HIGH POINT, N.C., Dec. 8, 2009 ? Thanks to the ingenious work by High Point University professor Ed Simpson, Hollywood is coming to High Point.
Simpson, chair of the Performing Arts Department and professor of theatre at HPU, penned the well-received play, “Elephant Sighs.” The production has since been performed in theatres across the country ? and now it will be made into a feature-length film, starring TV and movie great Ed Asner. The production will be filmed Jan. 3-24 in High Point and Thomasville.
Simpson, who says there is a possibility that a sneak preview of the film will be held on campus in late spring or early fall, is excited to get started.
“We’ve been working on this for a number of years,” Simpson says. “It’s taken a while to get financing. But it’s been fun, exciting and exhausting.”
Simpson says a major investor was found over the summer, giving a green light to the movie production.
“It’s a low-budget film,” he explains. “But we were really hoping we could get some really good actors.”
And the team hit a homerun, thanks to quickly signing Asner, a seven-time Emmy Award-winning actor known from “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Lou Grant,””Roots,” “Up!,” “Elf” and more.
“Once Ed came on, it was easy to get other folks ? he’s a nice attention-grabber,” Simpson says of the longtime star.
The production will also feature well-known and respected Hollywood actors, including Tony-nominated John Cariani, of “Fiddler on the Roof,” “NUMB3RS” and “Law and Order”; Jack Kehler, of “The Big Lebowski,” “Love Liza,” “Dudley Doright,” “Waterworld,” “Men in Black II” and more; and David Wells, of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Charlie Wilson’s War,” “Basic Instinct,” “CSI,” “Dragnet” and more than 65 other films. The film will include one other star, yet to be named.
The film, produced by New Garden Media, is the first project of the new production company. Simpson says the theme of “Elephant Sighs” fits nicely with what the company hopes to produce in the future ? and that is to produce films that celebrate human beings.
Simpson’s screenplay celebrates human beings ? it?s a story about loss, loneliness and the power of friendship and perseverance.
“There’s nothing out there like this movie,” Simpson says.
So naturally, he has high hopes for the film. “We have a good shot of really creating a quality film,” he adds. “It’s a different, unexpected kind of movie.”
The screenplay, published by Samuel French Inc., will be directed by Simpson, and produced by Les Butchart, David Wells and M.L. Carr.
HPU will also lend expertise via HPU professors Matthew Emerson and Ami Shupe, who will be in charge of production design and costume design, respectively. HPU students Courtney Ziegler, Nathan Ruffin, Maggie Jo Saylor, Rankin Willard and Matthew Kniffen will serve as interns.
Simpson says that, while he is directing the film, he’s also an educator.
“This is a great opportunity for students to work on a film,” Simpson says. “We are in a unique opportunity. It’s a great chance to model good work ethics.”
At High Point University, every student receives an extraordinary education in a fun environment with caring people. HPU, located in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina, is a liberal arts institution with 3,700 undergraduate and graduate students from 50 countries and 44 states at campuses in High Point and Winston-Salem. It is ranked by US News and World Report No. 5 among comprehensive universities in the South and No. 1 in its category among up-and-coming schools. Forbes.com ranks HPU in the top 6 percent among “America’s Best Colleges.” HPU was included in The Chronicle of Higher Education’s “Great Colleges to Work For” 2009 listings. The university offers 68 undergraduate majors, 40 undergraduate minors and seven graduate degree programs. It is accredited by the Commission of Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and is a member of the NCAA, Division I and the Big South Conference. Visit High Point University on the Web at http://www.highpoint.edu/ or on Twitter at @HighPointU.
Chris DudleyVice President for [email protected]