Film Premier at La Paloma to Help Friend Injured in Tragic Accident

When young filmmakers Brian and Danny Birmingham began work on their second feature The Allegiance last summer, the two brothers were just interested in having some fun making their own movie.

Then their friend Derek Thomas was severely injured in a traffic accident in August, and they decided that the movie’s premier would also be a benefit for their friend, with all the proceeds donated to help Thomas recover from the terrible burns he suffered.

“We were just kind of making the movie for fun,” Brian Birmingham said. “Then my brother had the idea to show it as a benefit. I just think it would be a great way to put it to some good use, for a good cause.”

The Allegiance will be shown at noon on Sunday at , and a raffle will also be held to raise funds for Thomas. Movie tickets are $5, and raffle tickets are also $5.

“Thanks mostly to my mom, we have wrangled up some incredible raffle items, so I'm confident we will be able to raise a lot of money,” Birmingham said. “Danny and I screened our first movie, Billy, at La Paloma in the summer of 2009. The funds from that premiere bought us a nice lunch.”

The Birmingham brothers—Brian, 20, is a junior at Loyola Marymount, and Danny, 17, is a senior at La Costa Canyon—based The Allegiance in San Diego, and it tells the story of a nerdy kid who makes friends that help him come out of his shell while visiting an uncle on Spring Break.

While the movie has not been rated by the Motion Picture Association of America, Brian Birmingham said it would probably get a PG-13.

“It’s not too bad, but there’s a little bit of language,” he said.