77 Gets Big Backing Bucks

Today we learn that 77 has received an injection of funding to the tune of $ 200, 000. We get the following scoop from the moviehole:

A film once considered to be the competition of the controversial and long-delayed “Fanboys”, being that they both revolve around the opening of “Star Wars” movies (this one the original, “Fanboys” the ‘Phantom Menace’), Patrick Read Johnston’s “77″, might finally see the light of day – and it wouldn’t at all surprise me if the sudden interest in the film has stemmed from the “Fanboys” brouhaha.

The WMA/Hannaywood Ltd.’s Beverly Bridge Fund will complete financing – another $200 grand – on Johnson’s autobiographical indie, which chronicles the director’s journeys in Hollywood with George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, says The Hollywood Reporter. The film, originally named “5/25/77″ after the release date of “Star Wars,” is a nostalgic take on the director’s encounters with Industrial Light and Magic execs. “Freaks and Geeks” lead John Francis Daley stars.

Star Wars is a film that has inspired many. It’s a shared myth among all that have seen the film, and the characters are now forever chiseled in the pantheon of heroes. When I first heard of 77 I thought it was a great idea and I am certainly excited to see the project get some additional funding.

I think the director’s tale of being forever changed by the Star Wars experience will strike a chord with many. I still have my Star Wars lunch box that I brought to my first day of kindergarten. It is among my most prized possessions, I still love Star Wars, but when I was a kid, I worshipped at its gates. It will be cool to see a window into someone else’s experience with the film, and I look forward to this tale.