✨ Star Wingz: A New Hope (for My Hard Drive)

Quick Note from Caleb 🚨

Hey everyone! First off, thank you SO MUCH to everyone who let me know the teaser link from my last update was broken. My head was deep in DCP (that’s a Digital Cinema Package—basically a fancy, encrypted G Drive file that theaters use to screen your film) creation mode, and clearly, my link-sharing skills were compromised! 😅 Here's a fresh, fully functional link—no scavenger hunt required:

👉 Watch the teaser here: https://bit.ly/starwingz

And now, back to your regularly scheduled Star Wingz programming…

🌌 Episode IV: A DCP Misplaced

It was May the 4th — a day of lightsabers, Wookiee growls, and poorly aimed Stormtrooper cosplay. The energy at Regal LA Live was electric — a perfect setting for the screening of Golden Wings at the Beyond Hollywood International Film Festival.

I arrived with my DCP in hand. I handed it off to the manager. He passed it to the projectionist.

Boom. The lights dimmed.
Boom. The film played.
Boom. The credits rolled.

The screening was a dream — until it ended.

In the post-screening shuffle — “everyone out, next film’s starting!” — I forgot to retrieve my $120 hard drive. One moment I was floating on audience feedback, the next I was back in my car realizing I’d left behind the one piece of tech that held everything.

Festival director Chez emailed the theater. Nothing. I tweeted. Crickets. I DM’d the Regal social media team with the desperation of a stranded Jedi:

“Help me, Regal Social Media Team. You’re my only hope.”

You’re my only..nope

🧙🏼‍♂️ Wisdom from the Jedi Council

The Q&A after the film was one of those beautiful surprises that no director can plan for.

First question from the audience:

“Now that Bette Nash has passed, who is the most senior flight attendant at American Airlines?”

I paused, then grinned.

“You know who that’s a perfect question for? My mom. Robyn, would you mind?”

She stood—composed, proud, and more than ready. Like General Leia with a flight pin.

The audience loved her. People came up afterward to tell me how much the film moved them. One man asked for a photo with her. Another told me, “I called my mom right after watching.”

That, to me, was the real prize.

Thats not how you hold a light saber, Mom…

📊 The Awards Ceremony: The Snub Strikes Back

Golden Wings was nominated for Best Short Doc, but we didn’t take home the trophy. And yeah—I felt the sting.

But the audience’s reaction? The personal stories people shared with me? The moments when they connected with my family’s story—those were the wins that really mattered.

You don’t need a statue to know your film landed

schlurp-B will be voiced by a digitally ressurected ai version of Gilbert Gottfried

🛋 A Glitch in the Cargo Hold

Now here’s where the story leaves Earth’s atmosphere and swerves into deep space.

On the ride home, something thumped against my windshield. It was small. Green. Alive. And very, very clingy.

At first, I thought it was a toy or some weird festival promo leftover. But it blinked. Then it burped. Then it refused to let go.

I later found out he was called Shlurp-B—a failed byproduct of a secret Empire-aligned bioengineering project known as Shlurp-A. All the good stuff went into Shlurp-A. Shlurp-B? He was the leftovers. The experiment they jettisoned with the trash.

And yet, here he was. Clinging to my ship. Imprinting on me. Refusing to die in the vacuum of space.

He hums during hyperspace. He might be Force-sensitive. He might just be... mine.

I didn’t adopt him. He adopted me.

u know we have to make it canon

📖 Classified: STARPEDIA Entry [SHLURP-B]

• Name: Shlurp-B

• Origin: Empire BioLab Delta-19

• Status: Experimental Clone Runoff

• Species: Unknown (Sticky Neutral)

Abilities:

• Survives in space

• Bio-adhesive cling

• Possibly psychic

• Emits emotional static

Risk Level: High (may chew HDMI cables)

a scene from comi-con 26

🎥 The Encounter: Storyboard Snapshot

• Panel 1: Empire scientists arguing over leftover DNA goo…

• Panel 2: A pod labeled “SLURP-B” is jettisoned into space.

• Panel 3: It bonks my windshield. I stare. It stares back.

• Panel 4: Shlurp-B grins. I sigh. A legacy begins.

the origin ripoff— I mean, story

🎯 Merch of the Future

• ✔️ Trading cards? Oh yeah.

• ✔️ Storyboard? Fully illustrated.

• ✔️ Funko Pop concept? Photorealistic and terrifyingly cute.

Shlurp-B isn’t an afterthought. He’s my franchise soft launch.

You came for Golden Wings…
You stayed for the goblin.

A funco pop of schlurp-B

May the legacy be with you.Always. (((three snaps)))

— Caleb StewartFilmmaker | Star Wingz Founder | Emotional Host to a Sticky Goblin

Golden Wings Soars: Website Anniversary Celebration & First Look at Our New 3-Minute Teaser!

Darlings, can you believe it? One year ago today, I nervously hit "publish" on GoldenWingsRobbie.com, wondering if anyone besides my mother (the documentary's star) and possibly my therapist (the documentary's unofficial emotional consultant) would ever visit. Yet here we are – one trip around the sun later, with festival laurels sprouting like enthusiastic kudzu and a MAJOR screening at the Beyond Hollywood International Film Festival at LA Live Regal Cinema!

Robin with Marie. and J Ricks at her graduation ceremony from flight attendant school in 1971.

Where it all began: Three generations of aviation dedication captured in this newly restored family treasure. My mother (center) in her early American Airlines uniform, flanked by her proud parents - my grandmother and grandfather, himself an American Airlines veteran who helped develop training for the Boeing 747.

EXCLUSIVE: Watch Our Brand New 3-Minute Teaser!

As a special anniversary treat, I'm thrilled to share the first three minutes of Golden Wings with you right here, right now! This newly updated opening sequence represents quite a departure from earlier cuts – a testament to how the film has evolved since its humble student project beginnings.

The teaser sets the stage for my mother's remarkable 50+ year journey through the aviation industry's most transformative decades. From the glamorous yet restrictive early days to the challenges of 9/11 and beyond, these opening minutes offer just a taste of the emotional journey that awaits in the full documentary.

For those keeping score at home (hi Mom!), that's the STAPLES Center-adjacent venue where actual celebrities with actual IMDb pages longer than a CVS receipt regularly grace the red carpet. Meanwhile, I'll be there clutching my filmmaker badge, trying not to spill overpriced popcorn on what I've optimistically labeled my "festival blazer" (it's seen four festivals and exactly zero dry cleanings – the documentary filmmaker's equivalent of a lucky charm).

Mark Your Calendars: May 3rd, 11:30 AM, Theater 12A!

Set those alarms, cancel those brunch plans, and prepare your applause hands! Golden Wings takes flight on Saturday, May 3rd at 11:30 AM in Theater 12A, nestled comfortably between "Haven't Seen Her" (a breezy 4:35) and "Bola at Buhay/Ball and Life" (clocking in at 11:02). Sure, we're not in the primetime 7:30 PM Saturday slot (looking at you, "Water Lillies" with your extravagant two-hour runtime), but breakfast screenings have a certain charm – like watching aviation history with your morning mimosa!

From Humble Beginnings to Hollywood Adjacent

When I first created this documentary as a student project, I was filming on a Samsung phone and bribing my mother with promises of dinner to let me follow her around with a camera. "It's just for class," I assured her, conveniently omitting that I already had visions of festival screenings dancing in my head like sugarplum fairies with better lighting equipment.

Now look at us! My mother's 50+ year career as a flight attendant has taken wing on screens across the country. From the tear-jerking letter to my father that closes the film to the surprisingly emotional admission about her struggle with sobriety, audiences have connected with this story in ways I never imagined. Like that woman at NewsFest who approached me after the screening – around my mother's age – who shared through tears how much the film meant to her as a mother. Those moments, my friends, make all the RAM installations and technical glitches worthwhile.

The Festival Circus Continues (With a Side of DCP Drama)

Saturday's screening feels like we're entering the big leagues – like suddenly being upgraded from economy to first class without having to use any miles. I'll be there with my lucky blazer, a mouth full of talking points, and a heart full of gratitude. Plus, in true indie filmmaker fashion, I'm making a special pre-screening pilgrimage today to personally deliver a replacement DCP because apparently, I missed the class on "How to Create a DCP That Won't Make Projectionists Weep."

Thank the cinema gods I live in LA and not Ohio, or this last-minute dash would involve more than just battling downtown traffic and practicing my "I totally know what I'm doing" face while handing over what is essentially my digital baby to a stranger with an actual projection booth. The glamorous life of a documentarian involves far fewer red carpets and far more panicked drives clutching hard drives than the brochures suggested.

If you're in the Los Angeles area, tickets are still available! Come witness the magic that is my mother's journey through five decades of aviation history, and stick around for the Q&A where I promise to share at least one embarrassing story that didn't make the final cut. (Spoiler alert: it involves the time she had to deal with a passenger who tried to bring a live chicken onto a flight to Frankfurt. Yes, really.)

Looking Forward, Looking Up

As Golden Wings continues its festival journey, I'm constantly reminded of something my mother taught me: showing up is half the battle. Well, Mom, I'm showing up Saturday morning, blazer and all, to celebrate your legacy on the big screen – right after I show up today with the correct DCP, because that's definitely more than half the battle.

This is just the beginning, folks. Keep your seatbelts fastened, your tray tables in their upright and locked positions, and your eyes on this space for more updates as Golden Wings soars to new heights.

And to everyone who's supported this journey so far – from the three people who showed up to my disastrous virtual premiere (my first-grade teacher, my cousin, and my mom's high school friend deserve medals) to the festival programmers who saw something special in our story and mercifully overlooked my first DCP attempt – thank you for being part of our flight crew.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to practice my "oh-this-old-thing?" face for when someone inevitably compliments my festival blazer on Saturday, and perfect my "oh-I-always-hand-deliver-my-DCPs" casual stance for today's adventure. It's all about selling the illusion of effortlessness, darlings – something both documentarians and flight attendants understand all too well.

See you at the movies! ✈️

P.S. In case you're wondering – yes, I did finally remember that password. And no, it wasn't "Danny2023!" Some things are better left in the past, preferably in a folder marked "Recycle Bin."

P.P.S. I no longer forget passwords. I've now graduated to losing entire wallets. Who needs a wallet anyway? Clearly not me – I'll be the guy at the festival concession stand patting his empty pockets with increasing panic while the line behind me collectively sighs. Consider it performance art. Or just consider buying your own popcorn

Oh and a special bonus:

The first three minutes of the latest cut