Ball State University alumnus Doug Jones returns to Muncie to star in a collaboration between Ball State affiliations and professional organizations.
"My Name is Jerry" starts shooting today and will be filmed entirely in Muncie by both professionals in the entertainment field and Ball State students. The film will star Jones, Don Stark of "That 70's Show," Catherine Hicks of "7th Heaven" and Allison Scagliotti of "Josh and Drake."
Ball State alumna Morgan Mead, a writer for "ER," sent Jones the script. On the "My Name is Jerry" Web site, Jones said he was overcome that someone had written a movie for him. He said the script was his dream role.
"It's one of the most wonderfully written scripts," Jones said. "It is absolutely yummy, edible, delicious."
Rodger Smith, the head of the Institute for Digital Entertainment and Education and "My Name is Jerry" producer, said the movie helps Ball State students learn what it is like to work on a real set.
"I would say what this is really about is proof of concept," Smith said.
Smith said Morgan wanted to write a screen play for Jones.
"Doug is incredibly well known in the industry, but he's always in a mask," Smith said.
Jones is always a success because he started out as a mime artist, Smith said, and he is tall and lanky.
"He's had a great career doing these things," Smith said.
Smith said the program taught students the same skills they would learn on a feature movie set. The smaller pieces that students then do become the bread and butter of emerging media, and they are better prepared, he said.
The movie is a SAG ultra-low budget film. This means it will cost less than $250,000 and can employ a mixture of both union and nonunion actors. The actors work for little pay.
"These people are doing this because they believe in it," Smith said. "They believe in it because they believe in the script."
Smith said they were attempting to create their own audience before the movie is released. There are 10 students working on electronic marketing. These students are linking MySpace, Facebook, YouTube and other social networks to create a following, Smith said
The goal is to have 2,000 to 3,000 people following the movie before it comes out of final production, he said.
"My Name is Jerry" is about a middle-aged door-to-door salesman, Jones, who meets a 20-something punk rocker. She changes Jerry's boring life by sharing her punk rock lifestyle.
Those involved in the movie are Clothespin Productions, Ball State University, Ball State's College of Fine Arts and the Institute for Digital Entertainment and Education.
Jones has recently been seen in "The Fantastic Four" sequel as the Silver Surfer, "Pans Labyrinth" as Pan and the "Hellboy" movies as Abe Sapien.
ExtrasThe "My Name is Jerry" production crew is seeking volunteers to be extras in the movie. If interested, contact Betsy Holt, student production assistant, at (513) 315-3627 or by e-mail at eaholt@yahoo.com.
The following dates are when extras would need to be available:
July 15, July 22, July 25, July 27July 30 and August 4
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