In 1976, a young small-town movie geek is given the opportunity of a lifetime — to travel to Hollywood and see an advance screening of the yet-to-be released Star Wars — in this charming and inspirational coming-of-age story based on the real-life experiences of director Patrick Read Johnson. Seventeen-year-old Pat Johnson is the only sci-fi movie geek in his small town of Wadsworth, Illinois. Despite a head full of film knowledge and an imagination exploding with impossible cinematic dreams, Pat is doubtful that anyone from a town of 750 people could ever make a mark in Hollywood. As he approaches high school graduation, he grows more and more resigned to a life of factory work. Disheartened by her son's dejection, Pat's mom cold calls the editor of American Cinematographer magazine in a desperate attempt to open a door of career possibility. Amazingly, it works, and Pat is given the opportunity of a lifetime: to meet young auteur Steven Spielberg — fresh off his Hollywood-conquering success with Jaws — and view an in-progress cut of Star Wars. Returning to Wadsworth with a newfound optimism and convinced that the new film will change the future of cinema, Pat is determined to mobilize his peers to see it on its opening day, May 25, 1977.


5-25-77

2h 12m

Director: Patrick Read Johnson
Cast: John Francis Daley, Austin Pendleton, Kevin Rosendo

UK Release: Digital Platforms 1st May 2023