iris (michelle solomon) entreats sharon (janet amateau) to let her drive more often.

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well, the premiere screening for Just Outside the Door occurred on saturday march 27, 1999, and it was a lot of fun. it was held at the producers club at 358 w. 44 st. in new york city, and was a definite success. for the first showing that night, the 70-seat theatre was completely full! the second showing had about 50 people, maybe 20 or so of whom stayed over from the first showing. it was a bizarre mix of family, close friends, work friends, and cast and crew members.

all in all, it was a very successful evening; the screening went off without any problems (based on how things had been going with the making of this film, i fully expected the film to melt in the projector). unfortunately, i forgot to take photographs, and i don't think anyone else who was there did either, so i can't post any photos from the night's festivities. i would like to give thanks to my good friend john russello for running the projector and to my girlfriend melany helinski for designing the postcard invitations and helping set up the theatre beforehand (not to mention dealing with me when i was a nervous wreck facing such a large audience).

but most of all, thanks to everyone who attended the screening, it was great to see you! your support was greatly appreciated!

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following are some of the comments from members of the attending audience, as told to a video camera or my visitors logbook:

"great work! looking forward to your future endeavors..." (my co-worker alvin lau)

"i loved it. it kept me on the edge of my seat. i didn't know what was going to happen next, i kept wondering... a lot of drama. i just found myself on the edge of my seat." (my mother's friend cathy radeschi)

"i think it was great! i think he made the best choices. excellent. he gets two thumbs up!" (my cousin dina covello)

"i want to tell you how wonderful the movie was. everybody did such a wonderful job. the editing was wonderful, the lighting was wonderful, the sound was wonderful. michelle was, of course, super..." (andrew solomon, father of michelle solomon, who played iris)

"great job! after all the frustrating hours a great completed project... your determination to complete your dream was a true inspriration." (my friend and part-time production assistant jim evans -- he also played the doctor in hallway in the film, so i guess he's biased!...)

"the film was fabulous. he's been talking about it for so long, i'm so glad it's finally done. the actors were good, the storyline he told me about and he was working with it for awhile -- it came to fruition pretty well." (my friend beth kellner)

"impressive! needed more sex and violence, but great overall..." (my friend and classmate from NYU, jay whang, who also helped me secure the film equipment in his position working at film friends.)

"it was very interesting to see someone that i've known for a few years to produce something like this and finally see it come off. i loved it, i think it's a really awesome film." (my friend john salgado)

"it's a fantastic effort..." (my friend cathy spicer)

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