WILMINGTON — Former world heavyweight boxing champion Buster Douglas and former professional basketball players Larry Jones and Granville Waiters are scheduled to be among those present on Friday, Dec. 21 at the Murphy Theatre for photo opportunities, in conjunction with a movie filmed in part in Wilmington.
The movie “The Crossover That Won The Game” has at least three or four scenes filmed in Wilmington, and three people from Wilmington are in the movie that debuted in Columbus. The movie is about two hours long and will start at 7 p.m. Dec. 21 at the Murphy Theatre.
Cast members, along with the authors of the book by the same title, will be at the Murphy that night. Jamell Ponder and Joe Ponder are co-authors of the book.
The event will start at 5 p.m. Dec. 21 with Santa Claus, who will be there until the 7 p.m. showtime.
Cost is $8 for adults and $5 for those younger than 18. A portion of the proceeds will go to United Way of Clinton County, said Joe Ponder.
The movie is family-friendly (no profanity), he said. People loved the movie at the Columbus showing, he added.
Ponder is requesting toy donations that in turn would be distributed at the event. The toy drop-off site is Peelle & Lundy Realtors, 822 Rombach Ave. in Wilmington.
To get tickets for the movie, please go through the Murphy Theatre. The theatre’s phone number is 937-382-3643 and you also can go to [email protected] and click on the “Buy Tickets” button. In addition, the theatre’s business office is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The back cover of the book says “The Crossover That Won The Game” urges readers to create a safety net for children to learn how to fall, get back up and grow, and for them to learn that failure is simply an opportunity for growth. Children who struggle with low self-esteem will benefit from this story, says the book description.
“It shows that success is possible as long as you believe in yourself, and that others’ belief in children can make a monumental difference in building their self-confidence and showing that success is possible and failure is not the end of the story,” the back cover elaborates.
Douglas is best known for his stunning upset of Mike Tyson. Jones is a former ABA standout who was the first basketball player in the league to reach 5,000 career points. Both Jones and Douglas grew up in Columbus.
Waiters played center for The Ohio State University men’s basketball team and was drafted in the second round of the 1983 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. He played five seasons for three teams
The Rev. Dr. Johannes Christian, a Columbus-area minister, also is scheduled to attend the event. He authored a book about an incident in his life called “Face of Forgiveness: A Memoir.” Christian has been a supporter of the Ponders’ vision to take the book to the big screen, and has a small part in the movie.
