Chatham Heads To Hollywood For Film’s World Premiere

CHATHAM, NJ — It’s the theater where the hands and footprints of Hollywood legends are immortalized in cement and now “Generation Wrecks” - the joint brainchild of Chatham native Bridget McGarry and her friend Victoria Leigh - will world premiere on Sept. 12 at the famous TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

A 90s coming-of-age film, Generation Wrecks was a collaborative effort among their families, McGarry and Leigh - now both 20 - who co-wrote and starred in the 108 minute film together with Director and Co-writer Kevin T. Morales, Leigh’s father.

The two said during a recent interview with Patch, Morales - who came up with the film's catchy name - was seeking the insights that they could offer through their eyes as a younger generation, when both started writing the film with him at 17.

Though they were each in the age group of the characters they played, who were 11th graders, McGarry as Stacy Snyder - a popular girl who went separate ways with her best friend until 7th grade Liz Castillo-Campbell the outcast who Leigh played - neither of the actresses were yet born in the 90s.

How did the two friends, who met when they acted together as sisters in an episode of “Law & Order” Special Victims Unit,” delve into a generation - the “Generation Wrecks” - before their time?

McGarry and Leigh said they first surveyed Gen Xers that they knew, to understand the real-life experiences from that era, they could build into their characters.

“Each character was based on 90s movie stereotypes, which didn’t have a lot of dimension,” McGarry, a 2019 Chatham High School graduate said. “Each had a purpose though for being there.”

The two worked together, Leigh added - who had graduated from the Professional Performing Arts School in Manhattan in 2019 - though to add another dimension to their characters, taking them from two-dimensional to 3-D, realizing the importance of building each of them into female-centric ones.

Though each typecast in one way or another as a cheerleader and member of the “goth” crowd, the two former friends found their own ways to heal their hearts and friendship, through the dimensions and sensitivity that McGarry and Leigh added to the roles.

Both said they were inspired by films of the day including “Clueless.”

A film that pre-dated the 90s, “The Breakfast Club,”also inspired them, famous for bringing friends together from different walks of life.

For the two, who have written or are writing short films, their experiences as actresses beginning as young girls, helped them as screenwriters, with McGarry - who said she aims to act and produce like Reese Witherspoon - both understanding how to lay out a script from years of reading them.

The film, for which fundraising began in March 2019, featured in a Patch article from that time about their crowdsourcing plans, actually exceeded its original fundraising goal and ended up raising $17,000.

Carolyn McGarry - Bridget’s McGarry’s mother - said her husband Patrick was an executive producer on the film and she also helped to produce, as well as scout locations, prepare meals and house people involved with the film. The McGarry’s other daughter’s Peyton and Morgan additionally helped with the film, which had scenes in Wickham Woods, a shot at St. Patrick’s Church, on Lafayette Avenue and at Chatham High School. It was also filmed at a convenience store in New Providence and a home in Mendham, Carolyn McGarry said, with three other young Chatham residents cast in small roles, as well as a girl from Mendham who formerly lived in Chatham.

With some scenes filmed in Chatham and others in the Poconos in a rented Lake Harmony house, there were some delays because of COVID-19, with the film ready to go on May 4, 2021.

The completion of the film was an emotional experience for Bridget McGarry and Victoria Leigh, who began sending it out to film festivals, including “Dances With Films LA.” According to the film festival’s website, it’s the 24th annual event for independent films, though it was virtual in 2020.

McGarry and Leigh hit the red carpet together at the film festival when it premiered on Aug. 26.

For McGarry, one of the honors of having their film premiere at the Chinese Theatre, is that it was the venue where “Star Wars” first premiered.

The feature is on the schedule for the event’s closing day on Sunday Sept. 12 at 4 p.m., according to the schedule. For tickets and more information about the screening, click here.

Both McGarry and Leigh, who are continuing to work within various aspects of the industry, say the film is also going to be making the rounds at other upcoming festivals, including the Vail Film Festival’s digital festival, which they announced on Aug. 16.

The film will also be heading to the Catalina and Coney Island film festivals in 2021.

Visit Generation Wrecks official website for information and the film’s social media at www.generation-wrecks.com.

RELATED: Chatham Teen Wants To Make A 90s Movie. You Can Help

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