DAPHNE, Ala. —The Gulf Coast is home to many creative individuals, but their work rarely receives a national stage. A movie based on Baldwin County resident Watt Key’s novel “Alabama Moon” opened in select cities this past weekend, including theaters in Baldwin County.

The film follows Moon Blake, who later becomes known as Alabama Moon, as he learns to make it on his own with the help of friends Kip and Hal. The film begins as recently orphaned Moon buries his father and sets off for Alaska like his father told him to. Moon and his father had been living in the woods scavenging and foraging for food and shelter, isolated from the world because his father was skeptical of the government.

He was convinced the law was always after him. The movie follows Moon’s journey of loss and growth from living in the woods alone to finding friends, family and his place in the world.

One of the movie’s three lead stars, Uriah Shelton, who plays young orphan Kip, grew up in Magnolia Springs and attended Bayside Academy before pursuing an acting career.

“(The actor who portrays) Kip in the movie … moved to California. It was just happenstance that we picked him. We had no idea that he went to Bayside or lived in Magnolia Springs,” producer Lee Faulkner said during a question-and-answer session following Daphne’s premiere at the Rave Theater Saturday.

The movie also stars John Goodman, a seasoned actor who starred as Dan Conner on TV’s “Roseanne” for nine seasons.

Key said he based some of the material in his books from things he did as a child growing up in this area and the settings are pulled from his knowledge of Alabama.

“I just wanted to write a story about a boy who was able to really have adventures that every boy his age would want …. I was always interested in outdoor-type stuff and that led to the story of Alabama Moon for me,” Key said.

Key has been writing for a long time, but he said it took him a while to get published.

“I started writing stories when I was young, probably about 10 years old. Then, when I was in college, I wrote my first novel when I was a freshman. I kept writing after that. Alabama Moon was about the ninth novel that I wrote and I would do one about every year and a half until I actually got published.

“I wasn’t really expecting it to get published. I wanted it to be, but I had written a lot of books that hadn’t been published.”

The movie is currently in a platform release in select cities and producers hope the DVD will be released soon.

(Staff video by Shea Zirlott; edited by Thomas Boni)

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