Indy

My home town--Indy.

Actually, Indy is Indianapolis, but everyone from there calls it Indy. I love the nickname--maybe because I'm Indie Filmmaker and the name has some relevance. But more importantly, it's a beautiful part of the country and a great place to grow up. Home of the 2007 Super Bowl Champions --- the Colts. (yes, I'm a big fan!) I cherish my hometown and the the great values it instilled in me. I enjoy coming back and seeing my family, friends, and the wonderful, gracious people of Indy.

There's something about screening a film that you have toiled over: where you have shed your blood, sweat, and tears, in making your vision into a reality--and bringing your film back to your hometown to share with your family and friends--that makes for a truly special, worthwhile event. I consider it a treat and an amazing gift to share my film and to have it screened in my hometown.

I had literally just wrapped my film, No One Island,(see more details about the film at: www.tigereyeprod.com) when I received the email that Getting Lucky was selected for the Indy Fringe Festival! I was already planning on going back to Indy to visit with my family and friends and now having Getting Lucky be a part of the Fringe Film Festival was an added bonus!

I started my PR campaign --I only had 2 weeks to get the word out that a local gal has made good in Hollywood and is now coming back to Indy to screen her film.

I was touched and even a bit surprised as to how many people were interested and even fascinated by my story . They were intrigued that my film was coming to Indy and being screened at the local festival. I got 2 great write ups--one in in the Indianapolis Star (thanks Susan!) and the other in InTake Magazine--written by Matt Gonzales, (thank you, Matt) where I got "Pick of the Week" for the screening of Getting Lucky!

The Indianapolis Star mentioned me and my film, which caused my website hits to triple in number! Friends that I hadn't seen since high school were contacting me, congratulating me, and told me they were planning on attending the screening.

I landed an interview on WISH-TV the CBS affiliate where I discussed the film and the festival on their noon program. I have to admit, I was a bit nervous, as I hadn't done a LIVE broadcast before. I did a radio interview in Scotland--but no one could actually see me --here I'm being SEEN and HEARD!

I was lead onto the set of the newscast and sat on the couch where they conduct their in-studio interviews. The producer, Janine Garner, was very sweet and gracious and said to me: "You're going to be fantastic!" She seemed very confident and stated this as if it were fact--at that point, I wasn't so sure. Thanks for bolstering me up, Janet!

To my relief, I realized I had nothing to worry about. One of the anchors, David Barras, and the weather guy were cracking jokes during commercial breaks, which made me laugh and put me at ease.

When it came time for the interview I wasn't really nervous -- and it was actually fun. During the interview, they showed photo stills from the film and listed my website as well --- Yay! Talk about great PR! And thanks David, for putting me at ease before the interview.

Afterwards, we took some photos on-set and then Andrea (the anchor woman who interviewed me) said: "Keep in touch, I'd like to do a follow-up story when you come back into town with your next film, No One Island." Sweet! Thank you Andrea!

After the interview, I had a barrage of phone calls from family and friends commenting on how great the interview went. Whew---thank goodness.

My mom came down to the station with me and afterwards she was beaming-- so sweet! We decided to celebrate and grab some lunch where we met up with our friend, Marty. She is such a great, funny, lovely person. She gave me the biggest hug and congratulated me.

What an incredible experience! It was wonderful to be in my hometown, receive such a warm reception, and connect with my fellow Hoosiers. Special thanks to Janine Garner and WISH-TV for being so gracious. I'm truly grateful for all the opportunities that this film has afforded me and I feel blessed to bring Getting Lucky to my hometown and share it with everyone that came to the screening--and to think... this is only the beginning!