Late filmmaker's movie ends run tonight in Westlake

It was a dream come true.

After years of working on a screenplay, Tom Nance's movie, "Sherman's Way," made it to the big screen. It premiered in Hollywood last June, and Nance was surrounded by family and friends.

Unfortunately, Nance wouldn't be able to read the favorable reviews from film critics or see his movie come to local theaters. On Sept. 5, he died when a motorist ran a red light and struck Nance while he was riding his motorcycle. He was 43.

"Sherman's Way" has played at the Westlake Village Twin theaters on Lakeview Canyon Road for the last week and will have its final showing tonight.

Nance graduated from Newbury Park High School in 1983 and earned a degree in cinematography from the Pasadena Art Center College of Design. He wrote for the sitcom "Perfect Strangers" until 1993 then transitioned into a career in graphic art. An employee of Weiser Litho in Westlake Village, Nance designed the "United We Stand" American flag poster that appeared all over the country after Sept. 11, 2001.

His mother, 44-year Conejo Valley resident Kim Breslin, said Nance never gave up on his dream of writing a movie.

"He was writing a little bit here and there," said Breslin, a hairstylist in Westlake Village. "He was always interested in getting involved in the movie business. He won a lot of awards and made a real decent living in graphic art. But his true heart was in the movie business."

Nance finished the script for "Sherman's Way" last year. The comedy follows two men—a Yale student and a washedup Olympic athlete—on a road trip. Nance sold it to fellow NPHS graduate and friend Craig Saavedra, who directed the film. Nance has a small part in the movie as a car salesman.

He used some of the $30,000 he received for the script to buy a motorcycle. On Sept. 5, he was riding to an audition in Hollywood when he was struck by motorist who ran a red light. He died at Cedars-Sinai Hospital.

"They made the movie together," Breslin said of her son and Saavedra. "And the premiere was wonderful. He got to see it on the big screen, and I'm so glad. . . . He was supposed to come home and celebrate that."

When Monica Golin, one of Breslin's clients, heard Nance's story, she was touched. Golin and her husband, who own the Westlake Twin, decided to put "Sherman's Way" in the theater for a week. The run ends tonight, but it may be extended a week depending on turnout.

"He was so happy when the movie was made," Breslin said. "He said, 'Mom, I've finally done it.' I just want people to see it. Everybody has loved the movie so far."

"Sherman's Way" has won three awards at film festivals in San Jose; Newport, R.I.; and Jackson Hole, Wyo. The DVD is due to be released in July.

The movie is also playing at Laemmle's Playhouse 7 in Pasadena and Laemmle's Monica Fourplex in Santa Monica.

For more information, visit www.shermansway.com.