Last April, when they sketched out ideas for Jimmy and Judy, Schroder, a Covington Catholic graduate, and Rubin, a Los Angeles native, thought they would be working with zero budget and a handful of volunteers.

Actor Edward Furlong

Edward Furlong was only 14 when Terminator 2: Judgment Day made him one of the most famous teen actors in the world. Today, at 27, he has 16 more movies to his credit and a reputation for choosing edgy, offbeat roles like the troubled lead character he plays in Jimmy and Judy. His films include Little Odessa, American History X with Edward Norton, and a starring role in Pecker for indie legend John Waters. Yet to this day, he admitted, people still think of him as John Connor, the boy destined to grow up to defeat the machines of The Terminator. "Just a little while ago, somebody yelled out 'Hey, John Connor!' - and I don't think I've ever done this before - I went, 'Hey, hi.' Like it's my name. It was weird. It was kinda pathetic." Furlong, who has three other independent films due for release in the next year, laughs out loud - and cracks up crew members nearby - imagining how his first success will follow him. "I'm gonna be old and bald and still wearing the John Connor clothes that don't fit any more, my gut hanging out 'cause I'm fat, going, 'Hi, I'm John Connor!' " Furlong also has gained a reputation for hard-partying, loose-cannon behavior, which was reinforced when he was charged with public intoxication Wednesday after the actor tried to release live lobsters from a holding tank in a Florence market.

Instead, when cameras rolled last week on Jimmy and Judy, the writing/directing partners found themselves presiding over a crew of 25, with enough money to pay them all and a bona fide movie star heading the cast. Their leading man is Edward Furlong, who played young John Connor alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1991 sci-fi smash Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

Furlong's co-stars include Rachael Bella, who appeared in The Ring and veteran actor James Eckhouse (Beverly Hills 90210).

"We never imagined we would have people of this caliber," said Schroder. "This whole thing has been amazing."

Said Rubin, "To go from coming up with an idea to one-and-a-half years later being on the set is monstrously fast by movie business standards."

Both said they have been bowled over at the generosity of Northern Kentucky communities. On their first day of shooting, for instance, Flick's grocery story in Burlington allowed them to film scenes inside, "where we just took over a couple of aisles," Schroder said, and outside in the parking lot where they shot Furlong smashing up cars, while "the Florence police played themselves."

Their crew includes local production veterans Alan Forbes and Will Benson, and Schroder's sister Robin. Though she never worked on a movie before, she has shown a special talent, said her brother. "She has gotten us so much for free, I can't believe it. She got 25 people to show up as extras for free. She got us free cars. She's incredible."

Everywhere, it seems, "people are bending over backward to help. It's almost surreal," he said. "The Los Angeles crew can't believe how nice everybody is."

In particular, he said, he expected some resistance based on the script for what he called "a dark and twisted" story about two misfits who fall in love.

Both Schroder and Rubin had been working in television production when they met while Schroder was on assignment in Los Angeles and crashed at a co-worker's apartment, which Rubin shared. "It was such a party place I had to sleep out on the deck," Schroder said.

The two struck up a friendship and started writing together; Jimmy and Judy, their fifth script, proved to be an attention-getter. Their manager sent it to a few people, and it found its way to Furlong, who said, "I started reading and I could not put it down, which rarely happens. And I was laughing, which also rarely happens."

Once Furlong was cast, investors quickly came forward to fund the modest production.

The production will continue for two more weeks; locations include Florence, Burlington and Villa Hills, where the company was shooting scenes this week in a private home.

On Wednesday, shooting broke for lunch and Rubin emerged sporting a cowboy hat, a souvenir of a Schroder-led trip to Covington's Mainstrasse Oktoberfest, to talk about the partnership. "This is not something that could have been originated or finished by either one of us alone," he said. "We take completely opposite approaches to almost everything, but we always end up in the same place."

Schroder and Rubin have another script, called Covington, that they hope to make in the area if Jimmy and Judy succeeds. After the good luck they have had so far, they're optimistic. "I want to keep going," said Rubin. "Keep the crew here, keep Ed and Rachael and just go on to the next one."

Schroder agreed. "How cool is that I am making my first movie back in my hometown?," he said. "Come on, it doesn't get any better than that."

E-mail mmcgurk@enquirer.com

Margaret A. McGurk