'The Jersey Devil' Movie Premiere

Before Sal graduated from the Connecticut School of Broadcasting, he interned on the set of the movie - The Jersey Devil, as their production assistant (thanks to his awesome teacher for the recommendation). It was only for a few weeks, and while he learned he didn't want to work in the movie industry, that certainly didn't stop him from gaining the experience and connecting with everyone on set. While helping with the movie, he found himself sitting in the audience during one of the scenes. Before he knew it they had added him into the movie, and gave him a few lines. I was happy for him when he told me, but we didn't know if he would make it in the final cut of the movie, after all of the editing.

They finished filming, and we waited. They finished editing, and we waited. They produced the trailer, and we waited. Finally, we heard that there would be a movie premiere in Jersey City, where it had been filmed, at The Landmark Loews Theater. Sal was invited, of course, and extended the invitation to me. It would be a red carpet event, so while I was excited to attend, I was nervous! I had never been on the red carpet, so my first thought was... "What do I wear?!" I had Sal ask around, and it seemed that most of the women would be going all out, wearing dresses, and looking their best. Thankfully it was on the night of a day I had off of work, so I was able to workout in the morning and take the rest of the day to get ready. I wore a red and black dress to match Sal wearing a black suit with a red tie. We were going to see The Jersey Devil, how could we not wear red? When we arrived, we got together with a few of the other interns and their families, and got to talking. We explored the  Landmark Loews Theater, which was glamorous and vintage to say the least. It was stunning, the photographers were able to get some beautiful pictures. We made our way over to the red carpet, because I was not going to be able to leave if I did not get a picture standing on the red. 

We had our picture taken, and then we quickly went to find our seats, close to the screen. We didn't want to miss anything. The movie played, and I must admit, it was pretty funny. Many of the actors are well known in the industry (don't mind me while I drop some names) - Chris Mullkey from Captain Phillips, Jack Mulcahy from Porky's, Keith Collins from Stuck in the Middle, and Edvin Ortega from Orange is the New Black. Not only was Sal's teacher at CSB, Michael Billy, one of the funniest characters in the movie, he was also one of the executive producers! The writers, Billy Pepitone and Joseph Pepitone, did well when it came to keeping the audience laughing. It definitely wasn't the best movie I've ever seen, but then again, I have not seen many Indie/Independent films. For what they had, the movie surpassed my expectations.

As the movie played, I kept looking at Sal and asking him when his scene was going to come on screen. He tapped my should a short while in the movie, and said "This is it!" My anticipation grew, and I instantly blocked out everything else. I was focuses solely on the scene, and my heart began to beat faster and faster when I saw him on the screen! I couldn't believe it, he had landed himself a role, as small as it was, on the big screen! He said his lines, and the whole audience roared with laughter. I've been proud of Sal many times before, and I'm sure I will be proud of him in the future, but at that moment, I was over the moon proud of him. The smile on my face said it all... well the laughing definitely showed too. While I don't know if the movie will be at any local theater or in Target on the DVD rack any time soon, it will be several movie festivals! 

We had such a great night, and has made me look forward to Sal's career in the broadcasting industry, no matter what path he follows - movies, radio, TV - I just know he'll blow everyone else out of the water! Pretty soon we'll be able to look his name up on the internet! Be prepared for that name drop!