Photos Courtesy of Normal Theater and Ryan Martin

On Saturday, January 31st the Normal Theater will be hosting the world premiere of “Hoovey,” an inspirational story based on the real life events of Eric Elliott, the son of retired Normal Firefighter, Jeff Elliott.

“We’ve had the opportunity to show first-runs of films before, but we haven’t had anything of this scale before,” Pete Moore, Normal Theater and Civic Arts Manager, said. “We’re going to have a red carpet, spotlights, and several of the cast and crew.”
The film centers around high school basketball player Eric “Hoovey” Elliot and his road to recovery following the discovery of a life-threatening brain tumor.

The film takes place while the Elliot family lived in Bloomington-Normal and even portrays Advocate BroMenn Medical Center, where part of the real Hoovey story took place.

While the Elliot family has since moved, they will be returning to attend the premiere.

“It’s a great homecoming opportunity for the family,” Moore said. “Since the film takes place when they lived in the Bloomington-Normal area it’s great we can have the premier in Normal.”

In addition to the Elliot family, several other cast and crew members will be at the premier including: Cody Linley who plays Hoovey, Director Sean McNamara, Producer David Brookwell, Writer Howie Klausner, President of Echolights Studios Jeff Sheets, Directory of Photography Bob Hayes, Editor Jeff Canavan, and Set Designer Dawn Ferry.

On the night of the premier there will be a reception and meet-and-greet at the Marriott Hotel and Conference Center where people can meet with the cast and family. Following the showing of the film there will be a Q&A with the cast and crew.

Photos Courtesy of Normal Theater and Ryan Martin

“It’s a unique opportunity for people to actually meet some of the cast and crew and get behind the scenes of why they chose this film and what they thought was unique about it,” Moore said.

With only 385 seats in the theatre, tickets for the premier are limited.

“Lots of people really want to see this film,” Moore said. “Obviously not everyone will be able to get a ticket to the premier, but there will be many other opportunities to see it.”

The film will continue to be shown at the Normal Theater from Monday, February 2nd through Friday, February 6th. A portion of the ticket sales from those showing will be donated to local organizations including Parkside Junior High School, The Baby Fold, and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

The idea to donate some of the revenue to local organizations came from Jeff Elliot, the father
of Hoovey.

“Jeff has always been appreciative of this community for helping their family at that difficult time,” Moore said. “He thought it’d be nice to give back to some of the organizations that have been important to their family.”

The Elliot family will be in attendance at all of the showings that week as well.

Tickets for the premier are available now online at the Normal Theater Website at www.normaltheater.com and Echo Light Cinema’s website at http://echolightcinemas.com. Tickets for the premier are $25 each and tickets for the following showing are $8 each.

“This film will be a great time for celebration, a great opportunity for the Normal Theater to show off its facility, and a great way to give back to the community,” Moore said.