FEATURE
Cheryl McKay: The Ultimate Gift of a Regent Education
By Cheryl Wilcox
The 700 Club
CBN.com
– In summer of 2010, the hottest-selling family drama DVD online at Wal-Mart is the feature film, The Ultimate Gift. The screen writer, Cheryl McKay, is a Regent University graduate.
"I had some wonderful professors at Regent," Cheryl tells The 700 Club. "There were so many people there that invested in me, encouraged me as a writer.
"Being at Regent University was so amazing. It was such a creative environment. Not only did they have a way of teaching you the craft of screenwriting or filmmaking, they also were able to integrate that with your faith. That was what was important to me and why I chose Regent. By the time I left school, I was able to get a job working in the film industry while I was waiting for that big break to come the writing realm."
The award-winning movie, The Ultimate Gift, was Cheryl’s first feature-length screenplay. It is based on a book by Jim Stovall. In the film, a young man is set to inherit his grandfather’s fortune, but only if he can pass a series of tests set up for him by the old gentlemen played by James Garner.
"The Ultimate Gift is about a grandfather that leaves behind all these videos for his grandson. What he wants to do through all these videos and assignments he gives him is try and help him become a better person.
"It was picked up by Fox Faith for distribution theatrically, so we first released in March of 2007 in theaters. In August 2007 we came out on DVD. On DVD it has done really well."
Sales of the DVD sales have already reached 1.5 million. Fans are calling the movie “life-changing”.
"It’s those kinds of moments that make all the blood, sweat and tears in this industry worth it," she says.
Recently Cheryl was hired by Reelworks Studio to write the sequel to The Ultimate Gift. In development now, production of The Ultimate Life begins this fall.
"I want to make sure that I pray through every single thing that I am doing, and asking God, 'What is on your heart and what messages do You want to get out there to the public?' Those are the kinds of projects I want to be involved in."
Learn more about Regent University.
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