Speaking of the Oscars...

...and Oscar winning performances and films.  Here's a partial cast picture of a little gem I'm willing to bet most people never had the pleasure of seeing.  It had a very limited release, but it did make it to one big screen here in Orlando. We, of course, are talking about the underappreciated, first feature-length film of a then, little known auteur, The Writer.

That's him on the right. Chris S. on left and Joey D. in middle.

It was the summer of 2004, The Writer was home from college. He and his posse decided to spend the summer creating the masterpeice known as "ARRRR". In case you couldn't guess, it had a pirate theme. Who needs Johnny Depp?

There was a cast and crew of thousands involved, or at least thats how it seemed as our backyard and property in general was often part of the set for filming.  Rain or shine, filming went on. Day or night.  Weekday or weekend.  There were location shoots and just about everyone in The Writer's circle of friends and acquaintances was involved in one way or another.  And yes, to answer your burning question, I, his mother had a small, but pivotal role - well, at least that's how he sold me on playing the part.

After the filming was complete, the lengthy editing process began and luckily one member of the posse had editing experience from working summers at a local TV station.  Complicating the editing process was a little thing called Hurricane Charlie.  It's hard to edit film without electricity.  Fortunately the editor was able to convince his parents that their generator should be used to power the digital editing equipment instead of their refrigerator or fans.  We are grateful for their sacrifice to this day.

And I know you all think I'm just some starstruck, fangirly type who would fall apart if she ever attended The Oscars or a movie premiere, but I've got news for you. I. have. already. been. to. a. movie. premiere. In fact two! So there!

Other-movie-by-The Writer premiere I attended:

No, not "Nemo". Puhleeze. THAT little scrap of a movie?

No, the one above it:

Mr. T., The Maven, Orlando Grandma and I attended the premiere of this movie in Gainesville. However, the carpet was blue.

Back to "ARRRR". I'll have you know I did not scream at the stars as they arrived at the downtown Orlando theater. I did not pester them for pictures or autographs.  I didn't need to lower myself to that level.  Besides, I already have plenty of pictures of them all. Proof:  first photo in this post.  And another thing:  I was one of the "pivotal" characters in this film, so I was one of them. 

Tension was palpable as there were technical difficulties with the projection equipment initially.  There was the threat of more power outages as we were just days away from being whomped by Charlie.  But that Tinseltown magic held, and the world (well, 50 citizens of the world) got it's first glimpse of a little summer project ,that grew into a huge summer project, and then into a very fun memory of my son and his friends.  And a fine film, at that.

Now all together:

ARRRRRR!