MADD unveils its targeted ad, movie campaign By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF No matter how well you live your life or how good a person you are, your legacy will be one of pain and sadness if you make the wrong decision. This was the key message of a new MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) video, which premiered at Silvercity Oakville theatre Wednesday evening. Titled Long Weekend, the short film follows a group of teenagers as they travel to cottage country to enjoy a long weekend of partying. Events turn tragic, however, when one of the teens gets behind the wheel after a few too many drinks and crashes his car killing himself, paralyzing his girlfriend and killing the driver of another vehicle. The story is seen through the eyes of Brian, the young driver, who, now dead, is forced to reflect on the events leading up to the accident with Charles, the man Brian just killed. The film is particularly tragic as Brian is depicted as just a regular teen who enjoys sports, is making plans for post-secondary education, is good to his friends, and whose parents are proud of him. In the end, Brian realizes that despite all the good things he had going for him, all he 5 · Friday, June 8, 2012 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.insideHALTON.com JAMES HOGGETT / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER in the audience: MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) Canada, premiered its new anti-drunk-driving ad/movie short, Long Weekend. Attending were cast members, from left, Melissa Cultraro, Matthew Gonzales, Marcus Thomas (front), Jeremy Wahl and Adil Zaidi. will leave behind now is pain, sorrow and regret. "This shows the consequences of drinking and driving, and drugs and driving, and it empowers kids to make smart choices," said Andrew Murie, MAAD CEO. "Next school year, we'll show this to around 1.5 million high school students, about 900,000 of whom will be in Ontario. "Every school in Ontario that wants to see this show will get a chance to see it." Preventing drinking and driving among young people continues to be a pressing concern. According to MADD, car crashes are the No. 1 cause of death among young people in Canada with approximately 50 per cent of these accidents being alcohol-related. Filming for the new MADD video began about eight months ago with some of the production taking place in Halton. Members of the cast were present for the premiere and spoke about the film and the characters they portrayed. "I think the scary thing is this is a decision a lot of people have made. "Everyone has gone to a party, had a few drinks and then there's that moment where you try to decide if you are okay to drive," said Jeremy Wahl, who plays the role of Brian. See Consequences page 12 is pleased to announce the arrival of four enthusiastic new team members and is happy to welcome back Mike Holroyd to the Oak-land Ford Lincoln family. Oak-land Ford Lincoln New Sales Associate New Sales Associate Max Careau Les Plant New Sales Associate Domenic Alonzi Used Sales Associate John Isaac Financial Services Manager Mike Holroyd 570 Trafalgar Rd., Oakville at the QEW 905.844.3273 · www.oak-land.com @oaklandford1 Like us on