From DARKHORIZONS.com

Script Review

"5-25-77" - A Review by 'Smilin Jack Ruby' (Positive - Very Minor Spoilers)

I was going to do a script review of another script this week, but then I was in a chatroom and was suggested to go to Patrick Read Johnson's website (he's the guy who wrote the story for "Dragonheart" and directed "Spaced Invaders" and "Angus" [as well as did miniature construction apparently on one of my guilty pleasures, "Warlock"]) and read the script he's gearing up to head out and shoot called "5-25-77." It had already been reviewed positively a couple of places, so I didn't know if I could add anything, but I read it anyway.

Holy friggin' crap.

It's really bad that film geeks are reviewing "5-25-77" right now as we are the audience for the film and our views are probably going to be a bit skewed. Personally, frankly, and honestly, I think "5-25-77" has some of the most affecting moments I've read in a script lately. You laugh? If you're on this geek site, then it'll get to you, too. "5-25-77" is the film fanboy version of "October Sky" or "Rudy" or "Breaking Away" or any number of so-called inspirational films that never really got to me anyway. I can be pretty hard on a film that's inspirational and I actually hate "Breaking Away." "5-25-77" is just a solid fine piece of work.

If you didn't catch the story or hear it already from the screenwriter himself, May 25, 1977 was the release date of "Star Wars." There are countless stories about people seeing "Star Wars" and wanting to go into movies because of it. This is the quirky tale of one of those guys, screenwriter/director Patrick Read Johnson, and we are meant to believe that it is blithely autobiographical. The hero, Pat Johnson, is the only guy in his small Midwestern town who is really anticipating the release of "Star Wars" in the same way fanboys were anticipating the release of "Episode I" last year. That day, however, there are dozens upon dozens of things keeping him from seeing it and the story follows his attempts to get to a screening. That would be an interesting movie in and of itself, but this one's got a lot more to it than that.

Since he was a kid, little Pat has been making movies, generally sci-fi, and has dreams of leaving his town behind him and heading out to California to make his dreams of being a filmmaker come true. There are reasons to stay, of course (femme and friends and family) and there's his overwhelming passion to become a filmmaker driving him to follow his dreams and get the hell out of Dodge.

I don't want to give anything away, but there is a scene early on in this movie that will knock the socks off of a lot of people and shows the scope we're dealing with. This isn't just "Dancer, Texas Pop. 81" - this is something that hasn't been done before.

Needless to say, I want to see this movie get made. I was surprised how good it is. It is not merely a teen comedy, but if that's what it'll take to get some distributor to put two and two together and move on this picture, fine. If they need to be told that it's similar to "Dazed and Confused" or hell, "That 70's Show," so be it. It's got shades of that, too. It's even got a lot to do with one of Johnson's other pics, "Angus."

The question is, will this pic get made? Johnson informed me that Fred Roos and Gary Kurtz are attached as producers. Anyone who knows anything about Lucas knows these two guys as both worked on "American Graffiti" and Kurtz was a producer on "Star Wars" itself. Most recently, Roos was a co-producer on "The Virgin Suicides" and a producer on the upcoming Warren Beatty film, "Town and Country." Those are some real heavyweights for an indie film like this that really won't cost all that much to make, maybe around 3 million.

If you don't believe me, hunt down the script yourself. Johnson has extreme confidence in this script and I can now see why.