Act One

My Role

While attending the University of Memphis, a friend introduced me to Brad Ellis. Brad and I shared a simular hobby of making films and was later introduced to the film group known as oldschoolpictures. In 2005, I was asked to come on board as the Associate Producer for Act One. As Associate Producer, I helped Old School Pictures gather funds and get needed equipment.

Synopsis

Fade In. Grow Up. Fade Out.

Act One is a comedy-drama that relays the story of Kevin Hansen, a confident, immature twenty-two-year-old screenwriter. Throughout his whole life, things have pretty much gone Kevin’s way. He’s likable, talented, has never had a problem getting girls, and has managed to sell Heatwave, his first completed screenplay, for a million dollars to a major studio. After moving from his hometown of Memphis, TN to Los Angeles, everything seems to be continually getting better and better. However, soon after Heatwave is completely misinterpreted by the studio and becomes a major flop upon its release, Kevin begins to have increasingly greater difficulty with writing his next script. He gets a sneaking suspicion that a turning point (or “conflict,” as he refers to it in screenplay vernacular) is on the horizon. And with the first conflict, as any screenwriter knows, comes the inevitable and dreaded “act one” – an act that, unfortunately, means it’s time to grow up.

Act One explores what it’s like to be twenty-something and trying to tackle your two greatest – yet seemingly conflicting – goals: bettering yourself while connecting with the world around you. It’s a story that takes an often comedic look at growing up in the world, the people who do the real growth for you, and how we’re all just trying to make the movie that is our life the best that it can be.

Directed by

Brad Ellis