Waiting to Exhale is a film directed by Academy Award Winner Forest Whitaker based on a novel by Terry McMillan and I want to get that attribution out of the way at the beginning of this blog post. The title of the film has always, for me, articulated an emotional moment loaded with all kinds of pop, sizzle, suspense.

That’s how Betty and I feel now. We are waiting to exhale. We went to Skywalker Ranch last night and screened Bravo! Common Men, Uncommon Valor. The film showing was intimate. We knew some of the attendees well and some were first time acquaintances. Most of them were film people who work in some regard for Lucas or who use the facility to edit and mix movies for their clients or themselves. There were a few outside producers who came just to see the film and there were also some movie aficionados. Some of these aficionados we know well.

The sound in the theater was so perfect that at times I felt as if I was back in Khe Sanh, face down in the red mud of a trench, waiting for death to show his big, bony grin.  I have watched Bravo !I don’t know how many times and this time it was as visceral for me as it could get. When the final credits stopped rolling, I felt as if I’d been pounded on. The men in the movie loomed huge on the screen and their message came at me like lines of Marines assaulting a hill.

When Betty and I began this adventure, I had an idea in my mind what I wanted the film to look like when it was done. It is much better than what I imagined. I admit my prejudice, but I believe the film to be important, profound, disturbing, and necessary. It needs to be seen. It must be seen. It’s that good, folks.

One of the new acquaintances for us last night was a gentleman who is an actor, producer, film writer who is excited about assisting this film get viewed. He’s taken us under his wing and now joins a growing cadre of film folk who are advising us on how to move forward. We are grateful for this bounty of expertise.

After the showing we stood around for quite a long time and visited with him and other film people about techniques and quality, but mostly about the message of Bravo!

Right now we await word from Sundance. We await what will come in the world of distribution. We are waiting to exhale.