A bright future for Antonio
For those of you who have not had the pleasure of meeting Antonio Decker, let me introduce our new friend.
Antonio is a local who answered the call for Troy background and on his first day his first we knew he was special. He started as a lemon thief ;) then newspaper vendor and on to a lawyer and beyond.
Travis took a shine to Antonio and began to find out more about this local guy. Turns out, Antonio’s story is a sad one. His father has terminal cancer and Antonio does not have much support from his remaining family. He spends most of his time alone in his room and depressed. I asked him what people do in Troy for fun and he said I wouldn’t know I don’t have any friends or do anything fun.
As we began to find out more about Antonio we realized he is a diamond in the rough. His favorite movies are on par for the most cultured cinephile and more importantly he loves the business. He even asked to go to Main unit after he was wrapped early last week on Tandem so he could keep working. He in fact received two sag vouchers early in the shoot and thanks to the kindness of our producer David Crockett, he received his third! An unheard of act in today’s world.
Antonios next hurdle is to pay the initiation fee for Sag Aftra so he can continue to live his dream. His father has left money for him to purchase a car so he can travel for jobs but his situation does not afford him the money for much else, especially the hefty fee of $3300.
Those of us that have met Antonio and heard his story have been overwhelmed by his humility and sincerity . The most bittersweet aspect is Antonio’s relationship ending with his father .
Here is a text exchange between Antonio and his father who is in hospice ,shared with Travis:
DAD I GOT ANOTHER SAG WAIVER!
I just want to make you proud and have you know I found something to do with my life and I’ll be okay. I love you Dad hopefully I can see you soon.
”That is great! I am proud of you all the time, not just for this. And you may want to wait on joining SAG because it costs $3300! Just enjoy yourself! And remember that I am always proud of you! I love you!
A message from Antonio to Travis:
I’d also just like to take a minute to thank you for being so nice to me everyone there is great and because of you and this show I finally found something I’m passionate about doing and I can never thank you enough. “
We want to present Antonio with the gift of Sag initiation money on his last day tomorrow.
Help us
welcome Antonio to his bright future. You can be a part too. No donation is too small.
Lets make a difference in someone’s life.
Love Robin Fitzgerald