Darius is going platinum.

The film project, “Darius Goes West,” that has been underway for the last three years has finally made it to DVD and the crew has set a goal of selling one million copies.

The idea of the documentary began in 2005 when University graduate Logan Smalley decided to film Cedar Shoals High School student Darius Weems on an adventure to Los Angeles.

Weems, who suffers from muscular dystrophy, told Smalley that he wanted to get his wheelchair “pimped” by MTV’s “Pimp My Ride.” Smalley, along with several other crew members, tried to grant his wish and document the road trip in which they also tested the wheelchair accessibility of America.

With help from the community and support from around the world, the movie has won 24 awards and continues to discuss Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The Darius crew said they hope to surpass their goal with the profits from the DVD sales.

“How many times have you heard of an award-winning movie that you can buy, and all of that money would be going toward curing a fatal disease?” said crew member Collin Shepley, a junior from Athens majoring in special education.

“Darius Goes West” is now on sale for $20.

“Seventeen (dollars) will go straight (toward) research for Duchene Muscular Dystrophy, while the remaining three will go toward making more DVDs,” Shepley said.

To help with promotion, YouTube has stepped in.

“YouTube just notified us of our new promotional video being featured on its front page,” said crew member Ben Smalley, a junior from Athens majoring in social science education.

The promo, aptly titled “Darius Goes West: The Vehicle,” also can be seen on www.dariusgoeswest.com and on a rapidly increasing number of websites and blogs.

“It’s basically a preview of our first film, but at the same time, it encompasses what we’ve done and what we’re now doing,” Shepley said. “Not only is the promo a vehicle for us to get the word out, but a vehicle for viewers to take action by simply copying and pasting.”

Though the film’s initial goals were to reach the Pacific Ocean and get Weem’s wheelchair customized, the most prominent goal has become to show that even a small community can work toward curing a disease across the country.

“All last year at film festivals, we were just trying to sell the movie” Shepley said. “But the response from the press, film critics, supporters and media let us realize that we have a product people want to support.”

More than two years, 20 film festivals and millions of dollars later, “Darius Goes West” faces a new set of challenges.

“Our goals for this year are more tangible,” said crew member Andrew Carson, a junior at Davidson College from Athens.

Though the campaign is certainly no stranger to generous donations from supporters worldwide, the manufactured DVDs – a tangible product, is the new challenge.

“We want to give people something for their donation, but sometimes it’s hard to convince them of that,” said Carson.

“If you were to tell somebody to donate, they’d feel so pressured to do so, but when you’re selling them a product, on one end, you have to market yourself.”

The “Darius Goes West” crew already has sold 12,000 copies of the DVD. Its year to sell 1 million DVDs worldwide ends on July 22, 2009, known in Athens as “Darius Goes West Day.”