Jonathon Goodro was honest from the outset. There would always be another love, one that would never wane. He made that clear when he began dating Amy, who would later become his wife.
It was the cinema -- more specifically, filmmaking. He would never stop pursuing that passion.Â
"My aspirations are and will always be to be a filmmaker," he said, adding that he gave her the chance to walk away from the relationship with no hard feelings if she couldn't accept that.
He also let her know that if she stood by him, there would be hard times -- financially and emotionally -- but his quest would never end.Â
And somehow, she chose to stick it out.
So two weeks ago, when the credits rolled as the Goodros -- flanked by several family members and friends -- watch the premiere of "Chariot" at the Marcus Grand Cinema, it was extra special when his name appeared on the screen. All alone and in big print: JONATHON GOODRO, PRODUCER.
That moment he shared with his wife lasted all of 3 seconds, but will forever be etched into the fabric of who he is.Â
"She gripped my hand a little tighter," he said. "I looked over and saw a tear or two in her eyes and I smiled."
He had kept his promise to never give up. And she'd held up her end of the bargain by allowing him to follow his heart, to pursue his passion and, more important, standing by his side the entire time.
The cynic would be quick to say that one movie credit doesn't make a career. The optimist would counter that by saying every journey begins with a single step.
In case you had any doubt, Goodro, the 36-year-old Omaha native who now calls Lincoln home, is an optimist, a dreamer and, yes, a filmmaker.
"This is but the tip of the iceberg," he said. "The best is yet to come."
He's finalizing a couple of projects now and says he'll be ready to announce them soon. The tip of the iceberg is a movie that starred John Malkovich, which can only lend credibility to his first bite of the apple.
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It's when you consider the journey that got him to this point that you begin to understand just how unfathomable all of this is.
After graduating from high school, he thought he wanted to train to become a psychiatrist, but left Creighton University after a year.
"I realized I didn’t want to be a doctor," he said. "I thought I would be really unhappy dealing with other people’s problem."
His life had always revolved around storytelling. He was always the one reading the books to the family as a young boy, his mother Ann recalled. Meanwhile, his father Travis taught him to love film.
The seeds were planted.
But rather than taking the conventional route of going to film school -- one that is both expensive and uncertain -- he started on the ground floor and found work as a gofer on the set of a 2007 film called "Dedication" that starred Mandy Moore and was shot in New York.
"I learned more on one day of being on set than I would have in an entire year of film school," he said.
There were other movies on which he did the grunt work -- the stuff that is so necessary on any film shoot but seldom gets the notoriety -- like 2009's "April Showers," which was filmed in Papillion.
Along the way, he learned the business, made valuable contacts and proved himself as someone willing to put the needs of the project ahead of his own.Â
He didn't make much money, but the experience garnered from each shoot was invaluable. He learned a bit more each time out.
And his name on the end-of-film credit was a nicer perk and would have been huge -- had they spelled his named correctly. Instead, when the credits rolled on one of those early films, he was horrified to see that some kid named "Jonathon Goordo" was listed.
"It was embarrassing and disappointing," he said, adding that it led to consternation in the days leading up to the premiere of "Chariot."
No matter what, he didn't want to see the return of the fictitious Mr. Goordo.
"I had seen the final cut, before they put the credits in," he said. "I kept calling saying, 'Please tell me you spelled my name correctly."
He was assured his name had been checked and double-checked. That was confirmed on premiere night when the credits officially rolled and he enjoyed that special moment.
A movie career, had been launched. Just as promised.