As writer, director and executive producer Eric Hendershot notes, "Down and Derby" is a "family movie made by a family."
Nearly all 10 members of Hendershot's family were involved in the comedy in some capacity. His son Steele is credited as one of the producers, and younger sons Chris and Drew served as set builders. Another of the producers is Dickilyn Johnson, Hendershot's wife, and the film's production designer is "Arizona Taylor," a k a his son Taylor. If that's not enough, the film's costume designer is Hayley Hammond, his married daughter.
"We didn't want there to be too many Hendershots in the credits," the filmmaker said with a laugh.
"Down and Derby" is being released today in 25 markets around the country and will be playing on a total of 60 screens. That's the widest any of his films have played on the big screen since "Take Down" in 1979 (which Hendershot wrote but Kieth Merrill directed).
As a result, Hendershot admits to having some butterflies in his stomach. "I pretty much haven't slept for a couple of weeks," he said by phone from his St. George home. "But other than that, I'm all right with it."
Hendershot and the film's fledgling distribution company, Freestyle Distribution, are hoping this is the right time of year to open a PG-rated comedy. As it happens, the film joins only a handful of PG- or G-rated movies playing in first-run theaters right now. "There doesn't seem to be a lot of competition for our target audience. And we didn't want to wait any longer and risk getting lost in the rush of all the summer movies."
The release also coincides with the scheduling of Pinewood Derbys around the country — events featuring hand-crafted wooden cars raced by kids, often through the Boy Scouts. "Maybe people can take the sting out of their derby losses by seeing the movie," Hendershot said.
The Hendershots have a long history with the Pinewood Derby. Oldest son Steele competed in the contest nearly 25 years ago. "It was a crazy experience," Hendershot said, "because it was the fathers who were doing all the racing, and the kids were off playing basketball. It certainly made me wonder who really made the cars and gave me an idea for this movie."
Ask him how they did, and Hendershot will say their car won the "Most Cautious" award, which is given to the slowest car in the competition.
In addition to "Take Down," Hendershot is probably best known for writing and directing the 1996 family comedy "Clubhouse Detectives," which has been shown on HBO, Showtime and the Disney Channel, and which spawned three sequels. "I've made a few movies that featured kids acting like adults and getting themselves into a predicament, so ironically, I've now made a movie that features adults acting like children and getting themselves into a predicament."
The movie's primary "childish" character is Phil Davis (Greg Germann), an ultra-competitive father who becomes consumed with building the fastest derby car for his son — in hopes of beating his longtime rival, whose son is also involved in the contest. "It didn't take much to get Greg to act crazy. In fact, he didn't need much direction."
Also in the film are such recognizable names as Lauren Holly, soap star Hunter Tylo and Pat Morita. Hendershot said he "didn't have much trouble getting most of the cast. Lauren was the first person we cast because she loved the script."
While Hendershot waits to see how his film does in its semi-national release, he says he's also mulling over his next project. "What can I say? I like to stay busy. And I'm always writing, so I'm sure I'll come up with something."
E-mail: jeff@desnews.com