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Gaming the system: Over-the-top "Scrabble" movie on target for Hollywood
Alex Perry says he has "been obsessed with filmmaking for a long time." This spring, his obsession has paid off like a seven-letter triple word score.
Perry's short film "Scrabble: The Motion Picture" has advanced to the grand finale of the Campus Movie Fest student film competition. The six-minute film, which Perry wrote and directed, is ranked among the top three films of the contest's 5,000 entries from college students across the country.
Perry, a 2005 Andover High School graduate who just finished his junior year at Bridgewater State College, has taken a couple of classes in videography, but is mostly self-taught, he says.
"Basically, I just look for excuses to make movies," said the 21-year-old.
"Scrabble" is the first film from a school without a formal film program to make it this far in the Campus Movie Fest, said Perry. It is competing against shorts made by film school students with professional-grade cameras and equipment, and that's what Perry believes has set it apart.
His film doesn't have any "film-school cliches," he said.
"I'm pretty confident, I feel we have a decent shot. I'm knocking on wood," said Perry. "I'm looking forward to going out (to California) and having fun. If we win, we win, and if we don't, we don't."
As this story goes to print, Perry is on a plane headed to Hollywood with 25 family and friends for the grand finale. On June 12 at Paramount Studios, "Scrabble: The Motion Picture" will be judged by a panel of television and movie actors, including Rip Torn, from the "Men in Black" movies.
Perry says the competition's grand prize is being kept a secret, so he's not sure what he might win.
"Scrabble" follows the quest of the Bridgewater State Scrabble team to find a giant "Q" Scrabble piece, which is the highest scoring letter in the board game. Meanwhile, a group of militant Russians are also in search of the Q, which they hope to use to get a high score and end the world.
References to the board game - such as the Bridgewater team's T-shirts emblazoned with Scrabble pieces that spell "nerds" - pop up as the characters search for the Q, accompanied by stirring music. The film's climax unfolds in a car chase.
"I think Scrabble is such a universal thing, something that everyone can understand," said Perry. "The premise is absolutely ridiculous. Really, it's not something to try and figure out. It's ridiculous, and that was my goal. The college crowd ate it up.
"We have a guy ripping another guy's heart out and blowing it up with a bazooka."
Films entered in the Campus Movie Fest must be made in one week. The contest is sponsored by Macintoch, so each team is loaned a Mac laptop with editing software and camera equipment for one week to make their movie, start to finish.
"Me and my buddies pulled three all-nighters in a row. By the end, we were going crazy. We had about four laptops set up in my dorm room," said Perry. "Somehow, we got it in on time."
Perry made the movie with a group of about 10 friends, he said, including fellow 2005 Andover High School grads Joe Tornatore and Jack Hamilon. Tornatore was the film's lead actor, and Hamilton did special effects.
Jack's father, Andover resident Jim Hamilton plays a mysterious character named "Hasbro" in the film, who tips the Bridgewater Scrabble players off against the Russians. Perry and his father, Charles, created the giant Q and other Scrabble letters used in the film in their Andover garage.
"Scrabble is the greatest board game of all time," said Perry, a self-proclaimed "huge fan."
Perry, a communications major at Bridgewater State, believes an eventual move to Los Angeles and a career in filmmaking is on the horizon. He said he'll be "knocking on some doors" while in California this week.
"It's just a matter of time," said Perry. "I'm looking for opportunities to get there. I don't want to settle for this, I want to keep reaching. There are much greater things to come."
"Scrabble: The Motion Picture" took the best picture award at the Campus Movie Fest at Bridgewater State, advancing to the regional grand finale at Lincoln Center in New York City in May.
Nominated in five categories, Perry's film took the best picture award after being shown to an audience of 1,000 and judged by a panel of celebrities.
"(The) Lincoln Center (competition) in New York was one of the best experiences in my life, period," said Perry. "Everything that lead up to that was worth it.
"(Through Campus Movie Fest) I learned that I really want to know my audience, and make something for them. I want to do that for the rest of my life."
To watch "Scrabble: the motion picture" go to www.vimeo.com/3945441
(Warning: Contains scenes of (fake) violence. May not be suitable for children.)
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