Gary Wood is an American screenwriter and

independent filmmaker An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, in ...

from

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. He started screenwriting during his six-year service in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

. Long days aboard the U.S.S. Nassau gave him time to hone his writing. Once out of the Navy, he kept on writing, whenever possible, while working in a variety of businesses. In 2001, he wrote a script for '' Saving Star Wars'', "which became a cult movie hit about two ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

'' fans who accidentally kidnap

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker and philanthropist. He created the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founded Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairman ...

." He penned and produced ''Open Mic'rs'' in 2005.Mark Bennet
"Filmmaker exploring long-lost connection between Steve Martin, Terre Haute"
tribstar.com, February 6, 2008. Wood first dabbled in screenwriting during a six-year stint in the Navy. Long days aboard the U.S.S. Nassau gave him time to hone his writing. Once out of the Navy, he kept on writing, whenever possible, while working in a variety of businesses. In 2001, he wrote a script for ''Saving Star Wars'', which became a cult movie hit about two ''Star Wars'' fans who accidentally kidnap George Lucas. Later, Wood penned and produced ''Open Mic'rs'', a mockumentary that includes improvisations by comedians. It was filmed in Indianapolis in 2005. Actors in the movie include

Rupert Boneham Rupert Frederick Boneham ( ; born January 27, 1964) is an American mentor for troubled teens who became known to reality television audiences in 2003 as a contestant on '' Survivor: Pearl Islands''. He later appeared on the '' All Stars'', '' Hero ...

Cindy Morgan Cynthia Ann Cichorski (September 29, 1954 – December 30, 2023), known professionally as Cindy Morgan, was an American actress best known for playing Lora Baines/Yori in ''Tron'' and Lacey Underall in ''Caddyshack''. Life and career She was ...

David Prowse David Charles Prowse (1 July 1935 – 28 November 2020) was an English actor, bodybuilder, strongman and weightlifter. He portrayed Darth Vader in the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy and a manservant in Stanley Kubrick's 1971 film '' A Clockw ...

and Landon Lueck. The film premiered at the IMAX Theater in Indianapolis in 2006.

Works

*'' My Kid Brother's Band'', about a visit by guitarist

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

to his sister's home in

Benton, Illinois Benton is a city in and the county seat of Franklin County, Illinois. The population was 6,709 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. In 1839, Franklin County, Illinois, Franklin County was split roughly in half and the county seat was p ...

in 1963, a year before he and The Beatles "invaded" the United States. ("A tiny Benton radio station was actually the first to play a Beatles record in '63, after considerable begging by George and his sis, Louise.") *''

Sissies ''Sissy'' (derived from ''sister''), also ''sissy baby'', ''sissy boy'', ''sissy man'', ''sissy pants'', etc., is a pejorative term for a boy or man who does not demonstrate masculine traits, and shows possible signs of fragility. Generally, ''s ...

'', about two sisters "living totally different lifestyles" *'' One Wild and Crazy City'', a documentary about the "long-lost connection between comedian Steve Martin and Terre Haute". *''Open Mic'rs'', a

mockumentary A mockumentary (a portmanteau of ''mock'' and ''documentary'') is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events, but presented as a Documentary film, documentary. Mockumentaries are often used to analyze or comment on current event ...

made in

that includes

improvisation Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...

s from

comedian A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...

s. *'' Saving Star Wars'' (writer and producer), an independent comedy film about two men's quest to find filmmaker

and convince him to continue making Star Wars movies

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Gary American male screenwriters Writers from Indianapolis American documentary filmmakers Living people Screenwriters from Indiana Year of birth missing (living people)