Phil Campbell to host movie screening
Jason Biggs, of American Pie fame, and Phil Campbell, a Brooklyn, N.Y., writer.
PHIL CAMPBELL – The group of people bearing the same name as the tornado-stricken town of Phil Campbell are bringing more than just money when they converge on the area in less than two weeks for the Phil Campbell Hoedown and “I’m With Phil” event on June 17 and 18.
According to Phil Campbell from Brooklyn, N.Y., who has served as the “I’m With Phil” organizer, there will now be a screening of the Hollywood film “Grassroots,” before the weekend of festivities.
The film, which is based on the book “Zioncheck for President: A True Story of Idealism and Madness in American Politics” written by Campbell, features big name actors such as Jason Biggs from the American Pie franchise, Cedric the Entertainer, and Cobie Smulders from the hit TV series “How I Met Your Mother” and the upcoming “Avengers” comic book movie. Campbell said the film hasn’t been screened anywhere else, so it will make its debut at the “I’m With Phil Event.”
“This is a rare opportunity for Phil Campbell residents and others to see a major Hollywood film in its early stages, before anyone else has,” Campbell said. “Myself and the film’s director, Steven Gyllenhaal, who will be available via Skype, will have a Q and A session after the screening. And if he can make his schedule work, Jason Biggs said he would like to be part of the event as well.”
Campbell said he and Gyllenhaal had discussed the idea of having a screening of the film at the International Phil Campbell Convention, but the talk before more serious once the tornadoes tore the town apart and the event merged into the “I’m With Phil” relief and rebuilding campaign.
“All the people working with the movie want to help,” Campbell said, “and Gyllenhaal and myself thought this would be a great way to get more awareness and more money raised for our cause.”
After raising around $2,000 for the Franklin County, Alabama, Tornado Disaster Relief Fund, the Phil Campbells shifted their focus to the Habitat for Humanity, a non-profit organization that helps provide homes for people who do not have adequate shelter.
“I spoke with Art Pearce, who is the executive director for the Alabama chapter of Habitat for Humanity, and he agreed to accelerate the process for us since we will be in the area in the next two weeks,” Campbell said. “We’re just hoping we can bring a good amount of money with us to get this project rolling.”
Campbell and other Phil Campbells have been making cold calls to corporate executives in the past several weeks trying to raise money for their Habitat for Humanity project in Phil Campbell.
The “Grassroots” movie screening will serve as an additional fundraiser with tickets to attend the screening being $5 and tickets to purchase the right to ask questions of Campbell, Gyllenhaal and possibly Biggs being $20.
So as not to interfere with the Phil Campbell Hoedown’s schedule of events, the screening will take place on Thursday, June 16, at 7 p.m. at the Bevill Center on the Northwest-Shoals Community College’s Phil Campbell Campus.
“This will be a great event and we hope to get as many people to come out as we can,” Campbell said.
