Film follows Northbrook man's battle with ALS



By Karen Meyer ALS is a devastating disability. A 39-year-old successful writer and director from Northbrook allowed his friend to document his life as he battles ALS, with a dash of humor.

"Living with Lew" is a documentary about Scott Lew's battle with ALS . It shows Scott directing "Bickford Sheckler's Cool Ideas", a comedy about the coming of age of college students.
Scott lives in California with his wife. His parents Tammy and Michael Lew Live in the north suburbs. Scott was diagnosed with ALS in 2003 when he was 33 years old.


"You don't quite want to understand what you are hearing, and I personally went on the computer and tried to educate myself, what was ALS? And to try to understand his prognosis, and then I lost it, because you say, 'Why, why was he 33 years old with such a catastrophic illness befall him?' " said Tammy Lew.
Since 1993, Scott has directed and written a number of films and TV series pilots.
"He was in the process of making another one when this terrible disease hit, and he was very concerned that when his contacts in Hollywood found out what had happened to him that he just wouldn't be able to get additional work, but the opposite happened. People just flocked to him and worked with him to make his last movie," Tammy said.
The Lew family hopes "Living with Lew" becomes a resource for professionals, individuals and families.
"This film, it's emotional, volatile, but it also explains about catastrophic illness," Tammy said. "It's like throwing a stone into water and the ripple effect that comes from the one object being thrown in, how it affects all the people and not just the individual himself."
"We saw ourselves, you see your son, you see the anticipation of a child and all of the hopes, and the hand you were dealt isn't always what you had hoped for. The wonderful thing is how you can try to rise to the occasion. You have to take that hand your dealt and do the best you can with it," said Michael Lew.
"Living with Lew" was selected for several film festivals. "Bickford Sheckler's Cool Ideas" is now out on DVD.

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?sec...ity&id=5846059