My 15 Minutes Extended To 20

About seven years ago I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. I was cast in a starring role for a made for TV movie. The film was based on a children's novel, Someone Was Watching by David Patneaude. I had never heard of the book at the time but ever since my involvement with the film I have become aware of the books popularity. Mostly in the 10 -12 year old demographic. It was an enjoyable and nerve racking experience being in a movie but all in all I had a blast doing it. We filmed the movie in September of 2001 and the movie came out in 2003. I was a movie "star" for a brief shining moment and then life went on. A couple of months ago I was approached by my mother in law, Eileen (who is a elementary school teacher in Woodinville), to come to her school and speak to the 5th and 6th graders about the process of making the movie. The kids had just finished reading the book as a class and then they were going to watch the movie before I came. I was skeptical, but said yes anyway. I was not sure if the kids would find what I had to say interesting, but I was wrong. I was so flattered by their adoration and attention. All of the kids had good questions and the 45 min that we had quickly turned into an hour. I was surprised to see that the author of the book even came to the assembly to hear me speak. I was pretty nervous because we had never met and I was sure he thought that I butchered his beloved character in the movie. Turns out he liked what I did with the character and how I interacted with the kids. I told him all he needs to do is write a sequel and we can all go back to work. That assembly went so well that my sister in-law Carrie asked me to do the same thing with her sixth grade class in Burien. So the following Tuesday I went to Carries school and had a fun time taking my act on the road. Her kids were great and I really felt like they had a good time as well.

I can be pretty hard on myself when I look back at my work in the movie, I can't watch myself on screen without constantly self critiquing. The kids really seemed to like it, a lot. In fact I felt like a D level celebrity walking into the gymnasium/cafeteria/auditorium full of kids who were excited to see me. My brother informed me that his in-laws in Chile have scene it play on their TV's, it is also playing in India and Scotland! I would love to hear how they've dubbed my voice. Maybe I'll take my one man show abroad!