Director & Author Timothy McGrath Remembers the Batman Theater Shooting with New Movie

New docufilm SURVIVING THEATER 9 is a very intimate, personal and powerful feature movie about the incredible true story of the survivors of the Batman Theater shooting in Aurora Colorado on July 20, 2012. This was the largest mass shooting in US history at the time. Written and directed by Timothy McGrath, the film will be released on the anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre on Digital | Video On Demand on April 20, 2022. 

The film stars McGrath, Corbin Bernsen (Emmy and Golden Globe nominee, "Psych," "Major League," "LA Law" ) Brittany Ishibashi (Marvel's The Runaways, "This is US"), Chelsey Crisp ("Young Rock," "Fresh Off the Boat"), Luna Blaise ("Manifest," "Fresh Off the Boat"), Stacey Oristano ("Shameless," "Friday Night Lights," "Gilmore Girls"), Robert Palmer Watkins ("The Walking Dead: World Beyond," "Cupid," "General Hospital"), Donnell Turner ("General Hospital"), Richard Fancy ("Seinfeld," "Boston Legal"), and Oscar Winner Chris Tashima (Visas and Virtue).

We are honored to catch up with Timothy McGrath for this exclusive interview.

Q: Timothy, thanks for doing this interview with us. Tell us briefly what happen on the day of the shooting from your perspective.

Thank you so much for this interview. Surviving Theater 9 is a true story movie for anyone who is dealing with trauma. For my experience with the shooting, it was a last minute decision to go see the midnight screening of Batman. In learning how to handle the effects of the trauma after, I did interviews with my fellow survivors. They are such amazingly strong and inspirational people that a true story script began to emerge, which I called Surviving Theater 9.

You can see a couple minutes of the original interview clips here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqfrdQseFLs 

Kim Woodruff, who is a Columbine survivor, was sharing her brilliant and kind insights in a class at The Aurora Strong Resilience Center in Colorado. Kim helped all of us with our mental health and mental education. After the shooting I was living in California, and had to regularly fly back to Colorado to get this help I very much needed. I decided to make the movie to help make the teachings, strength, and inspiration more accessible via a movie.

Q: How does drama like this affect a person emotionally and psychologically in years to come?

In so many ways, I would not wish anyone to go through a trauma like this. 

Q; I believe you met Kim Woodruff and the people at the Resilience Center. How did Kim and her team help you?

Kim is brilliant and giving, and as a Columbine Survivor, as well as a teacher, has a unique skill set to help trauma survivors. That can be seen in the film.

Q: Why and when did you decide to make a movie out of this? 

The strength and hope of my fellow survivors was profoundly inspiring. 

Q: What were some of the highlights in the making of this movie? 

The cast has so many familiar faces that generously gave their beautiful gifts and talents to this film.

Q: Why should our readers watch this movie? How will this movie help people who may have been traumatized? 

It will show them they are not alone, and give them ideas on how to heal. Here are some of the brilliant cast talking about their experience in making the movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqfrdQseFLs

The movie will be available on Amazon and other digital platforms on 4/20/22. The trailer can be seen here: https://youtu.be/VmKKyUWiib8

 

 

 

 

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