A black limousine pulled up outside the Landmark Theatre on Saturday evening and out popped nine-year-old Marshall Sepello, wearing a black tuxedo and an orange bow tie that matched his orange forelock.
He gazed up in wonder at his name flashing on the marquee.
Marshall was here for the world premiere of Marshall Man, a superhero film produced by Liverpool-based studio American High in partnership with Make-A-Wish Central New York. Marshall wrote, directed, and starred in it.
Crossing the orange carpet, Marshall saw the crush of people waiting for him inside Landmark’s resplendent lobby and his jaw dropped. He reached for his mother’s hand, but she was trailing behind, letting him have this moment all to himself.
Marshall took a few tentative steps forward, then broke into a happy jig to the tune of a jazz band playing in the gallery above. The crowd roared. Flashbulbs popped. Necks craned to get a peek at the city’s newest movie star.
Marshall Man was in the house.
Wait. Hit the rewind button, as Marshall would say. Let’s go back to the beginning.
Marshall Sepello, of Sherburne, N.Y., was born at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston with a congenital heart condition that his father, Michael Sepello, describes as “terrifying.”
“We used to celebrate his birthday every month because we didn’t know if he would make it to his first,” Michael said.
Despite his daunting origin story, Marshall prevailed. It took more hospital visits than he cares to recount, but he is unequivocally, passionately, hair-on-fire here, and a Hollywood movie star to boot.
Marshall gets winded easily, so mobility has always been an issue, said his mother, Rebecca Sepello. Art became his refuge, especially when he was laid up at home recovering from one of his many surgeries.
Marshall drew his first character at two. Sketched his first comic book at five. Video games, he’s made around 30 of them. But he loves movies most.
A few years ago Marshall became obsessed with slasher…
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