The day has arrived! Fans flocked to the Capri Theater to catch a glimpse of the stars at the Shelbyville premiere of "Our Very Own" Saturday. (T-G Photo by Brian Mosely) [Click to enlarge]

It was the night that Cam Watson finally made his dream come true.

The street in front of the Capri Theatre was packed Saturday with movie stars, producers and fans (see photo gallery) who came out for the red carpet event many have been waiting for -- the Shelbyville premiere of "Our Very Own."

The semi-autobiographical film, which was shot in Shelbyville last year, is close to a distribution deal, according to writer/director and producer Watson.

"We actually have several offers; it's in the hands of a lot of people, we're trying to get everyone's offer first before we decide what we're going to do with it."

It may take several months to make things happen, Watson said, noting the slow process in Hollywood, but it would appear that is just a short time to wait.

"The dream started about eight years ago. It's a long time in the making."

The movie is set in 1978 and stars Allison Janney, Keith Carradine and Cheryl Hines, along with rising stars Jason Ritter, Autumn Reeser and Hilarie Burton. In the film, five local teens are excited about the return of another Bedford County native, Sondra Locke, who starred with her then-partner Clint Eastwood in several films of the era, including "Any Which Way But Loose."

The teenagers hope to follow the movie star out of Shelbyville, but at the same time, one of the group is facing a personal family crisis.

Not many people have been able to take their childhood memories and turn it into a movie and even fewer have come back to their home town to do it. Watson said it all hit him when a test screening was done to check the film print before the screenings Saturday and Sunday.

"When it came on, the first image of the movie on the screen of the Capri, where I used to see movies as a child, was just overwhelming. It all made sense. It all came full circle."

Moreover, another dream came true unexpectedly when he was presented with the keys to the city. Mayor Geneva Smith declared Aug. 13, 2005, as Cameron Watson Day.

"I always used to joke 'I want the keys to the city someday,'" said Watson. "Look, I have the keys to the city!"

"We all have our dreams, but Cam had a 'huger' dream than a lot of us," Smith said. "And he has pursued that dream until it came true." She said she remembered Watson's first performance at East Side School at age 11.

City Manager Ed Craig read the proclamation, which chronicled Watson's career as a charter member of the Bedford Youth Players, the Central High School Drama Team, his study of theater, and his career as an actor appearing multiple times on television and film. But through it all, he never lost his love for his home town, entertaining his friends about his memories of life in Shelbyville.

Recording the memories, Cam was inspired to turn it into a gift back to his home town, Craig said, "for the inspiration it had given him, creating a valentine to his home town, the title to the work that was to become "Our Very Own."

Watson said the experience of coming back to do the film "was surreal, but in a good way, magical, but even more so now because, we did it."

"If there is a Cam Watson Day, there is a Robert McLean Year," the director said of the executive producer. "And it's every year." McLean was also born and reared in Shelbyville and his success as an investor made it possible for the film to be made.

"This project found its home and it's home," Watson said.

Watson said that when the movie goes out into the world and "makes millions and millions of dollars," he has vowed to share the part of his personal profit with the Bedford County Arts Council. He said none of this would have happened without the support of the people in the community when he and his friends were doing plays.

After the reception, it was off to the Capri just one block away. Cast and production members roared up to the red carpet in vintage cars that appeared in the film as well as a Rolls Royce and a stretch limousine.

Watson told the crowd of over 300 that were invited to Saturday's screening that more cast members had turned out for the Shelbyville showing than the world premiere, which took place in Hollywood during the Los Angeles Film Festival in June. No one else in the world aside from the 600 in L.A. and the thousands in Shelbyville who viewed it this weekend has seen the film yet.

Audience members applauded and cheered when Watson's name appeared in the credits. Many times during the movie, the crowd would react when another familiar local face was shown on the big screen.

The Fly Arts Center was packed before and after the screening, full of people who came to meet the stars and congratulate Watson for making his dream become reality.

"People are loving it," Watson said about the film. "They're coming to it, which is what we wanted."

There's even a chance that the movie's characters and Shelbyville could continue to be seen on the small screen. In an recent interview in The Tennessean, Watson said there had been talk of turning the film into a television series, an idea of which the director approves.

"Everybody's been saying that since the day we started shooting it and when I wrote it that it would make a great series because the characters are so interesting and because it takes place in a small town, it could be ongoing," Watson told the Times-Gazette.

Watson said he would love for it to become a TV series, but it is just an idea at this stage and nothing has happened with it so far. Filming on location again "would be the tricky part."

"I know these actors would all come back for it, but it would be hard, they'd have to build the town square on the back lot of Paramount, they could put Pope's Cafe at Paramount," Watson laughed.