‘Go Far’: Bootstrap Indie Filmmaker Determined to Tell Inspiring Story of One of Jerry’s Most Remarkable Kids

Ed. Note: Zack Arnold is my brother and because he’s a struggling filmmaker involved in something I think the BH community will appreciate, as others have here and will continue to, I asked him to write something about his project and the efforts involved in getting it made. I am not in any way involved in the film creativity and I do not and will not ever have any kind of financial stake in it.  – J.N.

After ten years working in Hollywood, it still amazes me that ANYTHING ever gets made. You don’t appreciate what it takes to make a film until you try it yourself. By day, I edit the TV show Burn Notice. But like everyone else, I have a “passion project,” GO FAR: The Christopher Rush Story. It is a (unfinished) biographical documentary about a friend of mine who made such an impact in my life that I named my son after him. Through the film, I want his legacy to inspire others the way he inspired me and everyone that knew him.  

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I met Chris my senior year at the University of Michigan. His aid wheeled him into class to a room full of stares and whispers. This was an intensive, hands-on film production course, so to everyone else, the thought of having someone handicapped in their group, much less a quadriplegic, was apparently unfathomable. I took it upon myself to approach Chris and ask if he’d like to join my group; I had no idea how much that simple gesture would change my life.

Chris was born with a severe form of muscular dystrophy and was given a life expectancy of two years. When he lived past two, they said five. Then twelve. When he graduated from high school, he was told he “shouldn’t worry about college.” After he graduated from law school, I think his doctors got the point. Chris was going to defy the odds. His short list of accomplishments includes: He was the national ambassador for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (Jerry’s Kid); he had a meeting with Ronald Reagan; he met countless celebrities; he threw out the first pitch at major league baseball games; he was an honorary NASA astronaut; he was the first  to quadriplegic become a licensed scuba diver. But most importantly, he was a motivational speaker and advocate for the disabled, which led him to develop GO FAR, a program that used his experiences as a road map so others with seemingly insurmountable obstacles could achieve their goals. The first time I learned about GO FAR was at a Methodist Church during Chris’ funeral. He died of respiratory failure while studying for his bar exam just short of his 31st birthday. As a family member eulogized him and mentioned this program, I was struck with the inspiration to make a film about him.

The idea for the film festered at first. Several months later I heard there would be a ceremony to spread his ashes in the Cayman Islands (His wishes were to have his remains spread in the one place he was able to walk, underwater) on the 1-year anniversary of his death. I knew this would be an amazing opportunity to shoot interviews, so I acted. To raise the necessary funds for travel, film equipment, and the crew, I built a website, sent out e-mail blasts, approached friends & family, called in professional favors, and I used this new social networking tool called “Facebook.” I raised over $20,000 and made it happen. My donors all said once they saw the footage, there would be more to come. I was on my way.

This was August of 2008. Then the market crashed and my donors no longer had excess funds. Then my house went underwater. At the time I was running a business, and my clients started to disappear. Then my wife got pregnant. Needless to say, there was neither time nor money to keep moving. But like Chris, I did anyway. Last year I spent the last $465.92 I had in the film’s checking account and used that to put together the sales trailer.

Since then I have been using whatever spare time I have to approach potential investors with what I believe is a solid package. I have a low budget. I have guaranteed DVD distribution. I have marketing through MDA. But what I don’t have is a title with the words “Paranormal Activity” in it, so finding investment money has proven fruitless thus far. But I have decided to forge ahead because I have full use of all four limbs and therefore no real excuse. I am going back to grassroots fundraising so I can shoot an interview with Jerry Lewis at this year’s Labor Day Telethon in hopes this will be the trump card that makes my package investor-worthy.

The documentary will be Chris’ lasting legacy, the message he never finished spreading to the world. It was Chris’ faith in God and Christianity that made him such an optimistic person, and while I consider myself apolitical and did not agree with everything he believed in, that doesn’t matter. This film is his message, not mine. And I won’t stop until it’s finished. Because he wouldn’t.