Suburban filmmaker, 54, proves it's never too late to chase a dream

It's never too late to pursue your passion. At 54 years old and weeks away from the premiere of his first short film, Marty McGinley says he's living proof.

For the last 35 years, McGinley has held a steady job as a graphic artist, a position that allows him to exercise his creativity. He settled down with his wife in the McHenry County area, raised his four daughters and did what he had to do to provide for his family.

For the most part, McGinley had no complaints, but his lifelong aspirations of becoming a film director never subsided. So when the idea for a screenplay came to him two years ago, he decided to take his dreams off the shelf and chase them.

"You do life, and life is good," said McGinley, of Crystal Lake. "Sometimes you want to do more."

Seven months and a couple screenwriting classes later, McGinley finalized the script for what would eventually become his nearly 20-minute independent short film, "The Wanting." After another year and a half of bringing his vision to life, the movie is set to premiere at 7 p.m. June 30 at the Woodstock Opera House.

The process

"The Wanting" centers around a young woman struggling to recover after her parents' death years ago and her brother's more recent disappearance - until she receives a cryptic text message from her brother's phone.

McGinley's writing process was filled with ups and downs, including some family issues that threatened to get in the way. But he kept at it, believing he had finally found a story worth telling.

Once the script was complete, he scoped out potential sets in the community, raised money to rent cameras, and put together a cast and crew largely made up of local talent. His 22-year-old daughter, Rachel, plays the lead, while his youngest daughter, Jenna, was in charge of makeup and costumes.

Friends stepped in to help with the cinematography, lighting and sound. Owners of Duke's Alehouse and Kitchen allowed the group to film in their Crystal Lake restaurant, and a local crew member offered her house for another scene.

"It was like a community event," McGinley said. "It was a lot of people donating time and effort. Anybody in the area was willing to come and help."

Still, he said, it was difficult balancing "The Wanting" with his job and other responsibilities. He used vacation time on the days the movie was filmed last September. For months after, he'd get home from work, spend time with his family, and then stay up until 2 a.m. editing.

As taxing as it was, McGinley says it was all worth it when the film turned out exactly as he imagined.

"I always just took a step back and kept believing in the idea and the process," he said. "It always seemed to work out."

Looking ahead

When "The Wanting" premieres at the end of the month, McGinley hopes it will be the first celebration of many. The Woodstock event will include a question-and-answer session, he said, and each $18 ticket comes with a glass of wine.

Afterward, he intends to enter "The Wanting" in film festivals nationwide to start generating buzz. His eventual goal is to sell the concept to a company like Netflix in hopes it'll be made into a series - maybe even one that he'd write.

"I've seen this story and where it could go," McGinley said. "I'd love to do this all the time."

But his dreams don't end there. Since falling in love with movies at a young age, McGinley said he has thought up several other ideas for dramas, comedies and films with impressive special effects.

He wants to go the distance, and he's willing to redirect his life to make it happen.

"My wife was the one who said, 'Who said your dreams stop at 52 years old?'" McGinley said. "She was right."