Congratulations to Kris and Gretchen Newsom
(source: starwarsfanworks.com, 10-11-03)
And now, a message from Fanworks founder Nathan Butler on a big day for one Second Strike alumnus . . .
A few years ago, back around 1999 or so, I was brought in on a project. That project, the long-awaited, tragically cursed fan film Prelude to Hope, has yet to emerge from the twisted web of circumstances that have kept its best parts confined to Clear Concrete Productions staffers. However, the project served to create not just a fan film, but bonds between members of the cast and crew, across the country.
A couple of years ago, I was looking for a way to make a mark in fan productions. That mark became Second Strike, but many don't know that the entire Second Strike audio drama project, the Anthology series that spun-off from it, and, really, all of the work that went into Fanworks would never have happened if one man hadn't caught me point-blank and told me that my story, Second Strike, was too good to let go and that he would stand by me in helping to bring the project to light as something new, whether it was audio, animation, or prose.
That friend was Kris Newsom, "Serus" of Prelude to Hope and the eventual "Lanas" of Second Strike. I've never thanked him for that conversation, nor for the kick in the right direction it provided, but that discussion is a testament to the faith Kris has in his friends and their projects.
Now, Kris is beginning an all new project, one that will take a lifetime and then some to complete. Today at 2:30, pacific time, Fanworks' good friend Kristoffer Newsom is getting married to his longtime love, Gretchen Kinney. Kris and Gretchen have been a couple for as long as I can remember, even when Kris' education took him to China for a year without her. It's been a long time coming, and everyone here at Fanworks, myself in particular, are very happy for the new Mr. and Mrs. Newsom.
You've made something last in a world where relationships are often more fickle than our culture's taste in fashion, and you've endured separations that give the term "long distance" a whole new dimension.
You're a good man, Kris, and I have no doubt that the life you two will create from here will be a thing of beauty, rising today with the California sun, and not setting until long after this world has passed. Congratulations, Newsoms.
Second Strike