ISU Students Premiere Their
First Film in Normal
Article by
Daniel Frederking
December 5, 2006
DailyVidette.com
|
A group
hoping to make a big splash on the entertainment world is
bringing their talent to Normal. On Wednesday, Dec.
6, CNGM Pictures will be showing their new film "Fate
Twisted Simply" at the Normal Theater.
"We're
very excited to be here," Brian Wohl, a senior
theatre major and an actor in the film, said.
Wohl is
one of numerous ISU students involved in CNGM Pictures.
This group is a not-for-profit organization that is meant
to help its members gain experience.
"We
use CNGM Pictures to grow as film maers. The idea is
that we will eventually go from our not-for-profit status
as an educational film company, to move up to professional
film makers," Wohl said.
"We've
kind of created our own independent film school experience
over here," Steve Coulter, director of "Fate
Twisted Simply," said.
Coulter is
one of the few members that is not connected to ISU.
He is a business management major at the University of
Iowa.
The group
is based out of Palatine and has been making movies for a
while now. The films have been entered in
international film festivals and are now out on DVD.
They also have a television series in the works that is
being shopped around to networks.
"We'll
hopefully be making a living with this," Wohl said
about the future of the company.
Everyone
involved in "Fate Twisted Simply" is very
excited about the event.
"I
think it's one of the best ones we've had yet. The
technical aspects have improved and the entire look of the
film is coming together," Nick Mikula, a senior
theatre major and lead actor in the film, said.
"It's
a story about the friends and family of a U.S. Army Ranger
who's been serving overseas and is separated from his
unit, missing in action. While that's happening,
basically we follow his father back home and the reason s
why he hasn't contacted him in a while. Also, his
sister coming back from college and an old friend is
trying to get in contact with the family," Coulter
said. "It's kind of a mix of a family drama and
a romantic comedy."
"It
is a story about how fate affects this one family in life
and death and love. They have a son away at war and
it's about how they cope with him being away and broken
relationships and moving on," Wohl said.
This will
be the first time they will have a showing of one of their
films in Normal. "We've talked a bunch to our
friends and to people we work with in theater and pretty
much everyone, but we've never really shown them anything.
We really wanted to do that at some point so they realize
that we're not completely full of it. This is one
that we're really proud of so we picked this one that
would be a good first showing in a totally new marketing
area," Marc Muszynski, a senior acting major and
assistant director of the film, said.
The group
chose the Normal Theater as the venue for the screening
after considering many other options.
"When
I was a freshman, the Castle was really cool, but I don't
think they do screening things like this anymore.
Then we looked at rooms on-campus, but none of them ever
had what we wanted. We wanted a theater feel so that
we could have people with popcorn and it could be an event
that everyone could enjoy," Muszynski said.
The Normal
Theater has been very helpful throughout the entire
process.
"They
were really nice about everything," Muszynski said.
"They are really excited about it, which makes us
really comfortable and happy to work there."
The film
actually premiered in Palatine on August 10 at the 6th
Annual Microcinema Film Festival. They were very happy
with the possitive feedback and look forward to hearing
the reviews after the Normal showing.
After
leaving Normal, the film will continue to be shown
throughout the nation.
"We'll
be in a few film festivals coming up in the spring,"
Wohl said.
This will
not be the last time they present a film in Normal,
however. In May, they will be showing a project that
was actually filmed in Normal. This movie, which is
based around a group of college students, will be titled
"Normal Life."
"Part
of the plan for ['Fate Twisted Simply'] was to show
something else here, so we could test the audience and see
if people would show up for something like this here in
Normal," Muszynski said.
They also
decided to show this movie in Normal before "Normal
Life" because it can be accepted by a larger
audience.
"The
nice thing about 'Fate' is it's a much broader audience
range than a movie about juniors in college, which appeals
to college kids and people who recently graduated college.
This one is about a family with a son at war. It can
really be accepted by a much larger audience.
There's also a lot of comedy," Muszynski said.
"Fate
Twisted Simply" will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 6.
There will be a suggested $5 donation. Copies of the
movie will be available for purchase at the screening.
They can also be purchased at the CNGM Pictures Web site
at cngmpictures.com. More information about the
movie can be found at fate-movie.com. |
Some UCLA students go on vacation over their summer break.
Some take summer school, and others hit the beach. Mark Iverson,
a second-year film and television student, made his third
professional-quality film.
Iverson is a filmmaker in all senses of the word: He wrote,
directed, produced, and played a supporting role in his new film
“Blind Landing.”
He has completed and screened two other film projects in the
suburbs of Chicago, where he grew up, but today will be the
first time one of Iverson’s movies will premiere in Los
Angeles.
“As much as I love DVDs, there is something about the movie
theater experience that is incomparable,” said Iverson.
“Things are bigger, more exciting and more dramatic.”
Iverson isn’t the only person excited for the film’s Los
Angeles premiere. Steve Coulter, one of the lead producers of
“Blind Landing,” is eager to observe the student reactions
to the film.
“This kind of film is perfect for a college-aged
audience,” Coulter said. “It’s a story about how everyone
expects to grow up and have more mature relationships in
college, even though that isn’t always the case. Everyone can
relate to a story like this.”
Coulter is one of the founding members of CNGM Pictures, a
nonprofit organization of filmmakers in Chicago, many of whom
have worked with Iverson on their own projects in addition to
his.
“Working with Mark is really neat,” Coulter said. “When
he and I work together, we are able to help each other, but we
are aware that we have different styles”.
Coulter is graduating from the University of Iowa with a
degree in business management this May, after which he will move
to California and hopes to work on more films with Iverson.
Their differing styles ultimately lend themselves well to
gaining experience in the industry.
“(Mark) knows what he wants, but he lets his actors make
their own choices with their roles. He just likes to make
everyone happy,” said Paige Minor, who went to high school
with Iverson and plays the female lead in “Blind Landing.”
Minor is currently a production assistant at Disney and
intends to major in theater at Moorpark College and go into a
career in acting. But she’s impressed with what Iverson has
already accomplished.
“If I saw his name in lights, I wouldn’t be at all
surprised,” she said.
“Blind Landing” is a story very close to Iverson’s
heart because it is similar to an experience that he had with
his high school girlfriend. He was inspired to make this film in
his senior year of high school, after he had just finished his
first feature-length picture. He had written about his rocky
experiences with his high school sweetheart for a college
admission essay, and realized that the story had a great format
for a short film.
“Doing this film really helped me deal with what
happened,” Iverson said. “Making movies is such a great way
to work out your feelings about the world.”
Although Iverson is one of few out-of-state students at UCLA,
he welcomes the California college lifestyle.
“I never wanted to go to an art school,” said Iverson.
“Having a cumulative college experience is just wonderful.”
In the future, Iverson hopes to write many more films and
continue enjoying the life of a college student.
“If you want to be a filmmaker, you have to make movies,
even if you have crappy equipment, horrible actors, and you
aren’t really sure how to write scripts yet,” said Iverson.
“If you want to make movies, how can you not?”
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