The night of January 9 was very exciting. It was the official premiere of the movie that we had worked on since last summer. And I was nervous. Jason and I had visited local schools to spread the word about the event, and we went on radio with Charlie and Scott in Senoia. Also, the local paper in Newnan did a great article about us the day of the show. With all that we, and others, did to draw a crowd, on the way to the Arts Center, I still wondered if anyone other than my family and a few friends would show up.
Diane Lang, my co-author, was in town for the week, and we rode down together. When we pulled into the parking lot, Jason was the only one there. As the hour-and-a-half before the showing slipped away, people trickled in. I made sure I spent time talking to the veterans who showed up, and to anyone else I could interact with. They were there to see a movie I wrote and I was thrilled they would come by. Actually, it was almost intimidating. But, I believed in the movie, its message, and its quality. I couldn’t wait to go sit in the back and be just another audience member.
Jason and I waited out front on our director of photography and our CEO of Tin Roof. They were caught in traffic. Since our CEO is a major component of our creative endeavors, and the DP shot the footage, we wanted them to be there. So, we had a local teacher, Kevin Pullen, talk about his production class the CEC in Newnan. Finally, the pair screeched into the lot. After that, Jason and I walked into the auditorium. We were stunned; the constant trickle of people had turned into a crowd of over 300. The lights went down and the movie started. At the end, the crowd was quiet but then the applause started and grew into major appreciation. When Jonathan Hickman called us forward, I felt like a deer in the headlights as I walked down front to answer questions from the crowd. When a Vietnam veteran raised his hand, I was a little anxious. But his comments of how he thought we did a great job made the evening worthwhile. For an hour, the actors, Jason, Andy and myself responded to questions from the crowd. It was loads of fun.
Also, I was honored to have so many of the cast and crew involved show up. None of this would have been possible had they not done such a great job. I cannot thank them enough.
With all that was going on, the most emotional part of the evening happened when the movie ended. All along, we wanted Last Bullet to be a great movie, but also to be a tribute to our veterans. So, Jason and I decided to dedicate Last Bullet to Andy Rice, our military advisor, a Vietnam vet, and a good friend. Somehow, we managed to keep it a secret for the month leading up to the premiere. Andy watched the movie sitting next to me. I was as thrilled about him seeing the dedication as almost anything that night. When it got to the end and it followed with this film dedicated to Andy Rice, and to all veterans, past and present, it was very emotional.

I can’t wait for the next showing.