With the fall quarter almost half through, only faint memories
of wild summer nights remain. But two UCLA students have captured
their all-night summer sessions on film ““ and it may soon
find its way into theaters.
Third-year mechanical engineering student Tony Vallone and
third-year business economics student Daniel Engelhardt spent eight
weeks of their summer filming “Palo Alto,” a Sundance
Film Festival hopeful starring such reputable actors as Ben Savage
(“Boy Meets World”), comedian Tom Arnold and UCLA
alumna Autumn Reeser (“The O.C.”).
“What we’re trying to do with this movie is tell
that true coming-of-age story of what it’s like growing up in
this generation,” said Engelhardt, who produced the film.
“I want people our age to relate to the characters and
connect to the movie in a real way.”
Written by Vallone and third-year USC student Brad Leong, who
also directed the film, “Palo Alto” follows four
college freshmen reunited in their Northern California hometown
during Thanksgiving break. But after sneaking into their old high
school together, the night takes a different turn for each
friend.
Because the story takes place all in one night, filming could
not begin until sunset. According to Vallone, some of the actors,
such as Reeser, who had other movies and TV shows to shoot, had to
fly to Palo Alto at night after a full day of working in Los
Angeles.
“We didn’t get our first shot (of the film) until
midnight,” Vallone said. “(But) everybody got really
involved in the film and invested a lot of their energy in it. We
became a family and really close friends.”
Though the cast boasted seasoned professionals, the
behind-the-scenes team was a different story. The majority of the
crew consisted of student filmmakers from high school, graduate
school and every level in between.
“We were a little worried because everyone on set was a
first-time filmmaker,” Leong said. “The first couple
weeks of production were rough, but over the weeks, we got it down,
and by the end, we were running like professionals.”
The film has also become a helpful resource to other young
aspiring filmmakers through its Web site,
www.paloaltothemovie.com, which includes detailed entries about
how scenes were shot and the processes the crew used.
“Our set was basically a filmmaking summer camp (and)
everyone was really excited to work with people their own
age,” Vallone said. “The crew was really young and
knowledgeable, (but) in the film industry, you learn by
doing.”
Some of the film’s veteran actors were impressed by the
caliber of work produced by such a young, inexperienced team,
according to Vallone.
“The professional element is the reason we were able to
get someone like Tom Arnold on board, but the fact that we’re
students created an energy around the project that made it
exciting,” Engelhardt said. “We’re bridging the
gap between independent and student films.”
With a grant from Panavision for cameras and donated film from
Kodak, the privately funded project could afford to use quality
equipment on a modest budget.
Additionally, filming in Palo Alto greatly reduced the cost of
making the film. The permits required to shoot in Palo Alto and
close down streets during filming were issued by the city for free,
and the setting of the interior shots depended on the kindness of
anyone willing to lend a house to the crew all night, according to
Vallone.
“That was one of the great things about Palo Alto,”
Engelhardt said. “Everyone was excited to have us there. It
would have been nice if we filmed at UCLA, but we couldn’t
afford it and that wasn’t going to stop us from accomplishing
what we wanted.”
With the film wrapped and currently in post-production, most of
the legwork is behind them. Now, Vallone, Engelhardt and Leong must
play the waiting game, hoping that “Palo Alto” gets
picked up by a movie studio for wide distribution.
To attract studios’ attention, the film will be marketed
through the festival circuit in order create a buzz. The powerful
grassroots following at the different colleges where students were
involved has also helped to promote the film.
Earlier this month, with reports of Savage’s death
streaming through MySpace, the “Palo Alto” Web site
received more hits than ever. While Vallone was relieved to
discover that the news was merely an unfounded rumor, he was also
pleased to find that the film had jumped approximately 1,000 spots
on imdb.com’s “most-viewed movies” list.
Regardless of whether “Palo Alto” snags a coveted
spot at the Sundance Film Festival in 2007 or plays in movie
theaters nationwide, this project provided students with a unique
experience in filmmaking.
“We’re trying to get it out there,” Leong
said. “(But) I’ve learned so much working on this film
that if it goes nowhere, I’d still be happy that we did
it.”