By Julie Lawrence Special to OnMilwaukee.com Published Nov 19, 2007 at 2:07 PM

Just before this year's Milwaukee International Film Festival kicked off, we introduced you to a local film and commercial production company called Purple Onion.

Last year, Purple Onion finished executive production on a film called "The Life of Reilly," a character piece / documentary about '70s gay TV icon Charles Nelson Reilly that screened at 2006's MIFF.

This year, the Milwaukee-made film is opening in New York and Los Angeles to vast acclaim, including a very positive review on Broadway.com by noted New York Magazine theater critic John Simon, and a New York Post blog  claiming it's the "best reviewed film of the year."

Just another way that Milwaukee is making its way on the movie industry map. 

Julie Lawrence Special to OnMilwaukee.com

OnMilwaukee.com staff writer Julie Lawrence grew up in Wauwatosa and has lived her whole life in the Milwaukee area.

As any “word nerd” can attest, you never know when inspiration will strike, so from a very early age Julie has rarely been seen sans pen and little notebook. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee it seemed only natural that she major in journalism. When OnMilwaukee.com offered her an avenue to combine her writing and the city she knows and loves in late 2004, she knew it was meant to be. Around the office, she answers to a plethora of nicknames, including “Lar,” (short for “Larry,” which is short for “Lawrence”) as well as the mysteriously-sourced “Bill Murray.”