BOYERTOWN'S DONNIE ELLIXSON JR.

HITS HOLLYWOOD

AND TAKES FOUR STUDENTS WITH HIM

AS A STUNT FIGHTERS ON

M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN'S 'THE LAST AIRBENDER' MOVIE

"Well I can check, 'worked as a martial arts stunt fighter on a major motion picture', off my bucket list" Donnie Ellixson Jr. jokes as he recollects the events that took place last summer 2009.  "It's all pretty wild how it unfolded", Ellixson comments."I was working at the dojang (Ellixson's Tae Kwon Do Academy, Boyertown, PA), when I got a call from The Last Airbender Casting, three days later I'm in intensive 10 hour a day training sessions (which lasted about two weeks), two days following that I'm working aside Dev Patel, Slumdog Millionaire, Jackson Rathbone, Twilight, Aasif Mandvi, The Daily Show and getting direction under M. Night Shyamalan, who's directing hits include Unbreakable, The Sixth Sense and Signs.  Yeah, saying it was like a rollercoaster is an understatement."

One of my Black Belts Cindy Parks, sent me an email on I believe it was a Wednesday night.  It was in reference to Open Auditions for a movie, Avatar: The Last Airbender and that they were holding the auditions at the Spectrum in Philadelphia.  The movie is based on a Nickelodeon cartoon that I had never heard of but I thought, wow, this could be something cool and fun that I could take my National Demo Team, Ellixson's Elite to.  This could be a great learning experience and that's exactly how I posed it to them and their parents.  So I called an emergency Team Meeting on that Thursday and discussed the idea. That Friday we all met at the dojang and created portfolios for each of the Team Members and then Saturday morning, we were off to the audition in Philadelphia. Due to arraigning very early, we were fortunate enough to be one of the first in line, and thank goodness too, because soon after we got there the line stretched to a couple thousand applicants.  I had no idea what the outcome of all these auditions would be, but I knew if we had any chance at all, we had to look sharp, be professional, be early and that's what we did," stated Ellixson

"A few weeks went by and we had about ten students that received call backs for a second audition.  That was way exciting, the students and I were thrilled! I think it was on all of our minds that if any one of us got in the movie, it was like all of us made it, we are not only a team, but a family. Four of our students, Ben Rosenberger, Cris Zaharia, Braedon Walters and Eric Nice all were accepted in the second round of auditions and made it into the filming. Then, three days before the crew began shooting the film, I received a phone call from casting.

Sitting in anticipation and disbelief of what she was hearing, Oxenford asked "Well, what did they say?"

Ellixson responded with, "They asked me if I was interested in a position of a stunt fighter.  I asked what it entailed and they explained that I would have to clear my schedule for 6 weeks, I had to be prepared to work 10 to 16 hour days and they were starting in 3 days.  I knew that if I hesitated, my opportunity would be over, they would just go to the next person on their list so I took a couple of seconds, thought about what great and loyal  staff I have at the dojang and how supportive my family is and said, 'yes, most definitely!"

The Opening Night Red Carpet Premier Party for The Last Airbender will be Friday August 13^th, 7pm at the Boyertown State Theatre, 61 N. Reading Avenue, Boyertown, PA 19512, 610-367-4737 www.statetheatreboyertown.com. Some of my top students from Ellixson's Elite National Demo Team will be performing as well, so everyone, come out and celebrate with us!  Ellixson's Elite will also be performing at Saturday nights showing and then again at the matinee on Sunday."

Information About the performances at the Boyertown State Theatre: Ellixson's Tae Kwon Do's Elite Team is scheduled to perform demonstrations and announce the movie, The Last Airbender on Friday, August 13 - at the Red Carpet Premier, as well as Saturday & Sunday's  shows, including Sunday's matinee

Master Kim's Tae Kwon Do is scheduled to perform demonstrations and announce the movie for Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday's. shows

Individuals will need to arrive early (doors open 30 minutes before the shows) and seating is limited.  The demonstrations will be approximately 15 - 20 minutes long, prior to the scheduled show time.

Heather Oxenford, Building A Better Boyertown's Main Street Manager says "This beyond a doubt is thrilling news for Donnie Ellixson Jr. , his academy, staff and students as well as the Boyertown community ! The Boyertown communities has been so encouraging of Donnie since his misfortune in February and have opened their arms to lend a hand in any way they are capable, it is always pleasant hearing a positive to a negative! BBB believes strongly in developing Boyertown, promoting local businesses and enhancing the small-town feel that makes Boyertown so special. It is a community like ours that make our town "A Special Kind of Place".