With "Walk the Line" and "Hustle and Flow" up for numerous nominations at the Oscars this year, Memphis movies are beginning to make their mark. A group of three University of Memphis film graduates are getting their chance to break out into the spotlight as well.
Malco Theatres will run the latest film from Old School Pictures, "Act One" for a weeklong stint at Studio on the Square starting tomorrow night. "Act One," the ninth feature film from alumni Brad Ellis, Mark Norris and Matt Weatherly, will show right alongside Oscar hopefuls "Brokeback Mountain" and "Capote." This marks the first time that a local indie movie will get a weeklong theatrical run since Craig Brewer's "The Poor & Hungry."
"To have one of our movies play at any theatre is something we've worked at for a long time," said Allen Gardner, who wrote the script as well as portrayed the main character.
This past October, the movie headlined the Indie Memphis Film Festival and won the Best Narrative Feature award. Ellis, who directed the film, originally approached Malco for just one showing a day.
"They came back with a shockingly generous offer," Gardner said.
"Act One," which was filmed two summers ago has only been shown once to a public audience at the Indie Fest. It sold out days before the premier and gained an abundance of that precious indeterminable factor, buzz around the Memphis film scene. "We all met in high school during our senior year in a film and video class taught by Joey Watson. From then on, the rest is history-in-the-making," said Norris, who produced the film.
Watson, who has been working with Old School Pictures ever since is a film and video instructor at the University of Memphis.
The plotline revolves around a reckless young screenwriter in Los Angeles played by the actual screenwriter of the movie, Allen Gardner, who actually lives in Los Angeles. Gardner graduated with the other three Old School collaborators from Houston High School in 1999.
"I'm sort of lucky that I get the best of both worlds," Gardner said. "I get to be surrounded by a big pool of talent here in Los Angeles and I'm always excited to film in my hometown, especially now."
Gardner's location was especially convenient when they strayed from their usual routine of starring themselves and friends in roles and held auditions for the female lead in Los Angeles. They picked an actress named Bettina Adger from more than 100 people who auditioned for the part.
"Allen had to step it up because of Bettina (Adger)," said Weatherly. "This is Allen's best performance to date."
Others starring in the film include Watson himself as Joel Goldsmith, a smart, savvy, talented producer who mentors Kevin, while tackling his own latest script creation. Also returning for the fifth time with Old School is Natalie Jones, theatre major at The U of M.
"It's wonderful to have been able to witness and be a part of the progressions that Old School Pictures have made from their very beginnings, said Jones.
"They started making videos in high school for Channel 1, to one showing at Trinity late at night, then to the Memphis film festival, and now they're running an entire week at Studio on the Square. They've come a long way in all aspects of film making from writing, acting, directing and even lighting. It's incredibly nice that people are starting to notice that."
As usual, the Old School team has been extremely busy promoting the run for the past two weeks. On Thursday, Time Warner began airing a preview for "Act One" on local television and Old School's Website (oldschoolpictures.net) has been flooded with thank you letters to friends that have helped put up posters and prints all over the city. "Old School started out as friends getting together to make skits and films that our friends would laugh at and enjoy," said Ellis.
Among the friends involved with "Act One" are recently disbanded local rock favorites, This Is Goodbye. The group did the entire music for the film and is now reuniting to play a show in May.
"The movie is about connecting with people while transitioning into adulthood in an abstract way as well as physical," Ellis said.
The movie explores an extremely deep theme in an entertaining and comedic approach that Old School Pictures has become locally known for.
"Everyone is gonna take something from this movie. Everyone is gonna connect," said Ellis.
"Act One" begins today with a premier at the 7:25 showing in which the cast and crew themselves will be in attendance. It runs all the way to Thursday, Feb. 23 at Studio on the Square in Midtown.
"This weeklong event was created with the intention of giving the general public an opportunity to see 'Act One' in a theatrical setting, Weatherly said. "If this run is successful, then Malco will be open to sponsoring these types of events in the future," Weatherly said.
