OF FORTUNE AND GLORY PREMIERE JANUARY 29, 2000

Story by Erik Woods

Well, it finally happened. We finally finished OF FORTUNE AND GLORY... and here is the story of what unfolded during the premiere weekend.

We are going to start on Friday January 28. I began my last editing session at about 3:30pm. I was hoping to have the movie finished by at least midnight so I could catch the 12:30am GO bus back to Hamilton where I live (the editing studio is in Toronto.) Well, as the time ticked away I realized that I wasn't going to finish by midnight but I already booked the theatre for Saturday evening and I had to get the movie done. So, I edited for another 3 3/4 hours which brings us to 3:45am which is when I finally finished the end credit role. I began dubbing onto VHS at 4am and finally curled up on the studio risers for 4 hours sleep. Yes, I feel asleep in the studio.

So, I wake up at 8:45 am on Saturday, grab the completed movie and head home. I walked in the door of my home in Hamilton at 11am. I got a nice greeting from my parents and then I hit the sack. I was hoping to get a least another 4 hours sleep but the phone wouldn’t stop ringing. I had actors and friends confirming times and places for the premiere which would take place in the evening and therefore I only got an extra 2 hours sleep. So far, I've had 6 hours sleep in the past 37 hours but I'm over tired and too excited about the premiere to worry about sleep.

So, it hits 6:30 and my co-producer Tim Sullivan and my friend Don Lonsberry pick me up and we are ready to head to the theatre which is located in downtown Hamilton by the Skyway bridge. It's a good 15 minute drive away. Well, only minutes into our trip we hit a patch of ice, skid out of control, hit the curb, get 2 feet of air, and land back down with a flat front tire. We replace the tire and by that time it's 7:00pm. People would start arriving at the theatre at 7:30 and I haven't had a chance to check out the theatre yet.

We arrive at the CANADA CENTRE FOR INLAND WATERS, which is where the theatre is located, at 7:15. We quickly check out the sound system and projector. Everything is cool. And just as we sit down rest for a moment… the people start arriving.

We had 20 people show up the premiere that ranged from family, to friends, to old teachers, to cast and crew. I made my little speech at 7:58pm and at 8:00pm we finally premiered OF FORTUNE AND GLORY.

It was possibly the greatest 70 minutes of my life watching my movie up on the big screen and having the audience laugh when I wanted them to laugh, cheer when I wanted them to cheer and react in many different emotions exactly when I wanted them to. I was smiling the whole way through just watching the audience enjoy my movie. And finally when the last frame was projected we received a wonderful round of applause. I then went up on stage turned on the house lights and saw a smile on everyone’s face. The first thing I asked was “Did you enjoy it?” And they all said, “Yes!” It was a success!!!!!

Just as I was going to get off the stage to talk to everyone more personally, my friend and still photographer Melissa Wallace, walked up to me and handed me a gift. I sat on stage opening my gift and when I saw the contents I was shocked. Her family had got me a scrapbook with a wooden cover with a picture of me on the front (you can see the same picture below). And there was also an engraving, which said OF FORTUNE AND GLORY PREMIERE JANUARY 29, 2000. It was a very special gift and one I will treasure forever. I finally placed production pictures in the book Sunday evening. My parents also gave me a bottle of champagne, which we all had a glass of to celebrate. Then my friends took me out for a celebratory dinner and drinks. The evening finally finished at 2am Sunday morning and I would finally go home and get more then 4 hours sleep. And for the first time in 3 months, I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

January 29, 2000 will possibly stand as the best day of my life and I’m not sure if I will ever experience anything like it ever again. This was a very special moment for me. I’ve spent next to three years on this project, 11 of those was spend on pre-production, principle photography and post-production. I spend almost 400 hours in the editing suites and sacrificed a lot of sleep to get to this point. But, let me tell you, I wouldn't have traded this experience for the world. I want to thank everyone who was involved with the project and I want to thank everyone who gave us their support during the past 11 months.

Now review copies of OF FORTUNE AND GLORY will be sent out to REwind Magazine and the AMDB but unfortunately we cannot take order yet. Reason being is that the movie we completed this past weekend is the temp track version. We are going to hand over the movie now to composer Adam Gesjorskjy who will take the month of February to complete the original score for GLORY. Once that is complete we will then start selling the movie.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the story. I just hope that once YOU see the movie you will all enjoy it just as much as we enjoyed making it!

Thank you for your time and happy shooting,

Erik Woods
TEWS Entertainment

Click on the thumbnail below to see pictures of the scrapbook given to us by Melissa Wallace and her family