecooked meal. On our meager budget, we've never been known to turn down a free dinner, so we happily accepted. She went all out for us, and not only was the food incredible (especially the dessert), but we really enjoyed meeting her and her extended family. Yep, Cleveland rocks.

This morning, we had our first screening at what is called FilmSlam, a part of the festival that is geared specifically to teenagers. The theater was packed, and they loved the movie. High school students are always our favorite audience, and this group was no exception. They asked great questions at the Q&A.

We spent most of the afternoon watching other movies, then had our second screening at the regular festival this evening. When we arrived at the theater, we were pleasantly surprised to find a packed house (over 300 people), something we're not accustomed to outside of Athens. By then, Daniel, Jason, and Dylan had joined us. One snafu: Logan forgot the Oprah postcards and wasn't in the theater when he was introduced (oops). But Ben stepped up and did an awesome job. What an incredible audience! When the show was over, we got a standing ovation that lasted for several minutes! And the Q&A was awesome.

We were all wearing our brand-new series (of six) DGW t-shirts tonight, and everyone in Cleveland wants one. We'll be selling them soon on our website (www.dariusgoeswest.com), so if you want one, send us an e-mail (logansmalley@aol.com), and we'll let you know as soon as they're available. All proceeds go to Charley's Fund (www.charleysfund.org) for DMD research.

Tomorrow we have another FilmSlam screening in the morning and another regular festival screening in the evening. We hope the word spreads, and we pack the house again!

DGW...Know about it!

A DAY AT THE RACES

2007-03-18T14:20:00.000-07:00

March 18, 2007

A couple of months ago, we got a call from Jennifer Wade, who works in corporate development for NASCAR and is Director of Partnership Development for the Victory Junction Gang Camp, founded by NASCAR driver Kyle Petty and his wife Pattie Petty, in honor of thier late son Adam. This camp is a year-round facility serving children with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses by providing life-changing camping experiences that are exciting, fun, and empowering. Anyway, Jen and Pattie spotted our trailer on youtube.com and begged us to send them a copy of Darius Goes West: The Roll of His Life to show to their camp staff.

We did, and after watching it, Pattie remarked, "When I saw the documentary that was put together about Darius, I was overwhelmed with emotion. He is a courageous young man and his story will touch the hearts of millions and hopefully help fund research that will eventually result in a cure for Muscular Dystrophy." She and Jen also told us they wanted to meet Darius. In fact, they extended two invitations to Darius and the crew: to spend time this summer at Victory Junction Camp and to attend a NASCAR race. The latter happened today, and you won't believe the events that unfolded...

Darius's day at the Atlanta Motor Speedway began with a BIG surprise. Soon after arriving at the track with Daniel, Jason, and Collin--and well before the race started--Darius was presented with a brand new wheelchair-accessible Dodge Sprinter!!! "Bold capability is a hallmark of the Dodge brand of vehicles and a shared attribute with Darius Weems--a young man with a vibrant spirit," said Mike Accavitti, Director of Dodge Motorsports and SRT Marketing, Chrysler Group. "Dodge is excited to supply the use of a Dodge Sprinter full-size van to accommodate all of Darius's transportation needs."

Mobility Transportation provided the lift device and wheelchair access to the Dodge Sprinter, and Delta Airlines arranged for Daniel to fly to Michigan on Friday to pick up the new van. Dodge has agreed to let us keep these magnificent new wheels for at least a year.

This surprise could not have come at a better time. For years, Darius's sole means of transportation (aside from the bus he takes to and from school) has been the Smalley family's 1994 Dodge high top conversion van, which could only accommodate Darius in his manual chair with the use of some portable ramps. It was a tight squeeze! On Thursday night, several crew members took D to the movies, and on the way home, the Smalley van, with its almost 200,000 miles, broke down. On Friday morning, we learned that it will cost more to fix than it's worth. So, THANK YOU DODGE--and a special shout out to Denise Berecz at Daimler Chrysler for expediting this awesome surprise!

With the Smalley van inoperable, we also realized we had no way to get Darius to the Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday without spoiling the surprise. To the rescue: Keith Hargrave of Hargrave Motor Coach, who provided (at cost) a mini-bus with a lift so that Dairus--and his "pimped" chair--could make the trip.

Needless to say, Darius's eyes lit up when he saw the new van. "That's so cool...that's so cool," was all he could manage to say. After the presentation, Darius rolled over to the NASCAR drivers' motorhome lot where he met Richard Petty and got his autorgraph. Next up: a tour of the garage to see all the great cars (and if you've seen the movie, you KNOW how much D loves cars!).

After that, Darius, Collin, Daniel, and Jason were invited to attend the Drivers' Meeting (a huge honor). They next went to Chapel, where Darius shook hands with Chick-fil-A CEO S. Truett Cathy. By then, everyone was starving and headed over to the Dodge bus for a cookout.

After lunch, D was escorted to the "front row" and sat next to Kyle Petty's race car for the national anthem. He stayed near the track for the traditional "Gentlemen, start your engines" call, then headed to the pit stall where he hung around for the first pit stop.

The remainder of the race was spent high atop the track in a luxurious suite, compliments of Sprint Nextel. The food was awesome, and so was the company. After the race was over, Darius got to visit Victory Lane.

We couldn't get permission to film today's events, but Jennifer Wade took lots of photos, which she will send us soon for posting here. Thank you, Jen, Denise, Kyle, Pattie, Dodge, Sprint Nextel, Mobility Transportation, and Delta for making this amazing day possible for Darius. He will never forget all of the excitement, and we will never forget your kindness!

DGW...Know about it.

WE WON IN OMAHA!

2007-03-04T14:18:00.000-08:00

March 4, 2008

Despite a blizzard that almost kept us from making it to Omaha, we walked away tonight with TWO awards: Best Documentary (juried award) AND the Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary. We are thrilled beyond words!

We've had a blast spinning the wheels on our rental car in the snow (yes, Daniel has been behind the wheel), seeing a lot of great movies, and meeting a lot of great people. Despite the cold, we have one particuarly heartwarming story to share with you. Today, after our second screening (we missed the first one when our flight to Omaha got canceled), we met Phil, who is 10 years old and, like Darius, has DMD. His parents brought him to see the movie, and he and his parents came up to us afterwards to tell us how much they liked it. After the Q&A, we were all starving, so we headed out to the parking lot and grabbed a loaf of bread and some sandwich meat out of the trunk of our car (a makeshift fridge in this weather) to make dinner. Phil and his parents spotted us and said, "Are you kidding?" then took all four of us to an awesome steakhouse for dinner. Thank you, Phil and family!!! (By now, it's probably obvious that we have all forgotten Phil's parents' names, but we will never forget their kindness).

At the award ceremony tonight, we were presented with a box of goodies: trophies, camera equipment, etc. The winning movies are screening again now (to large audiences), after which an SUV limo will be picking us all up and taking us to a post-awards party. Hope we make our plane tomorrow!

DGW...Know about it!

A FOOT OF SNOW IN OMAHA!

2007-03-02T14:16:00.000-08:00

March 2, 2007

We were supposed to get to Omaha two days ago, but Mother Nature intervened. Actually, before taking off on Wednesday, we had a chance to give up our seats in exchange for Delta Dollars, so we did it--twice! Our plan: to donate these vouchers to Charley's parents, Tracy and Benjy Seckler, and to DGW co-editor Allison Firor and assistant editor Jarrard Cole so they can all get to some film festivals. Since our first screening wasn't until Thursday evening and we had seats on an early flight out on Thursday morning, we figured everything would work fine. Then came the blizzard. We spent all day Thursday waiting in the airport, but all flights were canceled. The only bright spot of the day: Daniel's mom, Bobbie Epting, who housed us overnight in Atlanta, cooked us an awesome breakfast.

We headed back home mid-afternoon on Thursday with confirmed seats on a 9:00 AM flight this morning. We left for the Atlanta airport in what should have been plenty of time, but we didn't anticipate the horrible traffic. At 8:30 AM, we were still going through airport security and still had to make it all the way to Concourse C for our flight. Lucky for us, a Delta flight attendant was also stuck in traffic, so our plane was delayed.

We are now in Omaha, which is white and flat and COLD! It's great to be here, and we're looking forward to a warm audience at our showing on Sunday at 12:30 PM.

DGW...Know about it!

DGW + NYC!

2007-02-28T14:11:00.000-08:00

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!

ATHENS TO ATHENS?

2007-02-22T14:08:00.000-08:00

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!

NIGHTLINE...KNOW ABOUT IT!

2007-02-17T14:06:00.000-08:00

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!