MOD Society Greensboro - Sept-Oct 2020
MOVIE WHIZ KIDS
2020-08-28 06:31:15
“North Carolina is always going to be my home, and its character and sense of community are reflected in what I write.” – John Mathis
Filmmakers John Mathis and Jared Sprouse met on the first day of their freshman year at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA). A lucky-seven years later, they’re not only still friends, they are also co-creators and collaborators on the feature film “Where’s Rose.” They are currently filming in their old UNCSA stomping ground of Winston-Salem.
John wrote “Where’s Rose” and is directing. Jared is producing, along with Pablo Babadilla, Justin Boswick, Tyler Holender and Ty Simpkins, who also stars in the film.
They’ve assembled a crew of UNCSA-trained production pros to bring “Where’s Rose” to big (and small and medium) screens. And they’ve scored impressive talent for the film. Ty Simpkins has starred in the blockbusters “Jurassic World” and “Iron Man 3,” and in the horror film franchise “Insidious.” Anneliese Judge has a lead role in the Netflix hit “Sweet Magnolias,” and (bonus points!) she grew up in West End, North Carolina and attends the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Skyler Elyse Philpot landed the lead role as Rose. At the tender age of 10, Skyler has a long list of television and film credits including recent releases “Raising Dion” and “Finding Love in Mountain View.”
Jared and John describe the project as exhilarating and intense, both in terms of the storyline and the process.
“Where’s Rose” is a “social horror film” that tells the story of the Daniels, a white middle-class family whose daughter Rose goes missing. When Rose comes home, her older brother Eric, an all-American college-bound teen, recognizes the evil force that has returned in her place. He investigates and begins to discover what kind of monster Rose has become. That’s the horror part of the story.
The social in social horror refers to the film’s exploration of social themes related to privilege and traditional masculinity. “I was reading articles about entitlement and privilege,” John explains. “It got me thinking about what a movie would look like if the ‘hero’ was actually the villain. That intrigued me and made me want to tell a horror story in which the real monster is actually the boy-next-door.” It seems “Where’s Rose” has it all. It’s a scary film designed to raise both goosebumps and consciousness.
The process of producing the movie has been thrilling as well. To begin with, John and Jared are working with trusted colleagues and former classmates. The majority of the production crew including producers, editors of sound and photography, grips, gaffers and creature artist (yes, it’s a real job!) attended UNCSA. So, it’s a reunion of sorts and a chance to return to where it all began.
To Triad-area locals, UNCSA is the home-grown creative college in downtown Winston-Salem. It is also one of the top-ranked creative and performing arts conservatories in the country. Its School of Filmmaking, in particular, is consistently recognized as one of the most prestigious and effective training programs for aspiring cinematographers. Jared and John were two of the 12 accepted into the school’s Undergraduate Directing Program. John cites the highly disciplined, challenging nature of the program as great preparation for the pseudo-real world of moviemaking. “Honestly, we aren’t really phased by much today. It’s a competitive industry, but UNCSA was a competitive program and prepared us well.”
So well, in fact, that they co-wrote and co-directed the crime noir film “Midnight Runner” during their junior year at UNCSA. All acting roles and production jobs were filled by UNCSA students. The movie was shot in just nine days, over the course of spring break, with a budget of $3,000. That’s a pretty good investment for a film picked up by several distribution platforms, including Amazon Prime.
After graduating, John moved to Los Angeles to work for a film camera rental company and spent his days driving cameras around to different studios. Jared moved to Atlanta and founded a music video and film production company, Nonlinear Studios. They continued to brainstorm bicoastally on how to finance and produce “Where’s Rose” which was written by John during their senior year.
Jared eventually headed to California, the two pulled together their UNCSA squad, and they got busy funding and casting the film.
The funding/casting process is a bit of a cart-before-the-horse dilemma, they explain, because studios usually want a star attached before they’ll fund a film, and stars want funding attached before they’ll sign on. Casting Ty was a strong early move for the film. He brings a strong fan following, an impressive list of credits, and experience and acclaim in the horror genre through his work on the “Insidious” franchise.
The team privately raised the initial funding needed to cover making the film and talent. They are now in the process of raising additional funds via Wefunder, a crowdfunding service that connects startups with investors online. Unlike crowdfunding options like GoFundMe, Kickstarter or IndieGoGo, Wefunder is based on a business model that allows investors to share financially in a project’s success. “We’re selling equity in our movie,” explains Jared. “We’re committing to investors that if we make a profit, investors will recoup 120 percent of their initial investment and share in 50 percent of net profits.”
John sees additional advantage to the Wefunder model from a director’s standpoint. “It allows me to make the movie exactly as I want to. We don’t have studios interfering or anyone trying to change my story. That level of creative integrity is important to me.”
They have a lot going for them in terms of investor and marketing appeal: the draw of a stellar cast; the fact that horror movies consistently deliver higher returns on investment than drama, comedy, romance or action adventure; and a timely theme. They also know how to make magic happen on a tight budget.
Filming outside Hollywood helps, of course. So does the fact that “Where’s Rose” has a relatively small cast and crew and a modest film footprint. About 80 percent of the movie happens in a single house, features a cast of about five people in most scenes and is managed by a crew of 12.
Shooting a movie during the COVID-19 pandemic presented certain unique challenges, but nothing insurmountable, Jared and John agree. “We’re one of only a few projects approved by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) to film during COVID-19,” John says. They’re following rigorous production safety guidelines outlined in SAG’s ‘The Safe Way Forward’ report, including frequent testing, the use of personal protective equipment and on- and off-set social distancing. They even hired a COVID-19 Compliance Officer to ensure that protocols are being met.
And, because there are few films currently in production, the market should be hungry for new content by the time “Where’s Rose” is released, hopefully in the second half of 2021.
John, Jared, and the entire movie team have been warmly welcomed by the Triad community. UNCSA faculty have been helpful, as have the Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County and the Piedmont Film Commission.
As much as they enjoy life in Los Angeles, a city that buzzes about the industry they love, it is North Carolina and the South that inspire these two accomplished young filmmakers. “I always set my scripts in small towns,” says John, who grew up on a farm in Waxhaw, North Carolina “I feel like too many films are set in Los Angeles or New York City. North Carolina is always going to be my home, and its character and sense of community are reflected in what I write.” – Lucinda Trew, editor
For more information: wefunder.com/wheresrosefilm
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