After creating their first Night of the Stars (NOTS) movie the previous year, the class of 2013 prepares to reproduce the 2004 comedy, Napoleon Dynamite.
With an allotted 20 minutes instead of last year’s 15, the sophomores plan to use their increased time to capture the audience’s attention.
In the remake, Matt Jenkins and Juan Ruelas will be playing the lead roles as Napoleon and Pedro. Supporting actors Brandon Porter (Kip), Brandon McCormick (Uncle Rico) and Katherine Bennett (Deb) will also be involved in the film.
“I’m really excited to see our movie, because the people in our class fit the characters so perfectly,” Bennett said. “Working with the other cast members is really amusing; we laugh a lot during filming, but still accomplish a lot. I’m looking forward to playing Deb, because I’ve wanted to be her since the sixth grade.”
As the formal event, scheduled for Feb. 19, draws closer, the class utilizes weekends in addition to after-school filming in order to capture each scene.
Along with classmates Matt Adams and Rachel Quiring, Jordan Boudreau is involved in filming, directing and editing the class film. He says he anticipates the quality acting and end result.
“I’m looking forward to this year’s NOTS movie because we’re doing Napoleon Dynamite and we have a really good cast with Matt Jenkins and Juan Ruelas,” Boudreau said. “I think the process is going spectacular [sic] because we have a great script and excellent camera equipment to work with. We’re definitely learning from the mistakes of our freshman movie.”
Although a remake of Napoleon Dynamite was not Adams’s top choice for NOTS 2011, he says the sophomores have already discovered new filming techniques and have assembled a fitting cast.
“It was a dumb idea to pick Napoleon Dynamite, but it will be a great movie because we have the perfect cast,” Adams said. “The filming so far is going smoothly and is very entertaining to watch.”
Before beginning the filming process, the sophomores watched the original movie in order to select the scenes necessary to replicate.
Although they did not write a script for their freshman film, the sophomores learned from their past mistakes to help them create a new and enhanced feature, according to Boudreau.
“This year, we actually wrote a whole script out and we picked a better movie,” Boudreau said. “Unlike last year, we are sticking to the movie plot and are incorporating more members in our cast.”
As one of the characters in the movie, Porter sees NOTS filming as a chance to grow closer to his classmates.
“I think being involved with NOTS filming is a good way to hang out with people you usually don’t hang out with,” Porter said. “It’s also a stress-free environment, and you get to be around fun people.”
Despite the upperclassmen’s years of filming experience, Porter believes the sophomores could walk away with recognition.
“I hope we will win awards, but I know the juniors and seniors usually win most of the awards,” Porter said. “But I still think we have a chance to win a couple of awards, because our class is amazing.”
Although he did not participate in his class’s movie the previous year, Jenkins looks forward to starring in the sophomore production.
“I think it’s really fun to play Napoleon, because I think I do a good job at it and it’s funny,” Jenkins said. “The movie is going really well, and I think it will be a good remake of the real thing.”
For more information on class films, read the Feb. 8 article, Senior class reinvents ’17 Again,’ or the Feb. 1 article, Freshmen choreograph dance flick remake.
For more information on NOTS, read the Jan. 28 article, NOTS attendees plot creative date invitations.
