It had been well over a year since I returned to the campus of Immaculata University. The last time was for the filming of our indie flick Our Lady of Victory during the spring of ‘07.
For your information, our agent at William Morris Agency has been screening OLV for studios as we speak. (For more on the movie, go to my April blog: A Memorable Screening.) All of the studio executives so far seem to really like the movie but for one reason or another no one has given us the green light and written the check. For example, Universal passed because they recently invested about $75 million in The Express and it bombed at the box office with receipts of only $4.5 million. All the more reason they should have said “yes!” OLV will run all over The Express!
Tim Chambers and I were waiting in the wings to go onstage at Immaculata for their “Respect Rally 2008.” Tim, who just took the redeye home from LA, tells me the great news that Jason Constantine from Lionsgate Films loves the movie and is interested in a co-deal with another distributor. Yes! So where’s the check?
So while Tim and I were strategizing to sell OLV, the Immaculata auditorium goes dark and the large screen onstage reveals the opening scene (which you can see under Breaking News on my homepage). In addition, the student audience – with nuns sprinkled throughout – was treated with another inspiring scene from the movie. This was a surprise to me and brought tears to my eyes. The students went wild when the lights returned on. I think they not only enjoyed the scenes, but realized they were watching the amazing history of their history-making alma mater that would eventually be shared with the world.
Tim walked onstage to thunderous applause as the visionary (writer, producer, director) for the movie and proceeded to tell the student body to “respect” their dreams. You can respect other peoples’ advice but stay true to yourself. He revealed that Disney was willing to pay a handsome figure for his screenplay but they wanted to deviate from his vision. He walked.
I look forward to him walking down the red carpet!
The Respect Rally 2008 was a pep rally of sorts for students to focus on how they can better build respect on campus and make it part of their everyday actions. For Tim and me, it was a chance to do a little good and to demonstrate our respect and thanks to the institution that provided us with a most inspiring story.
You probably know that I believe that when you do good, you do well.
Well, that evening we received a call from our agent. To be continued….
This entry was posted
on Monday, October 20th, 2008 at 8:19 am by Pat Croce
Leave a Reply
October 20th, 2008 at 9:50 am
Pat, you can’t leave us hanging like this! I hope it was good news from your agent, and I can’t wait to read the conclusion. From what I’ve seen so far, the movie looks great. However, after reading your post, I am very interested in the “Respect Rally” what a great idea. My wife is a Principal for a Middle School, and I think she’d be interested in having such a rally for her school!
Once again, I am so excited for you, Gargano and Chambers. Hell, even Smirconish!!
October 20th, 2008 at 11:00 am
That’s awesome Pat! Keep doin’ good my man, you continue to inspire.
October 21st, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Pat, I would just like to thank you for coming out to Immaculata this past Thursday. It was an awesome treat for me and the rest of the student body. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your contribution to making OLV. That thank you comes from myself (a current IU student) and my aunt (an alumnae).
Thanks again, Bill
October 21st, 2008 at 4:50 pm
Bill,
You’re welcome. And I hope you enjoy your time at that great institution.
Pat