Night of the Stars (NOTS), though a highly anticipated event among students, presents each class with the challenge to prepare a movie. For freshmen, this undertaking is an even more daunting task as they are newcomers to the tradition.
For the event, the class of 2014 plans to produce a remake of Step Up (2006), though procrastination and stress for their first film has already set in, according to Annalise Rosik.
“We waited until the deadline to write the script, and there was a lot of pressure on us,” Rosik said. “The script didn’t turn out the best it could have.”
Despite the struggle, Rosik sees potential in the project and hopes that her class will be able to create a humorous remake of the dance flick.
“I think it will be really fun if we all come together as a team and try our best to pull it together,” Rosik said. “We will have fun in the process of making the movie. Even if the movie is not excellent, the freshman class will come together and, in the end, be closer. This experience will be frustrating at times, but we will all learn to overcome it.”
Under the leadership of director and screenwriter Mark Bennett, the dance flick will feature Bobby Christopher, Jimmy Chang and Amanda Menes as the main characters in Step Up, requiring both dance and dialogue scenes.
According to Christopher, filming has been more successful than expected.
“The first day of filming went better than I thought, and it was fun,” Christopher said. “The movie probably will be fun making it, but I am not sure how it will turn out.”
Despite their late start, Bennett encourages his class to put in their best effort in hopes of creating a successful freshman film. Bennett relies on his classmates in order to finish, he said.
“If everyone in the video tries their best, then I think the movie will turn out fine,” Bennett said. “The first day of filming went as planned, and it is really funny. Even though we started late, I think we can pull it off.”
In addition, Hannah Avila looks forward to the filming process for the memories and class participation, she said.
“I think we will do really well if we try to act and film the best we can,” Avila said. “I think it will be great bonding, and we will all take many memories from this experience. The movie-making process is a long one, and if everyone has a positive outlook on what we are doing, then we can all have fun.”
Like Avila, Rayna Endicott believes that the class will enjoy the filming experience even if their movie is not up to standards, but still plans to put effort into making the movie a success.
“I think most of the freshmen want to do their best, and even if the video isn’t the best, we will all still have fun making it,” Endicott said. “I know that we will make the best of what we have and, in the end, we will all be closer.”
For more information on Night of the Stars, read the Dec. 8, 2010 article, Leadership makes NOTS plans, preparations.
