By TONY GUERRERO
Hays Post
A Hays native is coming home with his own Western feature film, "Was Once a Hero," at the same theatre where he grew up watching classic movies.
The film will screen at 7 p.m. on Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets cost $13.99 and are available online in advance and at the door on both days.
Paige Smith took on multiple roles in the film, as co-writer, co-producer, costume designer and assistant director, after Dan Searles, whom he met at a film festival, approached him with a short script.
"I wrote the first draft based on his outline and then the two of us sort of molded it to our preference," Smith said.
The story centers on a veteran battling PTSD and dementia who sets out on a final journey and forms an unexpected bond along the way. It was primarily shot in Maryland with a small crew and a budget of less than $200,000.
The film stars Darby Hinton as Malcom Hunter and includes performances by Rebecca Holden, Robert Carradine and John Carter Cash. Smith also appears in the film as an actor.
"We really want to push the idea that family comes from anywhere. You can be yourself and still be loved by others who maybe come from somewhere different. ... We come together through diversity and through the tragedies in our lives," he said.
Smith will attend the screening to introduce the film and be available to answer questions.
Smith graduated from Hays High School in 1994 and later attended Kansas State University, where he initially studied biology before transitioning to theater, drawing inspiration from his family.
"As a kid, I watched my dad work on books and bounce ideas off people around him. It's very inspiring to watch somebody go for it," Smith said. "My brother was an actor as well. I watched him go for it and give it a shot."
Smith moved to Chicago after college, where he worked in local theater and began gaining television experience. He later moved to Los Angeles to continue building his career in acting and writing.
Smith has created several short films, including one that won Best Action/Adventure at Comic-Con in San Diego. He has also acted in and been involved in television series such as "Chicago Fire," "Chicago Med," "Shameless," "Goliath" and "Brooklyn Nine-Nine."
He said most of those roles were “day jobs” and that breaking into the industry was difficult. This led him to create his own projects, which are now set to screen at the same theater he visited as a kid.
"Being able to go full circle and see a movie that I made in the theatre where I grew up watching movies is incredible and quite possibly once in a lifetime for me. It means the world to me," Smith said.
Filming took just a few weeks, but the whole process, from development through post-production and editing, took three years to complete.
You can learn more about Smith on his IMDb page and about "Was Once a Hero" here.
