|
Past Filmmakers
Murder of John Stephens
 The
Interview
1. How did you come up with the idea for the film?
Dr. Randy Young, then Dean of the Caswell County campus of Piedmont
Community College, first suggested that the story of "Chicken
Stephens" would make an interesting historical re-enactment.
More than a year later, Caswell County manager, Jeff Rudd, encouraged
me to consider producing a project based on the "Chicken Stephens"
story. I made the decision to produce "The Murder of John Stephens"
as our summer Institute project for 2001.
2. How long did the production process take?
Research began in the spring of 2001 led by Sarah Costello, the
program coordinator for the Piedmont Community College Film and
Video Production Technology Program. Her software applications class
gathered materials on the facts of the story and researched props
and wardrobe of the era as a class project. I wrote the first draft
of the screenplay in early May. The Summer Institute began on June
4, 2001. The class spent 3 and one-half weeks in preparation for
the shoot. Six days of principal photography began on June 27, 2001.
The first release edit of the project was completed on August 2,
2001, eight weeks from script to screen. Refinements in the edit
were made in September and the project was entered into festival
competition.
3. What challenges did you experience in the creation
of the film?
The greatest challenge in this project was capturing images that
portrayed the props and wardrobe of 1870 accurately. Wardrobe was
particularly difficult as we had a very limited budget and many
costumes had to be built from scratch. Several students, including
Producer Bev Holingsworth, worked late many nights to get the costumes
ready in time for shooting.
4. What is your favorite memory from creating the
film?
To me the real joy of what I do is watching my students become filmmakers.
About half of the students on this production were half way through
the two-year degree program. The others had never been on a film
set before. It was very rewarding to see the "experienced"
students leading and mentoring the novices. By the last day of shooting
at Carolina Pinnacle Studios, it was difficult to tell the novices
from the more experienced crew.
5. When someone has finished watching the film,
what do you hope they take away from the experience?
I hope that viewers get a sense of the commitment of John Stephens
and others like him to engage the former slaves of this country
into the mainstream of our political system in the aftermath of
the Civil War.
6. What type of reaction has your film received
from viewers?
Viewer responses have been very positive both on the subject matter
and on the quality of the production. We submitted the project to
the 20th annual Media Communications Association- International¹s
Carolina Silver Reel Awards competition and won in three categories.
I received an award in the New Directions category as the writer/director
of the project, the Student Production award recognized PCC student
producer Bev Hollingsworth and in the Craft Category for talent,
Screen Actors Guild actor Jonathon Demers, who starred as John Stephens
was honored.
7. What advice would you give to aspiring young
filmmakers?
Persist, persist, persist. If you have the stamina to stick with
it you will succeed in this industry.
8. Please tell us about the next film you plan
to work on?
We have just completed our summer Institute 2002 project, "The
Trial of Hennretta Jefferies," another historical re-enactment
set in 1913. I have applied for a National Endowment for the Humanities
Grant to expand "The Murder of John Stephens" into a feature
length production which we hope to produce in the summer of 2004.
Our next production, "When Autumn Comes," is scheduled
to shoot in October, 2002. It is a short film written and directed
by California filmmaker, Joseph Peters.
9. What are your thoughts on the film industry
in NC?
North Carolina will always be popular for both independent film
productions and major studio projects. The state offers a terrific
range of locals and a good infrastructure of support services and
crew. What will really accelerate the growth of film production
in North Carolina is the grass roots movement underway now to produce
home-grown North Carolina productions. The four year film and communications
programs at NCSA and UNCG are turning out filmmakers who want to
live and work in North Carolina
|
