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Adrienne Shelly (Murdered earlier this year) – Benefit/Screening – November 12th, 2007.
Image by NYCArthur
Seen at the 50th Street Southbound Subway Stop of the 1 train.
I guess I’m an Adrienne Shelly fan.
Adrienne Shelly’s husband vows her death won’t be in vain
BY JANE RIDLEY
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, October 31st 2007, 2:16 PM
Speaking on the eve of the anniversary of the murder of his actress wife, Adrienne Shelly, Andy Ostroy says his 3-year-old daughter pulled him out of a deep depression – and taught him a huge life lesson.
Little Sophie was busily playing with her toys about six months ago when she looked up at her father and said, "Daddy, I don’t want you to be sad."
"It startled me," Ostroy recalled. "First, I thought: ‘How sad must I be looking if a 3-year-old can pick up on it?’ Secondly, I thought: ‘How smart is this kid?’
"It was a rare moment and I felt an incredible connection. It was a turning point because I realized we were going to make it together and move forward."
The breakthrough came six months after Shelly, 40, a movie actress, writer and director, was found hanged in the Greenwich Village apartment where she wrote her scripts.
Construction worker Diego Pillco is awaiting trial for her Nov. 1, 2006, slaying. He told police he attacked her when she complained about noise from the apartment below.
The tragedy happened two months before Shelly’s last movie, "Waitress" – which she wrote, directed and acted in – triumphed at the Sundance Film Festival. It was released nationwide this summer to good reviews and big ticket sales.
"Adrienne and our family suffered an unimaginable horror that nobody should have to go through," said Ostroy, who has set up the Adrienne Shelly Foundation to help women filmmakers establish themselves.
"When something like this happens, you have choices. You can go one way or another.
"I knew, for the sake of myself, my daughter and my family, that a lot of good things could come out of this.
"Otherwise, her death would have been 100,000% senseless.
"No one can bring Adrienne back but we can celebrate her life and everything she stood for."
In many ways, he is thankful Sophie is too young to comprehend the circumstances of her mother’s murder.
"Psychologists tell us that children her age are not able to understand what death means," he explains. "It is important that the few snippets you give them are consistent.
"As they get older, the best policy is to be as honest and direct as possible."
He hopes that "justice will be served" when Pillco finally stands trial – but prefers to focus on Shelly’s legacy.
"When Sophie is a teenager, she will be able to spend hours in her bedroom watching her mother’s films and reading things about her," Ostroy said.
"She will learn what a special person she was and how she touched people in a very special way."
The CEO of a Manhattan-based strategic marketing service company, he plans to leave town tomorrow and spend time with Sophie, friends and family.
"It is not a case of one monumental date coming to wallop me," he said. "There have been a lot of days since last November. It has been incredibly unreal how fast and how slow this past year has gone.
"Like any other horrible anniversary, it needs to come and it needs to go. It helps in the grieving and healing process as we rebuild our lives and try to enjoy what we have.
"Adrienne is terribly missed and always will be. Her loss is something we will never forget, but she would want people to move forward."
To that end, Ostroy, 48, is co-producing the indie film "Serious Moonlight," which Shelly wrote shortly before her death. It will be directed by "Curb Your Enthusiasm" actress Cheryl Hines, who appeared in "Waitress."
The foundation also is staging a fund-raising gala at NYU’s Skirball Center for the Performing Arts on Nov. 12, featuring Alanis Morissette and a celebrity reading of Shelly’s screenplay "The Morgan Stories." Matt Dillon, Edie Falco, Mary-Louise Parker and Ally Sheedy are scheduled to appear.
For tickets, more information and details about a celebrity eBay auction, log on to: www.adrienneshellyfoundation.org.
jridley@nydailynews.com
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