It occurred to me after the premiere that I had not partaken of much sleep for several days while preparing. So, after a long a restful weekend, here’s what happened.

First, I’d like to thank Sam Doak and Brad Kaplan for pitching in and working just as hard as I did to make this whole thing happen. Because of them, everybody at the show was able to enjoy it on our custom-built theater screen with a killer sound system, digital projection, and lots of concessions. Without them this would not have happened.

I was, in a word, nervous about this premiere. It was my first, the first one I had ever put on at all for a movie that I had written and produced. We had spent the last month preparing by locking down a venue, planning, and even doing some construction. Not to mention that some of the technology had only been tested in parts but not altogether in the configuration we were using.

But it all went off quite well. The first moviegoers showed up around 6:30 and quickly filled the Steelworkers Hall. Within a few minutes we had a capacity crowd and there were still more coming in. It was standing room only for the 7pm show.

After Brad, Louis, and Gene said a few words, we lowered the lights and fired it up. The crowd went nuts during the opening credit sequence, especially when Phil’s name showed up. It was a great feeling knowing that we had finally got the movie out there for everyone to see.

At one point, I remembered stepping outside, not really wanting to pace around at the back while waiting for it to be over. Everybody was silent there in the hall, which I took for rapt attention, although it could have been something else entirely.

The movie finished and everybody stayed glued to their seats to watch the end credits roll. I could tell when somebody found their name on it because they would get up after that. When we brought the lights up, I looked outside one more time and saw yet another large crowd forming for the 9pm show. Unbelievable. These people were coming to see this movie.

Many of the folks from the 7pm show hung around to shake hands, give their congratulations, take pictures with the stars, and then make their way out. I couldn’t tell you how many people I gripped palm with that night or how many flashes from cameras temporarily put bright blue spots on my vision. It was fun and exciting.

I can’t wait to do it again.