Forgotten Stars is primarily the fault of director Richard Keel and screenwriter James Shearer, two men with too much time and too many puppets on their hands. They plotted the story together, James wrote a script and circulated it among some local folks.
Jay Ross got involved early on and handled the camera and shared production duties. Erik Watts offered sound support and Scott Hasty lend his talents to set construction, puppet restoration and, in an amazing show of versatility, provided dead-on narration.
Scott Rollins, a stage veteran of over 100 local productions, was taken by the funny, original script. He showed his roommate, Terry Jernigan, who has been in every substantive local film production, and casting began. Notables from Hampton Roads stage, television and film came on board and a stellar cast loaned their talent.
The result is a quirky, original short film that Portfolio Weekly calls "funny stuff." Filmed on a non-existent budget that was spent mostly on puppets and children's clothes for Delbert, Forgotten Stars shows what a little gumption, a little talent and a lot of wood can do.