Friday, Aug. 01, 2008

Colleyville Teen Part of Filmmaking Team

By Scott Price

Staff Writer

A group of 14 Metroplex teens, including Colleyville resident Regan Staudt, made a 10-minute drama in June after being selected to participate in the Samsung Mobile Fresh Film Competition.

Regan, 14, will be a freshman at Grapevine High School this school year.

She said the film crew worked on every aspect of producing the film including casting, location scouting, shooting, editing and creating the soundtrack. The teens rotated jobs in production so that each got experience in every job. "It was really fun," she said. "Everyone in it was really helpful."

Regan said more than 100 actors and actresses auditioned to be in the film.

There were just a few adults on the film set who supervised the teenagers, Regan said.

Nine all-teen crews were selected to make films in various cities across the country. The Metroplex crew created a drama called Saturday about a girl who runs away from home.

The Metroplex crew, known as the Dallas crew, is now competing against two other teen groups who created dramatic films. To watch the films and vote, see www.fresh-films.com, or text: Dallas to 95615. Voting in the drama category takes place July 31 to Aug. 6.

Regan said she is trying to get people to vote for her film.

"Yeah, I have been telling everyone," she said. "Everyone is excited about it."

The winning films from the drama, action and comedy categories will then go to a panel of judges, which includes actors Sean Astin and Tom Skerritt.

There will be a jury award and a Viewer’s Choice Award for the films that get the most votes. The award winners will premiere at the Samsung Fresh Films Youth Fest 2008, an event within the American Film Institute’s AFI Fest.

The premiere in Hollywood will feature a day of youth filmmaking seminars, screenings and interaction with industry professionals.

The event producers will submit top-achieving films to national and international film festivals. Those films will then be eligible to compete for Academy Awards.

More than 5,000 teenagers applied to participate in the film program, and about 100 of those were selected across the country. The filmmaking teams included Dallas; New Orleans; Salt Lake City; St. Louis; Portland, Ore.; Boston, New York; Chicago; and Los Angeles.

"This is really an experience for them," said Jayne Staudt, Regan’s mother. "It is really like an American Idol of filmmaking."

Staudt said everyone is working to promote the film and get people to vote.

"Who knows, they may be the next Wilson brothers," she said.

Luke and Owen Wilson are from Dallas and have successful film careers.