September 7, 2025 — In 1980, while she was an eighth-grader at Lone Star Elementary, Clovis resident Gina Vertson and her classmates made a decision that would become local lore and go down in film history. A typical young teen, this family-oriented Italian girl enjoyed playing with her friends. She and her classmates were reading S.E. Hinton’s novel, The Outsiders. The students liked the story so much that they, along with their English teacher, thought it would make for a great movie.
“It talked about everyday kids. Everybody can either identify with a Greaser or a Soc and how we’re all different. I believe on a lot of levels the book relates to a lot of people and it related to me,” Vertson said.
At that moment, they brainstormed how it could become a film. They decided a petition would do the trick, and they collected over 100 signatures from seventh and eighth graders. Vertson was signature number 51.
They talked to Jo Ellen Misakian, a librarian, who decided to write a letter. She sent the letter, along with the petition and a copy of the book, to prominent filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola. He received it at his office in New York. After reading the book himself, he decided to make the movie.
Coppola was riding high in Hollywood after directing hits like the crime dramas The Godfather I (1972) and The Godfather II (1974) and the war epic Apocalypse Now (1979). Misakian thought he would be the perfect choice to helm the adaptation after he produced The Black Stallion (1979) and stayed faithful to the book.
Vertson and her classmates got to do something that never happens in the film business. Throughout the pre-production process of writing the screenplay, Coppola kept Misakian and the students in the loop about its progress. They would give him notes on how to correct the story if it went off course.
Fun fact: There was even a consideration of turning the film into a western. They saw the rivalry between the working-class Greasers and the rich Socs as a good reason to make the movie in that way. Misakian and the students immediately rejected the idea. Coppola listened to them and would take them at their word.
The students received letters in the mail, and there was a mandatory meeting with the kids at the school with their parents. They had to sign off to be involved with the making of the motion picture and to have their names used in the media and press.
Another unique thing happened. In March 1983, a week before the film’s actual premiere, C. Thomas Howell (Ponyboy), Ralph Macchio (Johnny), Patrick Swayze (Darry), Leif Garrett (Bob), and Dalton (Randy) were invited to Lone Star to meet with Misakian and her students, who were in high school at the time. The students got to take photos with them. The Today Show, The Morning Show, and all the local news stations and media outlets were covering it.
Later that evening, joined by Matt Dillon (Dally), the cast, students, and Misakian watched the film at Regency Cinema in Clovis. It was an amazing experience that Vertson would never forget. Most importantly, it was the fact that the film met her, Misakian, and the students’ expectations.
“It exceeded all expectations. It’s timeless. I remembered crying during the movie. It’s very emotional,” Vertson said.
In hindsight, she sees how much her contribution had a domino effect on this whole phenomenon. It became another classic in Coppola’s filmography, and the cast would impact the decade, being dubbed “The Brat Pack.” She is aware of how special it was to be a part of it.
“I’m in awe that it all happened like it did. It was a miracle. The likelihood of this happening again is very rare. It was a once in a lifetime thing,” Vertson said.
The story impacted her on a personal and professional level. That moment inspired her to pursue a career in the educational system. She now works in the Fresno Unified School District, where she teaches 11th and 12th grade English at Farber Educational Campus.
She still keeps in touch with some of the students to this day. Michelle Ogawa, also a teacher and librarian, has been friends with Vertson ever since they were kids. They are both coordinators in getting Howell, Garrett, and Dalton to return to Fresno on Saturday, September 13, at Royce Hall at Fresno High School for a special screening of the film. It is a fundraising event for Howell’s Stay Gold Foundation, a nonprofit organization, with the proceeds going towards its cause for “raising awareness to the importance of literacy and the arts.” Doors open at 5:30 PM. The event starts at 7:00 PM.
Before the screening, there will be a meet-and-greet, Q&A session, and autograph signings for attendees. There will also be a merchandise table with proceeds going directly back to The Stay Gold Foundation. The City of Fresno will be doing a Proclamation Day of The Outsiders by dedicating September 13 to the film’s legacy, and representatives will be giving the proclamation to the cast.
Vertson, Misakian, and company hope to keep the memory of their contribution to the film alive through the event and hope that attendees walk away feeling impacted by the story the way it did to them decades ago.
“I’m just excited to bring it back. It was such a magical moment. I can’t wait to bring it back to our town. And relive that moment but have the public, and my students, and their families, relive that moment, too. It’s going to be a really amazing night,” Vertson said.