Look
out Hollywood! Several Fremd students and one teacher star
in the latest CNGM Pictures film Uninvited.
CNGM
Pictures was created by 2003 Fremd graduates Steve Coulter,
Michael P. Noens, Derek Greene and Marc Muszynski. CNGM
stands for the first letters of the founders' last names.
According
to Noens, the four have been producing small films since they were
introduced to the independent micro-cinema movement in 2000 as
sophomores at Fremd. CNGM also produced The Legends of
Cuba Road (2004).
Uninvited,
which was directed and written by Noens, tells the story of a
suburban family that is torn apart when mom, Beth Ashby, is killed
in a car accident. The recently widowed husband is left to
take care of their three children, Alice, Simon and Lisa.
Lisa
begins to believe she is having encounters with her late mother.
After Lisa tells her older sister Alice her secret, Alice starts
to notice Lisa isn't the only one experiencing strange things.
Simon,
their brother, is having mysterious blackouts, and the once happy
family must try to understand and reconnect with one another.
Almost
the entire cast was hand picked by Noens to be in the film.
"I
started writing the script back in the middle of August, and as I
was writing the first 10 pages, I know who I wanted the cast to
be," Noens said.
Beth
Ashby is played by English teacher Judy Klingner.
Klingner,
who also teaches drama and directs Fremd plays, was asked to play
a small part in the film.
"I
was recruited by Michael Noens becuase he said I would be perfect
for the part, but I really think he just needed a woman my
age," Klingner said.
Senior
Mark Iverson was cast as Simon.
Although
Iverson has produced some of his own films, he says this was the
first time he ever acted in a production.
"Mike
Noens saw one of my films and recruited me to do Uninvited,"
Iverson said. "It was a different experience, but I
liked it and hope to do more."
Playing
along side Klingner and Iverson are junior Colleen Longo, who
plays the role of Alice, and sophomore Kristen Higgins, who plays
the role of the little sister Lisa. Longo and Higgins have
been in Fremd plays and are active in the drama program.
Higgins,
an amateur to the film industry, says theater acting is unlike
being on film.
"I
think it's very different to act in a movie because when you act
on stage you have to exaggerate you movements, but in a movie you
can be more subtle because it's on film. You can always
shoot it again," Higgins said.
Longo
played a small part in the 2004 CNGM production Please Wait to
be Seated, but this was her big break playing a lead role.
"Since
I had that smaller role, it gave me a taste of what acting in a
movie was like," Longo said.
Filming
Uninvited started in late November and wrapped in the
beginning of February.
"We
filmed over winter break, and we would start at 4p.m. and film
until 2 or 3 in the morning. It was very exhausting, but it
was so much fun that it was worth it," Higgins said.
The
actors credit CNGM for making the film enjoyable.
"It
was really fun because CNGM is really professional in everything
that they do. I felt like I was on a real movie set,"
Klingner said.
Longo
agreed that this experience was worthwhile, and she was thrilled
to be a part of the production.
"With
each movie at CNGM, it get better," Longo said. "I
was also working with people I love hanging out with."
Noens
says he hopes to show Uninvited in the suburbs and the city
in order to publicize it as much as possible.
"We
are looking to have the premiere at a movie theatre, and then it
will probably be showing at Cutting Hall [in Palatine] throughout
the summer. We are also inviting movie critics and
professional film makers to the premiere," Noens said.
After
three months of shooting, Uninvited is currently looking at
a late May or early June 2005 release.
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